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<DATE>2010-03-25</DATE>
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<NAME>Alexis Jakobson</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P><GAP DESC="foreign"> OR, Soveraigne Bal&s;ome, Gently applied in a few weighty Con&s;iderations (by way of <HI>Quaerie</HI>) for hea|ling the di&s;tempers of &s;uch Profe&s;&s;ors of Religi|on as Satan hath wounded and drawn a&s;ide (under the Notion of living in God) to the utter renouncing and ca&s;ting off the u&s;e of Divine Ordinances, and Go&s;pel-In&s;titutions of Wor&s;hip.</P>
<P>With an Apendix by way of Po&s;t&s;cript to &s;uch Profe&s;&s;ors, wherein the mo&s;t principall grounds upon which they build their practi&s;e, are fully an&s;wered and removed.</P>
<P>And a Catalogue of the errors that many of them hold &s;ince they left the Ordinances, di&s;covered. As al&s;o a true Relation of Gods extra|ordinary working upon one of this way very lately in <HI>Plimouth,</HI> to the &s;ight of his error, for the good of others publi&s;hed.</P>
<P>By <HI>Will. Bartlet,</HI> an unworthy Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel, and Lecturer at <HI>Bytheford</HI> in <HI>Devon&s;hire.</HI></P>
<Q>Even from the dayes of your Fathers yee are gone away from my Ordinances, and have not kept them: Return unto me, and I will return unto you, &s;aith the Lord of Ho&s;ts, &amp;c. <BIBL><HI>MAL. 3.7.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<Q>Is there no Balm in Gilead? Is there no Phy&s;itian there? Why there is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered? <BIBL><HI>JER. 8.22.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<Q>Brethren, if any of you doe erre from the truth, and one convert him; let him know that he which converteth the &s;inner from the error of his way, &s;hall &s;ave a &s;oule from death, and &s;hall hide a multitude of &s;innes. <BIBL><HI>IAM. 5.19, 20.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<P>Imprinted at London by <HI>G. Daw&s;on,</HI> for <HI>Elizabeth Overton</HI> in Popes|head Alley, neere the Royall Exchange. 1649.</P>
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<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>TO ALL THE CORDIALL Friends, and &s;incere lovers of the Lord IESUS and his SYON.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>PRETIOUS SOULES,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_YEE cannot be ignorant how the prophe&s;ies of old,<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3.1 ad 10. 2 Pet. 2. per tot. 1 Joh. 2.18.22. Jude 4. ad fi|nem. Matth. 24, 24, 25, &amp;c.</NOTE> men|tioned by the holy Apo|&s;tles of our Lord and Savi|our Je&s;us Chri&s;t; yea by Chri&s;t him&s;elf, concerning the perilou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the la&s;t dayes, in re&s;pect of the evils both of opinion and pra|ctice, that &s;hould bee broached and embraced by all &s;orts of people in them; are now in our times abun|dantly fulfilled; wherein there is as much difference, and as great variety, (if not greater) betweene men in their opinions, as there is between them in
<PB REF="3">their fa&s;hions, which I finde to be<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Sic etiam in cunctis Angli|genis, tanta ve|&s;tium varietas &amp; a&s;peritatis multiformitas inolevit ut neu|trius generis paen&egrave; quilibes cen&s;catur, ex qua re bene pro|phetavit tem|pore Regis <HI>E|theldredi, &amp;c. Anony.</HI></NOTE> prophe&s;ied of al|&s;o, many hundred years &s;ince, touching <HI>England:</HI> and like as mens fa&s;hions in their apparrell, diet, and be|haviour, are &s;ome of them more mon&s;trous, odious and loath&s;ome then others; &s;o are their opinions in Religion, and matters of Doctrine and Wor&s;hip: and &s;o bla&s;phemous, abominable, and damnable, are &s;ome opinions and practices now in <HI>England,</HI> as that nothing but the patience of an infinite God could po&s;sibly &s;uffer them to have any longer a Being a|mong&s;t us. How were the Churches of Chri&s;t weak|ned and endangered by &s;uch <HI>Pe&s;ts</HI> in the Primitive times? What a many<NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> Antichri&s;ts were there then? 1 <HI>Iohn</HI> 2.18. What a many fal&s;e Chri&s;ts, fal&s;e A|po&s;tles, fal&s;e Prophets and Teachers, &s;elfe-lovers. Sin-lovers, and lovers of plea&s;ures more then lovers of God, going up and down deceiving poore &s;ouls, e&s;pecially poore &s;illy women, that were alwayes learning, but never came to the knowledge of the Truth, 2 <HI>Tim</HI> 3.6. who were not onely re&s;i&s;ters, but &s;ubverters of the faith delivered once to the Saints, <HI>Jude</HI> 3.4. And is it not &s;o at this day? Are nor the Churches of Chri&s;t as much po&s;ered and en|dangered now through &s;uch fal&s;e Chri&s;ts, fal&s;e Apo|&s;tles, fal&s;e Teachers, &amp;c. meere Antichri&s;ts, that have a forme of godline&s;&s;e, but deny the power thereof. The Lord Je&s;us (the great Shepheard of his &s;heep, <HI>Hebr.</HI> 13.20.) hath but newly recovered his poore afflicted weather-beaten Lambes, from bloody Ca|valeri&s;me, tyranny and oppre&s;sion, but forthwith their &s;ouls are a&s;&s;aulted with<NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg"><HI>Beza</HI> tran&s;|lates it Spiritu|all malices, the words are <GAP DESC="foreign">, the &s;piritualne&s;&s;e of evill and wickedne&s;&s;e; carnall wicked|ne&s;&s;es are inferiour to &s;pirituall, which ocupieth the highe&s;t part of the Soule, &amp;c. and are not laid out in carnall pa&s;&s;ions and concupi&s;cences, &amp;c. <HI>Lawr. Com. and Warre with Angels. p. 5.</HI></NOTE> &s;piritual wickedne&s;&s;es
<PB REF="3">in high places, <HI>Eph.</HI> 6.12. Some read it, <HI>In high pla|ces;</HI> but I &s;uppo&s;e it may be read better, <HI>in heavenly places,</HI> or <HI>things,</HI> as<NOTE N="e" PLACE="marg">The word is <GAP DESC="foreign"> in &s;ublimi, <HI>&s;aith Beza,</HI> but it &s;ig|nifies heavenly, as in the Mar|gent of your Bi|bles, which may have relation to things as pla|ces, and then it &s;hews the things about which his malicious &s;tu|dies are conver|&s;ant, that is, to take all heaven|ly things from us, and to de|prive us of what&s;oever is heavenly. <HI>id. ib.</HI></NOTE> &s;ome ob&s;erve on the place. If the differences among&s;t us, touching mens opinions and practi&s;es, were onely about &s;uch things as are not much materiall, or were not at all determined in the Scripture, or after &s;uch a manner as is dubious not onely to particular per&s;ons, but whole Churches of Chri&s;t, the matter were not great; for God is in|finitly wi&s;e herein, and in my weake apprehen&s;ion, hath left the&s;e things &s;o, that thereby there might be occa&s;ion given the more to exerci&s;e our Charity, Pa|tience and Humility one towards another. But when they &s;hall grow to &s;uch a height, as to call into que|&s;tion fundamentall truths, and not &s;o much to que&s;ti|on them, as flatly to deny them, and to pluck up the foundation it &s;elf; then 'tis high time for us to look about, &amp; not only to hold fa&s;t, that no man take our Crown, but to<NOTE N="f" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. <HI>i.</HI> ut fitis propugnatores fidei. <HI>uti Hen. Steph. in verb.</HI></NOTE> contend for the faith once delivered to the Saints, <HI>Jude</HI> 3. And is it not thus with us at this<NOTE N="g" PLACE="marg">Who can num|ber the du&s;t of Athei&s;ts, Pa|pi&s;ts, Hereticks, Hypocrites, or mea&s;ure the &s;pa|cious Globe of meere Forma|li&s;ts, or &s;elf-con|demned Apo|&s;tates? <HI>Barl.</HI></NOTE> day? Don't we &s;ee that men are not a&s;hamed to write and &s;peake again&s;t the Divinity of Chri&s;t, and the Scriptures, again&s;t the Deity of the Holy Gho&s;t; yea, how they deny the Trinity, and plead for the&s;e very abominations that are (without con|trover&s;ie) odious and loath&s;ome both to God and good Men<NOTE N="h" PLACE="marg">A catalogue of &s;ome of which abominable er|rors held by &s;uch as ca&s;t off the u&s;e of ordina~ces you &s;hall find &s;et down in the end of the Book.</NOTE>. Now concerning errors in Doctrine, I have not &s;o directly to deale with, in the following Di&s;cour&s;e (though my &s;oule bleeds to con&s;ider the di&s;honour comes to the Lord Je&s;us by them,) but tho&s;e which more e&s;pecially concerne Wor&s;hip, and not every petty error here neither, but the grand and capitall one, and that wherein I judge all error of Doctrine and Apo&s;ta&s;ie at la&s;t to terminate, <HI>viz.</HI> the
<PB REF="4">Renouncing and ca&s;ting off, of all Duties and Ordi|nances, or In&s;titutions of Divine Wor&s;hip, ordai|ned by Chri&s;t him&s;elfe to be ob&s;erved in the dayes of the New Te&s;tament; unchurching the right con&s;ti|tuted Congregations and A&s;&s;emblies of <HI>Syon,</HI> dna plucking up the publick Mini&s;tery of the Go&s;pel by the roots, and this not &s;o much in &s;ome re&s;pect (as tho&s;e that are called <HI>Seekers,</HI> who deny publick Churches, Mini&s;tery, &amp;c. for want of Apo&s;tles, and other like extraordinary gifted men to admini&s;ter, &amp;c.) but ab&s;olutely looking on the performance of Duties, and u&s;e of Ordinances, Mini&s;tery and Chur|ches, as poore, low, weake Di&s;pen&s;ations, Chil|di&s;h things, not fit for &s;uch as live in God to &s;toop &s;o low, as to make u&s;e of. And &s;o under a pretence of living in God, they teach poore, weake &s;oules, that there is a life to be attained unto, wherein they may live<NOTE N="i" PLACE="marg">That there is a life to be obtai|ned by Belee|vers here on earth, that is a|bove ordinan|ces, is not deny|ed. But that this life is without ordinances alto|gether, when they may enjoy the u&s;e of them, and that puts them nece&s;&s;arily upon the renoun|cing and ca&s;ting them off, is that which we flatly deny, as being contrary not on|ly to the &s;acred Scriptures, but experience of the &s;ounde&s;t Chri&s;tians, as I have &s;hewed in the following Di&s;cour&s;e.</NOTE> <HI>without</HI> the u&s;e of Ordinances, or perfor|mance of Duties, <HI>without</HI> ob&s;ervation of the Lords day, or <HI>Sabbath, without</HI> Church-fellow&s;hip, <HI>with|out</HI> in&s;tructing their children in the knowledge of the Scriptures, <HI>without</HI> craving a ble&s;sing on the Crea|ture when they make u&s;e of it, or returning thankes for it. And that which is mo&s;t abominable, that they may attain and enjoy &s;uch a liberty, as to be under no law, but that of the Spirit, as they &s;ay, and &s;o may perpetrate any impiety, without controll, or check of God or Man; for they live in God alone, and &s;o are above all things here below: &amp; &s;o would make a per&s;ons living in God, &amp; living in the practice of &s;in, to con&s;i&s;t &amp; &s;tand together. The&s;e are the men that the following Di&s;cour&s;e concernes, and whom I can|not but look on (e&s;pecially tho&s;e of them that out of a profe&s;&s;ed judgement, and fixed &s;elfe-will, doe in a
<PB REF="4">high and peremptory manner proceed in their way) as the dangerous pe&s;ts that can be, both to the State, as well as to Religion; for take away true Chri&s;tian Religion, or the true wor&s;hip of God, and power of godline&s;&s;e out of a State, or Common-wealth, and what do you therein but as it were take the &s;oul from the body: For what is the &s;incere practi&s;e of &s;ound Religion and godline&s;&s;e in a State, but<NOTE N="k" PLACE="marg">There is no|thing in a true Chri&s;tian Com|mon-wealth that can onely direct it &s;elf to the benefit of State onely, but that Religi|on mu&s;t bee al&s;o re&s;pected, the care of State being but the By, and Religi|on the main of every Chri&s;tian intendment. And ther fore oftentimes even in tho&s;e things which &s;eem mo&s;t properly to con|cern the State, is Religion in them mo&s;t regarded; the care of State in re&s;pect of Re|ligion, being like the care of our bodies, for which holy men care, but &s;o only as for the hou&s;es of their &s;oules. &amp;c. <HI>Levers Hi&s;tory of the Defend of the Cath Faith.</HI></NOTE> the life and &s;oule of it? Let that be once neglected, corrupted, or extirpated, and the other cannot long &s;tand after; and when is Religion de&s;troyed, but when we make it to patronize impiety. And hence it is that &s;uch as are guilty of the forementioned abomination, in re|nouncing Ordinances, &amp;c. are &s;o frequently de&s;cri|bed by &s;uch Epithites as &s;hew nothing but confu&s;ion and de&s;truction to betide tho&s;e places and per&s;ons where they are entertained and countenanced. It is &s;ufficient in this place, (having &s;poken more largely hereof in the co~clu&s;ion of the Appendix) to &s;hew you that the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> calls them<NOTE N="l" PLACE="marg"><HI>2 Pet. 3.17.</HI> Le&s;t ye be led away with the error <GAP DESC="foreign">. &s;o in chap. <HI>2.7,</HI> &amp;c, <GAP DESC="foreign"> dicuntur homines qui volunt e&s;&s;e fine lege, qui emnia legum repagula perfringunt, ab <GAP DESC="foreign"> &amp; <GAP DESC="foreign">, quod legem prae&s;ertim drvinam &s;ignificat, homines qui nec jus nec fas curant &amp;c. <HI>Ger in loc.</HI> vocat <GAP DESC="foreign"> quos prius <GAP DESC="foreign"> &amp; <GAP DESC="foreign"> o&s;tendit, hos, nullo jure, nullis ne legibus po&s;&s;e in ordine retineri, &s;ed perumpunt omnia jura: quid vis enim &s;ibi licere putant, Scriptura&s;que &s;ibi &s;ubjiciunt. Horum exemplum vald&egrave; e&s;t pernicio&s;um etiam piis, ideo cavendum, ne horum erro|ribus abrepti, veritatem fidei amittant. <HI>Aret. in loc. ut &s;upra.</HI></NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign">, which <HI>Lori|nus,</HI> and other more &s;ound Interpreters doe tran&s;late, <HI>ex-leges,</HI> or <HI>lawle&s;&s;e Libertines,</HI> &s;uch as under a pretence of Chri&s;tian liberty, allow them&s;elves in the pra|ctice of all manner of &s;en&s;uall lu&s;ts, to the di&s;grace and &s;candall of the Go&s;pel; for through their occa&s;i+on <HI>the way of truth is evill &s;poken of,</HI> 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.2. Yet whiles I am oppo&s;ing the opinion and practice of &s;uch <HI>New,</HI> though no <HI>True</HI> Go&s;pellers, &amp;c. I would not have ye
<PB REF="5">(the pretious &s;ervants of God, that <HI>keep his Comman|dements,</HI> and the <HI>Te&s;timony of Je&s;us, Rev.</HI> 12.17.) to conceive that I doe in the lea&s;t goe about to plead for any ordinances or wor&s;hip of mans invention, or ma|king; for fal&s;e ordinances and wor&s;hip that are for|ged in <HI>Antichri&s;ts</HI> &s;hop, and beare no other &s;tamp upon them then the Image of humane Authority: For I know as it's all one to<NOTE N="m" PLACE="marg">Lever ut &s;u|pra, p. 366.</NOTE> deny God and to deny his Service; &s;o I do latry is as wel in fal&s;e wor&s;hip as in no wor&s;hip: &amp; I am a&s;&s;ured that Ordinances of divine <HI>wor&s;hip</HI> that are of mans making though never &s;o wi&s;e or great, are no plants of Gods. planting, neither doth he accept of them, or of tho&s;e that make u&s;e of them, but<NOTE N="n" PLACE="marg">Matth. 15.8, 9-13. Col. 2.20, 21, 22, 23, 24. Ezek. 20.39.</NOTE> lookes on them as vain wor&s;hippers and will|wor&s;hipers, polluters &amp; prophaners of his glorious &amp; reverend Name. Or (2.) that I allowed of theu&s;e of true ordinances and wor&s;hip that Chri&s;t him&s;elfe hath in&s;tituted and commanded, in a fal&s;e way, or contrary to the right order which Chri&s;t hath pre|&s;cribed to his people in the Go&s;pel, and was in u&s;e in the primitive and Apo&s;tolicall times for our exam|ple, <HI>viz.</HI> a <HI>Society</HI> and <HI>Combination</HI> of Saints in which (for the mo&s;t part) they &s;ub&s;i&s;t properly, and are to be performed, as I have at large &s;hewed in another<NOTE N="o" PLACE="marg">Modell of the Congregational way, where this matter is fully handled and cleared in the two fir&s;t Chap|ters.</NOTE> place: For I know that the &s;ame God that hath called his people to wor&s;hip him, doth require them to take the &s;ame way and order he hath<NOTE N="p" PLACE="marg">As God hath not left it in|different whe|ther he be &s;er|ved and wor&s;hipped, or not, &s;o he hath not left people at their own liberty to wor&s;hip him how and in what manner they plea&s;e, or as it &s;eemeth good in their own eyes, but hath given forth a Rule and or|der to be ob&s;erved by his people under the new Te&s;tament, as be did under the Old; which order of Gods wor&s;hip is be&s;t di&s;cerned in the practice of the Saints in the Primitive and Apo&s;tolical times, &s;et forth in the new Te&s;tament. That men might not prevaricate or alter the form of Gods &s;ervice, hath God him&s;elfe pre&s;cribed us a preci&s;e form, how and in what form (or manner) we &s;hould &s;erve him, damning all diver&s;ity to this his own order, wherewith he is onely plea&s;ed, and wherewith he is alwayes plea&s;ed. <HI>Levers Hi&s;tory of the Defend of the Cath. Faith.</HI></NOTE> pre&s;cribed
<PB REF="5">them, or el&s;e they may not expect acceptation with him, but rather reproofe from him, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 20.29, 40. e&s;pecially after he hath made known his m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">nde here|in unto us and given us pretious helps for di&s;covery that way, according to <HI>Acts</HI> 17 30. Neither is it &s;uf|ficient for us to &s;ay, that much good is done to poore &s;oules by the u&s;e of Gods ordinances, though not performed in that way God hath appointed: For doubtle&s;&s;e however God is all &s;ufficient to worke good from our evill, yet we our &s;elves can have but little credit or co~fort in it, &s;eeing <HI>we take not Gods way to do his work.</HI> And if <HI>David,</HI> and other of the &s;ervants of God under the Law, apprehended wrath from God, and occa&s;ion of humiliation to them&s;elves, for not &s;eeking or &s;erving of him after the due order hee had pre&s;cribed them, 1 <HI>Chron.</HI> 15.13. how much more may &s;uch expect di&s;plea&s;ure from God, that now in this cleare Sun&s;hine of the Go&s;pel neglect or refu&s;e to &s;eek and &s;erve him as he hath required them by Ie&s;us Chri&s;t; but continue to admini&s;ter the holy things of Gods hou&s;e (whether out of prejudice to the Congregational way, or from looking &s;o much to the examples of men like them&s;elves or out of &s;la|vi&s;h feare what will become of them, I know not) in a mo&s;t confu&s;ed and di&s;orderly way and manner, to and among&s;t drunkards, &s;wearers, per&s;ecuters, &s;cof|fers, and mo&s;t prophane ignorant people, that ought to be driven from, not admitted to Church-privi|ledges, never making a &s;eparation between the clean and unclean, the holy and prophane: like tho&s;e Prie&s;ts in <HI>Ezekiels</HI> dayes, for which the Lord was &s;o much<NOTE N="q" PLACE="marg"><HI>Vide</HI> the god|ly and learned Lectures of Mr. W. Green|nill on the five fir&s;t chapters of Ezekiel, where he abundantly holds this forth, but e&s;pecially p. <HI>453, 454.</HI></NOTE> di&s;plea&s;ed, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 22.26. Or 3^d^l^y, that I would have tho&s;e that enjoy the ordinances of Chri&s;t in a right way and order of the Go&s;pel, to make a
<PB REF="6">God or Saviour of them, to place their happine&s;&s;e in them, and make them the re&s;ting place of their hearts, or the center into which the lines of their pretious af|fections &s;hould run, or a&s;cribe to them any ver|tue or power of their own to conferre grace; for this were to idolize ordinances with the Papi&s;ts, and give them the honour is due to<NOTE N="r" PLACE="marg">It's not our &s;tirring up our graces, opening our hearts, put|ting forth our &s;elves to the ut|mo&s;t, that will make an Ordi|nance effectuall without Chri&s;t, it's he mu&s;t doe the deed, as <HI>Ioh. 15.5</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Paul</HI> may plant, but there is no rooting of tho&s;e plants but by Chri&s;t, <HI>Apollos</HI> may water, but no growth nor increa&s;e but by Chri&s;t, <HI>1 Cor. 3.6. Id. ut &s;u|pra. p 294.</HI> When the hand of the Lord is upon an Ordi|nance, &amp; upon a man in that or|dinance, then there is good gotten, and then doth the &s;oule gain, <HI>2 Cor. 10.4</HI> our wea|pons are mighty through God. <HI>p. 60.</HI></NOTE> Chri&s;t alone; as if ordinances had died for us, and redeemed us from hell, and purcha&s;ed life and &s;alvation at the hands of God for us, &amp; were now a pleading our cau&s;e for us in heaven, and making inte ce&s;&s;ion to the Father in our behalfes, &amp; had received power to conquer our corruptions, ea&s;e our burthens, &s;upply our wants, perfect our graces, &amp;c. when the contrary is mo&s;t cleare and evident; and therefore as tho&s;e that ca&s;t off the u&s;e of ordinances altogether, do run into the extream on the left hand, &s;o doe tho&s;e people run into the other extream on the right hand, of tru&s;ting in ordinances, and placing their righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e in the meere ob&s;erving of them. And thus the Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t (our alone pretious Redeemer) is to this day, as of old, crucified between the&s;e two Thieves, of de|nying him in his ordinances, by a totall renouncing them, or d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">wn-right idolizing them, by placing their righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e in them. And therefore (pre<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">i|ous &s;oules) while I am condemning the one my de&s;ire is, you would not conceive me in the lea&s;t to plead for, or countenance the other. But my de&s;ire and &s;cope in what is done in the following di&s;cour&s;e, is to pre&s;&s;e them that profe&s;&s;e Chri&s;t, and &s;ubjection to his Go&s;pel, to keep the <HI>Golden Mean,</HI> and to avoyd both the&s;e Rockes, of lifting too high, or ca&s;ting down too low, the &s;acred In&s;titutions &amp; Ordinances of wor&s;hip, which the Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, the Head
<PB REF="6">and King of <HI>Syon,</HI> hath appointed his Churches in all ages to make u&s;e of: And hee who is the great Sear|cher of hearts, and di&s;cerner of the reines, knowes, I have had nothing el&s;e in my eye, in order to his glo|ry and his peoples welfare, but this alone. Now for the Work it &s;elfe, I could have wi&s;ht it in the hands of &s;ome of the Lords <HI>Worthies,</HI> that are farre my &s;uperiours every way, and might po&s;&s;ibly have done it more fully and accuratly then I have; however, &s;eeing it is the Lords plea&s;ure to call me, and goe be|fore me in it, I cannot but follow him; and who knowes what the <HI>Strong God</HI> may doe by<NOTE N="&s;" PLACE="marg"><HI>Vide Mr. Mar&s;hals</HI> Ser|mon on P&s;alm. <HI>8.2.</HI> called, A two edged Sword out of the mouth of Babes.</NOTE> <HI>weak means?</HI> Poore <HI>David</HI> who&s;e heart was upright with God, and &s;ought his glory in what he enterpri&s;ed, did more with a <HI>Sling and a Stone in the Name of the Lord,</HI> again&s;t <HI>Goliah,</HI> that defied the <HI>Hea&s;t of the living God,</HI> 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 17. then <HI>Saul</HI> with all his valiant <HI>warriours</HI> po&s;&s;ibly could. 'Twas not <HI>Sauls Armour</HI> could procure <HI>Da|vid</HI> the <HI>Conque&s;t,</HI> and therefore he throwes it from him, and goes to the work of God in Gods way. Happy &s;oules that have learn'd that Art, and know how to &s;et about the Lords work with the Lords Tooles; &s;uch may be &s;ure with <HI>David,</HI> to find a pro&s;|perous gale to attend them, &amp; much ble&s;&s;ed &s;ucce&s;&s;e to follow their <HI>hone&s;t endeavours.</HI> Wherfore to trouble you no longer (dearly beloved) but craving your candid <HI>Interpretation</HI> of, and <HI>earne&s;t &s;upplication</HI> for a ble&s;&s;ing on the pre&s;ent work, and that in order to the <HI>e&s;tabli&s;hing of your own &s;ouls,</HI> and the <HI>recovering tho&s;e that are gone a&s;tray from the paths of peace and righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e,</HI> I leave your pretious &s;ouls in the arms of him, who never leaveth his, even the <HI>God of all grace,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 5.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">0.</NOTE> <HI>who hath called us into his glory by Chri&s;t Je&s;us, who (after yee
<PB REF="7">have &s;uffered a while) make you perfect, &s;tabli&s;h, &s;treng|then, &s;ettle you.</HI> In whom I de&s;ire and tru&s;t for ever to be found</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your and the Churches unfained Friend and Servant, <HI>W. BARTLET.</HI></SIGNED>
<DATE><HI>March</HI> 1. 1648</DATE></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="errata">
<P>Courteous Reader, you are de&s;ired, in re&s;pect of the Authors ab&s;ence, and great di&s;tance from the Pre&s;&s;e, to mend with your Pen, or in love to pa&s;&s;e by &s;uch faults as the&s;e which have e|&s;caped.</P>
<P><HI>For the Title,</HI> Balm for the Brui&s;ed, <HI>read</HI> A Soveraigne Bal|&s;ome for the wounded. <HI>Pag.</HI> 2. <HI>marg.</HI>^d <HI>r. ob&s;ervandum. P.</HI> 3. <HI>marg.</HI>^n. <HI>r. in nova Eccle&s;ia, &amp;c. p.</HI> 4. <HI>marg.</HI>^&s; <HI>for Apo&s;tolis r. Apo&s;tolos. p.</HI> 9. <HI>marg</HI>^h <HI>for</HI> M^r. <HI>r.</HI> Mi&s;tre&s;&s;e Avery. <HI>p.</HI> 9. <HI>marg. for</HI> Id. ibid. <HI>r.</HI> Mu&s;c. in loc. <HI>p.</HI> 9. <HI>l,</HI> 17. <HI>r.</HI> inexpre&s;&s;ible. <HI>p.</HI> 33. <HI>mar. for wor&s;hip r. walking,</HI></P>
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<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="7">
<HEAD>BALM for the BRVISED.</HEAD>
<P><HI>Quaerie</HI> I.</P>
<P>_LET it be <HI>con&s;idered</HI> in the <HI>feare</HI> of <HI>God,</HI> whether the <HI>&s;acred</HI> Scriptures, commonly called the <HI>Word</HI> of <HI>God,</HI> con&s;i&s;ting of the writings of the Pro|phets, and Apo&s;tles, in the old and new Te&s;ta|ment, that were holy men of God, and<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> vulg. red. iu|&s;pirati, vel <GAP DESC="foreign">, &s;ed Graecum pro|pri&egrave; &s;ig. acti &amp; impul&s;i. Spiritus &s;an|ctus erat Scri|ba, Prophetae e|rant ejus cala|mi, quibus Spir. S. &s;cribenda dictabat. <HI>Cypr.</HI> Ergo Script. &s;ac. e&s;t <GAP DESC="foreign">, ac in|fallibile Dei verbum. <HI>Gro.</HI></NOTE> <HI>in&s;pired</HI> infallibly by the <HI>Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> in the compo&s;ing of them, 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.20, 21. be not the onely <HI>vi&s;ible</HI> Rule and<NOTE N="b" PLACE="foot"><GAP DESC="foreign">. The Greek word <GAP DESC="foreign"> is taken from Architects, who in building Hou&s;es, doe u&s;e a Rule, or Square, by which all the parts are carried ou with a due proportion: &s;o tho&s;e that Chri&s;t im|ployeth to build his Church, are to mea&s;ure all matters of doctrine and wor&s;hip by the Rule and Square of the Scriptures.</NOTE> <HI>Canon,</HI> &s;o called, <HI>Gal.</HI> 6.16. by which per&s;ons (profe&s;&s;ing the know|ledge of God, and faith in Chri&s;t) are to <HI>&s;quare</HI> and <HI>regulate</HI> them&s;elves in all matters of Doctrine and Wor&s;hip? and whe|ther the be&s;t and next way to come to the right knowledge of the minde of Chri&s;t in the&s;e things, be not to<NOTE N="c" PLACE="foot">Nihil in Eccle&s;ia &s;onare debet ni&s;i eloquia Dei, juxta <HI>1 Pet. 4.11.</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">. <HI>vid. Ger. in loc.</HI> Omne quod loquimur debemus affirmare de &s;acris Scripturis, <HI>Hier. in P&s;al. 98.</HI> Nece&s;&s;e e&s;t nobis Scripturas &s;acras in te&s;timonium vocare, &s;en&s;us enim no&s;tri &amp; enarrationes &s;ine iis, non habent fidem. <GAP DESC="foreign">. <HI>See</HI> Ju&s;tin. Martyr in Dial. cum Tryphone. Sancta Scriptura &s;ic fidei no&s;irae fundamenta proponit, &amp; doctrinae no&s;trae regulam figit, ut fides Chri&s;tianorum iis &s;olum revelatio|nibus nitatur, quae in Canonicis libris continentur. <HI>Dar. de</HI> fratcrna Comm. inter Eccle&s;. Evang. <HI>p. 76.</HI> Sicut verbum Dei &s;criptum in practicis vitae Chri&s;tianae unicae e&s;t rectitudinis norma: &s;ic idem verbume &s;eu &s;criptura &s;acra, unica e&s;t veritatis norma in Theoreticis fidei Chri&s;tianae. <HI>See Par. in Gal. 5.</HI></NOTE> keep clo&s;e to this &s;acred and unerring Rule and Canon of the Scriptures? 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 4.11. 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.19. 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.15.16. <HI>E&s;ay</HI> 8.20. <HI>Prov.</HI> 6.23. &amp; 30.5.6.</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="2" REF="8">2. Whether among many other <HI>pretious truths,</HI> which the Scriptures hold forth unto us, this be not a &s;peciall one, <HI>viz.</HI> That Je&s;us Chri&s;t, our ble&s;&s;ed Lord and Saviour, (who having purged away our &s;innes, and is &s;ate down on the right hand of the Maje&s;ty on High, <HI>Heb.</HI> 1.30) hath a &s;piritual Kingdom or Church|&s;tate,<NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">Ob&s;ervan|um e&s;t, quod Chri&s;tus non dicit, Regnum meum non e&s;t in hoc mundo, &s;ed non e&s;t de hoc mundo. Et infra, non dieit, Regmon meum non e&s;t HIC, &s;ed non e&s;t HINC. <HI>Nam</HI> Regnum (&s;c. Chri&s;ti) e&s;t hic, &amp; in hoc mundo, Coetus credentium, <HI>&amp;c. vide Heming. Aret. &amp; Mu&s;c. in loc.</HI></NOTE> di&s;tinct from all the Kingdomes of the world? <HI>Iohn</HI> 18.36. <HI>Ie&s;us an&s;wered, My kingdome is not of this world.</HI> 'Tis in this world, but not of this world.</P>
<P N="3">3. Whether <HI>this Kingdome</HI> of Chri&s;t here on earth, &s;o di|&s;tinct from the World, is not u&s;ually di&s;tingni&s;hed into<NOTE N="e" PLACE="foot">Eccle&s;iae vi&s;i|bilis &amp; invi&s;i|bilis di&s;tinctio, fundatur in &s;cripturis. <HI>Pa|reus in c. 2. ad Rom</HI> The Church is vi&s;ible or in|vi&s;ible. A di|&s;tinction not of Genus into &s;e|verall &s;pecies, but of the &s;ubject into &s;everall adjuncts. For the &s;ame Church may be and is vi&s;ible and invi&s;ible. <HI>Sedg. Script. a perfect Rule for Church Government.</HI> Irvifibilis autem nomi|natur non quod homines ad eam pertinentes non videantur qua homines, &s;ed quod non cernantur qua electi &s;olus euim Deus novit qui &s;unt &s;ui. <HI>Wolleb. Compend. Theolog. vid. Tilen. Syntag. de Eccle&s;. Ellis vind. Cathol. p. 4. c. 2.</HI></NOTE> Vi|&s;ible and Invi&s;ible, My&s;ticall and Mini&s;teriall, or Politicall, con&s;idered as the object of Faith, or of &s;ight, and &s;en&s;e, con|&s;i&s;ting of all the elect, di&s;per&s;ed through the whole world, called (by &s;ome) the Univer&s;all Church, or of particular Churches collected and gathered together of <HI>vi&s;ible Beleevers,</HI> in this or that place, Towne, Citie, Countrey or Kingdome, <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 3.15. <HI>Heb.</HI> 12.23. <HI>Mat.</HI> 22.14. <HI>Gal.</HI> 1.2. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 16.19. 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 8.1. 1 The&s;&s;. 2.14.</P>
<P N="4">4. Whether the vi&s;ible Kingdome of Chri&s;t, con&s;i&s;ting of &s;uch particular Churches, and Congregations of Beleevers, gathe|red together according to the order of the Go&s;pel,<NOTE N="f" PLACE="marg"><HI>Vid.</HI> My Model of the Primitive Congregationall wayes.</NOTE> hath not a vi|&s;ible Government, Order, and Ordinances of vi&s;ible Wor&s;hip nece&s;&s;arily belonging and appertaining thereunto, according to<NOTE N="g" PLACE="marg">Functiones quas enumerat omnes &s;unt Eccle&s;ia&s;ticae, quibus tunc Apo&s;tolica authoritate &s;ic di&s;tinctis, Mini&s;terium Eccle&s;iae con|&s;tabat, &amp; quae nunc etiam in Eccle&s;iis con&s;titutis vigere debent. <HI>Par. in loc. ad Rom. c. 12.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Rom.</HI> 12.6, 7 8. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5. &amp; 11, 12, &amp; 14. Chapters, <HI>Ephe&s;</HI> 4.11, 12. <HI>Matth.</HI> 28.19.</P>
<P N="5">5. Whether this Government and externall ordinances of Wor&s;hip, appertaining to this vi&s;ible Church &s;tate and King|dome
<PB N="3" REF="8">of Chri&s;t under the new Te&s;tament, doe not by Gods or|der and appointment &s;ucceed and come in the roome of tho&s;e Ordinances and Lawes of Wor&s;hip which the Jewes did enjoy under the old Te&s;tament, according to the prophe&s;ie of the Pro|phet <HI>Malachi, chap.</HI> 1. <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 11. <HI>For from the ri&s;ing of the Sun to, &amp;c. my</HI><NOTE N="i" PLACE="marg">By the Name of <HI>GOD</HI> is meant his wor|&s;hip, as appears from ver&s;e <HI>6.</HI> and ver&s;e <HI>12.</HI> of the &s;ame chapter, and &s;o it's often u&s;ed in the Scrip|tures. <HI>Vid. Bernard. The|&s;aur. Biblic. and Flac. Il|lir. cla Som.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Name is great (or &s;hall be great) among the Gen|iiles, and in every place incen&s;e &s;hall be offered to my Name, and a pure offering for my Name is (or &s;hall be great) among the Hea|then.</HI> And whether the words of Chri&s;t to the Samaritan Wo|man in<NOTE N="k" PLACE="marg">Nam de a|brogatione &amp; ce&s;&s;atione tam Iudaici quam Samaritani, deinde de inductione veri &amp; &s;iuceri cultus mulierculam in&s;truxit. <HI>Mu&s;c. in loc.</HI></NOTE> <HI>John</HI> 4.22, 23, 24. doe not very much hold forth the truth hereof; as al&s;o the &s;cope of the Epi&s;tle to the <HI>Hebrewes,</HI> in that the Apo&s;tle makes it a great part of his work to di&s;&s;wade the Jewes from their former Legall Ordinances and Services, and to &s;tirre them up to embrace the Ordinances of the Go&s;pel, &s;hew|ing how the government of Chri&s;t in his Church under the Go&s;|pel is<NOTE N="l" PLACE="foot">The government of Chri&s;ts Church under the Go&s;pel, in re&s;pect of externall Wor&s;hip and Ordinances, is &s;aid to be a better Te&s;tament in a threefold re&s;pect. <HI>1.</HI> In re&s;pect of their u&s;e, becau&s;e they pre&s;ent Chri&s;t to the &s;oule more lively and clearly, more feelingly and &s;piritually, more fully and abundantly. <HI>2.</HI> In re&s;pect of their end, becau&s;e they are to end in heaven, at the comming of Chri&s;t to glory, whereas tho&s;e of the Law had their period in the grave of Chri&s;t. <HI>3.</HI> In re&s;pect of them&s;elves: for this is a more perfect te&s;timony, the rites being fewer, the que&s;tions and controver&s;ies are not &s;o many as did a|ri&s;e concerning the Legall ceremonies. <HI>Sedgw. Script.</HI> A perfect Rule for Church government p. <HI>14.</HI></NOTE> a better Te&s;tament and Covenant then that of the Law. And whether the vi&s;ible Churches of Chri&s;t under the Go&s;pel, be not every way<NOTE N="m" PLACE="foot">As the Jewes had circumci&s;ion for them and their &s;eed under the Law; &s;o now Beleevers in right con&s;tituted Churches, have Bapti&s;me for them and their &s;eed. As the Iewes had the Pa&s;&s;over, &s;o Beleevert now have the Supper of the Lord. As the Iewes had Officers to lead them; &s;o Beleevers now have Pa&s;tors and Teachers, &amp;c. As the Iewes had the mini&s;tery of the Law read and preached; &s;o Beleevers now have the mini&s;tery of the Go&s;pel. As the Iewes had a Temple and an Altar; &s;o now Beleevers have Ie&s;us Chri&s;t and the Saints in fellow&s;hip, which are living Temples. And as the Iewes had &s;acrifices; &s;o now Beleevers have the &s;pirituall &s;acrifices of Prayer and Prai&s;es, which they offer to God by Ie&s;us Chri&s;t. <HI>1 Pet. 2.5.</HI></NOTE> as compleat in point of Ordinances, as the Nationall Church of the Jewes was under the Law, according to <HI>Colo&s;&s;.</HI> 2.10.</P>
<P N="6">6. Whether Je&s;us Chri&s;t the <HI>alone</HI> Head and King of this vi|&s;ible Church-&s;tate, and Kingdome, did not<NOTE N="n" PLACE="marg">Nova Ec|cle&s;ia &s;onare debere ca quae Chri&s;tus credenda &amp; &s;ervanda praecepit Di&s;cipulis. Face&s;&s;ere igitur debent traditiones humanae, neque mi&s;ceri cum Evangelio Chri&s;ti. <HI>Idem in Matth. 28.20.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Him&s;elfe</HI> in&s;titute and ordain tho&s;e <HI>Holy Ordinances</HI> of <HI>Wor&s;hip</HI> for Beleevers to
<PB N="4" REF="9">make u&s;e of in all Ages till his comming again, <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 4.11, 12. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.<NOTE N="o" PLACE="marg">Non dicit, Ego enim ve|&s;ter Apo&s;tolus Apo&s;tolica vobis authoritate &s;ic tradidi, &s;ed ego enim accopt &agrave; Domino, quod &amp; tradidi vobis. Ad eandem &amp; nobis re&s;piciendum e&s;t hodie, videndum que ne &agrave; uorma illius quolibet deelinemus. Non &s;unt audiendi qui praetexunt Patres, Concilia, Magi&s;te|rium &s;piritus, pote&s;tatem Eccle&s;iae, Catholicam confuetudinem, &amp;c. omnia haec po&s;terius &s;unt inducta. Nobis regula veritatis e&s;&s;e dobet quae veniat &agrave; Chri&s;to, per illius Apo&s;tolos tran&s;mi&s;&s;a. <HI>M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">c. in loc.</HI></NOTE> 23, 24, 25, 26. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.28. <HI>Mat.</HI> 28.18, 19, 20. And whether the&s;e Ordinances of wor&s;hip being <HI>Jure Divino,</HI> it be in the<NOTE N="p" PLACE="foot">What is made a Law, no authority can pull down, but that which &s;ets it up.</NOTE> power of any publique or privat per&s;on on earth, to eau&s;e an alteration or ce&s;&s;ation of them.</P>
<P N="7">7. Whether Je&s;us Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles, who (I &s;uppo&s;e <HI>without controver&s;ie</HI>) lived more highly in God, then any now doe or can, did not in their fir&s;t ordaining and gathering of this vi&s;ible Church-&s;tate and Kingdome, make <HI>u&s;e of</HI> Go&s;pel-ordinan|ces of wor&s;hip<NOTE N="q" PLACE="marg">Our Lord Ie&s;us him&s;elfe did not only in|&s;titute holy or|dinances and duties of wor|&s;hip for his Churches to ob|&s;erve, but was in the u&s;e of them him&s;elf. He made u&s;e of Bapti&s;me, of the Lords Supper, of publi&s;hing and preaching the Go&s;pel, of Prayer, of &s;inging Hymnes, or P&s;almes, of pri|vate con&s;erence, of giving thankes before meat, of praying amongst and for the wicked, of &s;ociety with the Di&s;ciples, and that after his re&s;urrection in their meeting together at times of wor&s;hip, &amp;c. And thus it was with the Apo&s;tles al&s;o, as is evident to &s;uch as are but meanly acquainted with the Hi&s;to|ries in the Scriptures.</NOTE> them&s;elves, and intend that the Saints that fol|lowed them &s;hould do &s;o al&s;o; yea whether they did not by their own u&s;e, and practi&s;e of the&s;e Go&s;pel-ordinances of Wor&s;hip, leave to the Saints in &s;ucceeding ages, a pretious<NOTE N="r" PLACE="foot">There are three &s;orts of workes which Chri&s;t wrought: <HI>1.</HI> Some, <HI>Qua Deus,</HI> i. as he was God, as working of miracles, pardoning of &s;innes, &amp;c. In the&s;e we cannot imi|tate him. <HI>2.</HI> Some, <HI>Qua mediator Dei &amp; hominum, i</HI> as he was mediator between God and Man, and &s;atisfying Gods ju&s;tice for our &s;innes, and reconciling the world to God: And in the&s;e nei|ther can we imitate him. <HI>3.</HI> Some, <HI>Qua homo privatus, i.</HI> as he was a private per&s;on: and the&s;e are all &s;uch duties as God required in his word to be performed. And herein Chri&s;t hath given us an example to follow and imitate him. <HI>Vide Zanch. in 1 John 2.6.</HI> Apo&s;tolos Domini habemus au|thores, qui nec ip&s;i quicquam ex &s;uo arbitrio, quod inducerent, eligerunt: &s;ed acceptam &agrave; Chri&s;to di&s;ci|plinam fideliter Nationtbus ad&s;ignaverunt. <HI>Tertul. de prae&s;cript. adver&s;. Haere&s;. c. 6.</HI></NOTE> <HI>example,</HI> and ground of encouragement to walk in the &s;ame way of practi&s;ing and u&s;ing joyntly or apart, tho&s;e ordinances of wor&s;hip, accor|ding to their conditions and relations private or publique, 1 <HI>John</HI> 2.6. 1 <HI>Cor</HI> 11.1. And whether the practi&s;e of the primitive Saints and Churches, be not al&s;o a pattern and copie for belee|vers now to write after. <HI>Rom.</HI> 15.4,<NOTE N="&s;" PLACE="foot">Non vult ergo ut quo&s;vis temer&egrave; imitemur: &s;ed qui &s;unt fimiles Apo&s;totis. Nequc etiam Apo&s;tolis &s;im|pliciter, &s;ed quatenus Chri&s;tum imitantur. <HI>Zanch. in loc.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Phil.</HI> 3.17, 18, 19. &amp; 4.9.</P>
<P N="8">8. Whether the things of Chri&s;ts Church and Kingdome, which we call Go&s;pel-ordinances, and divine In&s;titutions of vi|&s;ible
<PB N="5" REF="9">wor&s;hip under the new Te&s;tament, as the <HI>preaching of the Go&s;pel, admini&s;tration of the Seales, finging of P&s;almes,</HI> or <HI>Hymnes, Prayer, Conference, &amp;c.</HI> bee not in their nature and u&s;e &s;pirituall,<NOTE N="t" PLACE="marg">The Church is called a &s;pi|rituall Hou&s;e, <GAP DESC="foreign">, as in <HI>1 Pet. 2.5.</HI> The wor&s;hip called &s;pirituall Sacrifices. <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>1 Pet. 2.5.</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">. <HI>Col. 3.16.</HI> The wor&s;hipers called holy and Spirituall, <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>Phil. 3.3. 2 Pet. 2.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">.</HI> So Chri&s;t, the &s;ub&s;tance of the Ordinances, is called &s;pirituall meat and drinke, <HI>1 Cor. 12.3.4.</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">. We may read the nature of many things in their offects. All the Ordinances of wor&s;hip bear this In|&s;cription. <HI>Holine&s;&s;e to the LORD,</HI> and are appointed to work holine&s;&s;e in man. <HI>Caryls duty and endeavour of the Saints. p. 28.</HI></NOTE> 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.5. <HI>Col.</HI> 3.16. &amp;c. And whether there may not bee abundance of &s;weet delight, and &s;oule-&s;atisfying comfort and content found, if holy and &s;pirituall hearts meet with them, and are acted on Chri&s;t in the u&s;e of them.</P>
<P N="9">9. Whether tho&s;e Divine and Spirituall Offices, Officers, and Ordinances in&s;tituted by the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, are not his<NOTE N="u" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> from <GAP DESC="foreign">, rota, Chariots u&s;ing to run on wheeles.</NOTE> <HI>Chariot,</HI> in which he rides gloriou&s;ly in his Church and King|dome, and by which (through his Spirit) he not onely &s;ubdues his enemies, and conquers the hearts of <HI>Sinners</HI> to him&s;elfe, (that his father hath given to him from all eternity) but more and more workes over the hearts of the <HI>Saints</HI> them&s;elves, to a further de|gree of &s;ubjection to his Scepter, <HI>Cant.</HI><NOTE N="w" PLACE="marg">Ain&s;worth by this Chariot, under&s;tands more e&s;pecially the Church and Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel, holding forth the word of Truth, and Chri&s;t in the mid&s;t of them &s;itting, teaching, go|verning, and triumphing. <HI>So Merc. in loc.</HI></NOTE> 3.9, 10. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 45.4. <HI>Rev.</HI> 6.2. And I &s;aw and behold, a<NOTE N="x" PLACE="foot">By white Hor&s;e, <HI>Paraens</HI> on the place under&s;tands the Church <HI>puritate doctrinae &amp; di&s;ciplinae nitidam:</HI> and by him that &s;ate on it, Chri&s;t, who is car|ried or born (as it were) in the Ordinances with great triumph, according to <HI>Acts 9.15.</HI></NOTE> white hor&s;e, and hee that &s;ate on him had a Bow, and a Crown was given to him, and hee went forth conquering and to conquer.</P>
<P N="10">10. Whether there be not many <HI>&s;ingular</HI> &amp; <HI>choyce</HI><NOTE N="y" PLACE="marg"><HI>1.</HI> Promi&s;es of &s;alvation to wor&s;hip in ge|nerall. <HI>Rom. 10.12, 13. 2.</HI> Promi&s;es in particular, and &s;o <HI>1.</HI> to the du|ty of prayer, <HI>1.</HI> Of Preparation and a&s;&s;i&s;tance, <HI>P&s;a. 10.17. Rom. 8.26. 2.</HI> Of Acceptation, <HI>E&s;a. 60.7. Ezek. 43 17. 1 Pet. 2.5. 3.</HI> Of con&s;olation, <HI>E&s;a. 56.7. 4.</HI> Of an&s;wering and recompen&s;ing, <HI>P&s;al. 86.5. &amp; 145.18. &amp; Ephe&s;. 6.8. Matth. 6.6. Jam. 5.15, 16. Joh. 14.13. &amp; 15.16. &amp; 16.23. 2.</HI> To preaching and hearing of theword, and admini&s;tring the Seales, <HI>Matth. 28.20. Prov. 8.34, 35. E&s;a. 55.1, 2, 3. 1 Cor. 10.16. E&s;a. 25.6. P&s;al. 36.8. Cant. 2.3, 4. &amp; 5. 1. E&s;a. 12.3. 3.</HI> To conference, <HI>Mal. 3.16; 17. 4</HI> To &s;anctifying the Sabbath, or Lords day, <HI>E&s;a. 58.13, 14. E&s;a. 56.2.5, 6, 7. Jer. 17.24, 25. 5.</HI> To prai&s;ing of God, <HI>P&s;al. 50 23. P&s;al. 7.5, 6. 6.</HI> To the A&s;&s;emblies and Church-meetings of the Saints to wor&s;hip God: <HI>1.</HI> Of Chri&s;ts pre&s;ence with it, <HI>Mat. 18.20. 2.</HI> Protection over it, <HI>Mat. 16.18. P&s;al. 84.11. E&s;a. 33.20, 21. E&s;a. 4.5. 3</HI> Ble&s;&s;ings of all &s;orts upon it, Temporall, &s;pirituall, eternall, <HI>P&s;a. 84.11. 1, 2.15.128.56.92.13, 14.</HI> and <HI>94.14.65.4.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Promi&s;es</HI> made by Chri&s;t to beleevers, whiles they abide and continue in the right &amp; pure u&s;e of tho&s;e Ordinances and duties of Wor&s;hip, and many &s;ad and direfull threatnings and comminations to tho&s;e that neglect, leave and for&s;ake the u&s;e and practi&s;e of them, <HI>P&s;alm</HI> 97.7. <HI>Ier.</HI> 10.25. <HI>Heb.</HI> 10.38, 39. <HI>Luke</HI> 10, 11, 12. <HI>Heb.</HI> 12.25.</P>
<P N="11"><PB N="6" REF="10">11. Whether to ca&s;t off the u&s;e of Go&s;pel-ordinances, &amp; to pre|tend onely to live in God, be not to make Chri&s;t and his Spirit to <HI>act contrary</HI> to their own <HI>Sacred</HI> Lawes, In&s;titutions, and In|junctions of <HI>Wor&s;hip,</HI> given to beleevers in the Scriptures to fol|low: and when or where it was or is to be found in all the Scrip|tures, that Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath, or doth &s;o lead the Saints out of, or take them<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Vid. Quae&s;t. <HI>39.</HI></NOTE> off from the duties of his wor&s;hip, and bid them to cea&s;e calling upon the Name of the Lord, &s;eeing the Scrip|tures hold forth the contrary. 1 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 5.17. <HI>Pray without cea|&s;ing.</HI></P>
<P N="12">12. Whether a beleevers living in God, or in the Spirit, and bo&s;ome of the Father, and u&s;ing of Go&s;pel-ordinances, may not very well &s;tand<NOTE N="z" PLACE="marg">The nearer we are to God, the more in love we &s;hall be with &s;pirituall exer|ci&s;es, and with all meanes to draw nigh to him, as Bookes, Sermons, good company, &amp;c. Dr <HI>Sibbs in his Saints Happine&s;&s;e,</HI> p. <HI>65.</HI></NOTE> together: And whether the right u&s;e of tho&s;e<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Therefore the Lord converghes him&s;elfe to the poore &s;oule by an ordinance; which is &s;uch a thing as con&s;i&s;ts of a &s;piritual and yet an external and &s;en&s;ible nature. An Ordinance is the &s;ubject by which God communicateth him&s;elfe and his goodne&s;&s;e with a power of his Spirit to carry them to the &s;oule, as by preaching of the word to the care, through the &s;ound of a mortall voyce: by prayer, con&s;i&s;ting outwardly of &s;entences and order: by the Sacrament al&s;o, &s;tanding of outward weak Elements. The Lord car|ries to the &s;oule by the&s;e, mo&s;t inward and &s;pirituall things. <HI>Rog. Treat. de Sacram. p. 247.</HI></NOTE> Ordinances which Chri&s;t hath commanded, will not very much further, and advance a per&s;ons living in the God of tho&s;e Ordi|nances, con&s;idering, that through the pre&s;ence of Chri&s;t with them, and the ble&s;&s;ing of Chri&s;t upon them, the heart of a belee|ver is made the more &s;pirituall and heavenly.</P>
<P N="13">13. Whether the Scriptures doe not joyn the greate&s;t enjoy|ments of God, with the greate&s;t performance of duty towards God, and the greate&s;t faith with the greate&s;t obedience, and the greate&s;t &s;en&s;e of love with the greate&s;t care of &s;ervice, as <HI>P&s;al.</HI>
<PB N="7" REF="10">119.32. 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.15. 1 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 5.16, 17, 18, 19, 20. <HI>Luke</HI> 12.48.<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">The Apo&s;tles meaning is, that we not one|ly try, approve, and practi&s;e tho&s;e things which po&s;&s;ibly may be plea&s;ing to God in &s;ome low degree, &s;uch things as &s;et us a &s;tep beyond his di&s;plea&s;ure; but we mu&s;t &s;earch and doe tho&s;e things which give him highe&s;t content, and carry us furthe&s;t into his favour. Things which come up to the exacte&s;t Rule, and beare true&s;t proportion to the &s;tandards of Truth and Holine&s;&s;e. <HI>Car. pre&s;ent duty and endea|vours of the Saints. p. 9.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Eph.</HI> 5.10. <HI>Luke</HI> 7.47.</P>
<P N="14">14. Whether to live in God, and neglect the u&s;e of Ordi|nances, be not a dividing between the end and the meanes, Chri&s;t having &s;anctified Ordinances as pretious<NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Experience teacheth, that the fellow&s;hip of the Word, Prayer, and the like, is the life, &s;trength, blood and marrow of communion. Hence it is that they are called the Banners, En&s;ignes, Standards of Chri&s;t, and the Mini&s;ters the hearers thereof. For as Souldiers flock to the Standard and En&s;igne, &s;o doe the Doves of Chri&s;t to the&s;e windowes, &amp;c. <HI>Rog. pract. Chat. p. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">01.</HI></NOTE> helps and furtherances to the Saints in their fellow&s;hip with God and one another, 1 <HI>Ioh.</HI> 1.3, 4. <HI>Acts</HI> 20.32. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.16. 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.2. And whether to divide between the end and the meanes, which God hath decreed and Chri&s;t in&s;tituted, bee not to make (in this re&s;pect) the will and minde of God, and Je&s;us Chri&s;t, voyd and of none ef|fect.</P>
<P N="15">15. Whether tho&s;e that are true beleevers, &s;hould in the lea&s;t refu&s;e to own and to act in the u&s;e of tho&s;e duties and Ordinances of wor&s;hip which the eternall God him&s;elfe doth not refu&s;e to own, and to act in and work by to the end of the world,<NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">The word is <GAP DESC="foreign">, rendred by <HI>Hen. Stepb. Con&s;ummatio.</HI> Matth. 13.39.49.</NOTE> <HI>Matth.</HI> 28. 0 And whether that place of our Saviour in<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Exhortatio hinc &s;umatur ut nos verae Eccle&s;iae adjungamus &s;ententia, voluntate, confe&s;&s;ione, cultut <GAP DESC="foreign">, &amp; &s;ejungamus nos ab illis coetibue, qui vel in totam doctrinam. Eccle&s;iae abjiciunt, u Mahometi&s;tae; vel fundamentum, hoc e&s;t doctrinam, articulos fidei, &amp; verum Dei cultum &s;ubruunt quovis modo ut Papi&s;tae. <HI>Heming. in loc.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Iohn</HI> 4, 22, 23, 24. doth not hold forth thus much unto us, in that he &s;aith to the Woman of <HI>Samaria,</HI> that the Father &s;eeketh after &s;uch to wor&s;hip him, as wor&s;hip him <HI>in Spirit and in Truth.</HI></P>
<P N="16">16. Whether the <HI>cleare&s;t</HI> demon&s;tration that can po&s;&s;ibly be given of a per&s;ons living in God, be not his holy <HI>walking with God,</HI> and living <HI>to</HI> and <HI>for God,</HI> as the Saints have done in <HI>former</HI> ages, and as the Scripture is cleare for, <HI>Gen.</HI> 17.1. <HI>Rom.</HI> 14.8. 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.15. <HI>Gal.</HI> 2.19. And whether to walk with God, and live to God, be not to <HI>deny</HI> our &s;elves, and all that is <HI>ours,</HI> (in <HI>opi|nion
<PB N="8" REF="11">or practi&s;e</HI>) and to &s;ubject our &s;elves to the obedience of all that <HI>is his,</HI> that in all things he may be <HI>honoured by us,</HI> according as he is worthy. And whether the &s;ubjecting of our &s;elves to all that the Lord hath made known to be <HI>His,</HI> in his <HI>Word,</HI> touch|ing matters of Doctrine and Wor&s;hip, be not the <HI>next</HI> way to honour and exalt his <HI>great Name</HI> before the world, <HI>Mat.</HI> 5.16. 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.9.</P>
<P N="17">17. Whether a per&s;on, as he is a Beleever, and a Chri&s;tian, hath not a <HI>generall</HI> calling to walk in, in which he is in a more im|mediate and &s;peciall manner<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 7.24</NOTE> to <HI>walk</HI> with God, and doe him &s;ervice in the duties of his wor&s;hip publickly and privatly, as well as a <HI>particular</HI> calling, as they are men, in which they have more <HI>immediate commer&s;e</HI> with the creature: And whether the <HI>duties</HI> of their generall callings, as they are beleevers, are not of as <HI>great</HI> a con&s;equence, and as <HI>much</HI> to be lookt after in order to the honour and glory of <HI>God,</HI> and their own <HI>&s;pirituall</HI> welfare, as the duties of their particular callings for the good of the <HI>Com|mon-wealth</HI> in which they live, and their own <HI>temporall,</HI> welfare; and if that a per&s;ons living &s;o highly in God, (as the ca&s;ters off of holy duties and Ordinances &s;peak &s;o much of) doe not take us <HI>from,</HI> nor <HI>de&s;troy</HI> the performance of the duties of our particular callings, as we are men, which are <HI>the le&s;&s;e;</HI> how can they, or why &s;hould they take <HI>us from</HI> or <HI>de&s;troy</HI> the performance of the duties of our generall callings, which are the <HI>greater?</HI></P>
<P N="18">18. Whether there be not &s;innes of <HI>omi&s;&s;ion</HI> as well as &s;ins of <HI>commi&s;&s;ion,</HI> mentioned in the <HI>Scriptures,</HI> which Chri&s;tians may become guilty of: And whether the rejecting and ca&s;ting off the duties of Gods Wor&s;hip, either in <HI>publique</HI> or <HI>private,</HI> or <HI>both,</HI> be not a &s;inne of this <HI>Nature in a high degree:</HI> And whether &s;uch a &s;inne of <HI>omi&s;&s;ion reigning</HI> in a per&s;on that <HI>pre|tends</HI> to godline&s;&s;e, doth not declare him to be<NOTE N="e" PLACE="marg"><HI>The wicked in Scripture are characteriz'd by &s;uch kindes of &s;innes as the &s;inne of o|mi&s;&s;ion,</HI> Jerem. 10.25. P&s;alm 10.4. Ho&s;ea 4.1. Eccles. 9.2. Malach. 3.18. Matth. 25.41, 42, 43. Vide Reig. vol. 2. p. 297. Vid. Quae&s;t. 26.</NOTE> <HI>out</HI> of Chri&s;t, and the &s;tate of grace, &s;eeing that no reigning &s;inne can <HI>po&s;&s;ibly &s;tand</HI> with a per&s;ons being in Chri&s;t, according to <HI>Rom.</HI> 6.6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14.</P>
<P N="19">19. Whether there be not a marvellous &s;lighting and under|valuing
<PB N="9" REF="11">of the<NOTE N="f" PLACE="marg"><HI>Pro. 9. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">, 2, 3.</HI> Wi&s;dome bath built her Hou&s;e: <HI>i.</HI> Chri&s;t who is the wi&s;|dome of the Fa|ther, in whom are hid <GAP DESC="foreign">: <HI>i.</HI> All the trea|&s;ures of wi&s;|dome and know|ledge, <HI>Colo&s;&s;. 2.3.</HI></NOTE> wi&s;dome and faithfulne&s;&s;e of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, to ca&s;t his holy<NOTE N="g" PLACE="foot"><HI>Heb. 3.2, 5, 6.</HI> If Mo&s;es the &s;ervant was no cou&s;euing Merchant, but faithfull to him that intru&s;ted him, in ap|pointing the ordinances of legall &s;ervice, how much more faithfull was Chri&s;t the Sonne in appointing the ordinances of Evangelicall &s;ervice?</NOTE> Ordinances of divine wor&s;hip, which he him&s;elfe hath in&s;tituted, and given a Being unto in his kingdome <HI>behind our backes:</HI> And whether it be little le&s;&s;e then bla&s;phemy to &s;peake di&s;gracefully of the &s;acred things of his Hou&s;e,<NOTE N="h" PLACE="foot">The word &s;ignifieth to &s;peake di&s;gracefully, or to take away the fame, credit, or good name of another, from <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>famam alterius laedere. Vide</HI> the workes of <HI>Mr. Sedgwick, Mr. Saltmar&s;h, Mr. Wilk, Mr. Avery,</HI> &amp;c.</NOTE> and the Scriptures in which they are recorded, calling them <HI>poore, low di&s;pen&s;ations, childi&s;h things, gold and &s;ilver Idols, empty formes,</HI> and &s;uch like ignominious &s;peech<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">s, if not a great deale wor&s;e (though the lea&s;t of them doth not become any, much le&s;&s;e tho&s;e that <HI>pretend to live in God,</HI> to utter and make u&s;e of.) And yet further, whether &s;uch <HI>practi&s;es</HI> of ca&s;ting off, and <HI>reviling</HI> the Ordinances and Churches of Chri&s;t (if <HI>willingly and knowingly</HI> done) be not a <HI>high &s;tep</HI> to that<NOTE N="i" PLACE="foot"><HI>Com|mendat igitur nobis, &amp;c.</HI> He therefore commendeth to us love and reverence to the Mini&s;tery of the Church, and the &s;tudy of frequenting Church-A&s;&s;emblies, from the danger of tho&s;e who neglecting them, doe wander away and tempt God. <HI>Paraeus in loc. And then &s;heweth what the particular &s;teps to the unpardonable &s;inne are: 1.</HI> A defection from the A&s;&s;emblies of the Saints, or Church-communion. <HI>2.</HI> A voluntary abnegation of the truth formerly acknowledged. <HI>3.</HI> A malicious oppo&s;ing and per&s;ecuting it. <HI>4.</HI> A defection joyned with &s;corning and deriding. <HI>5.</HI> A finall per&s;i&s;t|ing and per&s;evering in &s;uch a defection, &amp;c. <HI>id. ibid.</HI></NOTE> unpardonable &s;inne again&s;t the <HI>Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> according to <HI>Heb.</HI> 10.25, 26.</P>
<P N="20">20. Whether &s;uch per&s;ons as ca&s;t off, and contend again&s;t the u&s;e of divine Ordinances, doe not <HI>ex diametro, i.</HI> directly cro&s;&s;e, and goe again&s;t (not <HI>onely others</HI>) but their <HI>own former experien|ces,</HI> (if ever they had any) of tho&s;e <HI>inexpre&s;&s;able Incomes</HI> of the <HI>Spirit,</HI> and di&s;coveries of <HI>Divine love,</HI> and favour, which they have enjoyed both in <HI>publique</HI> ordinances, and <HI>private</HI> duties of wor&s;hip, which <HI>time was,</HI> they would not have given, nor parted with for all the trea&s;ure and plea&s;ure of the whole world, though now they judge lightly of them, and look upon as delu&s;ions of their own hearts, or things of no account, or value.</P>
<P N="21">21. Whether <HI>ca&s;ting off</HI> of <HI>Divine</HI> Ordinances, and <HI>for&s;aking</HI> the A&s;&s;emblies of the Saints, that have fellow&s;hip together in the wor&s;hip of God, be not &s;o farre from living in God, as 'tis ra|ther in the Scripture &s;ence, a living<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Cron. 15.3. Eph. 2.12.</NOTE> without God, yea a depar|ting from him, according to that of the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Heb.</HI> 3.12.
<PB N="10" REF="12">which place is to be under&s;tood of Go&s;pel-wor&s;hip, as is evi|dent by comparing it with the 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 ver&s;es of the &s;ame chapter, where the Apo&s;tle makes compari&s;on between Chri&s;t and <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and &s;hewes how farre the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t excells <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> in building and ordering the Hou&s;e of God with all the Ordinances of wor&s;hip belonging thereunto under the Go&s;pel, And thus <HI>Cain</HI> is &s;aid to goe out from the pre&s;ence of the Lord, <HI>Gen.</HI> 4.16. or from <HI>Gods</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>i. e.</HI> &agrave; facie Domini.</NOTE> <HI>face.</HI> Now what is &s;ignified by this, but his being removed from the wayes and meanes of enjoying the favour of God, which are his<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>So the face of God is fre|quently taken in Scripture, P&s;al. 24.6. P&s;al. 27.8. P&s;al. 105.4. Jonah 1.3.</HI> Quare non dubito &s;ub hac voce notari adminicula quibus Deus nos ad &s;e tollit, ex &s;ua immen&s;a gloria ad nos de&s;cendens, atque in terra nobis proponens imaginem <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">ele&s;tis &s;uae gloriae caeterum quia in unius Dei arbitrio e&s;t &s;e nobis con&s;piciendum praebere (quod facit in verbo &amp; &s;acramentis) in hoc intuitu oculos retineri decet ne nobis contingat quod Papi&s;tis, <HI>&amp;c. Calv. in P&s;al. 27.8. Vide Sal. Gla&s;&s;. Philalog. &s;ac. in verb. p. 104.</HI></NOTE> Ordinances, and therefore cal|led his <HI>Face,</HI> becau&s;e in the&s;e he u&s;eth to manife&s;t him&s;elfe to his people, as two friends are &s;aid to doe when they &s;peak <HI>face to face</HI> to each other.</P>
<P N="22">22. Whether the promi&s;es of the Go&s;pel <HI>(excepting onely that great and ab&s;olute</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 2; 8. Ioh. 6.37.39. I&s;ai. 49.8.9</NOTE> <HI>fir&s;t promi&s;e of calling the elect to Chri&s;t)</HI> do not carry and contain in the bowels of them the matter of <HI>Re|wards,</HI> and tho&s;e rewards &s;tand in<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">The promi&s;es are free in <HI>fie|ri,</HI> being made onely out of grace, but con|ditionall in <HI>fa|cto e&s;&s;e,</HI> being performed and accompli&s;hed with dependance on duties in us, <HI>Reign. Synf. of Sin. p. 337. &amp; 364. Vide Stock on Mal. cap. 2.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Relation</HI> to pre&s;uppo&s;ed &s;er|vices and duties to be performed by beleevers in order to their enjoying tho&s;e Rewards, as <HI>Matth.</HI> 7.7, 8. <HI>Ask and it &s;hall be given to you.</HI> 2 <HI>The&s;&s;</HI> 3.4, <HI>Gal.</HI> 6.9 <HI>Heb.</HI> 3.14. 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.5.8. &amp; 10, 11 And whether a per&s;on can expect the performance of the Reward on <HI>Gods part,</HI> that neglects the duty required on his <HI>own part.</HI></P>
<P N="23">23. Whether one main end of the new Covenant of grace, mentioned <HI>Ier.</HI> 31.33. <HI>Heb.</HI> 8.9, 10. wherein God promi&s;eth to give his Spirit, be not to <HI>enable Beleevers,</HI> and cau&s;e them to walk in all the Statutes and Ordinances of the Lord Je&s;us, accor|ding to<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> The roat <GAP DESC="foreign"> is very empha|ticall, and fignifies, <HI>ad certum u&s;um aptare vel di&s;ponere: i.</HI> To di&s;po&s;e &amp; fit a per&s;on for employment, taken from dre&s;&s;ing and making ready of meats and &s;acrifices under the Law. <HI>Vide Sheind. Lexic. penta Hutt. Heb. Bib. cum Cub. Leigh erit &s;ac. Heb. in Radie.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Ezek.</HI> 36.27. And whether a departing from Ordi|nances, and cea&s;ing to walk in a right ob&s;ervation of them, be
<PB N="11" REF="12">not a terrible <HI>&s;haking,</HI> if not a making of this glorious new Cove|nant of grace (in this re&s;pect) <HI>void</HI> to the Saints: For to what purpo&s;e is there a Covenant made with the elect in Chri&s;t, to en|able them to walk with God in all the righteous Statutes and or|dinances of God, if there be none to be ob&s;erved by them?</P>
<P N="24">24. Whether a per&s;ons cea&s;ing to perform the duty of prayer, and other duties of Gods wor&s;hip, and to live onely in God <HI>(as &s;uch &s;ay that are again&s;t Ordinances)</HI> be not de&s;tructive to the Mediator&s;hip of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and all his glorious offices belong|ing thereunto, e&s;pecially that of his <HI>Prie&s;tly</HI> office, whereby hee makes continuall <HI>Interce&s;&s;ion</HI> for true Beleevers, and by which we are made acceptable to God, <HI>Rom</HI> 8.34 <HI>Heb.</HI> 7.25. <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 1.6. And whether (in this re&s;pect) it be not to raze the very foun|dation of all our faith and hope in God for ju&s;tification and accep|tation alone by Chri&s;t; yea, a razing of the very foundation of all true Chri&s;tian Religion, and according to the Apo&s;tle, to <HI>preach another Go&s;pel, Gal.</HI> 1 8 9. For if there be no more need of the performance of the duties of Gods wor&s;hip, in which <HI>(through Chri&s;t)</HI> we draw nigh to God (but the &s;oule is to bee caught and &s;wallowed up wholly into God, as the&s;e men &s;peake that deny the u&s;e of Ordinances) then to what purpo&s;e is Chri&s;ts Prie&s;tly office now on foot, to make our per&s;ons and Go&s;pel &s;pirituall &s;acrifices and &s;ervices of prayer and prai&s;es acceptable to the Father, <HI>Heb.</HI> 13.15. 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.5.</P>
<P N="25">25 Whether to leave off, and altogether to cea&s;e the u&s;e of Go&s;pel-ordinances and duties of Gods wor&s;hip, be not directly again&s;t the <HI>revealed will</HI> and minde of God, and Je&s;us Chri&s;t contained in the Scriptures, that<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 29.18. Ier. 29.12, 13 Zech. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">.17. Ioh. 10.16. Ephe&s;. 6.18. 2 Tim. 2.22. 1 Cor. 11.26. Heb. 3.7, 11. Heb. 10.25. Jam. 1.18, 19, ad finem.</NOTE> expre&s;ly command &amp; require the continuall performance of the&s;e duties, as <HI>hearing the Word, Prayer, admini&s;tration of the Seales, Church-communion,</HI> &amp;c. And whether this practice doth not proceed from a <HI>Popi&s;h, Pre|laticall,</HI> and <HI>Antichri&s;tian</HI> Spirit, to make, and bring per&s;ons (in a <HI>great mea&s;ure</HI>) to for&s;ake the holy Scriptures (which ought to be the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">All Writers both ancient &amp; modern, that are &s;ound and Or|thodox, averre &s;o much, as may be &s;een abun|dantly in their works again&s;t the Papi&s;ts and Hereticks, in all ages from the Apo&s;tles to to this day.</NOTE> only and &s;ole Rule in all matters of faith) &amp; prefer mens private thoughts, opinions, inventions, and <HI>unwritten Traditi|ons</HI> above them, as is the practice of idolatrous and Antichri&s;ti|an Papi&s;ts to doe; yea whether &s;uch a principle as this, to ca&s;t off the duties of Gods wor&s;hip, &s;o expre&s;ly commanded in the Scrip|tures to be performed, be not with the Papi&s;ts, (the great ene|mies
<PB N="12" REF="13">of Chri&s;t and his Go&s;pel-in&s;titutions, to call for an <HI>Index Expurgatorius,</HI> to correct and cancell tho&s;e many pretious Texts and places in the Scripture, that are <HI>point blank</HI> again&s;t this dan|gerous opinion of for&s;aking Church-A&s;&s;emblies, and u&s;e of Or|dinances, as they doe many places of <HI>Paul</HI> in his Epi&s;tles, that hold forth ju&s;tification <HI>E &s;ola fide,</HI> i. by Faith alone without works.</P>
<P N="26">26. Whether the Scriptures doe not number and reckon &s;uch per&s;ons as ca&s;t off Ordinances among&s;t the vile&s;t of men, as pro|phane<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">The children of God by no|thing are better known, then by calling upon him. <HI>Barlow on 2 Tim. 2.2.</HI> Let them goe branded like Satans &s;laves, &s;ounes of Belial, who omit this duty. <HI>Id. ibid.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Athei&s;ts,</HI> and <HI>Hypocrites,</HI> that make not con&s;cience of the ob&s;erving of them, but ca&s;t his Lawes behinde their backes, and count them grievous, and doe what in them lies to make them void, as <HI>Nehem</HI> 9.26. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 10.5. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 119.126. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 53.4. <HI>Mal.</HI> 3.13, 14. and in e&s;peciall that of prayer, as <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 14.4. <HI>Job</HI> 27.10.<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">E&s;t emm hoc mortalium ani|mis in&s;itum, ut Deo offerendu~. &amp;c. <HI>Mu&s;c. in Joh.</HI></NOTE> the law of <HI>Nature</HI> teaching men to wor&s;hip and &s;erve that God whom they acknowledge, (as we &s;ee in the practice of the meere Heathens, <HI>Rom.</HI> 1. and 2. <HI>chap.</HI>) and the law of <HI>Grace</HI> teaching men to delight in that God and his wor&s;hip, whom they &s;o draw nigh unto by faith in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 119.97.103. 1 <HI>John</HI> 5.3. <HI>Acts</HI> 2 46, 47. And whether that place in<NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">This is evident from the Apo&s;tles quoting this Text in <HI>Acts 4.25, 26, 27.</HI> again&s;t the Rulers, Elders, Scribes, &amp;c that &s;ate in coun&s;ell again&s;t them, and made open oppo&s;ition again&s;t Chri&s;t in them, refu&s;ing to bow to his Scepter and Government held forth both in the Doctrine and practice of the Apo&s;tles. And to this agree Expo&s;itors generally.</NOTE> <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 2.1, 2, 3. be not meant of tho&s;e wicked men (more e&s;pecially) that ca&s;t off all Divine Ordinances and Lawes of Chri&s;ts Kingdome and Government under the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P N="27">27. Whether the <HI>Face</HI> of Chri&s;t, in which the <HI>Glory</HI> of God the Father doth &s;hine forth<NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">Non loquitur autem de corpo|rea Chri&s;ti fa|cie; &s;ed de ea quae &s;alutis no|&s;trae di&s;pen&s;a|tionem &s;pectan|dam proponit. <HI>Mu&s;c. in loc.</HI></NOTE> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 4.6. be not to be under&s;tood of Go&s;pel-ordinances and In&s;titutions, Chri&s;t him&s;elfe per&s;onally being now &s;ate down at the right hand of the Maje&s;ty on high, <HI>Heb.</HI> 1.3. In which <HI>Face,</HI> or <HI>Mini&s;tery</HI> and <HI>Ordinances</HI> of Chri&s;t, the admirable and illu&s;trious beauty of the <HI>eternall God,</HI> his infi|nite wi&s;dome, power and love, (which is hid from the world) doth &s;o &s;hine forth oftentimes, through the Spirit of Chri&s;t to the hearts of the Saints, that they &s;eem to be out of the body, and in heaven, before they are in heaven, and in glory on this &s;ide glory, as it was with <HI>Paul,</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.1, 2. And whether a Beleever be not bound to be in the u&s;e of the&s;e Go&s;pel-ordi|nances
<PB N="13" REF="13">and admini&s;trations, where he may<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 27.4.</NOTE> behold this beauty and glory of the Lord, it being the Lords own way he hath ap|pointed to reveale him&s;elfe by, and not tru&s;t to other wayes of our own making, for the &s;ight of this glory, having not a warrant for it in the Scriptures.</P>
<P N="28">28. Whether a Beleever in this life, whiles he is cloathed with his <HI>earthly</HI> Tabernacle, can &s;ee <HI>Spirituall</HI> things, e&s;pecially <HI>God Him&s;elfe,</HI> who is an infinite and incomprehen&s;ible <HI>Spirit,</HI> &s;o as to have fellow&s;hip and communion with him, and to live in him, otherwi&s;e then by an eye of faith, in the<NOTE N="e" PLACE="marg">We cannot &s;ee Divine things othewi&s;e then in a gla&s;&s;e: that &s;ight of God which wee &s;hall have immediat|ly in heaven without the Word and Sa|craments, is of a higher na|ture, when we &s;hall be perfect; but while we live here, we cannot &s;ee God but in Chri&s;t; and we can|not &s;ee Chri&s;t but in the Word and Sacraments, &s;uch is the imperfection of our fight. <HI>Dr. Sibs Excel. of the Go&s;pel above the Law, p. 280, 281, 286, 287,</HI> &amp;c.</NOTE> gla&s;&s;e of Go&s;pel-ordi|nances, as the <HI>works</HI> of God, and the <HI>word</HI> of God; but e&s;pecial|ly <HI>Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> who is God incarnate, God manife&s;t in the fle&s;h, and this Je&s;us in the my&s;tery of the Go&s;pel, and Seales, accor|ding to 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3. <HI>ult.</HI> And whether the Lord doth not, (as a great te&s;timony of his love to us in Chri&s;t) very much conde&s;cend and &s;toop to the weake and imperfect condition of his people, while they are here below, to make known the glory of his <HI>Wi&s;dome, Mercy, Power,</HI> and <HI>Love</HI> to their &s;oules by his Spirit in the Or|dinances.</P>
<P N="29">29. Whether the Commandements of Chri&s;t, &s;o much &s;po|ken of and mentioned in the Scriptures, doe not extend to the o|bedience of the <HI>outward man,</HI> as well as the <HI>inward,</HI> and to the <HI>externals</HI> of wor&s;hip as well as the <HI>internals</HI> of faith: And whe|ther a per&s;on can upon <HI>Iu&s;t grounds,</HI> number him&s;elfe among the friends of Chri&s;t, that doth not make con&s;cience of<NOTE N="f" PLACE="marg">Nota igi|tur verae ami|citiae e&s;t ob|&s;ervantia vo|luntatis amici|voluntas Chri|&s;ti e&s;t in illius praeceptis; illis obedtre e&s;t vo|luntati Chri&s;ti e&s;te conformem. Amici Chri&s;ti non &s;unt, qui Chri&s;ti praecepta &s;u&s;que de&abque; facientes doctrinis &amp; mandatis hominum &s;ub|jiciuntur, <HI>Mu&s;c. in loc.</HI></NOTE> keeping tho&s;e commandements of Chri&s;t, according to that of our Saviour, <HI>Iohn</HI> 15.14. Yea, whether any one can &s;ay upon ju&s;t grounds that he loves or knowes Chri&s;t, that doth not keep his comman|dements, &s;eeing the Scriptures &s;peak directly again&s;t it, and ren|ders &s;uch for lyers that pretend to know Chri&s;t, and love him, but yet keep not his commandements,<NOTE N="g" PLACE="marg">Nece&s;&s;ario igitur con&s;equi quicunque jactant &s;idem &s;en &s;tudium pietatis, et interim &s;tudium &s;ervandae legis Dei negligunt, eos impudenti&s;&s;imc mentiri, <HI>Zanch in loc.</HI></NOTE> 1 <HI>Iohn</HI> 3, 4. <HI>Iohn</HI> 14, 15.</P>
<P N="30">30. Whether the end of Chri&s;ts comming into the world,
<PB N="14" REF="14">were not rather to fulfill and <HI>confirme,</HI> then to <HI>di&s;anull</HI> and make void the law of God ingraven in our hearts, and revealed in the Scriptures, whereby he calls for the obedience of the <HI>whole man,</HI> inward and outward, in the &s;ervice of Chri&s;t. And whether &s;uch as break the <HI>lea&s;t</HI> of the&s;e lawes, and &s;hall <HI>teach others</HI> to doe &s;o likewi&s;e, doe not bring them&s;elves under that penalty of <HI>Matth.</HI> 5.15. to be counted<NOTE N="h" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">: <HI>i. e,</HI> minimi fi|et, im&ograve; nihili fiet, vult e|nim dicere, illos exclu&s;um iri &egrave; regno coe|lorum. <HI>Pi&s;cat. in loc.</HI></NOTE> <HI>lea&s;t</HI> in the Kingdome of heaven, that is, to have no part nor portion in the Church of Chri&s;t here on earth, or the Kingdome of glory hereafter.</P>
<P N="31">31. Whether tho&s;e that enter on the actions and workes of their particular callings, or upon the u&s;e of the creature, e&s;pecial|ly at the accu&s;tomed times of refre&s;hing <HI>Nature,</HI> as at <HI>Dinner, Sup|per, &amp;c.</HI> without &s;eeking to God by prayer for, &amp; prai&s;es through faith in Chri&s;t, can <HI>expect a ble&s;&s;ing</HI> upon them, or a <HI>&s;anctified</HI> and comfortable u&s;e of them. And whether they doe not <HI>tran&s;gre&s;&s;e</HI> the revealed will of God expre&s;ly mani&s;e&s;ted herein, and di&s;cover a <HI>loo&s;e,</HI><NOTE N="i" PLACE="marg">Let us never come to the ta|ble without cal|ling upon Gods name, let us ne|ver ri&s;e from the table without giving tha~ks; for it is certain, that all they that eat &s;o, and doe not pray to God, are for the mo&s;t part wor&s;e then bruit bea&s;ts. <HI>Calv Serm. in 1 Tim. 4.3, 4.</HI></NOTE> <HI>bruti&s;h,</HI> and <HI>prophane</HI> frame of Spirit herein, <HI>Phil.</HI> 4.6. <HI>Be carefull for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and &s;upplica|tion with thanke&s;giving, let your reque&s;ts bee made knowne to God.</HI> So 1 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 5.17. <HI>Pray without cea&s;ing,</HI> and the 18. <HI>ver&s;e, In every thing give thankes, for this is the will of God in Chri&s;t Je&s;us concerning you</HI> So 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4.3, 4.5 &s;peaking of meats that &s;educing Teachers &s;hould in the latter times endeavour in a<NOTE N="k" PLACE="marg">As on Fri|dayes, in Lent, in Embring dayes, and fa&s;t|ing dayes, <HI>&amp;c. Calv. Id ibid.</HI></NOTE> <HI>&s;uper&s;titious</HI> manner to cau&s;e people to ab&s;tain from, he &s;aith, that God hath <HI>created them to be received with</HI><NOTE N="l" PLACE="marg">Sic pa&s;&s;im Do|minus cibum &s;umpturus &s;ur|&s;um a&s;piciens et coelum in<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">vens, benedicit patri, et gratias agit. <HI>Mat. 14.15, 26. Marc. 6..</HI> Sic Paulus <HI>Acts 27. 1 Cor. 10.31,</HI> ad hunc inquam u&s;um cibos Deus fecit, <HI>Claud. E&s;penc. in loc.</HI></NOTE> <HI>thanke&s;giving;</HI> &s;o that a chiefe <HI>end</HI> of Gods creating every creature for mans u&s;e is, that they &s;hould be u&s;ed with <HI>thanke&s;giving,</HI> and that they are not &s;an|ctified and ble&s;&s;ed to us, without the <HI>Word and Prayer:</HI> i.e. with|out acting<NOTE N="m" PLACE="marg">The Sun is a noble creature of it &s;elf, and yet the brightnes of it cannot come to us but to our condemnation, unle&s;&s;e it be &s;anctified to us. By what, means? By faith. So fareth it with meat and drink, and all the re&s;t. <HI>Calv. ut &s;upra.</HI></NOTE> faith and Chri&s;t a <HI>promi&s;e,</HI> and de&s;iring God wee may &s;o receive it, and have it ble&s;&s;ed to us; &s;o that to <HI>neglect pray|er,</HI> and the <HI>exerci&s;e of faith</HI> in the <HI>promi&s;e,</HI> and giving thankes for all <HI>by Chri&s;t,</HI> we doe not onely fru&s;trate and make void the end for which at fir&s;t the Lord created them for our u&s;e, but we are deprived of that comfort that doth attend them, to tho&s;e that are in Chri&s;t, and are at no better pa&s;&s;e under the enjoyments of them, then tho&s;e are that are out of Chri&s;t, who are wicked, prophane, and bruti&s;h, like the &s;wine that feeds on the <HI>Acornes,</HI> that are under the tree, but never looks up from whence they fall.</P>
<P N="32"><PB N="15" REF="14">32. Whether the Scriptures do not hold forth unto us, that the greate&s;t and highe&s;t enjoyments of God in the Spirit, which the Saints have attained unto in this life, have been in their <HI>diligent u&s;e</HI> and <HI>improvement</HI> of Divine Go&s;pel-ordinances, and duties of wor&s;hip, <HI>Acts</HI> 4.21, &amp; 9.11, 12. &amp; 10.9.44. 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.6, 7, 8, 9 And whether the Scriptures &s;hew unto us any other way, wherein the Lord of glory hath ordinarily appeared unto his peo|ple, be&s;ides that of his ordinances, to the helping of them upon all occa&s;ions, as their nece&s;&s;ities have required.</P>
<P N="33">33. Whether departing from Go&s;pel-ordinances, and Societies of the Saints in the pure wor&s;hip of God, bee not a <HI>notable trick</HI> (if not a &s;trong <HI>delu&s;ion</HI>) of the <HI>Devill,</HI> which he makes u&s;e of, the better to further his cur&s;ed de&s;igne, upon the Lords people, by ta|king them off from their<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Rev. 2.4.</NOTE> <HI>fir&s;t love,</HI> and cooling (if not quench|ing) that &s;acred heat, and fervour of the Spirit, that they formerly manife&s;ted in the &s;ervice and wor&s;hip of God, pre&s;cribed by Je|&s;us Chri&s;t: And whether &s;ad and lamentable experience doth not evidence &s;o much, in &s;ome that are now changed in their walking, from what they were <HI>formerly,</HI> being as barren and empty in &s;piritual actions and a&s;&s;ections as tho&s;e that never knew what it was to be exerci&s;ed in them, and as much to &s;eek of their <HI>tenderne&s;&s;e,</HI> that once they manife&s;ted in re&s;pect of &s;inne,<NOTE N="n" PLACE="marg"><HI>Contrary to Mat. 5.4. Mat. 26.75. 1 Cor. 5.2. with 2 Cor. 7.7, 9, 11. 1 Cor. 11.30, 31. Iam. 4.9, 10. 1 Ioh. 1.9. Zech. 12.10.</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, fig: luxum et delitias. Inde verbum <GAP DESC="foreign">, delicate vi|vere, deliciari, voluptatibus indulgere. <GAP DESC="foreign">. In deceptionibus &s;uis. Cum meudaciis et impo&s;turis &s;uis deceperint fimplives Chri&s;tianos et pecunia eo&s;dem e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="5 letters">erint, po&s;tea ean|dem in &s;plendida et lauta convivia in aleam &s;tructuras magni&s;icas et &s;corta profundunt. <HI>O&s;iand. vide Gerrard. in loc.</HI></NOTE> as that they judge it no other then a <HI>Spirit of bondage</HI> to been humbled for it, making no &s;cruple at all to have fellow&s;hip with the <HI>un|fruitfull workes</HI> (and workers) <HI>of darkne&s;&s;e,</HI> which the Saints are commanded to reprove and flye from, <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 5.11. yea, be|ing found in the number of tho&s;e that^o <HI>&s;port</HI> them&s;elves with their own <HI>deceivings,</HI> 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2, 13.</P>
<P N="34">34. Whether it be not a principall part of that great my|&s;tery of <HI>Heart-deceitfulne&s;&s;e</HI> is within us, to conceive, that li|ving in God will dead a Chri&s;tian to the u&s;e and practi&s;e of or|dinances, and performance of holy duties, when the chiefe end of a per&s;ons living in God is to dead the heart to &s;inne, and take it off from carnall and wordly things, that ob&s;truct and hinder his communion with God, and to quicken it to Ordinances, and
<PB N="16" REF="15">&s;pirituall duties; by the u&s;e of which (through the <HI>mighty work|ing of the Spirit of Chri&s;t</HI>) his communion with, &amp; communicati|ons from God, are increa&s;ed, and perfected day by day. And whether (to &s;peak properly) the more a per&s;on lives in the Spirit, the more that per&s;on be not<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Gal. 5.16. Vide Par. in loc.</NOTE> lifted off from <HI>Sin</HI> and <HI>Selfe,</HI> and worldld carnall delights, to walk clo&s;ely with God in the du|ties of his generall and particular callings; the contrary to which we too much finde and now meet with in tho&s;e that ca&s;t off Or|dinances.</P>
<P N="35">35. Whether Je&s;us Chri&s;t be not infinitely delighted in, and affected with the a&s;&s;emblings of the Saints and exerci&s;ings of their gifts and graces in the duties of his wor&s;hip, as appeares every where in the<NOTE N="p" PLACE="marg"><HI>Cant. 2.14. The Hebrew root</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign"> &s;ig|ni&s;ies prayers, prai&s;es, &s;ongs, thanke&s;givings, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> as <HI>P&s;al. 5.3.26.7.28.2. vide Ain&s;worth in loc.</HI> Placet Domino vox Eccle&s;iae in di&s;crimine ad cum con&s;ugient<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> &s;icut de I&s;raelitis ad marc interceptis dicitur. <HI>Exod. 14.15.</HI> Vox Eccle&s;iae eum confi|tentis et celebrantis, et ejus totus a&s;pectus, &s;pecies, forma ac facies Eccle&s;iae. <HI>Merc. in loc.</HI></NOTE> Scriptures, by his drawing nigh to them at &s;uch times, as to the Eunuch when he was reading the Scriptures, <HI>Acts</HI> 8.26. to the two Di&s;ciples when they were in conference going to <HI>Emmaus,</HI> to <HI>Cornelius</HI> and his friends when they were hea|ring <HI>Peter,</HI> to <HI>Paul</HI> when he was in prayer, and <HI>Peter</HI> al&s;o in the &s;ame duty, <HI>Acts</HI> 9. &amp; <HI>Acts</HI> 10.</P>
<P N="36">36. Whether it be not the greate&s;t unkindne&s;&s;e that can be of|fered to the Lord Je&s;us, to ca&s;t away, and &s;peak evill of, yea to contend again&s;t tho&s;e wayes and meanes in which hee hath mo&s;t of all appeared to them, and &s;poken peace to their &s;oules: And whether it be not a grieving of the &s;pirit to<NOTE N="q" PLACE="marg">The word <GAP DESC="foreign"> properly &s;igni|fies ba&s;ely to account of a thing, and e&s;teem it nothing worth. This reproves tho&s;e who pretend the Spirit, and de&s;pi&s;e prophe&s;y, they have the Spirit to guide them, and therefore need no preaching. <HI>Tayl. in his Saints progre&s;&s;e to full Holine&s;&s;e. p. 46. And then a little after,</HI> Many who have <HI>Jacobs</HI> voyce (&s;aith he) profe&s;&s;e in word better things, yet prize the preaching of Chri&s;t as a thing of nought: they think it better to be ca&s;ting up &s;ome account, or reading &s;ome Hi&s;tory, or walking in the fields, or vi&s;iting &s;ome friends, or perhaps going to a Play, then to a Sermon. Are the&s;e the &s;onnes of <HI>Abraham,</HI> or the &s;onnes of God, and not ra|ther the &s;ounes of prophane <HI>E&s;au? Id. ibid.</HI></NOTE> de&s;pi&s;e prophe&s;ying, cea&s;e praying, and to for&s;ake the A&s;&s;emblies of the Saints, that meet together to wor&s;hip the <HI>King,</HI> the <HI>Lord of Ho&s;ts,</HI> 1 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 5, 17, 18, 19, 20.</P>
<P N="37">37. Whether the Father hath not commanded us to honour the Sonne as we are to honour <HI>him&s;elfe,</HI> as in <HI>Iohn</HI> 5.22, 23. And whether a per&s;on may be &s;aid truly to honour the <HI>Father,</HI> that<NOTE N="r" PLACE="marg">Quia ut una e&s;t e&s;&s;entia, &s;api|entia, potentia, voluntas utriu&s;|que, ita etiam honor idem e&s;t utriu&s;que, adeo ut qui alterum non honorat, aut ignominia <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">fficit, is &amp; alterum non bonoret, aut igno|miuia afficiat: cum propter identitatem e&s;&s;entiae, omnia ip&s;is &s;int communia, adeo ut qui video filium videat patrem, <HI>Ioh. 14.9.</HI> qui confitetur aut negat filium, con&s;iteatur aut neget &amp; non habe at patrem. <HI>1 Ioh. 2.23. Tarnov. in loc.</HI></NOTE>
<PB N="17" REF="15">neglects the honour of Chri&s;t the Sonne: And whether the ca&s;ting off tho&s;e duties and ordinances of <HI>Wor&s;hip</HI> Chri&s;t hath in|&s;tituted and ordained, yea commanded to be made u&s;e of, as King of his Church, be not rather a di&s;honouring then an honouring of him.</P>
<P N="38">38. Whether there be any &s;uch way for Beleevers ordinarily to promote the honour and glory of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and proclaime and beare out his Name before the world, then this their holy and con&s;cientious ob&s;erving the duties of his <HI>Wor&s;hip</HI> at all times, and on all occa&s;ions, e&s;pecially in times of per&s;ecution: And whether Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath not taken it well at the hands of his Churches, when they have done &s;o, as <HI>Rev.</HI> 2.9, 10, 13.</P>
<P N="39">39. Whether the Saints in the mo&s;t pure&s;t Go&s;pel times, that are yet to come, when the <HI>fulne&s;&s;e</HI> of the <HI>Gentiles</HI> &s;hal be brought in, and the <HI>Iewes called,</HI> &s;hall not then make u&s;e of <HI>Ordinances,</HI> and duties of <HI>Wor&s;hip,</HI><NOTE N="&s;" PLACE="marg">In mo&s;t or all the&s;e places of Scripture is mention made of vi&s;ible wor|&s;hip, officers and ordinances, and they are under|&s;tood by the mo&s;t godlie&s;t Interpreters of the purity of tho&s;e Go&s;pel dayes and times which &s;hall &s;ucceed the over|throw of Antichri&s;t, and the calling of the Iewes, as could ea&s;ily be &s;hewed, and doubtle&s;&s;e &s;ome of tho&s;e Texts, if not all of them, are yet to be fulfilled. So that the pure&s;t Go&s;pel times &s;hall not null, or make void the u&s;e of Divine Ordinances.</NOTE> <HI>Ezek.</HI> 37.21. to the end of the chap. <HI>Jer.</HI> 3.15, 16, 17. <HI>E&s;ay</HI> 2.2, 3, <HI>E&s;a.</HI> 66, 18. to the end of the Chap. <HI>Mich.</HI> 41, 2. <HI>Zeph.</HI> 3.9, 10. to the end, <HI>Zech.</HI> 8.11, 22. <HI>Mal.</HI> 3.4. with many more. And whether the overthrow of <HI>Antichri&s;t,</HI> and di&s;|covery and removing of all fal&s;e <HI>Wor&s;hip</HI> at this day in the world, &s;hall not be in order to the <HI>introducing</HI> and erecting or &s;etting up the true wor&s;hip of Chri&s;t in this Kingdome among the Saints.</P>
<P N="40">40. Whether at this pre&s;ent juncture of time, when God is appearing in his glory, and &s;etting up his King (the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t) upon his holy Hill of <HI>Syon,</HI> as he hath promi&s;ed and pur|po&s;ed of old to doe, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 2.6. there be any thing more <HI>ob&s;tructive,</HI> if not <HI>de&s;tructive</HI> to the carrying on of this ble&s;&s;ed work, accor|ding as men may judge to outward appearance, then for tho&s;e that pre&s;end to &s;o much of God in them, openly to conte&s;t again&s;t the u&s;e of Divine Ordinances and In&s;titutions of wor&s;hip, wherein a principall part of Chri&s;ts Kingdome on earth confi&s;teth: And whether many of tho&s;e that thus reject and de&s;pi&s;e the holy In|&s;titutions
<PB N="18" REF="16">and Commands of Je&s;us Chri&s;t laid forth in the Scrip|tures for all beleevers to ob&s;erve in the wor&s;hipping of God, (af|ter they have known and profe&s;t the &s;ame) be not like to prove the fitte&s;t in&s;truments in the hands of Satan and Antichri&s;t (if the Lord of glory prevent not) to <HI>trouble</HI> the peace of the Churches of Chri&s;t afre&s;h, after the raging waves of the late tribulations be a little more a&s;&s;waged.</P>
<P N="41">41. Whether the Scriptures, when they &s;peake of the Saints <HI>drawing nigh to God,</HI> be not meant <HI>of performing the duties of his wor&s;hip,</HI> and drawing nigh to him in Ordinances, as in that of<NOTE N="t" PLACE="marg">Every Ordi|nance brings us neare to God, <HI>Levit. 10.</HI> The originall is <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>in propinquis mels.</HI> The Prie&s;ts under the ceremoniall wor&s;hip had the &s;peciall honour of that Title, to be called <HI>Gods nigh ones, Numb. 16.9.</HI> he cau&s;ed them to come neere him in holy &s;ervices. Now all the Saints are a holy Prie&s;thood, to offer up &s;pirituall &s;acrifices, <HI>1 Pet. 2.5. Caryl Serm. in Iames 4.</HI> See abundance more to this purpo&s;e in that pretious Sermon. If any de&s;ire further and fuller &s;atisfaction in this particular, let him diligently peru&s;e that excellent Treati&s;e of that late emi|nent and pretious &s;ervant of Chri&s;t <HI>Mr. Jer. Bur.</HI> called, <HI>Go&s;pel-wor&s;hip.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Levit.</HI> 10.3. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 73. <HI>ult. Iames</HI> 4.8.</P>
<P N="42">42. Whether tho&s;e that now ca&s;t off Ordinances, and contend again&s;t the u&s;e of them, doe not goe again&s;t the judgement, pra|ctice, and profe&s;&s;ion of all the true Churches of Chri&s;t, that ever were, or are, from the beginning of the world to this day, and not only &s;ince but before the defection of <HI>Antichri&s;t:</HI> And whether tho&s;e that did fir&s;t lead the dance in this unhappy cour&s;e of deny|ing the u&s;e of Ordinances, were not tainted and corrupted with the foule&s;t <HI>Errors,</HI> and greate&s;t <HI>Apo&s;ta&s;ie</HI> from the <HI>Truth,</HI> that may be, denying the authority of the <HI>Scriptures,</HI> denying the <HI>Trinity,</HI> denying the <HI>Divinity of Chri&s;t,</HI> &amp; of the <HI>Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> denying the <HI>Re&s;urrection,</HI> the <HI>Being of Sin,</HI> or el&s;e making God the author of it, &amp;c. in who&s;e dreadfull &s;teps many of late begin to tread, that ca&s;t off the u&s;e of Gods wor&s;hip and ordinances, as lamentable experience witne&s;&s;eth</P>
<P N="43">43. Whether &s;uch as wilfully ca&s;t away the u&s;e of <HI>Ordinances,</HI> and duties of wor&s;hip, and contend again&s;t them, have not ju&s;t cau&s;e to que&s;tion the truth of their <HI>Spirituall e&s;tates,</HI> and to doubt whether ever Je&s;us Chri&s;t were rightly <HI>formed</HI> in their hearts, &s;eeing the truth of the work depends ordinarily upon the &s;ame means to build and perfect it, that fir&s;t of all in&s;trumentally begat it, which is the publique ordinance of the <HI>Mini&s;tery</HI> of the Go&s;|pel, as 1. of <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.2. compared with <HI>Iames</HI> 1.18. <HI>Acts</HI> 20.21. <HI>Acts</HI> 26.18.</P>
<P N="44">44. Whether departing from the ordinances of God, be not
<PB N="19" REF="16">one of tho&s;e<NOTE N="u" PLACE="marg">The&s;e are times wherein a &s;pirit of error is gone out into the world. That prophe&s;ie of Chri&s;t &s;eems (in a great mea|&s;ure) to be ful|filled in our dayes. <HI>Matth. 24, &amp;c. Vide Car.</HI> Pre&s;ent Duty and En|deavour of the Saints. <HI>p, 36, 37.</HI></NOTE> deceivable wayes that <HI>fal&s;e Prophets,</HI> and <HI>fal&s;e Chri&s;ts</HI> &s;hall make u&s;e of in the&s;e <HI>latter dayes</HI> of the world, that are come upon us, to deceive if it were po&s;&s;ible, the very elect, as Chri&s;t him&s;elfe hath forewarned and fore-told, <HI>Matth.</HI> 24.24. And whether an elect per&s;on may not po&s;&s;ibly be carried away with the <HI>error</HI> of the wicked (again&s;t which the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> exhorts, 2 <HI>Pet,</HI> 3.17) <HI>for &s;ome time, E&s;ay</HI> 29.24. And whether &s;uch may not come to &s;ee their error this way of <HI>leaving Ordinances,</HI> and <HI>ca&s;ting off duties,</HI> before they are out of this world, e&s;pecially on their <HI>Death-beds,</HI> when they may bewaile it with teares of <HI>blood,</HI> if it were po&s;&s;ible, &s;o &s;ad may their condition be, as I heard a gracious woman in <HI>London</HI> once to &s;peake of one of her Sex, whom &s;he knew well, that was brought into &s;uch a dreadfull condition when &s;he was on her <HI>Death-bed,</HI> for her wilfull &s;lighting and ca&s;ting off <HI>Ordinances</HI> and <HI>Duties</HI> of Gods wor&s;hip, and pretending onely to Chri&s;ts doing of all for her, and &s;he to do nothing but look to him,<NOTE N="x" PLACE="foot">Foelix quem faciunt aliena pericula cautum.</NOTE> that &s;he was brought to the very gates of hell and de&s;peration.</P>
<Q><L>Tho&s;e happy are that others harmes</L>
<L>Again&s;t like evils &s;trongly armes.</L></Q>
<P N="45">45. Whether Apo&s;ta&s;ie and falling away of Profe&s;&s;ors from the holy wayes of Gods wor&s;hip, which once they profe&s;t and practi&s;ed, be not a grievous judgement in it &s;elfe, that God ju&s;tly inflicts upon per&s;ons for their unthankfulne&s;&s;e, and for unfruit|fulne&s;&s;e under Go&s;pel-di&s;pen&s;ations and Admini&s;tration, receiving not the truth in the love of it, 2 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 2.11, 12. And whether this evill be not a cau&s;e of many other evils to the Kingdome, provo|king the Lord to lengthen out the mi&s;eries of this Nation.</P>
<P N="46">46. Whether <HI>Anarchy,</HI> or the rejecting of all <HI>Civill</HI> govern|ment in a State, be not <HI>eminently</HI> de&s;tructive to that State and Common-wealth where it once prevails: And whether rejecting of Chri&s;ts &s;pirituall Government, Ordinances, and Lawes of <HI>wor|&s;hip,</HI> be not to introduce a &s;pirituall <HI>Anarchy</HI> into his Church|&s;tate, and Kingdome, which he hath in the world, and is daily more and more advancing, and con&s;equently an endeavouring (according to what lies in the power of creatures) to &s;ubvert and overthrow the glorious Kingdome of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and to lay his honour in the du&s;t: And whether tho&s;e that &s;hall per&s;i&s;t and
<PB N="20" REF="17">per&s;evere in <HI>&s;uch ondeavours,</HI> de&s;erve not to be <HI>branded</HI> for ene|mies to the glory and dignity of him whom the Eternall <HI>God</HI> hath exalted to be the <HI>King of Kings,</HI> and <HI>Lord of Lords,</HI> and to whom who&s;oever &s;hall refu&s;e to yeeld &s;ubjection (be he <HI>Prince</HI> or <HI>Pea&s;ant</HI>) &s;hall be broken in peeces as a Potters ve&s;&s;ell, accor|ding as the mouth of the Lord hath &s;poken, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 2.9, 10, 11, 12.</P>
<P N="47">47. La&s;tly, to adde no more, Whether the Kingdom of <HI>Glory</HI> hereafter to be enjoyed in <HI>Heaven,</HI> be not the proper State in which <HI>God</HI> hath appointed the <HI>Saints</HI> to live <HI>immediatly</HI> in <HI>Him|&s;elfe</HI> without the u&s;e of <HI>Ordinances,</HI> and not the Kingdome of <HI>Grace</HI> here on earth, in which the Saints are <HI>imperfect,</HI> and &s;ee the Lord (for the mo&s;t part) through a <HI>gla&s;&s;e darkly, knowing but in part, and prophe&s;ying but in part, till that which is perfect be come,</HI> according to 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 13.9, 10, 11, 12. and the Apo&s;tles owne judgement of him&s;elfe, <HI>Phil</HI> 3.13, 14. And whether to hold the contrary, be not to confound tho&s;e two States of <HI>Grace</HI> and <HI>Glo|ry,</HI> which the Scriptures doe di&s;tingui&s;h, &s;o that the ca&s;ting off the u&s;e of <HI>Divine In&s;titutions,</HI> and <HI>Go&s;pel-ordinances,</HI> and <HI>Duties</HI> of <HI>Wor&s;hip</HI> appointed for beleevers to walk in the practi&s;e of, till the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;ts comming again, mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity be lookt upon as having no <HI>bottome</HI> on the &s;acred Scriptures, but a vi&s;ion of mens own <HI>brains,</HI> and deceitfull <HI>hearts,</HI> directly contrary to the <HI>Faith once delivered to the Saints,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. Jude, v. 3, 4.</NOTE> and therefore of all tho&s;e that love the Lord Je&s;us in &s;incerity, ju&s;tly to be condemned and ex|ploded.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="appendix">
<PB N="21" REF="17">
<HEAD>AN APPENDIX By way of Po&s;t-&s;cript, To all tho&s;e whom the former Con&s;iderations doe more e&s;pecially concerne.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>SIRS,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_YOU have &s;een, (or <HI>may &s;ee</HI>) what that <HI>Balm</HI> is, which I have (as a weak in&s;trument in the hands of Chri&s;t the great Phy&s;itian of Souls) en|deavoured to powre forth in the former Con&s;i|derations, for the healing of your wounded &s;oules: And you have al&s;o &s;een (or <HI>may &s;ee</HI>) in my Epi&s;tle to the Reader, what my grounds and ends have been in &s;o doing; &s;o that (I doubt not) but you will look upon me as one that hath had <HI>nothing</HI> in my eye, but the <HI>honour</HI> of Chri&s;t, and <HI>welfare</HI> of your &s;oules. If the bu&s;ines I have undertaken, had not been of great importance and concernment, I had not (I a&s;&s;ure you) put pen to paper, but when I &s;aw the <HI>&s;ad effects</HI> were like to attend this opinion and practice of yours, by intro|ducing a &s;pirituall <HI>Anarchy</HI> and <HI>Confu&s;ion</HI> in the Kingdome of Chri&s;t, and threatning <HI>Ruine</HI> to all the true and <HI>right con&s;tituted</HI> Churches in the world, I could not but<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Principiis ob&s;ta, &s;er&ograve; me|dicina paratur, Cum mala per longa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> conva|luere moras.</NOTE> make ha&s;te (according to the<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 4.7.</NOTE> mea&s;ure of the gift of Chri&s;t vouch&s;afed to me) towards the preventing of them. If I have &s;poken or written none other then the words of <HI>Truth and Soberne&s;&s;e,</HI> I &s;hall de&s;ire you in the name of him, who is <HI>Truth</HI> it &s;elfe (our Lord and Saviour Je&s;us Chri&s;t) to &s;ub&s;cribe thereunto: If otherwi&s;e, I tru&s;t by the <HI>&s;ame
<PB N="22" REF="18">grace</HI> received, I &s;hall be ready to &s;ee it, and acknowledge it when&s;oever it &s;hall be made out unto me: onely I &s;hall de&s;ire, that the &s;ame<NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Apud Eccle|&s;iae Alumnos non ad humanas rationes &amp; co|gitationes diri|gendae &s;unt res divinae; &s;ed ad &s;en&s;um &amp; vo|luntatem do|ctrinae &s;piritus, oratio inter|pretatio&abque; ac|commodanda. <HI>Ju&s;t. Mart.</HI> Neque te quo&abque; di&s;&s;erentem &s;u|&s;tinui&s;&s;emus, ni&s;i cuncta ad &s;eripturas re|fcrres; inde e|nim demon&s;tra|tiones adducere &s;tudio tibi e&s;t. <HI>id. ibid. Dial. cum Triphon.</HI></NOTE> <HI>medium,</HI> viz. the holy Scriptures of God, contai|ned in the old and new Te&s;tament, which I have endeavoured to u&s;e in the former con&s;iderations, may be u&s;ed by &s;uch as &s;hall at|tempt &s;uch a work. But becau&s;e I may &s;ave that labour in order to your further and greater &s;atisfaction, I have thought it requi|&s;ite to doe &s;omething by way of an&s;wering tho&s;e objections, or removing tho&s;e grounds, upon which (I &s;uppo&s;e) all of you, (or at lea&s;t) many of you, doe build your practice of renouncing and ca&s;ting off the u&s;e of Ordinances and religious Duties.</P>
<P>Now I &s;uppo&s;e the <HI>grounds</HI> upon which you build the ca&s;t|ing off the u&s;e of Ordinances, may be reduced to the&s;e eight Heads.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>That a per&s;on may doe well enough, and comfortably enjoy him&s;elfe without the u&s;e of Ordinances, as hearing the Word, Prayer, breaking of bread in a communion of Saints, &amp;c.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>That the &s;ucce&s;&s;e of things doth not depend upon the per|formance of Duties and Ordinances, but on Gods eternall purpo&s;e and decree.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>That God knowes our wants, and &s;tands not in need of any of our performances, to move him to the helping and &s;atisfying of us.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>4. <HI>That many have u&s;ed Ordinances, and performed Duties, but to &s;mall purpo&s;e, and tho&s;e that doe u&s;e them, are little the better.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>5. <HI>That Ordinances are but poore low Di&s;pen&s;ations, and not &s;o con&s;i&s;tent with a Beleevers living in God, that is altogether above Ordinances, and that God doth u&s;e to lead his people from Go&s;pel-formes, to a more immediate enjoyment of him&s;elfe in the Spirit.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>6. <HI>That none are to pray or perform Duties at any time, fur|ther then they are moved thereunto by the Spirit.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>7. <HI>That the u&s;e of Ordinances is more Legall then Evangeli|call, and engenders to bondage rather then liberty, looking more to a covenant of works then grace, the Go&s;pel requiring beleeving not working.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>8 <HI>Another ground upon which people build their ca&s;ting off the u&s;e of Word and Ordinances, is this, Becau&s;e the Word and Ordinances are nothing without the Spirit. They can never work
<PB N="23" REF="18">any impre&s;&s;ion upon the &s;oule, or acquaint the Spirit of a man or woman, that the Lord is his God, or that Chri&s;t is his Saviour, &amp;c. but this belongs to the office of the Spirit of God; the Word and Ordinances of them&s;elves are never able to work &s;uch an im|pre&s;&s;ion in the &s;oule.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>9. <HI>That there are many places in the new Te&s;tament, which hodl forth the non-performance of duties, and laying a&s;ide the u&s;e of Ordinances, as</HI> Heb. 8.11. 1 <HI>Iohn</HI> 2.27. <HI>Rev.</HI> 21.22, 23. 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1. <HI>ult.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>The&s;e are the grounds upon which people build their leaving and ca&s;ting off of Ordinances, &s;ome of them re&s;pect tho&s;e that are meere <HI>Athei&s;ts,</HI> and others re&s;pect &s;uch as pretend to the <HI>greate&s;t perfection</HI> of holine&s;&s;e attainable in this life, I &s;hall (by the help of Chri&s;t) make an&s;wer to them all, as they are laid downe, in order to the di&s;coverie of the un&s;oundne&s;&s;e of them.</P>
<P N="1">1. Touching the fir&s;t of the former grounds, upon which peo|ple build the ca&s;ting off the u&s;e of the holy Ordinances of Chri&s;t, and duties of religion, it was this, <HI>That a per&s;on may doe well e|nough, &amp;c. without the u&s;e of them.</HI> Now in an&s;wer to this, for the di&s;covery of the <HI>un&s;oundne&s;&s;e</HI> of it, I utterly deny it, and affirme the contrary, that &s;uch as ca&s;t off the u&s;e of Ordinances,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 3.22.</NOTE> or live in the neglect of them, <HI>cannot po&s;&s;ibly</HI> doe &s;o well, nor &s;o <HI>comfor|tably</HI> enjoy them&s;elves in the neglect, as they might if they did <HI>con&s;cionably</HI> performe them, and my rea&s;on for it is this (which I conceive is ungain&s;ayable) Becau&s;e what&s;oever &s;uch doe enjoy in order to their welfare and pro&s;perity here in this world, though in the greate&s;t fulne&s;&s;e, they doe not enjoy it with the ble&s;&s;ing and favour of God, they may enjoy them, but not comfortably, be|cau&s;e not through a promi&s;e, nor by vertue of having intere&s;t in Chri&s;t, through whom all our enjoyments become ble&s;sed to us, and without whom all good things become evill and accur&s;ed to us.</P>
<P>Now &s;uch cannot po&s;&s;ibly enjoy their good things through Chri&s;t &amp; a promi&s;e, that neglect prayer, &amp;c (&amp; &s;o by con&s;equence not enjoy them nor them&s;elvs comfortably) becau&s;e tho&s;e mercies that come to us <HI>through a promi&s;e,</HI> and by vertue of our intere&s;t in Chri&s;t, they come in the <HI>way of Prayer,</HI> and the u&s;e of Ordinan|ces; for the &s;ame God that hath made a promi&s;e to be our God, and to make us ble&s;&s;ed in the enjoyment of him&s;elfe and his mer|cies,
<PB N="24" REF="19">hath al&s;o &s;aid, that he will be <HI>&s;ought unto</HI> for all tho&s;e mer|cies, before we &s;hall enjoy them, as <HI>Ezek,</HI> 36.37. And when a per&s;on is once in Chri&s;t, his being in Chri&s;t doth not take him off from duties, but rather puts him upon the <HI>diligent</HI> performance of them. And hence it is, that the Spirit of Chri&s;t that dwells in beleevers, is called a Spirit <HI>of prayer and &s;upplication, Rom</HI> 8.15.26. <HI>Gal</HI> 4.6. <HI>Zech.</HI> 12, 10. And Chri&s;t hath promi&s;ed beleevers to grant them their de&s;ires upon their asking his Father in his name <HI>John</HI> 14. and 15. and 16. chapters, <HI>Matth.</HI> 7.7. with many o|ther places to the &s;ame purpo&s;e, and hereupon he enjoynes belee|vers to watch and pray, and ask nece&s;&s;aries daily at the hands of God their Father, for the good both of their bodies and &s;oules, their temporall and eternall welfare, <HI>Matth</HI> 6.11, 12. So that 'tis not faith in Chri&s;t, and a promi&s;e, that in it &s;elfe &s;imply con&s;ide|red, makes us partakers and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ors of the good things of God with comfort, but faith <HI>exerci&s;ed,</HI> and <HI>put forth</HI> in prayer, and u&s;e of holy Duties and Ordinances of wor&s;hip. Faith in Chri&s;t, and the covenant of <HI>Grace,</HI> layes claime to the good things of God, yea God him&s;elfe (ble&s;&s;ed for ever) is his <HI>Portion,</HI> but <HI>Prayer</HI> fetcheth them in to the &s;oule, through Je&s;us Chri&s;ts mediation. And therefore as per&s;ons living in the neglect of duties, di&s;cover them&s;elves to be de&s;titute of the Spirit of Chri&s;t, and con&s;equent|ly of true faith in Chri&s;t, &s;o they manife&s;t them&s;elves to have no <HI>true right</HI> to what they enjoy as men and women in Chri&s;t, nor to have them in mercy from God, or in a capacity to enjoy a holy and &s;anctified u&s;e of them, but are under all with the cur&s;e of God upon them, &s;o that as the wi&s;e man &s;aith, the <HI>very pro&s;perity of &s;uch fooles de&s;troyeth them,</HI> Prov. 1.32.</P>
<P>The &s;econd ground upon which people build their neglect of duties, and ca&s;ting off ordinances, is the <HI>Eternall purpo&s;es and decrees of God,</HI> who hath by them appointed how things &s;hall be, and there is no altering of them, by our fa&s;ting, praying, &amp;c. or performing any duties of wor&s;hip what&s;oever. Shall wee think (&s;ay &s;ome) that the judgement of the <HI>Sword, Pe&s;tilence,</HI> and <HI>Famine</HI> that walked up and down the Kingdome, as the <HI>Exe|cutioners</HI> of divine Ju&s;tice in an uncontrollable manner have been (in &s;o great and wonderfull mea&s;ure) removed from the prayers and &s;upplications of any or all the Saints in <HI>England,</HI> and not ra|ther from the <HI>predeterminate</HI> Councell and decrees of God.</P>
<P>To which I an&s;wer, That the <HI>Decrees</HI> of God doe not exclude
<PB N="25" REF="19">in the lea&s;t, the <HI>u&s;e of the means</HI> towards the effecting &amp; bringing about of them, but as God hath determined in his eternall coun|&s;els what he will doe for the good of any of his people, &s;o he hath al&s;o determined that the <HI>means</HI> &s;hall be u&s;ed for the obtaining it: Yea, we finde in Scripture, that this is made a certain &s;igne that God hath determined to do us &s;ome great good, when he <HI>&s;tirreth up</HI> our hearts to be earne&s;t with him in prayer, and the u&s;e of o|ther lawfull meanes for the obtaining it, as we may &s;ee in <HI>Daniel</HI> 9.2, compared with <HI>Jer.</HI> 29.10, 11, 12, 13, 14. where we finde in the&s;e two Scriptures, two things to our pre&s;ent purpo&s;e, 1. That God had purpo&s;ed the deliverance of his people from their <HI>Ba|byloni&s;h</HI> captivity, after 70. yeares were expired. 2. That he pur|po&s;ed al&s;o, and foretold by <HI>Jeremy,</HI> that neare about the expira|tion of tho&s;e 70. yeares, a <HI>Spirit of Prayer</HI> &s;hould bee given to them, and they &s;hould goe and pray unto the Lord for their deli|verance; and hereupon <HI>Daniel</HI> is &s;tirred up about the end of tho&s;e 70. yeares, to a more then ordinary &s;eeking to God by <HI>fa&s;t|ing and prayer,</HI> for the accompli&s;hing of his promi&s;e, as is cleare from <HI>Dan.</HI> 2.3. and how much is the Lord taken with it, <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 20, 21, 22, 23. &s;o that we may from hence ea&s;ily &s;ee, that the de|crees and purpo&s;es of God, <HI>doe not exclude</HI> the performance of prayer, and u&s;e of holy ordinances, but rather <HI>include</HI> them: not that they are <HI>de&s;erving cau&s;es</HI> of our mercies, but onely &s;uch <HI>wayes and means</HI> as God hath in his wi&s;dome appointed (in or|der to the manife&s;tation of our duty towards him) without which he will not vouch&s;afe us our de&s;ires. And hence it is al&s;o, that we find the practice of the Saints hath been manife&s;ted this way, by &s;eeking to God in the way and u&s;e of his ordinances, for their enjoyment both of mercies <HI>Spirituall</HI> and <HI>Temporal,</HI> as the Scrip|tures abundantly declare and te&s;tifie.</P>
<P>And whereas many think, that the u&s;e of <HI>&s;econd cau&s;es,</HI> and or|dinary meanes naturally, are &s;ufficient to attain their de&s;ires with|out the u&s;e of prayer, &amp;c. becau&s;e God hath given a power, or naturall force to <HI>&s;econd cau&s;es</HI> to doe us good, as <HI>fire to heat us, meat to nouri&s;h us, cloathes to warm us, rea&s;on to guide us, Phy|&s;ick to keep us in health, and cure us of di&s;ea&s;es, &amp;c.</HI> I wil evident|ly prove from the Scriptures, that the Lord hath put his &s;ervants upon the <HI>practice of prayer</HI> to &s;eek his ble&s;&s;ing and directions in the <HI>u&s;e of all the&s;e,</HI> yea, in &s;uch <HI>naturall, civill,</HI> and <HI>morall things</HI> and <HI>actions,</HI> wherein all men have <HI>freedome of will,</HI> and want nei|ther
<PB N="26" REF="20">ordinary meanes to help them&s;elves, nor wi&s;dome and un|der&s;tanding naturally to guide them. As for in&s;tance, 1. <HI>in the u&s;e of food,</HI> though there be therein a <HI>naturall vertue</HI> put and placed by God to nouri&s;h us, yet we finde how the &s;ervants of God have u&s;ed prayer to de&s;ire the Lord to ble&s;&s;e that unto them, as Chri&s;t him&s;elfe frequently, when he took bread he looked up to heaven and prayed for a ble&s;&s;ing on it, and &s;o the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> and many others, according to 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4.5, 6.</P>
<P N="2">2. In the <HI>undertaking of Journeyes,</HI> how was the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> carried out by prayer to the Lord, for his direction, as in 1 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 3.11. <HI>Now God him&s;elf, and our Father, and our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, direct our way unto you.</HI> and <HI>Rom.</HI> 1.10. And thus <HI>Ezra</HI> in his journey towards <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> with the children of I&s;|rael that came out of <HI>Babylon,</HI> earne&s;tly &s;ought the Lord for a <HI>right way</HI> Ezra 8.21, 22, 23.</P>
<P N="3">3. In the <HI>making of marriages,</HI> how did <HI>Eleazer, Abrahams</HI> &s;ervant, (though he were an <HI>under&s;tanding man,</HI> and very able to manage his bu&s;ine&s;&s;e he went about) earne&s;tly <HI>&s;upplicate God</HI> for direction and &s;ucce&s;&s;e, <HI>Gen.</HI> 24.12. where we finde, that be|fore he attempted his work, he <HI>&s;ought the Lord</HI> to give him good &s;peed, as knowing that &s;uch in bu&s;ine&s;&s;es as the&s;e, though but of le&s;&s;er importance, the way to become pro&s;perous was to <HI>&s;eeke to the Lord</HI> for direction and good &s;ucce&s;&s;e.</P>
<P N="4">4. In the actions <HI>of our common Tradings</HI> and ordinary em|ployments, the Lords people have de&s;ired God to ble&s;&s;e and pro&s;|per them, as knowing that it is not &s;o much their <HI>naturall actions,</HI> and <HI>diligent endeavours</HI> that makes them rich and pro&s;perous, as the <HI>ble&s;&s;ing</HI> of God. And if there were no in&s;tances at all to be given, yet the command of God is &s;o cleare for it, that it may a|bundantly &s;atisfie tho&s;e that are <HI>ingenuous,</HI> as that of <HI>Prov.</HI> 3.6. <HI>In all thy wayes acknowledge him, and he &s;hall direct thy paths</HI> And <HI>Phil.</HI> 4.6, 7. <HI>Be carefull for nothing,</HI> that is, in re&s;pect of the e|vent, or i&s;&s;ue, or &s;ucce&s;&s;e of things, but <HI>in every thing, mark</HI> in every thing <GAP DESC="foreign">, by <HI>prayer and &s;upplication with thanke&s;gi|ving let your reque&s;ts be made known unto God.</HI> And then this will follow, that the <HI>peace of God &s;hall keep our hearts and mindes through Chri&s;t Je&s;us,</HI> as if there were no true peace to be enjoyed where there is a neglect of a per&s;ons duty this way.</P>
<P N="3">3. The third ground upon which people build their ca&s;ting off
<PB N="27" REF="20">the u&s;e of religious duties and ordinances, is taken from <HI>Gods knowing of all our wants,</HI> and his <HI>readine&s;&s;e to &s;upply them with|out our &s;eeking to him:</HI> for &s;ay they, God hath no need of our prayers and performances to move him to doe us good.</P>
<P>To which I an&s;wer, that though this be a truth, yet the <HI>infe|rence</HI> men make from it in ca&s;ting off the performance of duties, is not good, but weake and idle; for fir&s;t of all, though God know our wants better then we our &s;elves doe, yet he hath made it known to us in the Scriptures, that it is his will wee &s;hould &s;pread them before him in prayer, &amp;c. as <HI>Phil.</HI> 4.6. <HI>In every thing let your reque&s;ts be made</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> <HI>known,</HI> &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, and that by prayer and &s;upplication, now this cannot be meant of making known the&s;e reque&s;ts <HI>to any other</HI> then unto God, be|cau&s;e he alone is able to &s;upply us, to heare and help us. So <HI>Mat.</HI> 6.11, 12. &amp; 7.7. <HI>Ezek.</HI> 36.37.</P>
<P N="2">2. Though God &s;tand not in need of our prayers and &s;uppli|cations, yet he will have us to perform them that wee may the better know our duties, and how much we are beholding to him who is the alone <HI>Author and Donor</HI> of all our enjoyments. And hence it is that he would have his people of old to put him in <HI>re|membrance,</HI> and <HI>declare that they might be ju&s;tified, E&s;ay</HI> 43.26. not that <HI>Jehovah</HI> is <HI>forgetful,</HI> or &s;tands in need of a <HI>Monitor,</HI> as it is too too frequently with poor creatures like our &s;elves. No; but that we might <HI>know our duties,</HI> and con&s;ider from whom all our mercies <HI>flow,</HI> and to whom all our <HI>Returnes</HI> of prai&s;e ought to be made.</P>
<P N="3">3. Although the ble&s;&s;ed <HI>Nature</HI> of God in Je&s;us Chri&s;t be infinitly carried out with readine&s;&s;e &amp; for wardne&s;&s;e towards the helping of poore creatures in and under all their wants and weak|ne&s;&s;es, yet our &s;eeking for this help, doth not in the lea&s;t <HI>derogate</HI> from the glory of his goodne&s;&s;e, but rather advance it. My rea|&s;ons for it, are the&s;e: 1. Becau&s;e it is a mo&s;t evident <HI>Demon&s;tra|tion</HI> to Heaven and Earth, that he is gentle and ea&s;ie to be intrea|ted, full of bowels of compa&s;&s;ion, rich to all that call upon him, even to the young <HI>Ravens</HI> when they cry, as the P&s;almi&s;t &s;pea|keth, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 147.9. And me thinks there is a great <HI>Empha&s;is</HI> in the word <HI>[Cry,]</HI> as thereby noting to us, how gracious and full of compa&s;&s;ion the <HI>Nature</HI> of God is, which could not be &s;o well di&s;cerned, if there were not &s;uch <HI>Cryes</HI> put up from poore crea|tures to him: So that the drawings forth of tho&s;e tender mer|cies
<PB N="28" REF="21">which are in God, by the cryes of his poore creatures to him, doe exceedingly &s;peak: out and commend to men and Angels, the unconceivable goodne&s;&s;e of his <HI>Nature.</HI> 2. Becau&s;e the Lords plea&s;ure, that we &s;hould fir&s;t &s;eek him, before we en|joy mercies from him, is a great <HI>Argument</HI> of this &s;ingular love to us. And this is evident from hence: 1. In that it is from the great delight he hath to behold and heare the work of his owne Spirit in us, making interce&s;&s;ion with &s;ighes and groanes that are un|utterable, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.26. <HI>Cant.</HI> 2.14. 2. becau&s;e he knowes that his mercies and ble&s;&s;ings will be a great deale the <HI>&s;weeter</HI> to us, when we have got them in the way of prayer, as we finde they were to <HI>David, Daniel,</HI> and other of the Saints. And this the Saints find by <HI>experience,</HI> that tho&s;e mercies which are gotten in a way of faith and prayer, (through much wre&s;tling with God, and endea|vour to honour him by beleeving) are farre <HI>&s;weeter</HI> to us then tho&s;e that come to us in a common and ordinary way of generall <HI>Providence,</HI> and co&s;t us nothing.</P>
<P N="4">4. The fourth ground upon which people build their leaving the u&s;e of Ordinances, is this, that <HI>they them&s;elves have u&s;ed Or|dinances, and performed duties, but to &s;mall purpo&s;e, and tho&s;e that doe u&s;e them, are little the better by u&s;ing of them.</HI></P>
<P>To which I an&s;wer, 1. As concerning them&s;elves, whether they have not oftentimes di&s;covered the contrary, beleeving that they have enjoyed very much of God at &s;uch times, when they have been in the u&s;e of Ordinance, as in <HI>Prayer, hearing the word, communion with the Saints, &amp;c.</HI> &s;aying with <HI>David, O how a|miable are thy Tabernacles! my &s;oule longeth, yea even fainteth for the Courts of thy Hou&s;e, P&s;al.</HI> 84.1, 2. And with <HI>Peter</HI> when he was with Chri&s;t in Mount Tabor, <HI>It is good to be here, let us build here three Tabernacles Matth.</HI> 17.4. This, I &s;ay, and <HI>much more,</HI> have tho&s;e &s;aid and &s;poken, that now ca&s;t off Ordi|nances. If they plaid the <HI>Hypocrites,</HI> and were not reall in what they did, but &s;uffered their tongues to &s;peake more then their hearts felt, they mu&s;t blame them&s;elves, and not finde fault with the <HI>Ordinances.</HI> Be&s;ides, doth the grace of God (wrought in any &s;oule) teach them to lay the fault of their <HI>unfruitfulne&s;&s;e</HI> and <HI>bar|renne&s;&s;e</HI> on the <HI>meanes,</HI> Chri&s;t hath in&s;tituted to make them fruit|full? Are not &s;uch rea&s;onings <HI>carnall and fle&s;hly,</HI> and not from the Spirit, which &s;uch per&s;ons pretend to be wholly caught up to live and walk in. Why may not a &s;icke and di&s;ea&s;ed per&s;on,
<PB N="29" REF="21">that lies under the <HI>predominancy</HI> of corrupt <HI>humours</HI> in his &s;to|mach, complain as well, that the ground of his di&s;temper pro|ceeds from his <HI>food</HI> which he eates (which is excellent good, and full of &s;weet nouri&s;hment in it &s;elfe) and not from the <HI>&s;uper fluity</HI> of corrupt humours in his &s;tomack. Therefore I &s;hould advice &s;uch per&s;ons as blame the &s;acred ordinances of Chri&s;t, to reflect back on them&s;elves, &amp; &s;ee the ground of all their <HI>unprofitablene&s;&s;e</HI> in their own hearts. And whereas &s;ome &s;ay, that they have often prayed, but to &s;mall purpo&s;e; for they have &s;een it hath been all one to them and with them, when they have, or have not prayed, I would fain know whether this be not the very <HI>garb</HI> and lan|guage of the <HI>Wicked,</HI> as the Scripture abundantly mentioneth, <HI>E|&s;ay</HI> 58.3. <HI>Wherefore have we fa&s;ted,</HI> &s;ay they, <HI>and thou &s;ee&s;t it not? Wherefore have we afflicted our &s;oule, and thou take&s;t no know|ledge of it?</HI> And therefore it &s;eemes in the Prophet <HI>Malachies</HI> dayes, they re&s;olve to leave praying, <HI>Malach.</HI> 3.14. <HI>It is in vain,</HI> &s;ay they, <HI>to &s;erve God, and what profit is it unto us?</HI> Hippoctitas cannot endure to <HI>wait</HI> on the Lord, but like the King of <HI>Sama|ria, What &s;hould I wait on the Lord any longer?</HI> 2 <HI>Kings</HI> 6. <HI>ult.</HI> whereas tho&s;e that are true wor&s;hippers of God, (though they may at &s;ome times <HI>through temptation</HI> be <HI>&s;haken</HI> in their <HI>confi|dence,</HI> and con&s;equently be taken off from drawing nigh to God in duties for a &s;ea&s;on, yet) their hearts <HI>fall not foule</HI> with the duty, but rather with their own <HI>corruption,</HI> and are &s;till pre&s;&s;ing on af|ter further communion with God, and greater enjoyment of him in the duties of his wor&s;hip, and are re&s;olved to <HI>wait</HI> on the Lord in a way of &s;eeking his face, through the &s;trength of Chri&s;t, and not to give him re&s;t till hee hath <HI>returned</HI> to them, and &s;poken peace to their &s;oules. The Saints know that the Lord hath <HI>graci|ous ends</HI> in deferring to an&s;wer and help them when they cry un|to him, and that they &s;hall be no <HI>lo&s;ers</HI> by their waiting on God, and therefore keep on &s;eeking and waiting, though the Lord doe not forthwith heare and an&s;wer them.</P>
<P N="2">2. As for that concernes others, that <HI>&s;uch as u&s;e Ordinances, and are daily in the practice of prayer, &amp;c.</HI> are (for ought they can &s;ee) <HI>little the better for them:</HI> I an&s;wer, if they mean <HI>Forma|li&s;ts,</HI> and carnall Go&s;pellers, that have a meere <HI>form</HI> of godline&s;&s;e onely, but want the power of it in their hearts and lives, it can|not bee denied but &s;o it is, yet no rea&s;on in the lea&s;t, why the blame &s;hould be laid on the <HI>Ordinances,</HI> or that any that are <HI>up|right</HI>
<PB N="30" REF="22">in their walking w^t^h God, &s;hould <HI>cea&s;e</HI> the u&s;ing of them: for the <HI>abu&s;e</HI> of what is lawfull by &s;ome, is no &s;ufficient rea&s;on why others &s;hould bee taken off from the u&s;e of it. Meat and drink, and recreations, with other things that are lawfull and good in them&s;elves, may be abu&s;ed oftentimes by &s;ome that &s;eeke after nothing more then the &s;atisfying of their carnall lu&s;ts; yet that may not take off others from the moderate u&s;e of them. And &s;o 'tis here in the poynt of Ordinances; we may as well rea&s;on, be|cau&s;e <HI>Judas</HI> and <HI>Demas,</HI> with others, abu&s;ed their profe&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;t, therefore none are to make profe&s;&s;ion of him.</P>
<P>But &s;econdly, if it be &s;poken of all in the generall, tho&s;e that are upright before God in their performances and u&s;e of Ordi|nances, as well as tho&s;e that are meere formali&s;ts, then I demand of &s;uch, whether <HI>living in God</HI> (who is <HI>Love</HI> it &s;elfe) can po&s;&s;i|bly lead them forth to &s;uch wayes of <HI>uncharitable</HI> judging their brethren. It's true, that the <HI>be&s;t</HI> of the Saints may not live and walk up &s;o <HI>exactly</HI> to tho&s;e performances of duties and enjoy|ments of holy Ordinances as were to be wi&s;hed; I plead not for the <HI>unprofitablene&s;&s;e of any</HI> under the meanes of grace: but, that <HI>none</HI> of them are fruitful, nor growing up to fuller enjoyments of God in Chri&s;t, through the Spirit, in the u&s;e of Ordinances and holy Duties, <HI>this I deny,</HI> as a gro&s;&s;e and <HI>foule</HI> untruth, having <HI>ex|perience</HI> to the contrary in many of the &s;ervants of God through rich mercie. And I am <HI>confident</HI> of it, if tho&s;e that now <HI>ca&s;t off</HI> Ordinances, could look with a <HI>clearer &amp; &s;tronger</HI> eye of <HI>love</HI> and <HI>charity</HI> in tho&s;e that make u&s;e of them, and could beleeve that they live in the u&s;e of Ordinances (not <HI>formally</HI> and <HI>cu&s;tomarily,</HI> as the men of the world that place their greate&s;t religion in the en|joyment of them, but out of <HI>pure con&s;cience,</HI> and <HI>obedience</HI> to the commands of Chri&s;t, and from higher and more noble <HI>principles</HI> and <HI>ends,</HI> then Hypocrites or carnall Go&s;pellers can po&s;&s;ibly put forth and manife&s;t) they would not cry down the u&s;e of Go&s;pel-ordinances, nor <HI>judge tho&s;e</HI> for poore, low, weake Chri&s;tians, that u&s;e them as now they doe. But (through an un|grounded and unchri&s;tian <HI>jealou&s;ie</HI> that is entertained by them touching others, together with an <HI>high</HI> and over-weening con|ceit of them&s;elves) it is to be feared they are &s;o offended with or|dinances, and &s;peak &s;o contemptibly and undervaluingly of tho&s;e that u&s;e them, I &s;hall &s;ay no more to &s;uch, on this particular, but wi&s;h them to be cloathed with humility, and better to &s;tudy the
<PB N="31" REF="22"><HI>grounds</HI> of their own <HI>leaving</HI> ordinances, before they call into que&s;tion their <HI>brethrens,</HI> in the u&s;e of them.</P>
<P N="5">5. The fifth ground upon which people build their neglect of Duties, and ca&s;ting off <HI>Ordinances,</HI> is this: That they <HI>look upon Ordinances, and Duties of wor&s;hip,</HI> as <HI>Prayer, Preaching, admi|&s;tring the Seales, Church-fellow&s;hip, &amp;c. as poore, low di&s;pen&s;ati|ons, weake formes, childi&s;h things,</HI> and &s;uch as be not &s;o <HI>con&s;i&s;t|ent</HI> with a <HI>per&s;ons living in God, &amp;c.</HI> but out of which God doth <HI>lead</HI> his people to a more <HI>immediate enjoyment</HI> of him&s;elfe in the Spirit.</P>
<P>Now for an&s;wer to this, Fir&s;t, I de&s;ire it may bee &s;eriou&s;ly con&s;idered, Whether the <HI>Ordinances</HI> and <HI>In&s;titutions</HI> of the <HI>great God,</HI> and our Saviour <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> are <HI>low things, poore, weake, childi&s;h di&s;pen&s;ations;</HI> Are tho&s;e low and childi&s;h things, in which the <HI>glory</HI> of Chri&s;ts <HI>Wi&s;dome, Power,</HI> and <HI>Faithfulne&s;&s;e</HI> doth &s;hine forth? And are not the <HI>Scriptures,</HI> &amp; divine <HI>In&s;titu|tions</HI> and <HI>Ordinances</HI> of Chri&s;t held forth in them, &s;uch <HI>Di&s;pen|&s;ations?</HI> How then darepoore &s;infull du&s;t and a&s;hes thus rea&s;on and argue? Is it not rather a cleare <HI>Demon&s;tration,</HI> that &s;uch men and women as thus &s;peak, have <HI>low</HI> and ba&s;e <HI>thoughts</HI> of Chri&s;t in the managing of that great bu&s;ines his Father hath intru&s;ted him with, about the <HI>ordering and governing</HI> his Hou&s;e &amp; Kingdome. Let that of the Apo&s;tle, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.7, 8.9, 10, 11. be &s;eriou&s;ly weighed, and then tell me whether the <HI>Di&s;pen&s;ations</HI> of Chri&s;t under the New Te&s;tament, be low things and <HI>childi&s;h.</HI> The A|po&s;tle in the former place &s;hewes clearly that the very di&s;pen&s;a|tion of the <HI>Legall</HI> Covenant mini&s;tery and ordinances, was<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> glo|rious, but how much more then (&s;aith he) mu&s;t the <HI>Evangeli|call</HI> Covenant mini&s;tery and ordinances under the New Te&s;ta|ment be glorious? If the mini&s;tration or di&s;pen&s;ation of <HI>Death</HI> and <HI>Condemnation</HI> under the Law, and that which was to be <HI>done away,</HI> was glorious, how much more the <HI>Mini&s;tration</HI> and <HI>Di&s;pen&s;ation</HI> of the Spirit under the Go&s;pel, which is <HI>perpetuall,</HI> &amp; to remain, &s;o that we &s;ee that the Di&s;pen&s;ations of Chri&s;t under the New Te&s;tament, are all <HI>glorious things:</HI> and if &s;o, how dare any &s;peak &s;o <HI>di&s;graeefully</HI> of them, as to call them <HI>poore, low, weake childi&s;h things?</HI> Doubtle&s;&s;e the Lord Je&s;us will give men and women but little thankes for tho&s;e * <HI>hard</HI> &s;peeches of theirs they have uttered again&s;t him,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> at his comming to execute judge|ment upon all ungodly ones, <HI>Jude Epi&s;t. v.</HI> 15.</P>
<P><PB N="32" REF="23">Be&s;ides, I de&s;ire &s;uch per&s;ons as &s;peak &s;o <HI>ignominiou&s;ly</HI> of the Lord Je&s;us, ordinances, and Go&s;pel-in&s;titutions, would but an|&s;wer mee, or rather the <HI>Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> to the&s;e few de|mands.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Is the Name of the great and glorious <HI>Jehovah</HI> a low and meane, a poore and childi&s;h thing, and is not his <HI>Wor&s;hip</HI> his name?</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Is the <HI>publi&s;hing</HI> and bearing forth his <HI>Name</HI> before the world, a low and childi&s;h thing, and is not the <HI>Mini&s;tery</HI> of the Go&s;pel &s;o much? <HI>Acts</HI> 9.15.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3 Is the &s;anctifying this great &amp; glorious <HI>Name</HI> of <HI>Iehovah,</HI> a low &amp; childi&s;h thing? And do not the Saints do &s;o much, when they drw <HI>nigh to God</HI> in the performance of the duties of his <HI>wor|&s;hip? Lev.</HI> 10.3.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. Is <HI>Glory</HI> a low thing, and not worth the looking after, and is not <HI>Mount Syon</HI> and all the holy A&s;&s;emblies &s;o &s;tiled? <HI>E&s;ay</HI> 4.5. &amp; 60.7.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>In a word, are not all the <HI>Ve&s;&s;els</HI> of the Lords &s;pirituall Temple and Hou&s;e under the New Te&s;tament, <HI>clean and holy?</HI> And &s;hall we call that <HI>common</HI> and unclean that the eternall God, the King of <HI>Sion</HI> hath clean&s;ed and &s;anctified? As Chri&s;t &s;aid to <HI>Peter, Act.</HI> 10.15. &s;o may I &s;ay to &s;uch men, Cal not tho&s;e things common and unclean that the Lord Je&s;us (the great Judge of quicke and dead) hath clean&s;ed and &s;anctified, and &s;et apart for his u&s;e and &s;er|vice, call not the ordinances and in&s;titutions with the holy Saints and &s;ervants of Chri&s;t (that are called out of the world to make u&s;e of them, in order to the lifting up of the glory of their Lord and Ma&s;ter, their Head and Husband) poore, low, weak things. If Chri&s;t will <HI>own</HI> them, and <HI>honour</HI> them, let men take heed how they de&s;pi&s;e and <HI>di&s;honour</HI> them.</P>
<P N="2">2. Whereas it is &s;aid, that the u&s;e of &s;uch Go&s;pel-ordinances and In&s;titutions of wor&s;hip, are not <HI>con&s;i&s;tent</HI> with a per&s;ons li|ving in God, I utterly deny it; &amp; my rea&s;on for it is this, becau&s;e tho&s;e things that are <HI>&s;ubordinate</HI> in their nature one to another, may very well &s;tand together without <HI>confounding</HI> and de&s;troy|ing one another: And &s;o is it here, <HI>Divine</HI> ordinances of Wor|&s;hip, as <HI>Prayer, Preaching, hearing, communion with the Saints at the Lords Supper, &amp;c.</HI> are <HI>&s;ubordinate</HI> wayes and meanes which Chri&s;t hath appointed to <HI>further</HI> (not <HI>hinder</HI>) a beleevers living in God. And the more the Saints are in the u&s;e of tho&s;e
<PB N="33" REF="23"><HI>meanes,</HI> with upright and &s;pirituall hearts, the more they are <HI>fur|thered</HI> therein. Indeed living in God, and living in ordinances, cannot &s;tand together, becau&s;e a per&s;on cannot give his heart to two lovers at once; but living in God, and <HI>u&s;ing</HI> of Ordinan|ces as meanes in order to the enjoyment of the end, may very well &s;tand together. As for example, A per&s;on that depends on God for his naturall life, eats and drinkes, and &s;leeps, and mar|ries, and takes phy&s;ick, and u&s;eth the&s;e and other like meanes, in order to the pre&s;ervation of that life, and the u&s;e of the&s;e meanes doth not null or make void his faith in, or dependance on God. Indeed <HI>placing</HI> our life, joy, comfort, excellency in the&s;e, and putting our confidence in them, cannot &s;tand with a per&s;ons <HI>living in,</HI> or depending on God, becau&s;e it is to make them our gods, &amp; not the Lord; but where there is only a <HI>con&s;cientious</HI> u&s;e of them in obedience to the will of God, and in order to the furthering of his providence, there a per&s;on may bee &s;aid to live in God, and depend on him, very well notwith&s;tanding his u&s;e of the&s;e. And thus it is in re&s;pect of a Chri&s;tians &s;pirituall life, he lives in God a|lone through Chri&s;t, and makes him alone the Re&s;t and Center of his Soule, and yet makes u&s;e of <HI>Prayer, Preaching, rea|ding the Scriptures, fellow&s;hip with the Saints, &amp;c.</HI> as the meanes which Chri&s;t hath appointed in order thereunto. And therefore what can be plainer then this that we affirme, <HI>viz.</HI> that living in God, and u&s;ing of Ordinances, are <HI>con&s;i&s;tent,</HI> and may well &s;tand together. And what horrible wickedne&s;&s;e and <HI>Hypocri&s;ie</HI> is it in<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I charge not all, but &s;ome more e&s;pecially, that are <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> of this opinion and practice, who are grown very loo&s;e and pro|phane in their wor&s;hip.</NOTE> many of tho&s;e that deny the u&s;e of Ordinances, and af|firm that living in God, and u&s;ing of ordinances and duties, are not &s;o con&s;i&s;tent, when they can grant, that living in God, and <HI>dicing, drinking, dancing, drabbing, &amp;c.</HI> (with divers other a|bominations that are done of them in <HI>&s;ecret,</HI> and too too openly, that a man may be a &s;hamed to mention, <HI>Eph.</HI> 5.12.) are con&s;i|&s;tent, and may very well &s;tand together. But, <HI>&ocirc; tempora! &ocirc; mores!</HI> Oh the de&s;perate wickedne&s;&s;e of men and women in this Age! Can the wayes and workes of darkne&s;&s;e that the Lord hath for|bidden, &s;tand with a per&s;ons living in God <HI>(which is &s;uch a bla&s;|phemous abomination, as hell it &s;elfe can hardly afford a fouler)</HI> and cannot the wayes and works of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and godline&s;&s;e, the &s;erving and wor&s;hipping of God, &s;tand with living in God? O quinte&s;&s;ence of impiety. <HI>thou child of the Devill, thou enemy of all righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, wilt thou not cea&s;e to pervert the right wayes
<PB N="34" REF="24">of the Lord?</HI> Acts 13.10. <HI>What &s;hall be given unto thee, or what &s;hall be done unto thee, thou fal&s;e tongue? Sharp Arrowes of the mighty, with coales of Iuniper,</HI> P&s;al. 120.2, 3.</P>
<P N="3">3. Whereas they &s;ay, That <HI>God doth u&s;e to lead his people out of tho&s;e low and childi&s;h di&s;pen&s;ations, to a more high enjoyment of Him&s;elfe:</HI> I an&s;wer briefly, Is it not a childi&s;h rea&s;oning to &s;ay, God leads children from their childi&s;h <HI>words</HI> and <HI>actions</HI> they manife&s;t whiles they are children, therefore hee leads them from <HI>&s;peaking,</HI> and <HI>rea&s;oning,</HI> and <HI>di&s;cour&s;ing,</HI> and <HI>&s;tudying,</HI> and other actions that belong to a <HI>rationall</HI> creature when they grow old: So here, what <HI>weakne&s;&s;e</HI> doe men di&s;cover to the world, when they &s;ay, God leads his people out of the u&s;e of ordinances, and wayes of wor&s;hiping and &s;erving of him, by prayer, &amp;c. when he leads them out from their <HI>ignorance, darkne&s;&s;e, fle&s;hli|ne&s;&s;e, filthine&s;&s;e, carnalne&s;&s;e,</HI> that was wont to cleave to, and bee mixed with their performances. Becau&s;e God leads his people out of <HI>living in,</HI> and <HI>tru&s;ting to</HI> their meat and drink, and other creature-comforts and enjoyments, to which their hearts are apt and prone to <HI>bow down;</HI> therefore he leads them out, and takes them off from <HI>eating</HI> and <HI>drinking,</HI> and u&s;e of creature-com|forts: what <HI>madne&s;&s;e</HI> would it be in any man to affirme this? So here, becau&s;e God is plea&s;ed to take off his people more and more from their <HI>unbeliefe, pride,</HI> &s;elfe-&s;eekng, &amp;c, and other <HI>weakne&s;&s;es and &s;innes,</HI> in the performance of the duties of his wor&s;hip, therefore hee leades them out of, and from the duties them&s;elves; Is not this <HI>hand&s;ome rea&s;oning.</HI> Be&s;ides, how can it po&s;&s;ibly be, that God &s;hould lead the Saints from the u&s;e of Or|dinances, when he hath ordained the perpetuall u&s;e of them to his Saints in all ages, as I have &s;hewed in the <HI>Quaeries.</HI> Hee leads his people indeed to live above them, but not to live without them.</P>
<P N="6">6. The &s;ixth ground on which people build their neglect of Duties, &amp;c. is this, <HI>That none are bound to pray, or performe Duties,, &amp;c. further then the Spirit moves them thereunto.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> To which I an&s;wer in the fir&s;t place, That though this be a <HI>Truth</HI> in &s;ome&s;en&s;e, yet we &s;hould take heed how we<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Though wee are to goe when Gods Spirit moves us, yet are we not to neglect when wee doe not perceive &s;uch &s;en&s;ible moti|ons of the Spi|rit. &amp;c. <HI>Bolt. Bounds of Chri&s;tian freedome, v. 202.</HI> We mu&s;t doe duty &s;ometime out of obedi|ence, although we want both a heart to it, and a heart in it. <HI>Id. ibid.</HI></NOTE> a|bu&s;e it, and make a wrong u&s;e of it, to bring about <HI>tho&s;e ends</HI> for which it was never intended, as this in particular for one, <HI>viz.</HI> The <HI>willing omi&s;&s;ion, and witting neglect of the duties of Gods wor&s;hip both publick and &s;ecret,</HI> which he calls us <HI>daily</HI> to the performance of. It is true, as the Spirit of Chri&s;t is the <HI>efficient
<PB N="35" REF="24">cau&s;e</HI> of &s;pirituall life in beleevers (<HI>without whom we can doe no|thing, Iohn</HI> 15.5.) and works the grace of <HI>Sanctification</HI> in their hearts, &s;o there is <HI>no performing</HI> of holy duties without him: But whether a beleever &s;o &s;anctified and enlivened by the Holy Gho&s;t, is not to<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Though wee cannot bring the Spirit to us, yet let us &s;et our &s;elves in the way for him, to meet with us. <HI>Hold up the performance of duty, &amp;c. Id. ibid.</HI></NOTE> <HI>enter</HI> upon religious duties, before the Spirit put forth a new act of &s;pirituall life in him, I &s;uppo&s;e can hardly be made out: For I &s;uppo&s;e after Regeneration, or the new Birth, when a per&s;on is <HI>implanted,</HI> or incorporated into Chri&s;t, he is not to be lookt upon as a <HI>meere pa&s;&s;ive</HI> in the performance of holy duties, as <HI>Prayer, Mortification of &s;inne, &amp;c.</HI> but as a <HI>worker together</HI> with God. And &s;o much tho&s;e eminently anoynted and qualified &s;ervants of Chri&s;t, M^r. <HI>Tho. Goodwin,</HI> and M^r. <HI>Ieremy Burronghes,</HI> and M^r. <HI>W. Greenhill</HI> affirme. M^r. <HI>Tho. Goodwin</HI> in his<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Treati&s;e of the tryall of a Chri&s;tians growth, p. 82, 83. &amp; 138, 139.</NOTE> Treati&s;e quoted in the Margent touching a beleevers <HI>Morti|fying &s;inne,</HI> &s;aith, <Q>We are purged from &s;in as the body is by Phy&s;ick from humours; though the Phy&s;ick work, yet Nature joynes with the Phy&s;ick, being quickned and helped by it, to ca&s;t out the humours: &s;o as the meanes whereby God purgeth us, are not to bee imagined to doe it, as meere Phy&s;icall A|gents, like as the pruning-hook cuts off branches from the Tree, or as when a Chyrurgion cuts out dead fle&s;h; but the&s;e meanes doe it by &s;tirring up our graces, and quickning them, and by &s;etting our thoughts, and faith, and affections a-worke, and &s;o God a&s;&s;i&s;ting with the power of Chri&s;ts death, he doth purge us daily, by making his word, afflictions, &amp;c. for to &s;et our thoughts on work again&s;t &s;inn. It is certain, that unle&s;&s;e our thoughts work on the meanes, as well as the meanes work up|on us, and &s;o mingle them&s;elves with them; unle&s;&s;e Faith and Chri&s;ts death bee mingled in the heart, it purgeth not: And therefore it is &s;aid, we purge our &s;elves, as 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 2.20. and 1 <HI>Iohn</HI> 3.3. and <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.13. Wee by the Spirit mortifie the deeds of the fle&s;h, this is &s;aid (&s;aith hee) as well as that God purgeth us, becau&s;e God &s;till in going on to purge us, doth it by &s;tirring up our graces, and u&s;eth therein acts of our faith, and love, and many motives and con&s;iderations to doe it.</Q> Thus this <HI>pretious</HI> &s;ervant of Chri&s;t holds forth, with much more to this purpo&s;e, taking off the grand objection is made again&s;t it in the &s;ame Treati&s;a, p. 138, 139.</P>
<P>M^r. <HI>Burroughes</HI> on <HI>Ho&s;ea</HI> &s;peaking again&s;t wanton Profe&s;&s;ors in this Age, &s;aith, <Q>We finde revealed in the Go&s;pel, that it is
<PB N="36" REF="25">God that mu&s;t work the will and the deed; the Covenant of grace is &s;uch, as that God doth not onely require, but work all for us. How is this goodne&s;&s;e (&s;aith he) mi&s;-interpreted and abu&s;ed? Therefore (&s;ay they) what need wee doe any thing? Why doe Mini&s;ters urge people to duties? Your principle is good, the truth is good, that it is God that workes all in the <HI>Covenant of Grace,</HI> but this deduction is very ab&s;urd and vile, and an abu&s;e of Gods goodne&s;&s;e, that therefore you mu&s;t not work together with God, as rationall creatures, &amp;c. p 743.</Q></P>
<P>So M^r <HI>Greenhill,</HI> in his elaborate Lectures on <HI>Ezekiel,</HI> Chap. 3. ver&s;e 1, 2, 3. p. 293. <HI>Ob&s;erv;</HI> 1. hath the&s;e words, <Q>The god|ly mu&s;t act and put forth their graces towards further reception of &s;pirituall things; When Chri&s;t will give <HI>Ezekiel Donum Prophetiae,</HI> a Roll to eat, he opens his mouth, he &s;ets a-work his faith to receive this gift of prophe&s;ie; Faith in the habit is like the mouth &s;hut up, nothing enters; but in exerci&s;e it's like the mouth open, and ready to receive. It's infinite mercy that God at any time will offer us &s;pirituall favours and excellencies; we &s;hould therefore beforward, and &s;tirre up our &s;oules and graces to the receit of &s;uch mercies. It's a lazy and ill excu&s;e for godly ones to &s;ay they can do nothing: Grace is an active &amp;an enabling thing, and where there is a principle of life (as all godly men have) there is a &s;pecificall difference between that man and a|nother that hath it not; a man without it cannot act nor &s;tirre up him&s;elfe to a further reception of &s;pirituall things, becau&s;e he is dead, but a man that hath it, can &amp; ought to quicken up his own &s;oule to &s;pirituall things. The Prophet had received the Spirit that entred into him, and he opened his mouth, exerci|&s;ed his Faith, to take what the Lord &s;hould give: The Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> bids <HI>Timothy &s;tirre up the gift of God that was in him,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 1.6. He would have men deal with their gifts and gra|ces, as they doe with fire vnder the a&s;hes, they blow them off. and blow the fire up, and there is a flame fit for &s;ervice. Sloth, feare, infirmity, carnall rea&s;on, are a&s;hes that doe oft cover divine fire, that it &s;eems dead; but we mu&s;t &s;tirre up our &s;elves, blow off tho&s;e a&s;hes, and blow up the fire of grace, that it may burn and &s;hine, be u&s;efull to our &s;elves and others. The Prophet com|plains in <HI>E&s;ay</HI> 64.7. <HI>There is no man that &s;tirreth up him&s;elfe to take hold of me:</HI> they are like men a&s;leep, that &s;it &s;till and doe nothing.</Q> The vulgar is, <HI>Non e&s;t qui con&s;urgat.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="37" REF="25">So that I conceive as it is in the great bu&s;ine&s;&s;e of a Beleevers mor|tification of &s;in, &s;o it is in the performance of prayer, and other religious duties; the <HI>Rule</HI> by which a true beleever is to walk in the performance of tho&s;e duties, <HI>is not to &s;it &s;till and doe nothing</HI> till hee is wrought upon by the Spirit, but hee is through the &s;trength of grace received, to act his<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">They that &s;peake again&s;t performance of duty, might as well &s;peake a|gain&s;t the act|ings of faith &amp; exerci&s;e of grace: for pray|er is nothing el&s;e but the com|munication of the &s;oule with God, the act|ings of faith, &amp; exerci&s;e of grace. <HI>Bolt. ut &s;upra.</HI></NOTE> faith on the truth and faith|fulne&s;&s;e of God in <HI>the promi&s;e,</HI> who hath undertaken to give in a&s;|&s;i&s;tance to us, and ability to goe through that worke hee calleth us unto, and requireth at our hands. For the &s;ame God that calls us to duty, hath promi&s;ed to give in <HI>&s;trength</HI> by his Spirit, to di&s;|charge it; and this faith is to rely on, and make u&s;e of for its en|couragement in all the workes the Lord calls a beleever to the performance of; not but that faith and all other graces are the Spirits, but becau&s;e the Spirit doth not act without them in a true beleever. For doubtle&s;&s;e &s;uch as are truly incorporated into Chri&s;t, and made one Spirit with the Lord, are not acted as <HI>dead &s;tockes,</HI> as if every time and moment of their acting Godward, they received <HI>new life</HI> from the Spirit of Chri&s;t. And I am con|fident, for want of the knowledge of this, it comes to pa&s;&s;e, that many formall ea&s;ie Profe&s;&s;ors, take &s;uch <HI>liberty</HI> to them&s;elves to live in the <HI>neglect</HI> of holy duties, becau&s;e they &s;ay, they <HI>can doe nothing of them&s;elves further then the Spirit moves and quickens them,</HI> as if one that is in Chri&s;t, were altogether without &s;piritul life and motion longer then the Holy Gho&s;t falls upon him, as in the fir&s;t act of conver&s;ion. From whence it mu&s;t needs follow:</P>
<P N="1">1. That there are no <HI>habits</HI> of grace, nor <HI>inherent</HI> workes of holine&s;&s;e wrought in beleevers at their fir&s;t <HI>Conver&s;ion</HI> and <HI>Rege|neration,</HI> when Chri&s;t is formed in them, which is <HI>contrary</HI> to the<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Iohn 1.16. 2 Cor. 5.17. Ephe&s;. 2.10. Ephe&s;. 4.24.</NOTE> <HI>Scripture,</HI> and all found Writers.</P>
<P N="2">2. That when&s;oever a beleever is without the motions of the Spirit, as in times of <HI>&s;leep, and bodily re&s;t,</HI> or <HI>times of temptation,</HI> yea <HI>falling</HI> into &s;in, as the <HI>be&s;t</HI> are &s;ubject to doe <HI>James</HI> 3.2. then he is not to be lookt upon as one in Chri&s;t, which is as ab&s;urd as un&s;ound.</P>
<P N="3">3. That all tho&s;e<NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 4.14, 25. 2 Tim. 1.6. Luke 21.26. Ephe&s; 6.18. Iam. 1.19, 21. Phil. 2.12. 1 Cor. 15. ult.</NOTE> <HI>exhortations</HI> to beleevers, that concern the &s;tirring up their grace, their <HI>watchfulne&s;&s;e</HI> to the performance of religious duties, their <HI>working</HI> out their &s;alvation with feare and trembling, Their giving all diligence to make their calling and election &s;ure, their <HI>fruitfulne&s;&s;e</HI> in good workes, and <HI>abounding</HI> in the work of the Lord, &amp;c. are void and of none effect, making
<PB N="38" REF="26">beleevers under the <HI>Go&s;pel</HI> and new <HI>Covenant</HI> of grace, to be in no better condition then tho&s;e that were under the <HI>Law,</HI> &amp; a Co|venant of works, who had their duties di&s;covered, but had not grace and power given to them to enable them to the di&s;charge of them, which is contrary to the <HI>Tenor</HI> of the new Covenant, which all tho&s;e have a &s;hare in, that are in Chri&s;t, and can &s;ay in &s;ome mea&s;ure, as Chri&s;t their Head did, <HI>P&s;alm</HI> 40.7, 8, 9. compa|red with <HI>Heb</HI> 10.7, 8. <HI>I delight to doe thy will, O. my God, yea thy Law is within my heart.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. That there are no ju&s;t <HI>grounds</HI> for Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles in the Scriptures to<NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">Mat. 26.40. Mark 16.14 Luke 24.45. Mat. 25.26. Heb. 5.11, 12. 1 Cor. 5.2. Rev. 2.4. Rev. 3.15, 16, 17.</NOTE> <HI>charge</HI> home the <HI>guilt of &s;innes of omi&s;|&s;ion and neglect</HI> of prayer, repentance, mortification of &s;in, &amp;c. nor the guilt of <HI>carele&s;ne&s;&s;e, &s;lothfulne&s;&s;e, negligence, luke-warmne&s;&s;e</HI> in the &s;ervice of God, upon &s;uch as are beleevers, which is <HI>fre|quently done by them,</HI> as we may read in the New Te&s;tament: for if they can act no longer nor no further then the Holy Gho&s;t acts them, as <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">t their fir&s;t conver&s;ion, then why &s;hould they bee char|ged with &s;uch faults, and commanded to amend, threatned if they doe not, as <HI>Rev.</HI> 2 4, 5. &s;eeing God deales not with belee|vers in Chri&s;t under the Go&s;pel any longer by a <HI>Covenant of works,</HI> but of <HI>grace,</HI> though the <HI>Covenant of Grace</HI> bee full of ju&s;tice, and in the hands of him who orders it in righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, who&s;e<NOTE N="e" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 89.32, 33.</NOTE> Scepter is a righteous Scepter, and will correct his &s;ub|jects in righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e yet &s;till in greate&s;t love and mercy.</P>
<P N="2">2. Be&s;ides &s;econdly I an&s;wer, Doth not this <HI>ground</HI> upon which people build the neglect of duties, &amp;c. as it is propounded, <HI>expo&s;e them</HI> to great danger of being acted by<NOTE N="f" PLACE="marg"><HI>Vid. Boltons Bounds of Chri&s;tian freedom, p. 199.</HI> where hee &s;hewes how Sa|tan may move a per&s;on to the performance of religious duties many wayes.</NOTE> a Spirit of <HI>Delu&s;i|on:</HI> For &s;uppo&s;e (they &s;taying till the Spirit move them (as they &s;peak in the former <HI>ground</HI>) to pray, &amp;c.) that the motion to the performance of the duty be <HI>irregular,</HI> and <HI>un&s;ea&s;onable,</HI> yea alto|gether <HI>un&s;uitable</HI> to the calling and condition of the party that is moved to the duty, &s;hall they forthwith conclude, that this mo|tion is from the Spirit of God? Nay, are they not rather to con|clude, that it is from <HI>Satan,</HI> who is a <HI>lying and deceiving</HI> Spirit, who&s;e <HI>depths and wiles</HI> are <HI>numerous,</HI> and who knowes how to advantage him&s;elfe again&s;t us as well by <HI>ill performing</HI> of duties, as by <HI>Non-performing</HI> them: and is it not the generall opinion and judgement of the godly that are <HI>taught of God,</HI> that one &s;peciall differencing <HI>character</HI> between the motions of the Spirit of God and Satan, is this, that the one moves <HI>orderly, &s;ea&s;onably,</HI> and
<PB N="39" REF="26"><HI>&s;uitably</HI> to the word, and a per&s;ons calling and condition, but the other <HI>di&s;orderly, un&s;ea&s;onably,</HI> and <HI>contrary</HI> to, or at lea&s;t without the word. And therefore without que&s;tion, tho&s;e that build their performing of duties upon this <HI>ground</HI> onely, may as well (e&s;pecially if they be not experienced Chri&s;tians) bee delu|ded by Satan as led by the Spirit of God.</P>
<P N="3">3. La&s;tly, to &s;ay no more; are not the Scriptures altogether &s;i|lent herein, and doe not in the lea&s;t hold forth &s;uch a <HI>Rule</HI> as this to beleevers, that none &s;hould not enter on the performance of duties, till the Spirit move them: nay, is it not as cleare as the <HI>Sunne at Noon day,</HI> that the Scriptures doe <HI>expre&s;ly</HI> hold forth to the contrary,<NOTE N="g" PLACE="marg">Luk. 21.36. Rom. 12.12. Ephel. 6.18. Col. 4.2. 1 The&s;&s;. 5.17.</NOTE> enjoyning beleevers to pray <HI>alwayes,</HI> to pray <HI>continually,</HI> to pray <HI>without cea&s;ing,</HI> to <HI>watch unto prayer,</HI> with &s;undry the like expre&s;&s;ions, not (take heed) as if beleevers were to <HI>doe nothing el&s;e</HI> but pray and perform religious duties; for then there would be no place left for their <HI>civill employments</HI> in their particular <HI>Callings,</HI> which in their place and order are to be done al&s;o, but that they &s;hould endeavour to <HI>pre&s;erve</HI> in them|&s;elves a holy and &s;pirituall <HI>di&s;po&s;ition</HI> towards that duty, and all other duties of the like <HI>nature,</HI> that &s;o they may be ready upon all occa&s;ions, ordinary and extraordinary, publique and privat, to draw nigh to God in the performance of them.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> But doth not this derogate from the honour of the Spirit?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> No more then the working of <HI>particular</HI> &amp; next cau&s;es do from the <HI>univer&s;all</HI> cau&s;e, which &s;eldom or never produceth parti|cular effects without a concurrence of particular cau&s;es. <HI>e. g.</HI> The <HI>Sunne</HI> is the univer&s;all cau&s;e of all the fruitfulne&s;&s;e of the Earth,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Vide</HI> Bridge Overflowings of Chri&s;ts ful|ne&s;&s;e, p. <HI>31, 32.</HI></NOTE> yet it doth not produce that fruitfulne&s;&s;e without the help of man: So here, the Spirit of God is the univer&s;all cau&s;e of all the &s;pirituall actings of the Saints, yet he doth not ordinarily produce tho&s;e actings without the concurrence of tho&s;e gracious habits are wrought in their hearts in their conver&s;ion. Nay, the con|currence of &s;uch particular cau&s;es with the univer&s;all cau&s;e, can be no di&s;honour to it, in regard that they doe not act by them|&s;elves properly, but together with and from the influence and vertue of the univer&s;all, without which they could doe no|thing, <HI>John</HI> 15.5.</P>
<P>The &s;eventh <HI>Ground</HI> on which people build their neglect of duties, is this, That <HI>the performance of duties and u&s;e of Ordinan|ces,
<PB N="40" REF="27">is more legall then Evangelicall, looking more to a Covenant of workes then a Covenant of Grace; engendring to bondage, where as the Go&s;pel gives more grace, and affords more liberty, looking more to beleeving then working.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> The whole frame of this Argument is <HI>carnall,</HI> and &s;a|vours too much of the fle&s;h, and very much <HI>nnbe&s;eeming</HI> tho&s;e that would have the world to look upon them as more then <HI>ordi|narily</HI> &s;pirituall, and &s;uch as have attained to greater <HI>enjoyments</HI> of God then others. My <HI>Rea&s;on</HI> is this, Becau&s;e tho&s;e per&s;ons that enjoy <HI>mo&s;t of God,</HI> and live highe&s;t in the Spirit, have their hearts <HI>mo&s;t enlarged</HI> and carried out in <HI>communion</HI> with God in <HI>Ordi|nances,</HI> and e&s;pecially that of prayer, &s;o that I may truly affirme it, <HI>A man of mo&s;t grace is a man of mo&s;t prayer, but a man of lea&s;t grace is a man of lea&s;t prayer.</HI> And wee have a &s;ingular evidence of it in the <HI>Apo&s;tle Paul,</HI> who was as <HI>Evangelicall</HI> a Chri&s;tian, and lived as highly in God (I &s;uppo&s;e) as any that now ca&s;t off <HI>Ordinances,</HI> how exceedingly was he given to prayer, how much was he in that duty as well as in other duties; but in this of pray|er he was more then ordinary, &s;o frequent, as if he had lea&s;ure for no other employment, and tooke delight in nothing el&s;e. And hence it is, that he &s;aith oftentimes, that he prayed <HI>without</HI><NOTE N="h" PLACE="marg">Rom. 1.9. Col. 1.3.9. 2 Tim. 1.3. Phil. 1.4. Philem. v. 4. 2 The&s;&s;. 1.11. 1 The&s;&s;. 3.10.</NOTE> <HI>cea|&s;ing,</HI> that he prayed <HI>alwayes,</HI> that he prayed exceedingly <HI>night and day,</HI> with divers! &s;uch like expre&s;&s;ions. And as it was with this pretious &s;ervant of Chri&s;t, &s;o it hath been with the mo&s;t <HI>eminent&s;t beleevers</HI> in all Ages, &s;o far have they been from looking on per|formance of holy Duties, as Legall Services, and <HI>engendring to Bondage.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. But &s;econdly, if wee diligently ob&s;erve the <HI>Tenor</HI> of the Go&s;pel, and <HI>new Covenant of Grace,</HI> &s;hall we not finde that they call upon beleevers for the <HI>&s;tricte&s;t</HI> and mo&s;t exacte&s;t <HI>performan|ees</HI> of the duties of Gods wor&s;hip, not allowing beleevers to live in the willing neglect of any known duty towards God, or man, or them&s;elves; if wee are not convinced of it, let that notable place of <HI>Tit.</HI> 2.11, 12, 13, 14. be con&s;idered, where the Apo|&s;tle &s;hewes, that the <HI>Grace of God that bringeth &s;alvation,</HI> viz. <HI>the Mini&s;tery of the Go&s;pel and new Covenant,</HI> that worketh grace <HI>in&s;trumentally</HI> in mens hearts, and revealeth the freelove of God through Je&s;us Chri&s;t, to &s;inners, hath appeared to all men, teaching us, that <HI>denying ungodline&s;&s;e and worldly lu&s;ts, we &s;hould live &s;oberly, righteou&s;ly, and godly in this pre&s;ent world:</HI> i. e. &s;o|berly
<PB N="41" REF="27">in re&s;pect of our &s;elves, righteou&s;ly or ju&s;tly in re&s;pect of men, and godly or holily and religiou&s;ly in re&s;pect of God. In which words I conceive are wrapt up the whole duty of a Chri|&s;tian as it re&s;pects the fir&s;t and &s;econd Table. This is the Do|ctrine of the Go&s;pel, or new Covenant of grace, not of the Law, or Covenant of workes: And the Apo&s;tle in the 14. ver&s;e goes on to amplifie it, by &s;hewing one chiefe end of Chri&s;ts comming into the world was, to redeem them from iniquity, and to &s;ancti|fie to him&s;elfe a people zealous of good workes; where he gives us al&s;o a character of tho&s;e that are the peculiar redeemed ones of Chri&s;t, that they are &s;uch as are not onely freed from the power and thraldome of their lu&s;ts, but are made zealous of good works. To this place many more might be added, as <HI>Luke</HI> 1.74 75. <HI>Jam.</HI> 2.8, 9, 10, 11, 12. <HI>Ezek.</HI> 11.14 &amp; 6.27.37.</P>
<P>But thirdly, it's con&s;iderable to examine and enquire what this <HI>Liberty</HI> is which the Go&s;pel brings with it to beleevets; now without que&s;tion it cannot be meant of a <HI>lawle&s;&s;e liberty,</HI> a <HI>car|nall, &s;en&s;uall, &s;infull liberty, a liberty and freedome</HI> to di&s;honour Chri&s;t, to ca&s;t his Lawes and Ordinances behind <HI>our backes,</HI> and to live as we li&s;t. It's as cleare as the Sunne at noon day, that the <HI>Go&s;pel</HI> brings no &s;uch liberty with it to the world: indeed the <HI>Devils Go&s;pel</HI> doth, and <HI>Antichri&s;ts,</HI> and <HI>Mahumets,</HI> they give to people elbow-roome enough, as we u&s;e to &s;ay, in the wayes of &s;inne, but not &s;o with the <HI>glorious Go&s;pel of the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Tit. 2.14. Rom. 6 14. 2 Tim. 2.19. 1 Ioh. 3.3. Rom. 6.1, 2.</NOTE> for this &s;aith, Chri&s;t came to redeem us <HI>from</HI> iniquity, this &s;ayth, &s;in &s;hall have <HI>no Dominion</HI> over us, this &s;aith, who&s;oever names the Name of Chri&s;t, mu&s;t depart from iniquity, this &s;aith, hee that hath true hope in Chri&s;t, <HI>purifies</HI> him&s;elfe as Chri&s;t is pure; this &s;aith, we are not to <HI>continue</HI> in &s;inne that grace may abound, nay it demands a rea&s;on how men can imagine that tho&s;e that are dead to &s;inne (through intere&s;t in Chri&s;t) &s;hould live any longer therein;<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 1.14, 15. 1 Cor: 15. ult. Phil <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">. 11. Tit 3.8. 2 Cor. 7.1. Phil 3.13, 14.</NOTE> and doth not the Go&s;pel of Chri&s;t &s;ay al&s;o, that wee &s;hould be holy as Chri&s;t is holy, that we &s;hould <HI>abound</HI> in the work of the Lord, that we &s;hould be <HI>filled</HI> with all the fruits of <HI>righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e,</HI> that we &s;hould bee <HI>zealous of good works,</HI> and maintain good workes, and perfect <HI>holines</HI> in the feare of the Lord, forgetting what is behinde, and pre&s;&s;ing after what is before, &amp;c.</P>
<P N="4">4 Be&s;ides fourthly, the u&s;e of <HI>Ordinances,</HI> and performance of duties under the Go&s;pel, is to bee lookt upon as a <HI>Beleevers
<PB N="42" REF="28">priviledge,</HI> not as his <HI>burthen:</HI> and if the commands and &s;ervice of Chri&s;t be called a <HI>Yoke and a Burthen,</HI> and <HI>Bonds</HI> and <HI>Cords,</HI> in the judgement of men, yet it's an <HI>ea&s;ie</HI> yoke, and a <HI>light</HI> bur|then, &s;uch <HI>cords and bonds</HI> as are gentle, &s;o that as the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, his commandements are not <HI>grievous,</HI> 1 <HI>Joh.</HI> 5 3. The pe|dagogy of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> indeed was <HI>burden&s;ome</HI> and grievous, &s;o that our fore-fathers could not beare it; but not &s;o with the &s;ervice of Chri&s;t under the Go&s;pel, when heavenly and &s;pirituall &s;oules are in it. Indeed when carnall hearts enter upon, or tarry any time <HI>in and under</HI> the &s;ervice of Chri&s;t, they are as under a burthen, and the worke they are about is a burthen to them; and what's the rea&s;on but this, that there is an <HI>un&s;uitablene&s;&s;e</HI> between the work and their hearts, neither come they to enjoy communion with Chri&s;t in <HI>Duty,</HI> but come to <HI>the very duty</HI> as men do to their <HI>task</HI> or daily labour:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Vide Bolt. true Bounds of Chri&s;tians Freedom, p. 213, 214.</NOTE> now that per&s;on that hath to doe with no|thing but duty in duty, cannot chu&s;e but finde that duty <HI>tedious</HI> and irk&s;ome to him, as the ordinances under the <HI>Law</HI> were to the <HI>carnall Jewes</HI> that did not eye Chri&s;t in them. But now on the other &s;ide, when a gracious <HI>&s;pirituall</HI> heart comes to a &s;pirituall duty, &amp; not to the duty &s;o much as to God and Chri&s;t in the duty, to conver&s;e with the <HI>Father</HI> and the <HI>Sonne</HI> in the Spirit, how <HI>&s;weet</HI> and <HI>delightfull</HI> then are times of duty unto &s;uch &s;oules, &s;o that the performance of duties in a right manner, is no <HI>Legall</HI> thing, nor matter of burthen and griefe to the Saints; but that which affords them the greate&s;t &s;weetne&s;&s;e, content and &s;atisfacti|on that is to be enjoyed on this &s;ide glory, and &s;o is to bee lookt on as matter of <HI>priviledge,</HI> not of <HI>bondage.</HI></P>
<P N="5">5. To &s;ay no more; whereas it is &s;aid, that the <HI>Go&s;pel requires be|leeving,</HI> not working; if by <HI>working</HI> you under&s;ta~d the purcha&s;ing of life and &s;alvation at the hands of God by our performances, the ju&s;tification of a &s;inner before God, &amp;c. it's granted, the Go&s;pel requires it not at the hands of &s;inners, becau&s;e it offers <HI>more grace,</HI> that is, it &s;hewes us the <HI>work is done</HI> to our hands by Je|&s;us Chri&s;t, he hath procured our ran&s;ome, &s;atisfied his Fathers Ju|&s;tice, appea&s;ed his wrath, procured peace and reconciliation, and that firmly through his own blood, and wrought all our workes for us <HI>this way, E&s;ay</HI> 26.12. And our duty is primarily, and a|bove all, to <HI>beleeve this,</HI> and accept this as it is held forth in the Go&s;pel,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 6.29. 1 Iohn 3.23.</NOTE> becau&s;e the great work of God, and commandement of the Go&s;pel, is to <HI>beleeve</HI> in the Name of the Lord Je&s;us, that we
<PB N="43" REF="28">may be &s;aved. But if by <HI>working</HI> wee under&s;tand the fruit that flowes from our beleeving in Chri&s;t, and taking hold of him to ju&s;tification and &s;alvation, <HI>viz.</HI> a holy <HI>&s;tudy in all our wayes to plea&s;e God, and doe his will, to walk in a childlike fear and reve|rence before God, and have re&s;pect to all his commandements, that in all things we may be found to the honour and prai&s;e of him that hath loved us, and called us out of darkne&s;&s;e into his marvellous light, &amp;c.</HI> then I &s;uppo&s;e there is none what&s;oever that pretends to Chri&s;tianity (e&s;pecially if he have in an experimentall manner felt the love of Chri&s;t <HI>&s;hed abroad</HI> in his heart) but will acknow|ledge the Go&s;pel requires &s;uch <HI>working.</HI> And the whole &s;cope of the New Te&s;tament is &s;o cleare and plain for this, as that none but &s;uch to whom the Go&s;pel is <HI>hid,</HI> can be ignorant of it. If any de&s;ire further &s;atisfaction herein, (for it would be too large for me to produce all that might be &s;poken to this particular) let him read tho&s;e Go&s;pel<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Downam <HI>of Iu&s;tification,</HI> l. 7. c. 1. p. 434, 435, 436, 437, 438. Bi&s;co's <HI>golri|ous my&s;tery of Gods mercy, p.</HI> 298, 299. Eatons <HI>Hony|comb.</HI> Boltons <HI>bounds of Chri|&s;tians freedom.</HI> Burges <HI>Vindi|diciae legis, p.</HI> 39, 40, 41, 42, 43. <HI>with many other. &amp;c.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Treati&s;es</HI> that are abroad concerning this poynt.</P>
<P N="8">8. <HI>Another ground upon which people build their ca&s;ting off the u&s;e of Word and Ordinances, is this, Becau&s;e the Word and Ordinances are nothing without the Spirit. They can never work any impre&s;&s;ion upon the &s;oule, or acquaint the Spirit of a man or woman, that the Lord is his God, or that Chri&s;t is his Saviour, &amp;c. but this belongs to the office of the Spirit of God; the Word and Ordinances of them&s;elves are never able to work &s;uch an im|pre&s;&s;ion in the &s;oule.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I find an an&s;wer to this objection in Doctor <HI>Cri&s;p, vol.</HI> 3. p. 93. 94. 95. which becau&s;e his workes have been of great e&s;teeme among&s;t &s;uch people not long &s;ince, and becau&s;e he &s;peakes fully to the point in hand, I will here tran&s;cribe, as they are in the book &s;et downe; the words are the&s;e, <HI>p.</HI> 94. What &s;erve all the Ordinances for, will you &s;ay? Is not here a crying down of Ordinances? There will be &s;till this &s;candall ca&s;t upon us: But let me tell you, there is a mo&s;t comfortable u&s;e of Ordi|nances, though they &s;erve not to &s;uch high purpo&s;es as the&s;e are: I &s;ay, though they are not efficient to beget, and finde out, and re|veale to the &s;pirits of men the things that concern God, yet <HI>be&s;ide the efficient revelation of God</HI> to be out God from the <HI>Spi|rit alone,</HI> there is a <HI>pa&s;&s;ive In&s;trument,</HI> by which the Lord doth make him&s;elfe known to be the God of his people, but that way is meerly pa&s;&s;ive, not active.</P>
<P N="1"><PB N="44" REF="29">1. Pa&s;&s;ively God makes him&s;elfe known to be the God of his people by the word of his grace, and faith laying hold on the word of grace revealed, and more <HI>&s;ubordinately</HI> in <HI>prayer, fa&s;t|ing, receiving the Lords, Supper,</HI> and &s;uch ordinances, &s;o farre as they are mixed with faith. Now give me leave to communicate to you the full u&s;e and utmo&s;t extent of Gods thoughts concer|ning the ordinances that he hath propounded, how farre forth he would have the creature look upon the ordinances, and as much as may be put upon the u&s;e of them, &s;o farre forth as they are u&s;e|full. Know therefore, as I &s;aid before, that all the&s;e ordinances are but pa&s;&s;ive wayes of conveying this great gift, the knowledge of God to be our God, I mean more plainly thus: The&s;e ordi|nances are onely of, and in them&s;elves, empty, dry Channels, or Pipes, through which the Spirit of the Lord brings from God him&s;elfe the Spring, tho&s;e riches, and conveyes the &s;ame into the Spirit of a man. Look as a channell digged in a dry ground, is the way through which the Spring conveyes his water unto a ci&s;tern, the channell it &s;elfe communicates none of its own, onely it is a pa&s;&s;age through which the Spring conveyes his water: So are all the ordinances, even faith it &s;elfe, prayer, and all other Services, they are but channels through which the Spirit of the Lord pa&s;&s;eth and bringeth from the Lord him&s;elfe (the Spring and Fountaine) the revelation of God to be our God. In all the re&s;t of the gifts of God, which he hath &s;o freely be&s;towed, never a gift of Gods Spirit procures any thing of its own, our faith hath nothing of its own, fa&s;ting and prayer have nothing of their own, but as the Lord hath been plea&s;ed to make the&s;e ordinances to bee pa&s;&s;ages to convey him&s;elfe to the &s;onnes of men, and &s;o they are to bee made u&s;e of by the &s;onnes of men: Faith as it apprehendeth the Lord Je&s;us, and other Ordinances, as therein true faith is exerci|&s;ed, and no otherwi&s;e. And indeed beloved, this is the load&s;tone to provoke per&s;ons to the u&s;e of all ordinances, God hath ranked them together, that the Lord hath &s;o much and &s;o often promi&s;ed through them, to convey him&s;elfe. <HI>You are kept through the pow|er of God through faith</HI> (&s;aith the Apo&s;tle) <HI>unto &s;alvation.</HI> As if he &s;hould have &s;aid, The Lord doth convey him&s;elfe, and the ma|nife&s;tation of his own &s;alvation through our beleeving. The Spirit of the Lord pa&s;&s;ing <HI>through the Mini&s;tery of the Go&s;pel,</HI> as the breath of man pa&s;&s;eth through a Trumpet; the Trumpet is the in&s;trument, the breath is the Spirit of the Lord: the Trumpet
<PB N="45" REF="29">adds nothing to the breath. Now know beloved, &s;o far as you wil attend the Ordinances, <HI>becau&s;e God calls out to Ordinances,</HI> and becau&s;e you have heard the Lord to promi&s;e to be&s;tow &s;uch things upon you in the ordinances, &s;o farre you &s;hall attend the ordi|nances according to his plea&s;ure; but when you a&s;cend &s;o high, that the ordinance doth get things, then you rob the Lord, and give more to ordinances then God hath given. <Q>Now though the ordinances have no efficiency of their own, in the nature I have &s;poken, yet there is good cau&s;e for all Gods own people to e&s;teem very highly of ordinances, and to be joyfull of ordi|nances, and to long much after ordinances, to make much of them, for why the Lord hath made his <HI>promi&s;es to be found</HI> of them, &amp; to be <HI>with them</HI> in ordinances. In the day of adver&s;itie call thou upon me and I will deliver thee. And here by the way know from hence what is the expectation of beleevers them|&s;elves, which they ought to have of the Lord for &s;uch things, when they come to &s;uch ordinances, that &s;o, when we attend the Lord in his ordinances, we may find him in them, &amp;c. Therefore as the poore man lay at the Beautifull Gate, not be|cau&s;e the Gate would relieve him, but becau&s;e it was a place of concour&s;e where honorable men re&s;orted, from whom he might have Almes; &s;o in the Mini&s;tery, in fa&s;ting and prayer, and all other &s;ervices, there is the gate of the Temple of the Lord, there is the place the Lord makes u&s;ually his concour&s;e and re&s;ort, there is the place God appoints to give the meeting; therefore in expectation of the Word of his grace, that we may find him in <HI>Ordinances,</HI> we doe re&s;ort to them.</Q> Now what derogati|on is there all this while from the <HI>Ordinances,</HI> while we make the but thus pa&s;&s;ive? The riche&s;t trea&s;ure in the world may come to a man through the poore&s;t ve&s;&s;ell; the trea&s;ure is never the fur|ther off, nor never the wor&s;e, becau&s;e the ve&s;&s;ell is poore. It is no matter of what price the meanes of conveyance is, &s;o that the thing we de&s;ire be conveyed to us by it, onely we mu&s;t not give it that which is above its due, &amp;c.</P>
<P>And this &s;hal be encouragement &s;ufficient to wait upon all or|dinances of all &s;orts, where the Lord appoints, that he will for his owne &s;ake give you a gracious an&s;wer, and <HI>be&s;tow all good things upon you that you &s;tand in need of, in ordinances,</HI> This is motive &s;ufficient, I &s;ay, to &s;tirre you up to attend upon ordinances, and yet not to make Gods of them, to a&s;cribe that to them which be|longs
<PB N="46" REF="30">alone to God <HI>(who doth all ordinarily through ordinances)</HI> which is the only way to di&s;appoint you of your hope, when you expect help from them.</P>
<P N="9">9. The 9. ground upon which people build their ca&s;ting off the u&s;e of Ordinances, is the &s;everall Texts of Scripture which &s;eem to plead for the <HI>Non-performance of duties, and laying a&s;ide of all ordinances in the ties of the Go&s;pel;</HI> As,</P>
<Q>They &s;hall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, &s;aying, Know the Lord: For all &s;hall know me from the lea&s;t to the greate&s;t. <BIBL><HI>Heb. 8.11.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<Q>We have al&s;o a more &s;ure word of Prophe&s;ie, whereunto yee doe well that yee take heed, as unto a light that &s;hineth in a dark place, untill the day dawn, and the Day-&s;tarre ari&s;e in your hearts. <BIBL><HI>2 Pet. 1.19.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<Q>But the anointing which yee have received of him, abideth in you: and yee need not that any man teach you: but as the &s;ame a|nointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie: and even as it hath taught you, ye &s;hall abide in him, <BIBL><HI>1 John 2.27.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<Q>And I &s;aw no Temple therein; for the Lord God Almighty, and the Lamb are the Temple of it, <BIBL><HI>Rev. 21, 22.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<Q>And the Citie had no need of the Sunne, neither of the Moon to &s;hine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. <BIBL><HI>Ver&s;. 23.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Much might be &s;poken in an&s;wer to &s;uch as produce the&s;e and the like Scriptures for the <HI>ce&s;&s;ation of Go&s;pel-ordinances;</HI> but I &s;hall &s;tudy brevity, and referre all to two heads.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Show what I conceive to be the proper meaning of the&s;e texts of Scripture.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Give in the joynt con&s;ent of the mo&s;t judicious and godly Au|thors with it, that have written on the&s;e Scriptures.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>Touching the fir&s;t, I &s;uppo&s;e that the holy Gho&s;t in the fore|mentioned Scriptures, doth not in the lea&s;t, mean or intend, that the Word, Ordinances, and Mini&s;tery, appointed and in&s;tituted by Je&s;us Chri&s;t in the dayes of the New Te&s;tament for the Saints to make u&s;e of, &s;hould be laid a&s;ide, and not at all made u&s;e of, be|cau&s;e I have &s;hewed in my <HI>Quaeries,</HI> that in the <HI>pure&s;t</HI> Go&s;pel|times, Chri&s;t will have Ordinances, and Officers to admini&s;ter them, and Saints to enjoy them, though in a purer manner then they have been, or po&s;&s;ibly now are; but I conceive he meanes, that Chri&s;t him&s;elfe will be their <HI>Teacher</HI> in the new &s;tate of his
<PB N="47" REF="30">Church, in the u&s;e of the&s;e his own meanes he hath in&s;titured and appointed. And this teaching of Chri&s;t, the King and Head of his Church, will be, I conceive, divers wayes.</P>
<P N="1">1. By giving the Saints a greater mea&s;ure of the Spirit, and a more nearer communion and fellow&s;hip with him&s;elfe then for|merly, the fulne&s;&s;e of God &s;hall be more brought into their hearts by the mini&s;tery of the Spirit; and then Chri&s;t &s;hall be all in all indeed: not <HI>all without all,</HI> but <HI>all in all,</HI> that is, <HI>all in all Saints,</HI> and <HI>all in all Ordinances,</HI> and <HI>all in all duties,</HI> and <HI>all in all mercies;</HI> &s;o that nothing &s;hal be lifted up, acknowledged and exal|ted, but Chri&s;t alone, and the Father in him.</P>
<P N="2">2. By making the Saints to be &s;o wi&s;e and under&s;tanding to &s;alvation, that they &s;hall not <HI>hang or pin</HI> their faith upon the <HI>Au|thority</HI> of men, the <HI>Authority of Parliaments, Councels, Synods, Conventions, Dictates, Decrees, Iudgements</HI> of men, though never &s;o <HI>wi&s;e, learned godly,</HI> but they &s;hall cleave to the <HI>Autho|rity of the Scriptures</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word">, and re&s;t upon the <HI>teachings</HI> of the Spirit in the Word, who is alone the infallible teacher and revea|ler of the mind of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P N="3">3. By clearing tho truth made known by outward in&s;truments, after &s;o &s;ure a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="3 letters">tain a manner by the Spirit inwardly, that the outward teaching &s;hall be as no teaching in compari&s;on of the inward operation and concurrence of the holy Gho&s;t per&s;wa|ding of them, as the <HI>Samaritans</HI> when they came to Chri&s;t him|&s;elfe upon the report of the woman that had been with him, they got &s;uch &s;atisfaction from him, that they &s;aid, <HI>Now we beleeve, not becau&s;e of thy &s;aying, for we have heard him our &s;elves, and know that this is indeed that Chri&s;t,</HI> Joh 4.42. Even thus doubt|le&s;&s;e, will the Lord Je&s;us deale with the Saints when tho&s;e glori|rious times come, he will by his Spirit inwardly &s;o make known the my&s;tery of the Go&s;pel preached outwardly, that they &s;hall &s;ay to tho&s;e that are his in&s;truments, Now we beleeve and under&s;tand, not &s;o much becau&s;e of your &s;aying, as that we have heard him our&s;elves teaching us inwardly by his Spirit. This I take to be the &s;cope and &s;en&s;e of tho&s;e Texts of Scriptures, not a taking away the u&s;e of ordinances, but a more &s;pirituall and fuller enjoyment of God and Je&s;us Chri&s;t in them.</P>
<P N="2">2. Touching the judgement of the godly agreeing with me herein, take a few in &s;tead of many that might be alledged.</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>Pareus,</HI> that famous and judicious. Writer, in his Commen|tary
<PB N="48" REF="31">on <HI>Heb.</HI> 8.11. hath the&s;e words: <HI>Non itaque hinc recta conficiunt fanatici, mini&s;terio Eccle&s;iae opus non e&s;&s;e in novo Te|&s;tamento, quo <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">am ad complement um tanta luck Deus in huc vitae per mini&s;terium Evangelii nos preparat. Fides enim e&s;t <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> audi|tu, auditus per verbum Dei; Ideo dedit Chri&s;trs alios Apo&s;tolos, alios Doctores, ut Eccle&s;ia exedificetur ad perfectionem futioram. &V;trumque docet Scriptura, omnes docert &agrave; Deo, &amp; omnes debere audire, legere, meditare &s;criptur as &amp; verbum Dei. Itaque pro|mi&s;&s;iones non evertunt praecepta; neque po&s;itae cau&s;a prima tollun|tur mediae. Ut enim non &s;equitur, Deus omnes pa&s;cit, ergo non opus e&s;t pane &amp; agricultura, per haec enim media Deus pa&s;cit. Ita non &s;equitur Deus omnes docet, ergo non opus e&s;t verbe. Per verbum enim auditum &amp; praedicaetum omnes doret.</HI> The interpre|tation is this; Therefore tho&s;e brain-&s;ick men doe not rightly ga|ther that there is no need of the mini&s;try to the Church in the times of the new Te&s;tament, becau&s;e God to the compleating of &s;o great light in this life, doth prepare us by the Mini&s;tery of the Go&s;pel; for faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word, <HI>Rom.</HI> 10.17. Therefore Chri&s;t gave &s;ome to be Apo&s;tles, others to be Teachers, that the Church might be built up to future per|fection. And the Scripture doth teach both, <HI>viz.</HI> all to be taught of God, and all ought to heare, read, meditate on the Scriptures and word of God. Therefore the promi&s;es doe not overthrow the commands and precepts, nor the fir&s;t prime cau&s;e take away the meanes: For as it doth not follow, that becau&s;e God feedeth us, therefore there is no need of bread nor husbandry, or tilling and &s;owing the earth; for by the&s;e very meanes God feedeth us; &s;o it doth not follow, becau&s;e God reacheth all, therefore there is no need of the Word: for by the Word heard and preached he teacheth all.</P>
<P>Thus we &s;ee by a little, how the judgement of this famous Writer joynes with us in what was formerly delivered touching the true and genuine &s;en&s;e of tho&s;e Scriptures; he hath much more in the &s;ame place upon his &s;olution of divers que&s;tions to this purpo&s;e.</P>
<P>So learned <HI>Hyperius</HI> in his Commentary on this place of the <HI>Hebrewes,</HI> is &s;o full and copious, that I hardly know any have written more largely on this &s;ubject (unle&s;&s;e it hath been in a Treati&s;e by it &s;elfe) an&s;wering all objections again&s;t it, which would be too much to tran&s;cribe in this place.</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="49" REF="31">2. For that place of 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.19. many of the Ancients have under&s;tood it of the &s;tate of glory: but learned <HI>Gerard</HI> in his Expo&s;ition of the words, &s;hewes it to be under&s;tood of Go&s;pel|times here. <HI>Sed per diem illuce&s;centem &amp; Pho&s;phorum orientem recti&ugrave;s intelligitur uberior, perfectior, clarior, &amp; magis expli|cata Chri&s;ti &amp; my&s;teriorum divinorum cognitio.</HI> And this hee proves by five Arguments, but yet reproves tho&s;e that would hereby lay a&s;ide the Scriptures, and look upon them as unu&s;efull to them, when the Day-&s;tarre is ri&s;en in their hearts; con&s;idering the whole &s;tate of the New Te&s;tament-light, is no other to that of glory, then the midnight is to the noon-day; and e&s;pecially becau&s;e that the dawning of the day, and the ari&s;ing of the Day|&s;tarre in our hearts, &s;poken of here, is meant of the Mini&s;tery and Doctrine of the Apo&s;tles, who were the be&s;t interpreters of the Prophets, Chri&s;t him&s;elfe having (before his a&s;cen&s;ion) opened their under&s;tandings to that end, <HI>Luke</HI> 24.44, 45. <HI>Sic ergo &s;er|monem Propheticum comparat Apo&s;t&oacute;lus lucernae tempore noctis lucenti; Apo&s;tolicum vero &s;ermonem, &s;eu Evangelii in N. T. praedicationem comparat Lucifero &amp; diei plenam lucem adferenti, &amp; hac ratione majorem doctrinae claritatem N. T. tribuit.</HI> And thus <HI>Pi&s;cator, Beza,</HI> and others under&s;tand the place; &s;o that be|leevers are to have re&s;pect to the Scriptures alwayes, both of the old and new Te&s;tament, and not to ca&s;t off the u&s;e of them, as &s;oon as the <HI>Day-&s;tarre</HI> begins to ri&s;e in their hearts, that is, &s;o &s;oon as they come to under&s;tand or attaine a more cleare know|ledge of the doctrine of the Go&s;pel, or &s;alvation by faith alone in Chri&s;t crucified, by the mini&s;tery and teaching of the Spirit.</P>
<P N="3">3. Concerning that Text of 1 <HI>John</HI> 2 27. in my judgement <HI>Calvin</HI> and <HI>Beza</HI> &s;peake out the proper &s;en&s;e of the place,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Vide Bee. Annot. Calv. in loc.</NOTE> &s;ay|ing, That the Apo&s;tle in the&s;e words, onely &s;ignifieth to tho&s;e he wrote, that <HI>they were not &s;o ignorant as to be taught &s;uch things as were unknown to them, or that hee propounded &s;uch things to them, as the Spirit of Chri&s;t which they had received in|to their hearts, did not readily prompt and make known unto them.</HI> And therefore faith <HI>Calvin, Frantick men doe ra&s;hly from hence &s;eek to &s;hut out of the Church the u&s;e of the publique Mi|ni&s;tery.</HI> For in that the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, that they are taught in all things by the Spirit, it mu&s;t not be generally taken, but re&s;trai|ned to the circum&s;tance of the pre&s;ent place, &amp;c.</P>
<P N="4">4. As for that of <HI>Revel.</HI> 21.22, 23. though the mo&s;t (both
<PB N="50" REF="32">Ancient and Modern) Writers, doe under&s;tand it of the Church Triumphant hereafter in glory; yet M^r <HI>Brightman</HI> and others, take it to be meant of the glorious times of the Church here on earth, when the Jewes &s;hall be called, and come to their full glory in Go&s;pel-enjoyments. At which time the wor&s;hip that &s;hall then be in u&s;e, &s;hall be mo&s;t &s;imple, and mo&s;t pure, &amp;c. <HI>Let the Jewes</HI> (therefore &s;aith he) <HI>hearken to this, and let them not expect the re-edifying of a new materiall Temple amongst them any longer, as they have done to this day fooli&s;hly and perver&s;ty, but let them breathe and bray with their hearts &amp; hearty wi&s;hes ter the right manner of wor&s;hipping God, which &s;hall not &s;tand in need of any Temple: Let them long with hopefull hearts to &s;ee Al|mighty God him&s;elfe, and the Lamb conver&s;ing among them; in re&s;pect of which glory, they &s;hall judge what&s;oever can be fra|med by the policie of men, are but vile and nothing worth.</HI> And then afterward upon the 23. ver&s;e. <HI>Now the&s;e things</HI> (&s;aith M^r Brightman) <HI>are not &s;poken to this purpo&s;e, as if there &s;hould be no u&s;e at all of the Scriptures, but becau&s;e all men &s;hall be &s;o able to under&s;tand the will of God at this time, as if they had no need to be brought to knowledge by the reading and &s;tudying of the Scriptures, or any other holy bookes which help to open them.</HI></P>
<P>To this agree M^r <HI>Bernard</HI> on the <HI>Revelations,</HI> with M^r <HI>Bur|roughes</HI> on <HI>Ho&s;ea,</HI> and divers other late Writers.</P>
<P N="10">10. La&s;tly, though &s;ome of tho&s;e that renounce Ordinances, will make u&s;e of Scriptures, &s;o farre as they conceive will advan|tage their cau&s;e, (as is the property of all Heretickes to doe) yet for the mo&s;t part &s;uch per&s;ons wholly renounce them, calling it a dead letter, a common writing, of no more value, truth and au|thority, then the writings and &s;ayings of other Saints, containing in them many weake, &s;illy, vain, gro&s;&s;e, and contrary things, and therefore not to be made u&s;e of, e&s;pecially by grown Chri&s;tians, as a Rule to guide them; but the Saints are to follow the dictates and teachings of the Spirit within them.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 1. It &s;eemes then that the Scriptures, or the word of God which was written by the holy Prophets and Apo&s;tles, (who were infallibly led and guided by the holy Gho&s;t in the penning of the Old and New Te&s;tament, as I &s;hall &s;hew in the following An&s;wers) will &s;erve young Chri&s;tians turnes, and may bea help to &s;uch as are poore, weake, low beleevers, Babes in Chri&s;t. Well then, they are &s;ome way u&s;efull: but why not as
<PB N="51" REF="32">u&s;efull and &s;erviceable to<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">S. Seripturae u&s;u~ &s;ui et nece&s;|&s;itatem non ta~|tion rudibus &amp; Alphabetarils in Chri&s;tiani&s;|mo, &s;ed &amp; per|fectioribus ac regenitis pa&s;|&s;im commendat, nec tantum in vetere, &s;ed eti|am in novo Te|&s;tamento quem|admodum ex multis Scriptu|rae locis &amp; ex|emplis liquet. <HI>Synop&s;. pur. Theolog.</HI></NOTE> old men in Chri&s;t, to &s;trong and well grown Chri&s;tians, as to them that are weak? Nay, is it not evi|dent, that not onely the mo&s;t eminente&s;t Saints before Chri&s;t came into the world, as <HI>David, Daniel, &amp;c.</HI> but after Chri&s;t was come, made u&s;e of the Scriptures, as their rule and guide in knowing and doing the mind and will of God. Let us make a tryall.</P>
<P N="1">1. The Apo&s;tles, though they had &s;uch a fulne&s;&s;e of the Spirit powred out upon them, <HI>Acts</HI> 2. yet they made u&s;e of the Scrip|tures, <HI>Peter</HI> did, 1. <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.10, 11, 12. and chap. 2.6. and 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1, 20, 21. and chap. 3.16. And the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul,</HI> who was caught up into the third heaven, (who&s;e divine enjoyments were &s;o great, that few could match him) he made u&s;e of the Scriptures, <HI>Acts</HI> 17.2. <HI>Rom.</HI> 1.2.4.3.9.17.10.11.11.2. <HI>Gal.</HI> 3.8, 22.4 30. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.3, 4. 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 5.18. So the Apo&s;tle <HI>James</HI> he made u&s;e of them, <HI>Jam.</HI> 2.8, 23, 4.5. So the Evangeli&s;ts, we read how of|ten they quoted the Scriptures. So <HI>Apollos</HI> was mighty in the Scripture, <HI>Acts</HI> 18 24.28. So the <HI>Bereans,</HI> they &s;earched daily the Scriptures, and were highly commended for it, <HI>Acts</HI> 17.11. Yea, the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t him&s;elfe, (our alone ble&s;&s;ed Saviour) made u&s;e of the Scriptures often, as we finde <HI>Iohn</HI> 7.38. <HI>Luke</HI> 4.18. <HI>Luke</HI> 20.37. <HI>Matth.</HI> 21.42.22.29. <HI>Luke</HI> 24.27, 32, 45. Neither did Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles make u&s;e onely of the Scrip|tures for their own u&s;e, but charged others to make u&s;e of the Scriptures, and tho&s;e al&s;o that were no mean Chri&s;tians, but &s;uch as had attained a great mea&s;ure of the Spirit. That they gave the Saints in charge to make u&s;e of the Scriptures, is evident from <HI>Iohn</HI> 5.39. <HI>Col.</HI> 3.12. <HI>Rom.</HI> 15.3, 4. 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.14, 15, 16, 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.19.</P>
<P>That they were no mean, but well grown Saints, and &s;uch as had attained to a great mea&s;ure of the Spirit, is al&s;o evident from the Epithites the Apo&s;tles give them.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. For fir&s;t, they &s;tile them &s;uch, who&s;e faith is &s;poken of throughout the whole world, <HI>Rom.</HI> 1.8. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Such as were wi&s;e men, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.15. I &s;peak <GAP DESC="foreign">, that is, <HI>&s;apientibus,</HI> to wi&s;e men.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. Such as were perfect, <HI>Phil.</HI> 3.15. <HI>Let us therefore as many as be perfect,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. Such as had received <GAP DESC="foreign">, i. e. <HI>Like pretious faith.</HI> 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.1.</ITEM>
<PB N="50" REF="33">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="51" REF="33">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<ITEM><PB N="52" REF="34">5. Such as were &s;trong men in Chri&s;t, <GAP DESC="foreign">, 1 <HI>Iohn</HI> 2 14.</ITEM>
<ITEM>6. Such who&s;e faith did grow exceedingly, <GAP DESC="foreign">, 2 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 13.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>So that by all this it plainly appeares, that the Scriptures are u&s;e|full to all the Saints, high as well as low, &s;trong as well as weake, wife as wel as &s;imple, yea every way able to furni&s;h <GAP DESC="foreign">, the man of God him&s;elfe, or in&s;truct him perfectly, as the word<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> &s;ignifies. 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.17. to every good worke; and there|fore it's a fond and idle thing in any to &s;ay, that any of the Saints, while they are here <HI>in via,</HI> are above the u&s;e of the Scriptures.</P>
<P N="2">2. Whereas they &s;ay, the Scriptures are not to be a Rule for the Saints to walk by, in matters of faith &amp; practice, becau&s;e they are a dead letter, common writings, containing in them many weak, filly, yea gro&s;&s;e contradictions, &amp;c. I an&s;wer, This is bla&s;phemy again&s;t the holy Gho&s;t, (that was the Author of them, 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.21.) in a high degree: For it's as cleare as the Sunne, to any but tho&s;e who&s;e eyes are &s;hut up, that the Scriptures are without im|perfection, without weakne&s;&s;e, vanity or<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Vid. <HI>Roberts</HI> Keye of the Bible, p. 38. to 49. excellently clearing and freeing the Scriptures fro~ contradictions in them&s;elves.</NOTE> contrariety, being in|&s;pired by him who is Perfection it &s;elfe, 2 <HI>Tom.</HI> 3.16. Now if they be in&s;pired of God; then they mu&s;t needs be the mo&s;t excel|lent of all other writings, both for <HI>verity, purity, certainty, efficacy, perfection</HI> &amp; <HI>perpetuity,</HI> as were ea&s;ie to<NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Read Ma&s;ter <HI>Traps</HI> Theolo|gia Theologiae, <HI>or</HI> the true Trea&s;ury.</NOTE> demon&s;trate, which made one to call the Scriptures, <HI>Liber Librorum,</HI> the Book of Books; in compari&s;on of which all other are but<NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">Sibyllae folia, Luciani libri, im&ograve; ip&s;ae Ae|&s;opi Fabulae, vanitas vanita|tum.</NOTE> leaves, fables, trifles, va|nity of vanities, &amp;c. which drew this &s;aying from<NOTE N="e" PLACE="marg">Auferantur de medio char|tae no&s;trae, pro|cedat in mediu~ codex Dei. <HI>In P&s;al. 57.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Au&s;tine</HI> of old, Away with our writings, that room may be made for the book of God: and that of renowned<NOTE N="f" PLACE="marg">Ego odi me &egrave; libros, &amp; &s;aepe opto eos interire &amp;c. <HI>In Gen.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Luther,</HI> I heartily hate mine own bookes, and could wi&s;h them out of the world, be|cau&s;e I feare they keep men from &s;pending &s;o much time from rea|ding in Gods book, the onely fountain of all the wi&s;dome. Now if the Scriptures are &s;o excellent, &s;o perfect,, why &s;hould they not then &s;erve to us as a Cauon or rule to walk by, in things that are both to be beleeved and practi&s;ed?</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> But they are a dead letter.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> And why &s;o? Are the words of the<NOTE N="g" PLACE="marg"><HI>We mu&s;t ne|ver ab&s;tract the Scripture from that Spirit of God which is alwayes in it, and with it, as a clear and &s;uf|ficient wit|ne&s;&s;e of it, and as the very life and &s;oul of it; whereas you with the Papi&s;ts take the Scripture for no other but as a bare letter, or bark of a tree, or dead corps without any divine &s;pirit in it.</HI> Mr. <HI>Burious</HI> Reply to a Relation of the Con|ference between the la&s;t Archbi&s;hop of <HI>Cant.</HI> and <HI>Fi&s;her</HI> the Ie&s;uite. For even as the veines in a natural body, do carry and convey in them the life blood; and as the arteries do contain in them tho&s;e animall &s;pirits conveyed from the head to all the members, whereby they are vegetated and moved: &s;o the Scriptures, and every part of them have in them the Spirit whereby they are quick|ned, and which is in them, as the light in the body of the Sun, their proper light, &amp;c. p. 151.</NOTE> living God dead
<PB N="53" REF="34">words? Are they not &s;pirit and life? <HI>Iohn</HI> 6.63. Are they not quick and powerfull, &s;harper then a two-edged Sword, piercing even to the dividing a&s;under of Soule and Spirit, and of the joynts and marrow, and is a di&s;cerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart, <HI>Hebr.</HI> 4.12. How are they then a dead letter?</P>
<P><HI>Obj.</HI> But they are full of contradictions, leaving men &s;till in the dark, and under uncertainties.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> If we apprehend any darkne&s;&s;e or contradictions in the Scriptures, the fault is ours, and not theirs, 'tis <HI>defectus va&s;is, non fontis:</HI> There is a &s;ufficiency of light that accompanies and &s;hines forth in the Scriptures continually; but that we cannot &s;ee it, is becau&s;e we come to it with blind eyes, <HI>Not habemus non limpidos, &s;ed lippos oculos,</HI> as <HI>Aquinas</HI> notes on <HI>Colo&s;&s;.</HI> 2.3. There are un&s;earchable trea&s;ures of wi&s;dome and knowledge in the Scriptures, as there is light in the Sunne beaming forth to the world; but that men cannot di&s;cerne it, is from their own dark|ne&s;&s;e and not the Scriptures. How mach the blinde Papi&s;ts have urged the ob&s;eurity of the Scriptures again&s;t our Writers (the bet|ter to keep up Antichri&s;t on his throne by keeping the vulgar peo|ple in ignorance, through prohibiting and forbidding them to read the Scriptures) and how abundantly they have been confu|ted, is<NOTE N="h" PLACE="marg">It is true, the Scriptures are ob&s;cure and dif|ficult, but not all, nor to all, nor alwayes. <HI>1.</HI> All the Scriptures are not difficult and ob&s;cure, every part of them is not invol<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">d in ob&s;cunity, <HI>2 Pet. 3.16.</HI> the&s;e things thas arenece&s;&s;ary to &s;alvation, are plainly &s;et down. <HI>2.</HI> Tho&s;e places in the Scripture that are ob&s;cure, are not &s;o to all per&s;ons, but as the &s;ame Apo&s;tle &s;aith, they are &s;o to the unlearned and un&s;table, that is, to them that are meere Naturals, or Animals, <HI>1 Cor. 2.14.</HI> Such as want the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of the Spirit to give them under&s;tanding. <HI>3.</HI> Neither are they ob|&s;cure alwayes: For tho&s;e that are dark to day, and cannot under&s;tand the mind of God, may have it revealed and made known to them to morrow. <HI>Vide Langfords Enquiry after verity.</HI></NOTE> plain to tho&s;e that have any acquaintance with their con|troverfies. Admirable things have been done in this Age this way, both in <HI>Latine</HI> and <HI>Engli&s;h,</HI> &s;o that people are left without excu&s;e herein.</P>
<P>And as for contradictions in the Scriptures, it is from the &s;ame &s;pirit of fal&s;hood that acts and workes in men to &s;peak &s;o di&s;grace|fully as they do of them. For how can the mo&s;t High, who is the Author of the Scriptures, and in whom is no darknes at all, <HI>Iohn</HI> 1.5. be the God of truth and fal&s;hood together; and it, mu&s;t of necece&s;&s;ity follow, if the Scriptures &s;peak plain contradictions that either <HI>Jehovah</HI> could not, or that he would not &s;peake &s;o ex|pre&s;ly
<PB N="54" REF="35">as to have his minde knowne by his creatures, though he call upon them to look after it, which is bla&s;phemy in a high de|gree. It were to be wi&s;hed that Chri&s;tians would come to the Scriptures with le&s;&s;e<NOTE N="i" PLACE="marg">Cum corde no&s;tro nos con|cordemus: Et Scriptura &s;ancta an nulla parte di&s;cordat. <HI>Aug.</HI></NOTE> di&s;cord in their own hearts, and a greater &s;en&s;e of their own per&s;onall darkne&s;&s;e, weakne&s;&s;e and infirmity, that they may crave the divine a&s;&s;i&s;tance of Chri&s;t, to open their under&s;tandings, and take more paines to find out the mind of God by comparing one text with another, tho&s;e that are more ob&s;cure with tho&s;e that are cleare, and weigh circum&s;tances, <HI>Anteceden|tia &amp; Con&s;equentia.</HI> i. e. what goes before, and what followes after the text, which would very much help them to know what the mind of God is in it, and not pre&s;ently fall<NOTE N="k" PLACE="marg">Deus bone! in veritds ip&s;a quae e&s;t Author Scripturae, an &s;piritus &s;anctus &agrave; quo acti fue|runt &s;ancti Dei illi homines lo|quentes &amp; &s;cri|bentes, an&s;acra &s;criptura tota divinitus in&s;pi|rata &s;ibi contra|dicere pote&s;t. Tum enim Deus cju&s;que &s;piritus &s;imul veritatis &amp; mendacii &s;piritus e&s;&s;et, et divinae hujus veritatis pars une nece&s;&s;ari&ograve; vera, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">era nece&s;&s;ari&ograve; fal&s;a e&s;&s;et, cum coniradicentium unum uece&s;&s;a|ri&ograve; vervm alte|rum fal&s;um &s;it. <HI>Vid. Sharph. Symphon. in Epi&s;t.</HI></NOTE> foule on the Scriptures them&s;elves, as affirming and denying one and the &s;ame thing. But this is the mi&s;ery of this age, that as <HI>Au&s;tine</HI> once &s;pake of the <HI>Manichees,</HI> &s;o may I of people now, that they wil not &s;ubject their opinions and judgements to the Scriptures, but would &s;ubject the Scriptures to their opinions. Such places as have but the lea&s;t outward appearance or &s;hew to make for them, tho&s;e they will cleave firmly to, but &s;uch as directly &s;peak again&s;t them, they throw away and cry out of contradictions, when the difference all the while is in them&s;elves, and not in the Scrip|tures.</P>
<P N="3">3. La&s;tly, whereas they &s;ay the Saints are to follow the pri|vate and &s;ecret Dictates and Teachings of the Spirit within them, and conforme to them as the onely guide and <HI>Cyno&s;ura</HI> of all they beleeve and practi&s;e, and therefore are to take no notice of the Scriptures.</P>
<P>I an&s;wer in the fir&s;t place, that &s;uch that &s;o rea&s;on, cannot free them&s;elves of horrible &s;lighting the &s;acred word of God, and derogating in a high degree from the excellency and authority of it: and I feare the guilt of this evill will one day lye heavy on their &s;oules and con&s;ciences, though now they make nothing of it. For if the contempt of Civill Lawes, and Statutes of earthly Princes and States, when they are printed and publi&s;hed for the better regulating of Common-wealths, and to which all are bound to yeeld &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion and &s;ubjection, that there may be no Tyranny nor Anarchy; I &s;ay, if the ca&s;ting off of &s;uch Lawes, and refu&s;ing to &s;quare their outward actions in civill af|faires, to make our own wills our lawes to guide us, bee lookt upon as a matter &s;o heynous, and de&s;ervedly puni&s;ht, what &s;hall
<PB N="55" REF="35">we conceive then will be the condition of tho&s;e that ca&s;t off the Book of the Scriptures, wherein God hath &s;et down his Lawes and Statutes to order all States and Common-wealths in gene|rall, and men and women in particular, in their walking before God, as the Apo&s;tle faith, in <HI>Heb.</HI> 12.25. <HI>If they e&s;caped not, who refu&s;ed him that &s;pake on earth, much more &s;hall not wee e&s;cape, if we turne away from him that &s;peaketh from heaven.</HI> And where is the voyce of God now from heaven, but in the &s;acred Scriptures?</P>
<P N="2">2. To lay a&s;ide the Scriptures, and tru&s;t meerly to the Spi|rit, is not this a down-right &s;eparating and dividing what GOD hath joyned together and made one? The Scriptures which are the very Word and Minde of God, have in every part of them, the Spirit, whereby they are quickned, and the Spirit is in them as light in the <HI>Sunne,</HI> and we may as ea&s;ily &s;eparate the <HI>light</HI> from the <HI>Sunne,</HI> as the <HI>Spirit</HI> from the <HI>Scriptures.</HI> For as the <HI>Sunne</HI> would &s;oon cea&s;e to be, if the light and heat were gone, or taken from it: &s;o here, if the <HI>Spirit</HI> &s;hould cea&s;e from the <HI>Scrip|tures,</HI> they &s;hould cea&s;e to be the Word of God, which cannot be, in regard that Gods <HI>Word endureth for ever, P&s;al.</HI> 119.89. and <HI>Mark</HI> 13.31.</P>
<P N="3">3. If the <HI>Scriptures</HI> mu&s;t be laid a&s;ide, and men tru&s;t to the private Dictates of the <HI>Spirit,</HI> as they &s;ay, which way and how will they be able to confute tho&s;e that are un&s;ound in the Faith? now will they &s;tone<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Lapidandi &s;unt haeretici &s;acrarum literarum ar|gumentis. <HI>A|than. cont. Ari. or. 2.</HI></NOTE> Heretickes but by Arguments from the Scriptures? For others will as &s;trongly pretend to the en|joyment of the <HI>Spirit,</HI> and to receive from the <HI>Spirit</HI> what they hold, as tho&s;e that are found. <HI>e.g.</HI> If one &s;hould come and preach &s;alvation by the workes of the Law, or a mans own righ|teou&s;ue&s;&s;e, and not by the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t, or of faith in Chri&s;t, and &s;ay, <HI>The Spirit per&s;wades him hereunto;</HI> who can contradict him, if there be no Scriptures or word of God writ|ten, to &s;hew him the minde of God to the contrary, but onely the &s;ecret and inward teaching of the Spirit? And &s;o I might in&s;tance in many other particulars.</P>
<P N="4">4. Be&s;ides, what if you be deceived, (as nothing is more cer|tain) and in &s;tead of the teachings of <HI>Gods Spirit,</HI> it be the teach|ings of your own deceitfull and corrupt heart, or the actings of <HI>that foule Spirit the Devill,</HI> that oftentimes changeth or tran&s;|formes him&s;elfe <HI>into an Angel of light,</HI> on purpo&s;e to deceive?
<PB N="56" REF="36">What then? Now how will you di&s;tingui&s;h between the Dictates of the one and the other, except by this,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Hincotiam apparet impie|tas &s;ententiae Libertinorum no&s;tri temporis qui &s;e zelotas &s;piritus appel|lant. Quorum aliqui Scriptu|rae &s;acrae Gra~maticum &amp; ge|nuinum &s;en&s;um zanquam literam oc|cidentem ecclr&s;. Nov. Te&s;t. in|utilem conten|dunt, &amp; ne&s;cio quae pbanatica &s;ui cerebri &s;omnia&s;ub &s;piritus titulo bominibus conantur obtrudere. Haec &s;enteneia fal&s;a &amp; pernitio&s;a e&s;t, quia S. Script: neglecta nihil certi in religione Chri liana con&s;titui pote&s;t, quum nullum <GAP DESC="foreign"> aut norma extra eam dari po&s;&s;it, quae &agrave; fal&s;a per&s;ua&s;ione, &amp; erroris efficacia, quam De|us Evangelit contempt&ocirc;ribus tanquam ju&s;tus Iudex &s;aepe immittit, divinam veritatem di&s;tinguat; &amp; quia &s;piritus &s;anctus non ni&s;t per verbam extermon &amp; &s;acram Scripturam in cordibus hominum ad &s;alu|tem e&s;t efficax: nude &amp; Paulus &s;uitm mini&s;terium, Mini&s;terium Spiritus appellat, <HI>2 Cor. 3. Vide Synop. pur. Theolog. p. 11. de S. Script. nece&s;&s;.</HI></NOTE> that the <HI>Spi|rit of God</HI> never dictates any thing but what is agreeable unto, &amp; may be re&s;olved into the Scriptures, or t written word of <HI>God,</HI> but the other not. <HI>e.g.</HI> When a man is per&s;waded that Chri&s;t is not God, as well as Man, that there is no re&s;urrection of the bo|dy, nor reward nor puni&s;hment after this life, that &s;in and grace are both equally of God, &amp;c. with a thou&s;and &s;uch like abomina|tions; how &s;hall a per&s;on di&s;cern that the per&s;wa&s;ions he hath of the&s;e things, are not from the <HI>Spirit of God,</HI> but from <HI>Satan</HI> and his owne wicked heart, but this, becau&s;e they are directly again&s;t what is revealed to us in the Scriptures^l, the <HI>Spirit of God</HI> never per &s;wading any to &s;uch things as he hath him&s;elf &s;poken again&s;t in the Word <HI>written.</HI></P>
<P N="5">5. Moreover, to what purpo&s;e did the holy Gho&s;t make u&s;e of tho&s;e holy men of God (as the Prophets and Apo&s;tles are &s;tiled) to be his <HI>Amanuen&s;es,</HI> or Scribes to write down and commit to paper, what the minde of the eternall God was, which he would have made known to the children of men, concerning their faith and obedience, if the Scriptures are of no more u&s;e to beleevers? Doubtle&s;&s;e the workes of God are not in vain, he made the two great lights in Heaven, the Sunne and Moon, the one to rule the Day, and the other the Night; now would it not be a weake, if nota wicked thing, for any to &s;ay, what need we any more the u&s;e of the Sunne or Moone, is not God him&s;elfe &s;ufficient? &s;o here, is it not as weake, if not as wicked a thing to &s;oy? What need is there of the Scriptures, when wee have the Spirit him&s;elfe to teach us?</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, doth not the Apo&s;tle affirme in the fir&s;t to <HI>Timothy,</HI> that the Scriptures are exceeding u&s;efull and profitable for Do|ctrine, for reproofe, for correction, for in&s;truction in righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e, that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furni&s;hed
<PB N="57" REF="36">unto all good workes, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.16, 17. And then to the <HI>Ro|mans.</HI> That <HI>what&s;oever is written, is written for our in&s;truction, that we through patience and comfore of the Scriptures might have hope, Rom.</HI> 15.4. And doth not Chri&s;t him&s;elf &s;ay, that one chiefe cau&s;e why men erre from the truth, is, becau&s;e they are ig|norant of the Scriptures? <HI>Matth.</HI> 22.29. And doth he not al|&s;o requite men to &s;earch the Scriptures upon this ground, becau&s;e they te&s;tifie of him. Mark that well, <HI>They te&s;tifie,</HI> not &s;imply the Spirit, but the Scriptures al&s;o, <HI>they beare witne&s;&s;e</HI> to Chri&s;ts be|ing the true and onely <HI>Me&s;&s;iah</HI> that &s;hould come into the world, with many other pretious ends and u&s;es, to which the &s;acred Scri|ptures are u&s;efull and profitable, as were ea&s;ie to produce, if need were.</P>
<P N="7">7. But la&s;tly, to &s;ay no more, how doth this open a doore to all manner of abominations both in opinion and practice: for if every man mu&s;t be left to the private teachings of the Spirit, and have no recour&s;e at all any longer to the &s;acred Canon of the Scri|ptures, what abominations will men and women &s;tick to admit of, and beare off all with this. The Spirit leads me hereunto, I am taught by the Spirit, and per&s;waded by the Spirit: &s;o that if a man &s;hould be &s;tirred up to lay violent hands upon his neighbour (as I have heard a drunkard once did on one that was of this opi|nion, and ba&s;ted him to &s;ome tune; and being demanded by the party why he did &s;o, he an&s;wered him (in his own language) hee could not help it, the Spirit moved him thereunto) and take away his pur&s;e or his life from him; or a vile wretch &s;hould attempt the deflouring of a virgin, or committing of any other abomination, and put all off with this, that the Spirit dictates &s;uch things to him, &amp; he is under no law but that of the Spirit, would not this be dreadfull both to God and Man: and &s;o for any damnable errors in judgement, that the Scriptures condemne to the pit of hell, and warn us to take heed of, as we defire to e&s;cape damnation, doth not this opinion make way to the entertaining of them, when people &s;hall be per&s;waded there is no u&s;e of the Scriptures to bee as a Rule to them to walk by, but they are to tru&s;t onely to the inward dictates of the Spirit.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, if this &s;hould be allowed of, that the Scriptures are of no lu&s;e, but we mu&s;t, tru&s;t to the Spirit in all, what certainty then can there be in any point of Religion and faith, for every one will be|leeve as the Spint dictates to him, and as many men, &s;o there will
<PB N="58" REF="37">be almo&s;t as many mindes. Nay further, what bottome will men and women have to build the foundne&s;&s;e of their opinions upon, and that it's not their meere fancie if they ca&s;t away the Scrip|tures, &s;eeing what they conceive to day to be the right, to mor|row they may be per&s;waded to be otherwi&s;e, if they tru&s;t to what is &s;poken and dictated &s;ecretly to them: and where will your &s;oules end, and fix a period in matters of opinion, when they once begin to take this cour&s;e of ca&s;ting off the Scriptures? Doubtle&s;&s;e they cannot tell them&s;elves, there being a fathomle&s;&s;e depth in the pit of error, out of which poore creatures can never extricate them&s;elves, being once &s;hut up in it. Ble&s;&s;ed are tho&s;e &s;oules, that are &s;o taught of God in the Mini&s;tery of his Word and Spirit, as to feare comming nigh the brink of that pit.</P>
<P>THus (Sirs) I have di&s;patcht the An&s;wers to the forementio|ned grounds, what remaineth in the clo&s;e of all (leaving the &s;ucce&s;&s;e and i&s;&s;ue of all to the Lord Je&s;us) but that I adde one word to per&s;wade you, in the bowels of Chri&s;t, to con&s;ider from whence you are fallen, and <HI>repent and doe your fir&s;t workes, Rev.</HI> 2.4. before the Lord Je&s;us be revealed from heaven again&s;t you. I cannot but apprehend your condition as very &s;ad, not only in re&s;pect of your &s;in, but of your &s;orrow that is like to over|take you: For as &s;ure as the Lord liveth, all tho&s;e that refu&s;e to ki&s;&s;e the Sonne, and will not have him to rule over them, but doe what in them lies to break his<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">By bonds and cords is meant the di&s;cipline and government of Chri&s;t in his Church &amp; king|dome, as the words <GAP DESC="foreign"> &amp; <GAP DESC="foreign"> &s;ignify, P&s;al. <HI>2.3.</HI> Now the lawes and ordinances of Chri&s;t, or his di&s;cipliue and government, are called bonds &amp; cords, not that they are &s;o in them&s;elves, but becau&s;e the wic|ked &s;o judge of them, looking upon them as &s;o many fetters &amp; manacles that keep them from the enjoyment of their lu&s;ts and carnall li|berty, which is the main cau&s;e of their enmitie again&s;t them, and rejecting of them.</NOTE> bonds, and ca&s;t his cords from them, &s;hall peri&s;h in the way of their rebellion, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 2.12. and be brought forth and &s;lain before him, <HI>Luke</HI> 19.27. You cannot be ignorant how jealous the eternall. God is of the honour of his Chri&s;t, and that he is now dealing with the great and migh|ty ones of the earth, for their &s;lighting of him, and rebellion a|gain&s;t him: And why &s;hould you be found in the number of them? you (I &s;ay) that have made profe&s;&s;ion of him, and &s;worne fealty to him? If &s;uch &s;hall have &s;tripes that have not done their Ma&s;ters will, though they have been ignorant of it, what will be|come of tho&s;e then that have known it and yet have not done it, nay, wilfully neglected the doing of it? O con&s;ider it betimes, for it's a fearfull thing to fall into the hands of the living God, <HI>Heb.</HI> 10.31. If tho&s;e that de&s;pi&s;ed <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> law died without mercy, &amp;c. of how much &s;orer puni&s;hment &s;uppo&s;e yee &s;hall they be thought worthy that trample under their feet the Sonne
<PB N="59" REF="37">of God? &amp;c. Can you think that your profe&s;&s;ion of holine&s;&s;e, and pretence of living in God, can beare you out while your pra|ctice is clean contrary, u&s;ing your liberty as an occa&s;ion to the fle&s;h? O con&s;ider whether you be not within the number of tho&s;e which are prophe&s;ied &s;hall come in the&s;e latter days of the world in which we live.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Men that &s;hall <HI>have a form of godline&s;&s;e,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">The prophe&s;ie of the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul.</HI></NOTE> <HI>but denying the power thereof,</HI> 2 Tim. 3.5. <HI>that creep into hou&s;es, and lead cap|tive &s;illy women, laden with &s;innes, led away with divers lu&s;ts, ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth,</HI> ver&s;e 6.7. <HI>re&s;i&s;ters of the truth, as</HI> Jannes <HI>and</HI> Jambres, <HI>men of corrupt mindes, reprobate concerning the faith, who &s;hall proceed no further, for their folly &s;hall be made manife&s;t unto all men, as theirs al&s;o was,</HI> v. 8, 9.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Men that <HI>deny the Lord that bought them,</HI> 2 Pet. 2.1.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The prophe&s;ie of the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter.</HI></NOTE> <HI>that walke after the fle&s;h in the lu&s;t of uncleanne&s;&s;e, that de&s;pi&s;e Go|vernment, pre&s;umptuous, &s;elfe-willed, and who are not afraid to &s;peak evill of dignities,</HI> ver&s;e 10. <HI>that count it plea&s;ure to ryot in the day time, and &s;port them&s;elves with their own deceivings,</HI> v. 13. <HI>that have eyes full of adultery, not being able to cea&s;e from &s;inne, beguiling un&s;table &s;oules, who&s;e hearts are exerci&s;ed with covetous practices,</HI> ver&s;. 14. <HI>that have for&s;aken the right way, and are gone a&s;tray, following the wayes of Baalam the &s;onne of Bo|&s;or, who loved the wages of unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e,</HI> ver&s;e 15. <HI>that &s;peake great &s;welling words of vanity, and allure through the lu&s;ts of the fle&s;h, through much wantonne&s;&s;e, tho&s;e that were cleane e&s;caped from them that live in error,</HI> v. 18. <HI>that promi&s;e them liberty, but in the meane while are them&s;elves &s;ervants of corruption, being overcome and brought into bondage,</HI> v. 19.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. Men that have a <HI>Spirit of Antichri&s;t in them,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">The prophe&s;ie of the Apo&s;tle <HI>Iohn.</HI></NOTE> <HI>that goe out from the Affemblies, and communions of the Saints,</HI> 1 John 2. 18, 19. <HI>that deny that Je&s;us is the Chri&s;t, that deny the Father and the Sonne,</HI> v. 22, 23. <HI>that will not acknowledge J. Chri&s;t. to be come in the fle&s;h,</HI> 1 John 4.3. <HI>that are of the world, that &s;peak of the world, and the world heareth them,</HI> v. 5. <HI>that are not of God, and therefore will not heare tho&s;e that are &s;ent of God, being led by the Spirit of error,</HI> v 6.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. Men that <HI>turn the grace of God into la&s;civiou&s;|ne&s;&s;e,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">The prophe&s;ie of the Apo&s;tle <HI>Iude.</HI></NOTE> Jude 4. <HI>that are filthy dreamers, defilers of the fle&s;h, de&s;pi|&s;ers of dominion, and &s;peake evill of dignities,</HI> ver&s;e. 8. <HI>that
<PB N="60" REF="38">corrupt them&s;elves as bruit bea&s;ts in what they know naturally,</HI> v. 10. <HI>That goe in the way of Cain, and runne greedily after the error of Baalam for reward, and peri&s;h in the gain&s;aying of Core.</HI> v. 11. <HI>That are &s;pots in fea&s;ts of charity, feeding without feare, that are cloudt without water, carried about of winds, trees who&s;e fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots,</HI> v. 12 <HI>That are raging waves of the &s;ea, foaming out their owne &s;hame, wandring &s;tarres, to whom is re&s;erved the blackne&s;&s;e of darkne&s;&s;e for ever,</HI> v. 13. with much more to this purpo&s;e, in v. 15, 16, 18. concluding all with this, that they are &s;uch as<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">This place hath formerly been much a|bu&s;ed by the Prelates and their crea|tures, and &s;till is by tho&s;e that have changed the Name, but not the Nature of them, applying it to &s;uch as come out of Babylon, and from the mixtures and corruptions of man in the wor|&s;hip of God, to &s;erve the Lord after his own minde and will, made known to them in the word, when the place is clean contrary to be under&s;tood and applied.</NOTE> <HI>&s;eparate them&s;elves, viz.</HI> from the true ordinances, &amp; from the comunion of the godly in the u&s;e of them, as may be gathered from the follo|wing ver&s;es, 20, 21. <HI>being &s;en&s;uall, having not the Spirit,</HI> v. 19.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>Now whether &s;uch as to this day (under a pretence of living in God, and enjoying Go&s;pel-liberty, doe ca&s;t off the u&s;e of or|dinances, deny Churches mini&s;tery, &amp;c. and walk after the fle&s;h to the fulfilling of the lu&s;ts thereof, as they were wont to doe before they were fir&s;t enlightned) be not &s;uch as are before mentioned, I leave to any that are unprejudiced men to con&s;ider.</P>
<P>Wherefore to draw to a conclu&s;ion of all, in regard that the will of Chri&s;t is, that we &s;hould <HI>have compa&s;&s;ion on &s;ome, making a difference,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Iude 22.</NOTE> thereby teaching us, that &s;ome may erre out of infir|mity, and others out of wilfulne&s;&s;e, and &s;o are not to be dealt with in the &s;ame way and manner: I therefore in the la&s;t place humbly de&s;ire in the greate&s;t meekne&s;&s;e, and bowels of compa&s;&s;i|on, that &s;uch who have been carried away with this <HI>error</HI> of the wicked (to renounce and ca&s;t off the u&s;e of ordinances, and per|formance of duties which Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath commanded to be performed) out of <HI>weakne&s;&s;e</HI> and <HI>infirmity,</HI> would be intreated <HI>timely</HI> to con&s;ider the evil of &s;uch a cour&s;e and practi&s;e, how much it derogates from the honour of Chri&s;t, and happine&s;&s;e of their own &s;ouls, <HI>Deare &s;ouls</HI> for whom Chri&s;t died, and to whom Chri&s;t hath (po&s;&s;ibly) many times made known the kindne&s;&s;e of his heart, I be&s;eech you weigh the former <HI>Con&s;iderations</HI> without prejudice, and then tell me whether you are not out of the way. Con&s;ider the an&s;wers to the &s;everall grounds, upon which you
<PB N="61" REF="38">build the leaving off the practice of duties and ordinances, and then &s;ee whether you have not cau&s;e to &s;it down with <HI>Ephraim,</HI> and &s;mite on the thigh, and &s;ay every one to him&s;elfe, <HI>What have I done? what an evill and bitter thing is this, that I have ca&s;t off the wayes and meanes in which I formerly enjoyed &s;uch &s;oule-&s;a|tisfying, ravi&s;hing, melting communion with the Lord Je&s;us, and the Father through him.</HI> <Q>Pray give me leave to demand &s;eri|ou&s;ly of you, whether it was not farre better with your &s;oules, when you kept clo&s;e with God in the u&s;e of ordinances, and were &s;trict in clo&s;et conver&s;es with your beloved, whether &s;in were not more irk&s;ome, tedious, grievous, but then &s;ome to your &s;ouls, then now it is? whether the Saints were not more amiable in your eyes then now they are, &amp; comunion w^t^h them in pray|er &amp;c. a little corner of heaven in your apprehen&s;ion? &amp; the &s;oci|ety of the wicked more loath&s;ome? whether you were not more tender in your con&s;ciences concerning the commi&s;&s;ion of &s;in, and more afraid of di&s;honoring God, then now you be? whe|ther you were not more carried out and enlarged in doing of good, more &s;pirituall in your walking, talking, affecting, acting, then now you are, more humble in your own eyes, and watch|full over your owne hearts, making con&s;cience of all your thoughts, words and wayes;</Q> whereas now you thinke there is no nece&s;&s;ity of &s;uch &s;trictne&s;&s;e, though the holy Gho&s;t tells us, that as he that hath called us is holy, &s;o ought we to be holy, and that in all manner of conver&s;ation, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.15, 16.</P>
<P>Now I be&s;eech you, deare &s;oules con&s;ider, can that po&s;&s;ibly be the way of truth, the way to glory, that renders you wor&s;e then you have been, more unholy, un&s;pirituall, uncircum&s;pect, un|profitable to Chri&s;t, then you were wont to be? I be&s;eech you deale plainly and impartially with your own &s;oules; Don't you begin to find a change in your &s;elves, in re&s;pect of the former par|ticulars? &amp; you can now di&s;pen&s;e with the duties of your relations both towards God and man, which formerly you could not in the lea&s;t doe. Now I pray con&s;ider, can the&s;e things &s;tand with a per|&s;ons living in God? Can living in God and living in &s;in &s;tand to|gether? Can the Ark and <HI>D<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">agon</HI> &s;tand together? O that ever Sa|tan &s;hould thus beguile any of your pretious &s;oules. In my weake apprehen&s;ion, the higher a per&s;on lives in God, the more holy he is the more like to God, the more crucified to &s;in and the world, the le&s;&s;e de&s;irous of liberty to the fle&s;h, the more &s;tudious of do|ing
<PB N="62" REF="39">tho&s;e things that are plea&s;ing &amp; acceptable unto God, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t. And whereas many talk of their liberty which they have above others, when they have ca&s;t off all duties and ordi|nances to live in God: I would fain know whether that liberty be not a lawle&s;&s;e liberty, and whether the excellency of a Chri&s;ti|an can po&s;&s;ibly lie in it, or wheter living in God can &s;tand with &s;uch a liberty. If to live in God be to take liberty to thinke, and &s;peak, and doe as we our &s;elves li&s;t, and to be without all check and controll in our way, both of God and Man; then wee may ca&s;t away the Scriptures in deed, and all religion, and every one walk after the imagination of his own heart. But, deare &s;oules, be no longer led away with &s;uch deceivings and deceivers, that pro|mi&s;e you liberty, but in the mean time are <HI>&s;ervants to corruption</HI> them&s;elves, and are overcome and brought into bondage, and &s;eek to doe the &s;ame by you. O hearken no longer to their <HI>Syren-like Songs,</HI> but bow your eares to the voyce of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, crying to you, <HI>Return, return, repent, repent, and doe your fir&s;t workes, for I am married to you, I am loath the death of &s;inners; why will you wilfully ca&s;t away your pretious &s;oules? Though you have dealt unkindly with me, and forgotten tho&s;e &s;weet embracings you formerly enjoyed from me, when you made con&s;cience of the duties of my &s;ervice and wor&s;hip, yet return, return, for I am a God that delighteth to &s;hew mercy, and whom mercy plea&s;eth: though you have in &s;ome mea&s;ure denied my Name; and been a&s;hamed to own it before the Heathen, yet repent and doe your fir&s;t works, and I will take you and bring you to my holy mountain, and you &s;hall goe no more out and I will write upon you the Name of my God, and the name of the citie of my God, which is new Jeru&s;alem, which commeth down out of heaven from my God; and I will write upon you my new Name.</HI> Now the &s;ame ble&s;&s;ed God, and our Saviour, that &s;pake the&s;e words, &s;et home the&s;e things upon your hearts, and make them effectuall for that end for which they were writ|ten. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</BODY>
<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="list">
<PB REF="39">
<HEAD>A Catalogue of tho&s;e (never enough to be abhorred opinions) that &s;ome of tho&s;e more e&s;pecially that ca&s;t off and renounce the u&s;e of Go&s;pel-ordinances, doe profe&s;&s;edly hold and maintain.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM>FIr&s;t, There's no God nor Devill, Heaven nor Hell, but what is within us.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> There is no truth nor power in the Word, but as it is made out &s;o to my Spirit: <HI>i.</HI> the Spirit &s;peakes it &s;o within me.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> The &s;ayings and wrtings of the Prophets and Apo&s;tles in the Scriptures, and of other Saints, are of equal value and truth, becau&s;e by the &s;ame Spirit.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> There are many &s;illy, vain, gro&s;&s;e, and contrary things in the Scriptures; poore men they &s;peake according to the pre&s;ent temper of their Spirits.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>5</HI> There may be, and &s;ome are, above the profiting power of the mini&s;tery of the Word, and u&s;e of the Scriptures.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>6</HI> There is no &s;in in the Saints, they are under no law but that of the Spirit, which is freedome.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>7</HI> There is no &s;inne again&s;t GOD, For wee cannot reach him.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>8</HI> That Gods dealings with all, good and bad, are in love, for God is love.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>9</HI> There is no &s;tate after this life, but (at that which is called Death) all good and bad are &s;wallowed up of God.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>10</HI> That &s;inne and grace are equally of God, and agreeth to his will.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>11</HI> That all per&s;ons and things, act and are acted as God will have them.</ITEM>
<ITEM><PB REF="40"><HI>12</HI> That what&s;oever men can that they doe, and in all according to Gods will.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>13</HI> That there is no re&s;urrection of the body, nor reward or pu|ni&s;hment after this life.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>14</HI> That there may be as much of God &s;een and enjoyed in any &s;er|vile labour, as in the Mini&s;tery of the Word, Prayer, &amp;c. and that they have more.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>15</HI> As for that men call wor&s;hip of God, con&s;cience, &amp;c. they know not what it meanes.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>16</HI> That &s;olemne Religious duties in publick or private, are but formes, bodily exerci&s;es, meerly Legall.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>17</HI> That men may as well work or play on the Lords day, as on a|ny other; And as for them (to whom God is departed out of Ordinances, and abundantly an&s;wers another way) it is better.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>18</HI> That the &s;oule is the breath of God.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>19</HI> That it is the Saints priviledge to be one Spirit, and therefore &s;ee no rea&s;on why there may not bee a community in all things.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>20</HI> That none can be certain whether he be in the truth or error, but them&s;elves; becau&s;e depending upon the teaching of the Spirit, yet they them&s;elvs &s;oes not knowing what they &s;hall hold for the future.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>21</HI> That they cannot joyn in prayer with others, becau&s;e of con|fe&s;&s;ion of wants, &s;innes, drawing neere to GOD, and Pe|titions for the Lords pre&s;ence, giving out of help, &amp;c. with which they cannot clo&s;e, becau&s;e denying the fir&s;t, and en|joying the latter.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>22</HI> That as for wantonne&s;&s;e, licentiou&s;ne&s;&s;e, Libertini&s;me, and turning grace into wantonne&s;&s;e, taking occa&s;ions from mercy to &s;in, &amp;c. they know not what you mean, they are not incident to Saints.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>23</HI> That they will, and think they ought to follow their light, though they are to lo&s;e heaven and gain hell pre&s;ently for it (if there be &s;uch things.)</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>24</HI> That &s;uch as are one in the Spirit of love, it is a great wrong for any to hinder their union and communion in any thing.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>25</HI> That what men call <HI>Ba&s;tardy,</HI> is onely upon the account of the
<PB REF="40">men of the world, who marry and are called <HI>Ba&s;tards,</HI> Heb. <HI>12.</HI> not with God, with whom Saints are as Angels in community, Luke <HI>20.34, 35, 36.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>26</HI> That they have already for Spirituals what they expect, and lack nothing, and act Faith onely for Corporall &s;ub&s;i|&s;tence.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>27</HI> That what the Saints (becau&s;e of others ba&s;ene&s;&s;e and wic|kedne&s;&s;e doe now in &s;ecret, they &s;hall doe openly, <HI>Matth. 20.26, 27.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>28</HI> That there is nothing fle&s;hly or carnall in the Saints per&s;ons or actings, but all &s;pirituall and holy.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>29</HI> That there is no Trinity of Per&s;ons in the Godhead.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>30</HI> That there is no di&s;tinction between God ana Chri&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>31</HI> That all are born without &s;in, and Saints live without &s;in.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>32</HI> That a Saint may out-live all his religion, all ties upon his con&s;cience, and yet remain a Saint.</ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="letter">
<PB REF="41">
<HEAD><HI>A true Copy of a Letter from</HI> Pli|mouth, February the <HI>12.</HI> Relating the manner of Gods working upon one that had ca&s;t off the u&s;e of Duties and Ordinances, &s;ent by an approved and known godly man that was an Eye-witne&s;&s;e.</HEAD>
<P>I Have onely one thing to tell you, and 'tis a re|markable pa&s;&s;age of Divine Providence: There is one <HI>Nicholas Earle,</HI> a Shoomaker, &s;ometimes of <HI>Tot|n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">s,</HI> and now a Souldier in the Fort, who having with|in this moneth given way to the &s;tudying of e&s;tranging him&s;elfe from God, conceiving that there was no need of Mini&s;ters, but that they mu&s;t down; Sacraments but Ceremonies, Sabbaths not to be kept, and thereupon was re&s;olved to open his windowes the la&s;t Sabbath, and to that end di&s;puted and argued with &s;ome about it the Saturday, and then charged his wife not to teach his children prayers, or Duties, or Commandements; and my man <HI>George</HI> being pre&s;ent, &s;aw him in his hot conte&s;tation fall to the ground roaring and crying, and taking deep dete&s;tation again&s;t tho&s;e that bare the I|mage of God, commending him&s;elfe onely a Saint, and others out of the way. He was again&s;t &s;inging, in&s;o|much that when the Souldiers in their daily duties in the Fort &s;ang, he &s;pake to them and &s;aid, they did lye like Devils. The man that Saturday night was under deep temptations, &s;trange apparitions, the Devill &s;ee|ming to appeare to him, with &s;trange roaring. The Sabbath day he &s;ent for me; and when I came, at fir&s;t
<PB REF="41">&s;ight I was welcome, but &s;uddenly I was loath&s;ome, and he &s;pat in defiance of me. I &s;aw him in that temper and fit, I left him: But the munday about Noone the man came to him&s;elfe, hath a &s;trange conviction of his error; whereas before he left giving of thankes, before and after the receiving of the creatures, now he is trou|bled at the thoughts of it, acknowledging his error. I have had conference with him, and he cannot be thank|full enough that God hath &s;o &s;oone returned him: He de&s;ires the Mini&s;ters to ble&s;&s;e God for his return, and pray that he may be &s;tedfa&s;t. This I write as certaine, and that you may acquaint others to take heed how profe&s;&s;edly they keep out of Gods way: he wi&s;heth all his friends to take warning by it.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>M. P.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</BACK>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
