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<DATE>2010-09-18</DATE>
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<NAME>Kayla Ondracek</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<P>THE CASE con&s;idered &amp; re&s;olved: VVhether Mr. <HI>Brooks</HI> his Pills to purge Ma|lignants were pre&s;cribed from Igno|rance, Malice, or both?</P>
<P>OR (Mr. <HI>Tho. Brooks</HI> his in&s;ide turn'd outward:) WHEREIN All godly, humble, and ingenious Chri&s;tians, whether in a Congregational way or other, are concerned, to inquire into the truth of tho&s;e mens Commi&s;&s;ions, who pretend them&s;elves to be Preachers of the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P>Pre&s;ented in generall to the Inhabitants of <HI>Margarets</HI> New Fi&s;h-&s;treet, but more particularly for the con&s;ideration of him&s;elf, and tho&s;e of his Congregation, to undeceive them of tho&s;e gro&s;&s;e conceits that they may have of him, or he of him&s;elf, that he is appointed by Chri&s;t, and hath a Commi&s;&s;ion to preach the Go&s;pel and Baptize.</P>
<P>Al&s;o Friendly advice to an unfriendly Neighbour, de&s;iring him for the time to come to ab&s;tain from reviling &s;uch per&s;ons as he never &s;pake word to, nor they to him.</P>
<P>By <HI>Richard Parham,</HI> a Pari&s;hioner of the &s;aid Pari&s;h.</P>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Matth. 7.15, 20, 21.</HI></BIBL> Beware of fal&s;e prophets which come to you in &s;heeps cloathing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves: wherefore by their fruits ye &s;hall know them; not every one that &s;aith Lord, Lord, &s;hall enter into the kingdome of heaven, but he that doth the will of my Father which is in heaven.</Q>
<P>Qui alterum incu&s;at probri, ip&s;um &s;e intueri oportet.</P>
<P><HI>London:</HI> Printed by <HI>R. A.</HI> for <HI>William Larnar</HI> at the Black Moor's head neer Fleet-Bridge. 1653.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>To the impartiall Reader.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Reader,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_I Have ob&s;erved, that many times a good Cau&s;e &s;uffers deeply through weak man|nagement, when &s;ome there are who by the &s;trength of per&s;wa&s;ive oratory, and &s;tu|died eloquent expre&s;&s;ions, are able, and do commonly per&s;wade mo&s;t of their Audi|tors to believe any thing they tell them, though contrary to truth and rea&s;on.</P>
<P>How prevailing a &s;mooth and curious &s;tile is to work on the affections, it cannot but be obvious to mo&s;t; for, who is it that hath not ob&s;erved divers, when reading of hi&s;to|ries, nay and &s;ome of tho&s;e but fictions, have been drawn forth exceedingly both to hope and feare, to joy and &s;or|row accordingly as they have been variou&s;ly inclined. Therfore, as from an untun'd In&s;trument, you will not ex|pect melodious mu&s;ick, &s;o from an unlearned Pen you can|not look for delightfull &s;traines, or poli&s;ht lines. But &s;uch as is tendred I de&s;ire may have as friendly acceptance, and favourable con&s;truction, as it is freely offered and faithful|ly intended: And if you find truth in the Di&s;cour&s;e, own it, though cloathed in rags: For certainly were there not an excellency in truth, none would be drawn to love and owne it on its own &s;ingle account.</P>
<P>I confe&s;&s;e there are many pretenders to truth, and the wayes thereof, but it is with &s;uch pretenders, as with tho&s;e that followed Chri&s;t for the loaves. How ea&s;ie is it to find
<PB REF="3">many men zealous to cry up truth, Ordinances, and the wayes of Chri&s;t, when a fat Par&s;onage, a Lecture, a ga|thered Congregation and &s;ome outward preferment comes in the clo&s;e. But how few, if any, think you, might we have to preach upon Chri&s;ts allowance to his Apo&s;tles, <HI>Luke</HI> 9.3. <HI>And he &s;aid unto them take nothing for your journey, neither &s;taves, neither &s;crip, neither bread, nor &s;ilver, neither two coats apiece.</HI> And upon the &s;ame allowance to the Se|venty he &s;ent to preach, <HI>Luke</HI> 10.4. <HI>Behold I &s;end you forth as lambs among&s;t wolves,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Reader, it is not &s;trange to &s;ee (becau&s;e we have been foretold of it) that in the la&s;t dayes &s;ome &s;hould ari&s;e that &s;hould make merchandize of the word: And if ever there were a time to trie the &s;pirits, certainly it is when that is fulfilled &s;poken by Chri&s;t him&s;elf, that <HI>many fal&s;e Prophets &s;hall ari&s;e, and deceive many, &s;aying, lo here is Christ, lo there is Chri&s;t,</HI> but he bids us not believe them: and therefore if we are not willing to &s;earch the Scriptures, to trie who are fal&s;e, there is little hope we de&s;ire tho&s;e that are true. And without controver&s;ie the Devill is mo&s;t like to deceive when he is transformed into an Angell of light.</P>
<P>Why &s;hould it be thought ami&s;&s;e, to que&s;tion the truth of the Mini&s;tery, and commi&s;&s;ion of tho&s;e men that are continually que&s;tioning the truth of one anothers doctrine, not only in forms of wor&s;hip, but in the very points of e|ternall &s;alvation? I need not in&s;tance in tho&s;e that preach univer&s;all Redemption, or Chri&s;t dying for all mankind without exception, how hotly are they oppo&s;ed by tho&s;e that hold election and reprobation of particular per&s;ons in anoaher &s;en&s;e? Again, &s;ome that maintain childrens bap|ti&s;m, others baptizing of believers only. Again, their dif|ference in the manner of admini&s;tration.</P>
<PB REF="3">
<P>The cau&s;e of my &s;etting pen to paper will be be&s;t &s;een in the following Di&s;cour&s;e, being briefly by Scripture to un|mask the proud boa&s;tings of a pretended Mini&s;ter, who&s;e la&s;t book many judicious men do conceive to be made up of ignorance of Chri&s;t and his wayes, and malice towards his Neighbours.</P>
<P>Secondly, that he and others of his &s;tamp may under|&s;tand that there are divers in and about the City, that take good notice both of their doctrine and practi&s;e, that can &s;o long as they are quiet &s;uffer them to enjoy their freedome in the large&s;t manner they can de&s;ire, becau&s;e they plead it upon the account of con&s;cience; but if once they break the bounds of mode&s;ty, in reviling and abu&s;ing the Pari&s;hion|ers, they can &s;oon &s;trip them of their Canonicall Robes, and di&s;cover their deceit and hypocri&s;ie to all the world.</P>
<P>Again, that the growing greatne&s;&s;e of his &s;elfe-conceit may be &s;topt; for if by our &s;ilence we &s;hould grant him to be as he calls him&s;elfe, <HI>viz.</HI> a Mini&s;ter of the Spirit, we &s;hould unavoidably be tyed up to his Dictates, as much as the Papi&s;ts are to the Decrees of the Pope.</P>
<P>Reader, be plea&s;ed to take notice what di&s;advantages I have in pre&s;enting this an&s;wer to his book, when the gen|tleman boa&s;teth in the nineth page thereof, <HI>that be hath &s;pent more money at the Univer&s;ity, in helps to learning, then &s;everall of the Pari&s;hioners are worth:</HI> And therefore if the truth of what is written cannot &s;upqort it &s;elf, it is like to have but little help from my Scholar&s;hip; not but that I have a high e&s;teem of learning, &s;o long as it is u&s;ed to its proper end, but not to have it u&s;ed, as the Magitians did in <HI>Pharoahs</HI> Court, to delude both him and the people, onely be plea&s;ed to remember, that tho&s;e that were Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pell were fitted for the preaching of it af|ter
<PB REF="4">
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<PB REF="5">another manner then &s;tudying at the Univer&s;ity, as you may read <HI>Acts</HI> 2.4. <HI>And they were all filled with the Ho|ly Gho&s;t, and began to &s;peak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>To conclude, in writing this piece I have to the be&s;t of my under&s;tanding ca&s;t up the account, what it may amount to, and I hope I have not reckoned without my ho&s;t, which in &s;hort the reward I expect for my time and paines is;</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, that divers ingenious, hone&s;t, and religious per|&s;ons will accept it, although it add not &s;o much to their under&s;tandings as the ca&s;ting a mite into a trea&s;ury.</P>
<P>Secondly I expect the ill will and cen&s;ure of &s;uch as mea|&s;ure other mens writings and arguments, not by the &s;tan|dard of the Scripture and Rea&s;on, but by opinions and practices grounded upon an implicit faith in their Teachers, from the&s;e I look for an out-cry like to that of <HI>Micha, Iudges</HI> 18.24. <HI>And he &s;aid, ye have taken away my gods which I have made, and the Prie&s;t and ye are gone away, and what have I more? and what is this that ye &s;ay unto me, what aileth thee?</HI></P>
<P>La&s;tly, that if I were con&s;iderable in that which they call Learning, I might gain the repute to rai&s;e a &s;warm of &s;uch hornets about my eares, that if it were in their power would &s;ting me to death.</P>
<P>I &s;hall not trouble thee further ar pre&s;ent, but leave thee to judge the in&s;uing Di&s;cour&s;e, as thou finde&s;t it mo&s;t a|greeable to Scripture and Rea&s;on, and &s;o re&s;t</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Thy Friend, <HI>R. P.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
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<PB REF="5">
<HEAD>To my loving and friendly Neighbours, the Pari&s;hioners of the Pari&s;h of S. <HI>Margarets</HI> New Fi&s;h|&s;treet, <HI>R. P.</HI> wi&s;heth you the true knowledge of the Go|&s;pel here, and eternall happine&s;&s;e hereafter.</HEAD>
<P>FRiends and Neighbours, having peru&s;ed a piece, pre&s;ented to the Pari&s;hioners in generall, entituled, Ca&s;es con&s;idered and re&s;ol|ved, or Pills to purge Malignants, &amp;c. <HI>Calculated more par|ticularly</HI> (as Mr. Almanack-maker &s;aith) <HI>for the Meridian of Margarets Fi&s;h-&s;treet hill,</HI> by a pretended Mini&s;ter <HI>Tho. Brooks.</HI> And among&s;t the rest, I having one of the hooks &s;ent unto me, reading it over, J thought it my duty to con&s;ider; and if I might, to be re&s;olved of the ca&s;e, from what &s;pirit &s;uch a language might flow; for as to my under&s;tanding, I do not remember that ever I read &s;uch an Epistle through all the New Te&s;tament, either from the Apostles, or any other Mini&s;ters; and by a Pamphlet to have the Pari&s;h posted in print through the Nation, and to be rendred under &s;uch vile termes and foul a&s;per&s;ions (by the malice of a Prie&s;t or pretended Minister) as might ju&s;tly, were they true, make all &s;ober hone&s;t men refrain our company; yea and to de&s;troy us in our trades and livelyhoods, by frighting people from dealing with &s;o ungodly per&s;ons as he pretends us to be: but for him to revile tho&s;e that he never &s;pake word to, nor they to him; (and therefore not knowing what temper we are of) is &s;uch a piece of mad|ne&s;&s;e, that I am apt to think he either never read, or hath quite forgot|ten the nineth ver&s;e of the Epi&s;tle of <HI>Jude;</HI> yet <HI>Michael</HI> the Archan|gell, when he &s;trove against the divell, and di&s;puted about the body of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> dur&s;t not bring against him a railing accu&s;ation, but &s;aid, the Lord rebuke thee.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<PB REF="6">
<HEAD>Some Con&s;iderations on <HI>Mr. Brooks</HI> his Epi|&s;tle to the Reader.</HEAD>
<P>THe beginning of his Epi&s;tle he makes an Apology for him|&s;elf, by condemning many books, which he &s;aith, <HI>&s;hew the writers vanity, and vex the Readers patience;</HI> but what a worthy work his is, I hope will be made appear in the fol|lowing di&s;cour&s;e.</P>
<P>He tells us al&s;o, that what he hath <HI>written, is out of faithfulne&s;&s;e to Chri&s;t, and love to &s;ouls.</HI> 'Tis like his zeal might be hot in writing it, being of generall concernment to the whole profe&s;&s;ion; but had he not told us, of its being out of faithfulne&s;&s;e; <HI>he that is no Witch</HI> might ea&s;ily have perceived it to be, not only out of faith, but al&s;o out of charity, but not out of ignorance on any termes.</P>
<P>It is very true which he further &s;peaks in his Epi&s;tle to the Reader, <HI>that tho&s;e that have the lea&s;t right to Ordinances, (and I may add Mini&s;tery) make the greatest noy&s;e and cry about them,</HI> &s;o &s;ure|ly there are &s;ome &s;uch pretended Mini&s;ters in our times, that like empty ve&s;&s;ells make the greate&s;t &s;ound, who have onely a &s;tudied form of fine words, and experience proves, are as affecti|onately zealous in delivering them, as tho&s;e vagabond Jewes the &s;ons of <HI>Sceava</HI> were, <HI>Act.</HI> 19.13. <HI>We adjure you by Chri&s;t whom</HI> Paul <HI>preacheth;</HI> but read on the next ver&s;e, and you will find they went not away without a reward fit for their work.</P>
<P>He &s;aith further, <HI>though his candle be but little, yet he mu&s;t not hide it under a bu&s;hell, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>And truly I hope the gentleman will let us have &s;o much care of our &s;elves, as not to follow an <HI>ignis fatnis,</HI> or &s;uch a light (as is reported) that when men have followed it all night, they are ne|ver the neerer their journeys end in the morning.</P>
<P>And though he de&s;ires, <HI>that the fruit might not be rejected for the trees &s;ake,</HI> I &s;uppo&s;e it were well, could he demon&s;trate unto us what manner of fruit he means; for if he means his book to be one of the fruits, &s;ome are apt to think &s;uch fruit to be like the apples of <HI>Sodome.</HI></P>
<PB N="3" REF="6">
<P>As for the rea&s;ons he brings, they being con&s;idered, &s;omething may be &s;aid, but I de&s;ire to be very briefe.</P>
<P>And for the fir&s;t, which is, <HI>that the honor, truth, and wayes of Chri&s;t, which are dearer to him then his life may be vindicated, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>I have read of &s;ome, who through blind zeal have offered great violence to their own bodies, as in the ca&s;e of the Prophets of <HI>Baal,</HI> 1 <HI>Kings</HI> 18.28. And S. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing.</P>
<P>And for the gentlemans charity, you have it in the &s;econd rea|&s;on, which I &s;hall only name in &s;hort, and leave both it, and tho&s;e Characters which he is plea&s;ed to be&s;tow on the Pari&s;hioners as te|&s;timonies to prove the truth of his Mini&s;tery by, which are, <HI>that the foul months of prophane, ignorant, malignant, and &s;candalous per&s;ons may be effectually &s;tope.</HI></P>
<P>For the third, <HI>That the hone&s;t, just, and righteous proceedings of the honorable Committee may be manife&s;ted, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>I confe&s;&s;e it is a greater mercy then hath formerly been enjoyed by the people of this Nation, that tho&s;e in authority are tender of the con&s;ciences of Chri&s;tians; but let me tell you, it is little or no thanks to the Prie&s;ts; and farther I find, that when ever that Tribe hath been dandled on the knees of Authority, they have common|ly for a requitall plotted, and many times effected the ruine of their Promoters, if they have not on all occa&s;ions been ready to humor them in executing their malice again&s;t pretended Heretikes. I could largely in&s;tance in this, but de&s;ire brevity.</P>
<P>Fourthly, <HI>that the importunate de&s;ires of &s;everall Mini&s;ters and Chri&s;tians might be &s;atisfied, e&s;pecially tho&s;e to whom he preaches, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Truly if &s;everall Mini&s;ters &s;aw it before it was publi&s;hed, I won|der none was &s;o kind as to put in <HI>Imprimatur</HI> to it, or to write an <HI>Encomium</HI> in Prai&s;e of the work, &s;eeing they de&s;ired &s;o importu|nately to have it publi&s;hed, that we might have known the per|&s;ons; but for tho&s;e other Chri&s;tians, to whom he faith he preaches, I &s;hould rather judge it to be done by an implicit faith, then upon mature deliberation, to po&s;t it into the world. But I remember what Chri&s;t told the Phari&s;ees, <HI>Mat.</HI> 23.15. that they compa&s;&s;ed Sea and Land to make one of their profe&s;&s;ion; and what got he, but to be twofold more the child of the divell then before.</P>
<P>Fifthly, <HI>That his Mini&s;tery and good name, which &s;hould be dearer to him then his life, may be vindicated, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<PB N="4" REF="7">
<P>Oh this &s;weet morfell the Mini&s;tery! this great <HI>Dianah</HI> of the <HI>Ephe&s;ians!</HI> &s;hould this become unmasked and undervalued, there might be a weeping, like that of the Merchants of <HI>Babylon, Rev.</HI> 18. having none to buy their wares: But for his good name which he &s;o highly prizes, and values at &s;o dear a rate, certainly it had need be better then ordinary, when in exalting his own, he de|fames and vilifies the reputation and good names of all the men in the Pari&s;h, be plea&s;ed to con&s;ider one text, becau&s;e I would not be tedious, it is <HI>Mat.</HI> 7. &amp; 5. <HI>Hipocrite first cast out the beam out of thine own eye, and then thou &s;halt &s;ee clearly to ca&s;t out the mote out of thy brothers eye.</HI></P>
<P>Sixthly, <HI>that others may be undeceived, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Truly I am fully per&s;waded that his writing this la&s;t book will prove as effectuall for the undeceiving many people, as any thing that could have been propounded; for I believe mo&s;t people that have read the book, did before account of him as a tender, humble, courteous, patient Saint, but I que&s;tion not, but by reading this they are clearly convinced of the contrary, and &s;o undeceived. And whereas he &s;aith, &s;ome &s;aid there were eighteen, others twen|ty &s;ix things charged again&s;t him, I &s;uppo&s;e what they wanted of their number before, they may have now &s;upplied with ad|vantage.</P>
<P>The &s;eventh is of the &s;ame kind and temper with the &s;econd, and therefore for brevity I pa&s;&s;e it.</P>
<P>Eighthly, <HI>becau&s;e his Ca&s;e is a gener all Ca&s;e, and reaches all the godly con&s;cientions Miui&s;ters in England,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Truly I much commend the Captain for re&s;erving &s;o con&s;idera|ble a Party for the Rear-guard, and it is an old Proverb, <HI>that many hands make lightwork;</HI> but had he been confident of his Commi&s;|&s;ion which he pretends to, and believing in him, who he &s;aith &s;ent him on the work, he need not make Proclamation to mu&s;ter up all the godly con&s;cientious Mini&s;ters in <HI>England,</HI> for fear of theirs and his being outed and routed by the prophane, ignorant, and malig|nant party, as you may read <HI>Jeremiah</HI> 1.17, 18. <HI>Thou therefore tru&s;&s;e up thy loynes, and ari&s;e and &s;peak unto them all that I command|ed thee, be not afraid of their faces, le&s;t I de&s;troy thee before them, for I, behold I, have made thee a defenced City, and an iron Pillar, and walls of bra&s;&s;e again&s;t the whole Land, again&s;t the Kings of</HI> Judah, <HI>and against the Princes thereof, again&s;t the Prie&s;ts thereof, and a|gain&s;t
<PB N="5" REF="7">the people of the Land.</HI> And &s;o was it in the ca&s;e of <HI>Stephen, Paul,</HI> and others of the Apo&s;tles and Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t; but we find it was notable policy in <HI>Demetrius</HI> the Silver-Smith to main|tain a tottering wor&s;hip, <HI>Acts</HI> 19.24, 25, 26. ver. to call together the craft&s;men of like imployment; and it was a per&s;wa&s;ive argu|ment to tell them, Sirs you know by this craft we have our goods, &amp;c. as you may read at large, and make &s;uch an application as is mo&s;t rea&s;onable. I will not farther enlarge on this, le&s;t I &s;hould &s;eem tedious, but having pa&s;t the door, I would willingly take a &s;hort &s;urvey of the hou&s;e and furniture; &s;o de&s;iring you as loving friends and neighbours to bear with my weakne&s;&s;e, con&s;idering I write not my&s;elf Clark, but Fi&s;hmonger; &amp; therefore you may allow me a few grains of a favourable con&s;truction, more then to him that hath &s;pent a large e&s;tate at the <HI>&V;niver&s;ity,</HI> to attain the art of eloquent writing and &s;peaking.</P>
<P>Thus de&s;iring the Lord in mercy &s;o to direct us, that we may clearly under&s;tand his will, reveal'd in his word and under&s;tanding, that he would enable us to practi&s;e in our lives, &s;o as may make mo&s;t for his glory, and our own comfort, both here and hereafter, is the prayer of your friend and neighbour.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<PB N="6" REF="8">
<HEAD>Ob&s;ervations on Mr. <HI>Brooks</HI> his Pre|amble.</HEAD>
<P>THe next thing that comes in cour&s;e is the Preamble he in|tended to make before the Honorable Committee, &amp;c.</P>
<P>And in it let us con&s;ider fir&s;t his intentions, and &s;econd|ly the thing it &s;elf, and &s;ee what they will re&s;olve us of.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t the intention of the &s;peech.</P>
<P>Whither Alas doth the countenance of Authority and &s;elfe|conceit, hurry per&s;ons, who pretend mo&s;t holine&s;&s;e, when once they forget them&s;elves, for&s;aking the fountain of living water, and digging to them&s;elves Ce&s;ternes, broken Ce&s;ternes that can hold no water?</P>
<P>In the 10. <HI>Mat.</HI> from the 1. to the 18. we find Chri&s;t &s;ending out his Di&s;ciples to preach the Go&s;pell, and tells them how they ought to behave them&s;elves, and what u&s;age they mu&s;t expect from the world; for in the 18. <HI>ver.</HI> he tells them; they &s;hall be brought before Governers and Kings for his &s;ake, &amp;c. <HI>ver.</HI> 19. <HI>but when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what you &s;hall &s;ay, for it &s;hall be given you in that hour what you &s;hall &s;ay, ver.</HI> 20. <HI>for it is not ye that &s;peak, but the &s;pirit of your Father which &s;peaketh in you.</HI></P>
<P>Now if this be an ab&s;olute command of Chri&s;t to the Preachers of the Go&s;pel, not to &s;tudy or premeditate what they &s;hall &s;ay when they are brought before Rulers and Governers, for &s;peaking and practi&s;ing what he commands them: Truly for my part I think the gentleman hath but little cau&s;e to brag of his intended &s;peech be|fore the Committee; I &s;hall not be &s;o cenforious, as to judge this intended and premeditated &s;peech a wilfull &s;in again&s;t con&s;cience, but rather think it almo&s;t as great a weakne&s;&s;e of faith, as when <HI>Peter</HI> denied his Ma&s;ter.</P>
<P>And I hope when he once con&s;iders his weakne&s;&s;e, in letting &s;uch an Errata &s;lip into the world, he will be &s;o far from boa&s;ting of it, that he will call it in, and publi&s;h his repentance in the room of it.</P>
<P>The intended Preamble he begins with, <HI>it was a divine &s;aying of</HI> Seneca, <HI>no man &s;ets a better rate upon vertue, then he that loo&s;eth a
<PB N="7" REF="8">good name to keep a good Con&s;cience.</HI> Ah <HI>Seneca!</HI> 'tis well the gentle|man found you, for if he had not, he might have lo&s;t the beginning of his Preamble, but as for the divinity in the &s;entence, I wonder whether it be Church or School divinity, for we look for &s;entences which are divine from Scripture, unle&s;&s;e a miracle to confirm them; but &s;urely it is no miracle that his Criple &s;hould walk, having two &s;uch cruches as <HI>Calvin</HI> and <HI>Lactantius</HI> to &s;upport it, but with an eye of pity take compa&s;&s;ion on the gentleman, and con&s;ider his ca&s;e, which is very &s;ad, having &s;uch &s;hrewd ju&s;tlings on both &s;ides, as may ea&s;ily turn a weak &s;tomack, &s;eeing one &s;ort of people deny him to be a Scholar, others that he hath the quali&s;ications, and di|&s;tingui&s;hing charactets of a Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel, the fir&s;t where|of I hope he hath &s;ufficiently confuted, by his Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, in his (Pills or) book, more e&s;pecially by the <HI>initiall letter</HI> (&tet;) <HI>of the Hebrew word</HI> Tob, <HI>that in the text is rendred good, is big|ger shen ordinary, to &s;hew the more then ordinary excellency of a good name.</HI></P>
<P>I hope this rea&s;on may &s;ilence all objections in that kind, it be|ing produced <HI>ab origine.</HI> And for the other, he may, if he can di&s;|prove them when he comes to debate the bu&s;ine&s;&s;e in publique: But to come more clo&s;ely to the bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, I remember what is &s;aid <HI>Acts</HI> 5.29. when <HI>Peter</HI> and the other Apo&s;tles were brought be|fore the Councell to &s;peak in defence and vindication of truth and them&s;elves, it was in this manner; then <HI>Peter</HI> and the other Apo|&s;tles an&s;wered and &s;aid, <HI>we ought rather to obey God then men, &amp;c.</HI> And when <HI>Stephen</HI> an&s;wered for him&s;elf before the Councell, in that large and admitable &s;peech of his, <HI>Acts</HI> 7. he neither brought <HI>Seneca, Lactantius,</HI> or the like to &s;peak for him, or to help him out at a dead lift, but begins, <HI>Men, Brethren, and Fathers hearken, the God of glory appeared to our Father</HI> Abtaham, <HI>while he was in Me&s;o|potamia, before he dwelt in Charan, &amp;c.</HI> but &s;uch gentlemen as he is, &s;ure think they may &s;peak and do any thing without controul, and yet pa&s;&s;e for true Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P>The former part of the Preamble I take as it is, <HI>his glorying in his good nnme, good con&s;cience, and holdne&s;&s;e therein.</HI></P>
<P>As for the two former, if he hath them not, I wi&s;h he may, but as for the later, I &s;uppo&s;e he is &s;ufficiently furni&s;hed withall, el&s;e his Pills had never been pre&s;cribed.</P>
<P>But concerning what he &s;ayes of (as he is plea&s;ed to &s;tile them)
<PB N="8" REF="9"><HI>the prophane, ignorant, maliguant, and &s;eandalous Petitioners, as</HI> Lan|ctantius <HI>&s;aith of</HI> Lucian, <HI>he &s;pared neither God nor man;</HI> me-thinks this his opinion of them is beyond the bounds of charity.</P>
<P>But if they in requitall &s;hould think of him; as it was the <HI>Epi|tha</HI> of <HI>Peter Aretine</HI> of <HI>Venice,</HI> which is thus engli&s;hed:</P>
<Q><L>The Tu&s;can <HI>Aretine</HI> lies herein grave,</L>
<L>That again&s;t all, excepting God did rave;</L>
<L>And if the rea&s;on you de&s;ire to have,</L>
<L>He knew him not, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<P>In the next place he &s;aith, <HI>'tis &s;aid of</HI> Cataline <HI>that he was a com|pound and bundle of warring lusts and vices, &s;uch are the&s;e Petitioners.</HI></P>
<P>As for the compari&s;on, it is fool to the purpo&s;e, and &s;o &s;uteable to the per&s;ons in all particulars, that I &s;hall leave it with an <HI>ip&s;e dixit,</HI> as one of his high raptures, or &s;piritual expre&s;&s;ions.</P>
<P>But the next &s;entence is more admirable, wherein he compares the Petitioners <HI>to raging made tygers, when they &s;mell the fragrancy of Spices, &s;uen are they, &s;aith he, when they &s;mell the fragrancy of the graces of Gods Spirit, in the principles and practi&s;es, in the lives and re|ligious exerci&s;es of the people of God.</HI></P>
<P>Truly it is a mercy, that as yet all the Petitioners that I hear of are in their right minds, but I confe&s;&s;e &s;uch &s;trong purging pills as the Gentlemans are, is the ready way to make men inraged and mad: And this I &s;uppo&s;e may be one of the principles and practi|&s;es in the lives and religious exerci&s;es of the people he &s;peaks of, which if it be &s;o, I am apt to believe he is not be&s;ide the cu&s;hion; but if he means otherwi&s;e, I be&s;eech him that he would not judge, lea&s;t he be judged.</P>
<P>In the next place he tells us (if we have faith enough to believe his bare word) <HI>that he hath preached the Go&s;pell above the&s;e thirteen years, and not only &s;o, but that he hath many precious &s;eals of his Mi|ni&s;tery, which are his living Epistles, and walking Certificates.</HI></P>
<P>Truly the more holy, ju&s;t, and good men are, and that they love vertue and goodne&s;&s;e for its own &s;ake (and not pretending Religion to attain preferment, and &s;uch as may ju&s;t &s;uit with the temper of the times) I believe it ought to be a rejoycing to men &amp; Angells; but if conver&s;ion from prophanene&s;&s;e, to an acknowled ge|ment and profe&s;&s;ion of faith, nay and to be zealous in a forme of wor&s;hip, and blamele&s;&s;e in conver&s;ation, be an argument to prove a true Mini&s;tery, I &s;uppo&s;e very many per&s;ons under both
<PB N="9" REF="9">the forms of Epi&s;copacy and Presbytery, were and are as holy and blamele&s;&s;e in their conver&s;ations, as any of tho&s;e that pretend to more pure di<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">pen&s;ations: And for all that, few of our Church|men have &s;carre &s;o much charity as to judge them to be true Mini|&s;ters of the Go&s;pell; nay if the Gentlemans argument may be granted, I &s;uppo&s;e the Popi&s;h Prie&s;ts and Je&s;uites might produce three for our one, and upon that account prove them&s;elves as true Mini&s;ters as any in the world.</P>
<P>In the next place he &s;aith, <HI>in all his time none have &s;hewed them|&s;elves &s;o malicious, impudent, and ignorant, as to petition again&s;t him.</HI></P>
<P>As for their being ignorant in petitioning again&s;t him, it may be 'tis true, they not apprehending he could &s;o effectually oppo&s;e them when it came to a hearing; but for the other termes of ma|lice and impudence for petitioning is a doctrine contrary to the principles of all rea&s;on and liber<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">y; and if petitioning, which hath generally been concluded on, to be the mo&s;t humble, innocent, and harmle&s;&s;e way of addre&s;&s;e, if that mu&s;t be branded with impu|dence and malice, it were well if the gentleman had pre&s;cribed &s;omething in the room of it that might have been le&s;&s;e offen&s;ive to his &s;tomack; and if petitioning de&s;erve the brand of impudence, what titles would he have found for a prote&s;tation again&s;t him!</P>
<P>But in conclu&s;ion, he is confident, <HI>that this act of the Petitioners &s;hall make for his externall, internall, and eternall good.</HI></P>
<P>So am I as confident as him&s;elf; and fir&s;t for his externall good, which I conclude to be his maintenance, I believe he is more fully confirmed in the benefice by their oopo&s;ition, then he was before.</P>
<P>Secondly, for the <HI>internall good,</HI> he may be much more quieted in his mind, being delivered from the fear of any more &s;uch oppo|&s;itions, having cru&s;ht the Petitioners &s;o effectually.</P>
<P>Thirdly, for the <HI>eternall good,</HI> if he &s;hould unfainedly repent, and de&s;ire forgivene&s;&s;e of the Petitioners, for tho&s;e black brands and foul a&s;per&s;ions he hath ca&s;t upon them, either by ignorance or malice, I que&s;tion not but they would freely forgive him.</P>
<P>And for a clo&s;e to the Preamble, I &s;hould advi&s;e the gentleman, if ever he &s;hould meet with &s;uch a &s;ort of people againe, who as he conceives, are &s;uch oppo&s;ers of the Mini&s;tery, not to follow the dictates of his own braine, how good &s;oever they may &s;eeme unto him, for as the Prophet <HI>Jeremiah</HI> &s;aith 17. &amp; 9. <HI>the heart is deceitfull above all things, and de&s;perately wicked, who can know it?</HI>
<PB N="10" REF="10">But to follow the ab&s;olute rule of Chri&s;t, if he be one of his me&s;|&s;engers, which he gave to his Apo&s;tles in <HI>Mat.</HI> 10. and 14. <HI>and who&s;oever &s;hall not receive you, nor hear your words, when you depart out of that hou&s;e or City, &s;hake off the du&s;t off your feet.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Truly I &s;ay unto you, it &s;hall be ea&s;ier for the Land of Sodom and Gomorrah, in the day of Judgement, then for that City.</HI></P>
<P>Having done with the Preamble, the next thing in cour&s;e is the Petition it &s;elf.</P>
<P>Which if this di&s;cour&s;e &s;hould chance to come to the hands of &s;trangers, they may take a full view of it, and make the mo&s;t &s;trict &s;crutiny into it, and &s;ee whether either it, or the Petitioners, are &s;uch mon&s;ters as they are rendred.</P>
<Q><TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="petition">
<HEAD>To the Honorable Committee for Plun|dred MINISTERS.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">The humble Petition of the Pari&s;hioners of <HI>Margaret New-Fi&s;h&s;treet, London,</HI> who&s;e names are hereunto &s;ub|&s;cribed.</HEAD>
<OPENER>Shewing,</OPENER>
<P>THat one Mr. <HI>Thomas Brooks,</HI> was by order of your Honors, dated the twenty third of <HI>March,</HI> 1651. appointed to preach for a moneth, next en&s;uing, as Probationer; to the end, that upon the Pari&s;hioners, and the &s;aid Mr. <HI>Brooks</HI> mutuall triall of each other, the &s;aid Mr. <HI>Brooks</HI> might continue, or your Petitioners have &s;ome other to officiate among&s;t them.</P>
<P>Your Petitioners are humbly bold to offer to your Ho|nors con&s;ideration, that they have had triall of the &s;aid Mr. <HI>Brooks</HI> ever &s;ince your Honors Order, but cannot find that comfort to their &s;ouls they hoped; nor indeed is the
<PB N="11" REF="10">&s;aid Mr. <HI>Brooks</HI> &s;o qualified to your Petitioners under&s;tand|ings, as to remain any longer with them. And further, your Petitioners &s;ay, that the &s;aid Mr. <HI>Brooks</HI> refu&s;eth to afford your Petitioners the u&s;e of the Ordinances of Bapti&s;m and the Lords Supper, nor will he bury their dead.</P>
<P><HI>The Petitioners therefore humbly pray, that your Honors will be plea&s;ed to revoke your Order, and give liberty to your Petitioners for &s;ix moneths, to pre&s;ent a fit per&s;on to your Honors to be their Mini&s;ter; and in the mean time, that Sequestrators may be appointed to provide for the &s;ervice of the Cure, out of &s;uch money, as &s;hall ari&s;e for tythes out of the &s;aid Pari&s;h; And,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT></Q>
<P>IF you plea&s;e &s;eriou&s;ly to con&s;ider of the Petition, I believe you will not find one word of Malignancy or di&s;affection to the pre|&s;ent Government, but meerly to entreat for that in point of Re|ligion, which to their under&s;tandings &s;eemeth mo&s;t rea&s;onable; and if this be not agreeable to all tho&s;e principles and rea&s;ons which have been &s;till pre&s;&s;ed for liberty of <HI>Con&s;cience,</HI> let the world judge. And I hope the gentleman will not force a practi&s;e, before he convinces the under&s;tanding.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<PB N="12" REF="11">
<HEAD>Ob&s;ervations on &s;ome of his Quaeries.</HEAD>
<P>IN the next place I come to the Quaeries he makes on the <HI>Ma|lignants Petition,</HI> as he termes them.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, whereas he &s;aith, <HI>it was never propounded to him to preach as Probationer amongst them, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Truly how or upon what termes he came in I know not, neither did I trouble my &s;elf about the choice, either for or again&s;t him, but I thought with my &s;elf, and as &s;ome others &s;aid, we had as good to have him as a wor&s;e, &s;eeing one we mu&s;t have; neither knew I of the Petition, or ever &s;ee it, before he printed it; neither had I troubled my &s;elf with him or his way, had he been quiet; but as I &s;aid before, for him to render the Pari&s;h in generall under a &s;can|dall, but e&s;pecially the Petitioners, &s;ome of whom for divers years I have known, and truly may ju&s;tly believe they are as hone&s;t, ju&s;t, and righteous as him&s;elf, I am &s;ure more then &s;ome of his <HI>Congre|gation,</HI> I could &s;ay more, but will not, lea&s;t I might be accounted a f<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">atterer.</P>
<P>But truly it may be the Petitioners, as well as my &s;elfe, care not to &s;pend our time to hear; <HI>this is a brave word, this a fine word, this is a &s;weet word;</HI> and to have him &s;peak with reverence, that had not Chri&s;t accompli&s;hed the work of Redemption, for which he was &s;ent, that God would have made heaven too hot to hold him, and the like, but con&s;idering the whole Pari&s;h to lie under a reproach, although I being one of the meane&s;t, yet thought it my duty, (though but weakly) to take off the &s;tain &s;o much as I might, for the Proverb is tread on a worm, and it will turn: And lea&s;t our &s;i|lence might conclude us to be altogether &s;uch as the gentleman him&s;elf, and friends, who pre&s;t him to publi&s;h the book are: plea|&s;ed to terme us, there could not in rea&s;on have been le&s;&s;e &s;aid.</P>
<P>He &s;aith, <HI>he preached above twenty Sermons in the winter on the Lecture nights:</HI> But I wi&s;h he had told us what he meaneth by preaching, becau&s;e I judge the Go&s;pell preaching is to &s;peak as the Spirit gives utterance, and not the reading of a few written Notes,
<PB N="13" REF="11">that have been premeditated and &s;tudied five or &s;ix dayes be|fore.</P>
<P>And al&s;o I further de&s;ire to know what rule or example there is in the Go&s;pell, that ever any Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel did, or ought to preach upon triall to gain a benefice.</P>
<P>In the fourth Quaery he &s;aith, <HI>the prophane, malignant Petitioners had neither a hand in chu&s;ing, nor hearts to make triall of his Mini&s;te|ry, and that they may well have a black brand put upon them, as men void of common hone&s;ty and ingenuity, &amp;c.</HI> with more of the &s;ame language, which I &s;uppo&s;e he hath done to the purpo&s;e.</P>
<P>For an&s;wer to which, I &s;ay, if it &s;hould be granted that they had neither a hand in chu&s;ing, nor hearts to make triall of his Mini&s;tery, yet I &s;uppo&s;e the gentleman had a triall of their money, and al&s;o a heart to make u&s;e of it, though by his owne words they had no|thing for it, and therefore in mode&s;ty might have u&s;ed them more kindly: And whereas he &s;aith, that what the Petitioners &s;peak in the Petition, is as far from truth, as the Petitioners are from being reall friends to the pre&s;ent Authority of the Nation; it is clear that the Petitioners do own the pre&s;ent Authority, by their humble ad|dre&s;&s;e to the Honorable Committee for Plundred Mini&s;ters.</P>
<P>In an&s;wer to what he &s;ays, I be&s;eech you bear with a little di|gre&s;&s;ion. What &s;hall I &s;ay to the gentleman? &s;hall I retort his own language upon him, as one being void of common hone&s;ty &amp; inge|nuity? for had the Petitioners formerly been malignant, &amp; enemies the pre&s;ent Government, yet con&s;idering the pre&s;ent Authority, have been graciou&s;ly plea&s;ed to pa&s;&s;e a generall Act of Pardon and Oblivion, whereby all that emulation and heart-burning betweene &s;everall parties, might be a greed and quite forgotten, for him to rake up the embers, and blow the coals of divi&s;ion afre&s;h in that kind, by branding of them with that which ought not once to be mentioned, argues but little in the gentleman, either of ingenuity or hone&s;ty.</P>
<P>But &s;eeing that he is of &s;uch a &s;train, that he cares not what it be, &s;o he can find any thing to render the per&s;ons odious, with whom he is offended, I &s;hall take the boldne&s;&s;e to remember him of &s;ome pa&s;&s;ages that may be very con&s;iderable, as to the thing in hand.</P>
<P>How his affections might be to the pre&s;ent Government in the late Kings time, I know not; but I did then, and &s;till do know di|vers
<PB N="14" REF="12">per&s;ons which are mo&s;t zealous for a Congregationall way; that were the greate&s;t promoters of his intere&s;t of any people I knew in the City, and &s;uch as were not ordinary members, but Preachers &s;o called; I could name the per&s;ons, time, and places, but &s;hall only give a hint of &s;omething that I &s;peak upon my owne knowledge, that you may know, and take notice how little the pre&s;ent Authority are beholding to &s;ome Churchmen, though &s;ince I &s;ee the &s;ame per&s;ons are exceedingly countenanced and ad|vanced.</P>
<P>About the time the late King was brought to <HI>Hampton</HI> Court, the&s;e Churchmen had a Petition on foot to pre&s;&s;e on a Per&s;onall Treaty, they u&s;ed all the prevailing arguments that might be to get hands to it, and per&s;ons to own it. Among&s;t the re&s;t, &s;ayes a Preacher, I &s;ee no &s;afety, nor how the breach can be made up without compliance with the King. And &s;aid moreover, that he had an oportunity to &s;peak to him, and that he thought there was much of God in him, and that he would be willing to comply to a|ny thing, both religious and civill, and abundance more that was very high in the commendation of him; as in particular, that he of|fered to grant the <HI>Militia</HI> for &s;o many years, &amp;c.</P>
<P>An&s;wer was made, that he had no <HI>Militia</HI> left to grant, for if it had been his before, yet the right was onely by the power of the Sword, and by the &s;ame power he had lo&s;t it; but if he had a right to grant a term of years, that then the power mu&s;t re&s;t in his per|&s;on, which was a doctrine contrary to all the Declarations of Par|liament in that ca&s;e.</P>
<P>He &s;aid moreover, that he would grant Liberty of Con&s;cience, as much as could be de&s;ired with an Act of Oblivion, and divers o|ther things which are too long to in&s;ert.</P>
<P>But an&s;wer was made, he was not in a capacity to grant, for he was no better then a pri&s;oner, and that he had oppo&s;ed &s;o long as he had any power left; and for him to grant an Act of Oblivion, was for to lay all the guilt and bloud of the Nations on them that oppo&s;ed his proceedings, and how di&s;honorable it would be to ask forgivene&s;&s;e of a conquered enemy, let the world judge: But af|ter a large debate, &s;ayes the Gentleman, I profe&s;&s;e, I thought not that what I propound might not be for a publike good, I would never per&s;wade to it: I had never in&s;tanced this, but that the vail might be taken off from &s;ome Churchmens faces, that the world
<PB N="15" REF="12">might not &s;uppo&s;e they were the onely Promoters of the pre&s;ent Authority, when indeed the fault of the Per&s;onall Treaty, under which divers others &s;uffered, they were the mo&s;t guilty of, in pre&s;|&s;ing and per&s;wading to it, of any that ever I &s;pake with.</P>
<P>But among&s;t all their pretendings to the annoynting of the Spi|rit, and to make known the mind and will of God, that there &s;hould not be one found among&s;t them that could read the hand|writing as it was done by <HI>Daniel,</HI> when he told the K. <HI>Bel&s;hazzar, this is the interpretation of the thing, Dan.</HI> 5.6. <HI>God hath numbred thy Kingdome, and fini&s;hed it, thou art weighted in the balance, and found too light, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>But truly I could not find any of our Churchmen, who pretend &s;o much to know the mind of God, but were as ignorant of what God by his providence was about to do in overthrowing the late King, and renting the Kingdome from him, as any the Magitians, A&s;trologians, and South&s;ayers were to interpret the handwriting to the King of <HI>Babilon</HI> And as far from truth, and the mind of God were they in pro&s;ecuting the per&s;onall Treaty, as tho&s;e Prophets that coun&s;ell'd <HI>Ahab</HI> to go up to <HI>Ramoth Giliad</HI> and pro&s;per.</P>
<P>Friends, I de&s;ire you would not look on me as an enemy to the wayes of Chri&s;t, and Go&s;pell obedience; for I know divers per|&s;ons, who are eminent for a holy, ju&s;t, and righteous conver&s;ation, unto whom I &s;tand greatly engaged upon the highe&s;t account of friend&s;hip, that at this time, and I believe according to their light, do in &s;incerity of heart walk in Church-fellow&s;hip: And divers o|thers of my acquaintance, who upon good grounds have for&s;aken tho&s;e wayes, though in the highe&s;t formes, and yet retain the prin|ciples of a holy life to wards God, and ju&s;t dealings towards men; and therefore why &s;hould we be ready to judge tho&s;e that are ei|ther above us, or below us in the practi&s;e of religious duties, &s;ee|ing the Apo&s;tle concluded, that there was as well milk for babes in Chri&s;t, as meat for &s;trong men.</P>
<P>But to return to the thing in hand, in the next place he &s;ayes, <HI>the Petitioners u&s;e to hear &s;uch, who&s;e malignant principles and pra|cti&s;es are &s;uch as their own.</HI></P>
<P>Truly whoever they hear, I believe they may &s;oon hear as true Mini&s;ters as him&s;elf: but it is no wonder to hear tho&s;e that are up|permo&s;t to be offended and angry with tho&s;e that conform not to their way, though the &s;ame per&s;ons, while&s;t kept under, were
<PB N="16" REF="13">the greate&s;t writers and pleaders for Liberty of Con&s;cience in the large&s;t extent of any people in the Nation, but as the Proverb is, the Prie&s;t forgets that he was Clark; &s;o when &s;ome have attained to what liberty them&s;elves de&s;ire, they are pre&s;ently ready to tye up all others to their own humours, as I might largely in&s;tance.</P>
<P>He tells us farther, <HI>that they &s;ay, they cannot find that comfort to their &s;ouls they hoped.</HI></P>
<P>Truly this &s;eemes to me that they would gladly hear a Go&s;pell Mini&s;ter, by who&s;e preaching and practi&s;e they might receive both profit and comfort; and certainly there cannot be a &s;urer &s;ign of their de&s;ire to have it, then their being &s;en&s;ible of the want of it. But alas Chri&s;t tells the people, <HI>Mat.</HI> 7.16. that they mu&s;t not ex|pect to gather grapes of thornes, or figs of thi&s;tles.</P>
<P>In the next place he is plea&s;ed to Quaerie, and runs a large cir|cumference with inkhorn terms, the &s;ub&s;tance whereof is to prove, <HI>that the Petitioners have no right to Go&s;pel comforts.</HI></P>
<P>For a brief an&s;wer to which in generall, I &s;ay, if the large&s;t and mo&s;t gracious tenders of the free mercy of God for forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in, and eternall &s;alvation by Je&s;us Chri&s;t, be not to be offered to the vile&s;t of &s;inners, I mu&s;t unlearn divers Scriptures, which I do believe expre&s;ly prove, that not only the mercy of God is &s;o infi|nite, and the &s;atisfaction of Chri&s;t &s;o undeniably full and &s;ufficient for the forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;ins and eternall &s;alvation by him for all per&s;ons, that it is to be tendred to all without exceptions, unle&s;&s;e &s;uch only who are &s;o holy, that they think they need it not, for Chri&s;t him&s;elf &s;peaks in the like ca&s;e, <HI>the whole have no need of the Phy&s;itian, and that he came not to call the righteous, but &s;inners to re|pentance;</HI> yet &s;till the proud Phari&s;ees laid this to his charge, that he was a company keeper with, &amp; a friend to Publicans and &s;inners. I &s;peak not this to ju&s;tifie any per&s;on in a wicked way; but certain|ly, if the infinite love and mercy of God be not the way to bring in ignorant, prophane and &s;candalous per&s;ons to obedience and conformity to the wayes of Chri&s;t, I would gladly learn, what is meant by the Commi&s;&s;ion Chri&s;t gave to his Apo&s;tles, <HI>Mark</HI> ult. and 15. and he &s;aid unto them, <HI>go ye into all the world, and preach the Go&s;pell to every creature, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Now if the Go&s;pel be the declaration of glad tidings of &s;alvati|on; and that it mu&s;t be preached to every creature, by the expre&s;&s;e command and Commi&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;t him&s;elf, I wonder how any
<PB N="17" REF="13">dare be &s;uch Traytors to the Lord Je&s;us, if he hath appointed them to preach the Go&s;pell, as to conceal the glad tiding of the Go&s;pel of grace and mercy, and to thunder out the cur&s;es and thre atnings of the Law in the room of it, again&s;t them, who they call ignorant and prophane &s;inners.</P>
<P>We find upon the birth of Chri&s;t, <HI>Luke</HI> 1.10. the Angell, who was the me&s;&s;enger to declare Chri&s;ts coming into the world, what &s;aid he but this? <HI>Be not afraid, for behold I bring you glad tidings of great joy that &s;hall be to all people, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>And in the 13. when the heavenly &s;ouldiers &s;ung a Halelujah to the highe&s;t, was it any thing but glory <HI>to God on high, peace on earth, and good will towards men?</HI></P>
<P>Friends, the con&s;ideration of the Go&s;pell, as it is made knowne in the Scriptures, is a thing &s;o large, admirable and excellent, that in this difcour&s;e I have neither time nor oportunity to treat of it, and befides &s;ome famous men have excellently, and are at pre&s;ent writing on that &s;ubject.</P>
<P>I &s;hould have made bold to have unravelled the Quaeries, piece by piece, and have &s;een how agreeable they are in all particulars to the mind of Chri&s;t in the Go&s;pell: But I have given you this but as a ta&s;t of what I intend, if ever it plea&s;e God I &s;hall &s;peak to it again; yet in this &s;mall gla&s;&s;e I hope the gentleman may &s;ee, of how far different and &s;trange a countenance he is of from a true Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel, by the matter contained in his late book, and al&s;o I de&s;ire an an&s;wer to this Quaery.</P>
<P>Whether the tender of the mercy of God in Chri&s;t Je&s;us, for re|mi&s;&s;ion of &s;ins, faith, and &s;alvation, be to be made to them in a Church-fellow&s;hip, or tho&s;e without?</P>
<P>That I may be brief, I de&s;ire you &s;eriou&s;ly to con&s;ider one Scri|pture, becau&s;e the gent leman pretends to &s;o many heavenly enjoy|ments, gifts of the Spirit, and the bird in the bo&s;ome, that makes a heaven of joy in his heart, for 'tis po&s;&s;ible he may be deceived as much, if not more then that people which God ownes to be a true Church; and it is that which God him&s;elfe &s;peaks to the Church of <HI>Laodicea, Rev.</HI> 5.17. <HI>For thou &s;aye&s;t I am rich, and increa&s;ed with goods, and have need of nothing, and knowe&s;t not how thou art wretch|ed, and mi&s;erable, and poor, and blind, and naked.</HI></P>
<P>I think he may upon ferious con&s;iderations of his Mini&s;tery, &s;ay as <HI>Job</HI> did, 39, 37. <HI>I will lay my hand upon my mouth, once have I &s;poken but will an&s;wer no more.</HI></P>
<PB N="18" REF="14">
<P>In the next place the gentleman tells us of his qualifications, and becau&s;e he &s;aith further, <HI>that the under&s;tandings of ignorant, pro|phane, and &s;ecandalous per&s;ons, are not a fit rule or &s;tandard to try the a|bilities or qualifications of &s;uch Mini&s;ters as are not Mini&s;ters of the letter, but of the Spirit.</HI></P>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>Quaeries propounded to be debated in Publique.</HEAD>
<P>FOr the triall of his gifts and qualifications, I here pro|pound, that which I hope is equall, ju&s;t, and rea&s;onable, that we may in a friendly, loving, and free manner, make an en|quiry into the Scriptures, and &s;ee what they hold forth to be the characters and qualifications of a true Mini&s;ter of the Go|&s;pel; and to that end, that he would &s;ave a labour of writing, and charge of printing, and give the Pari&s;hioers, and &s;ome other friends, a publike meeting, once a week in the Pari&s;h Church, where freedome of &s;peech may be to all that de&s;ire it, they &s;peaking to the Que&s;tion, and one at a time, and to &s;pend two hours in an evening in the inquiry of the characters and qualifications of a Mini&s;ter of the Spirit; and in this I hope he will grant the Scripture to be a right rule, and equall &s;tandard.</P>
<P>In order whereunto, I &s;hall in&s;ert a few Quaeries as fit matter to be inquired into.</P>
<P>In the 4. of the <HI>Ephe&s;ians</HI> 8.11, 12. we find what Mini&s;ters Chri&s;t gave to the Church at his A&s;cen&s;ion; in the&s;e words, <HI>and when he a&s;|cended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men, and he gave &s;ome Apo&s;tles, and &s;ome Prophets, and &s;ome Evangeli&s;ts, and &s;ome Pa&s;tors and Teachers, for the work of the Mini&s;tery, for the edifying of the body of Chri&s;t, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>In this Scripture we find two things chiefly contained, Fir&s;t, what Mini&s;ters Chri&s;t gave, Secondly, what end he gave them for.</P>
<P>Now we may find in Scripture the &s;everall qualifications that be|long to every one of the&s;e Officers, and di&s;tingui&s;hing characters to know thew one from another,</P>
<P>And that it is &s;o, I &s;hall &s;et downe the di&s;tingui&s;hing characters
<PB N="19" REF="14">which the Scriptures afford us to know an Apo&s;tle by. And leave the Gentleman, becau&s;e he &s;aith he is a Mini&s;ter of the Spirit, to give the like of the others according to the Scripture, that we may know under which of tho&s;e Qualifications and di&s;tingui&s;hing Cha|racters he comes; for a Pa&s;tor is not an Evangeli&s;t, nor an Evan|geli&s;t a Prophet, &amp;c.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t di&s;tingui&s;hing Character that we finde of an Apo&s;tle in Scripture is, that he is a cho&s;en witne&s;&s;e of the Re&s;urrection, <HI>Act.</HI> 1.22. 3.15. 4.33. 10.39.41. <HI>Luk</HI> 24.48.</P>
<P N="2">2. An Apo&s;tle is one &s;ent forth to preach the Go&s;pel to all the world, <HI>Mat.</HI> 28.19, 20. <HI>Mar.</HI> 16.14. to the end.</P>
<P N="3">3. The office of an Apo&s;tle did comprehend in it all the other offices of the Mini&s;tery, <HI>Act.</HI> 6.2.3.</P>
<P N="4">4. An Apo&s;tle was one endued with all the gifts of the Spirit, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.12. <HI>Act.</HI> 13.9.</P>
<P N="5">5. An Apo&s;tle was able to communicate the&s;e gifts by the laying on of their hands, <HI>Act.</HI> 19.6, 17.</P>
<P N="2">2. Querie, Whether the office of Apo&s;tles was to cea&s;e in the per&s;ons of tho&s;e to whom the Commi&s;&s;ion was at fir&s;t given?</P>
<P>And to this end I pray con&s;ider, how long the Promi&s;e la&s;ted, which is, <HI>Lo, I am with you alway untill the end of the world.</HI> Chri&s;t could not be with their Per&s;ons, for we finde in Scripture, that mo&s;t of them were martyred in a few yeares after his A&s;cen&s;ion; and yet the Commi&s;&s;ion of an Apo&s;tle was to <HI>teach and baptize all Na|tions, teaching them to ab&s;erve all things what&s;oever Chri&s;t had comman|ded them.</HI> And in the 4. of the Ephe&s;ians, we finde that upon the A&s;cen&s;ion of Chri&s;t, they were the fir&s;t and chiefe Officers of the Church, <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 12. that were given for the perfecting of the Saints, for the worke of the Mini&s;try, for the Edifying the body of Chri&s;t: <HI>till all come in the unitie of faith and the knowledge of the Sonne of God, unto a perfect man, unto the mea&s;ure of the Stature of Chri&s;t, &amp;c.</HI> I will not enlarge farther at pre&s;ent expecting to have it de|bated at large in Publick.</P>
<P>And becau&s;e he pretends much of having a commi&s;&s;ion to preach and Bapti&s;e,</P>
<P N="3">3. I Querie who appoynted him to preach or gave him a Com|mi&s;&s;ion to Bapti&s;e.</P>
<P>Which two things I expect to have &s;ub&s;tantially proved by Scrip|ture.</P>
<PB N="20" REF="15">
<P N="4">4. Querie, Where we finde any in Scripture that did Baptize with water after Chri&s;ts A&s;cen&s;ion, that did not al&s;o Baptize with the holy Gho&s;t. <HI>Acts</HI> 19.2, 3, 4.5. <HI>And he &s;aid unto them, have ye received the Holy Gho&s;t &s;ince ye beleeved? and they &s;aid unto him, we have not &s;o much as heard, whether there be any Holy Gho&s;t, and he &s;aid unto them, unto what then were ye Baptized? and they &s;aid, unto Johns Bapti&s;me, &amp;c.</HI> And in ver&s;e 6. <HI>And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Gho&s;t came on them, and they &s;pake with tongues and Prophe&s;ied.</HI></P>
<P N="5">5. Querie, Whether the Bapti&s;me with water after Chri&s;ts A&s;|&s;cen&s;ion was the Bapti&s;me of Chri&s;t, or a contiouation of <HI>Johns</HI> Bapti&s;me? And con&s;ider the&s;e Scriptures, and divers others of the &s;ame kinde, <HI>Mat.</HI> 3.11. <HI>Mark</HI> 3.8. <HI>I indeede Baptize you with wa|ter, but he &s;hall Baptize you with the Holy Gho&s;t.</HI> Act. 11.15, 16. <HI>And as I began to speake, the holy Gho&s;t fell on them, as on us at the begin|ning: Then remembred I the word of the Lord how that he &s;aid John in|deed Baptized with water, but ye &s;hal be Baptized with the holy Gho&s;t,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P N="6">6. Querie, What the Scriptures doe hold forth the Bapti&s;me of the Spirit to be, after the A&s;cen&s;ion of Chri&s;t?</P>
<P>We finde the Di&s;ciples of Chri&s;t furni&s;hed with very great gifts while he was with them, yet &s;till he &s;ixt their thoughts upon what they &s;hould expect to receive after his departure from them, as <HI>Joh.</HI> 7.39. <HI>But this he &s;pake of the spirit, which they that beleeve on him &s;hould receive, for the Holy Gho&s;t was not yet given, becau&s;e that Je&s;us was not yet glorified.</HI></P>
<P N="7">7. Querie, What command the Gentleman hath in his Com|mi&s;&s;ion to Biptize Infants?</P>
<P N="8">8. Whether Infants can po&s;&s;ibly be capable of the Bapti&s;me of the Spirit, having neither knowledge, faith, nor repentance?</P>
<P N="9">9. Whether in Scripture we reade of any that did Baptize with water after Chri&s;ts A&s;cen&s;ion, who&s;e Preaching and Doctrine was not confirmed by fignes and miracles?</P>
<P N="10">10. Whether the Scripture holds forth that all the gifts of the Spirit were in particular Churches, after the A&s;cen&s;ion? And the&s;e I hope will be a &s;ufficient ground work, for the beginning of &s;uch an inquiry, as through Gods ble&s;&s;ing thereon, may much enlighten our under&s;tandings in the order, method, and practice of Go&s;pell obedience.</P>
<P>I &s;hall make bold to add two Queries more, which are of an other nature, which I would willingly know.</P>
<PB N="21" REF="15">
<P N="1">1. Whether it be not <HI>jure Divino,</HI> and agreeable to the practice of the Primitive Preachers, for men nowadayes to receive money for Preaching, from &s;uch as never intend to heare them?</P>
<P N="2">2. Whether it be not more rea&s;onable for me, to &s;end the Gen|tleman an An&s;wer to his booke, then for him to &s;end me a Paper of his Pills, at adventure, not knowing the con&s;titution of my body, and having never &s;pake word to me in his life?</P>
<P>But to ha&s;ten to a Conclu&s;ion, becau&s;e I am &s;traitned in time, and have not a conveniency to an&s;wer to every particular which he calls Rea&s;ons, e&s;pecially that Prophane per&s;ons ought not to be ad|mitted into a Church Society. And in&s;tances in the ca&s;e of <HI>Judas.</HI></P>
<P>For the under&s;tanding whereof, I de&s;ire to know whether Chri&s;t and his Di&s;ciples were a Church before the Admini&s;tration of the Sacrament of the Supper? <HI>Luke</HI> 22.19. if they were, then certain|le <HI>Judas</HI> was a Member, though a wicked one.</P>
<P>But for that lamentable Lame thing which he calls his fourth Rea&s;on, which is this: <HI>That Chri&s;t acted in giving the Sacrament, Mini|&s;terially as he was man, leaving them a Pattern to walke by that &s;hould come after him, and &s;uch was the carriage of Chri&s;t towards</HI> Judas <HI>all a|long.</HI> Now from his own words, if this be the Patterne that Chri&s;t left to his &s;ucceeding Mini&s;tery, (whereof he pretends him&s;elfe to be one,) I Querie who granted him a di&s;pen&s;ation not to follow it?</P>
<P>And for that bold affirmation of his in the following words, <HI>that Chri&s;t did not act towards Judas, as he was an all-&s;eeing God, or the heart maker or heart &s;earcher,</HI> &amp;c. Truly I &s;uppo&s;e he would have the Reader to take that upon tru&s;t, or it may be it is one of his Reve|lations, for he brings not the lea&s;t tittle of Scripture to prove it by. But I wonder what he thinkes of <HI>Peters</HI> acting in the ca&s;e of <HI>Ana|nias</HI> and <HI>Saphira, Act</HI> 5. whether he acted in the Mini&s;teriall office as God or man, when all will grant, that Chri&s;t was Ma&s;ter, and <HI>Peter</HI> but Servant?</P>
<P>But that point of the lawfulne&s;&s;e of refu&s;ing prophane Per&s;ons, who de&s;ire to joyne them&s;elves to a Congregation, would aske a large debate; and though I might draw divers Arguments from this ca&s;e of <HI>Judas.</HI> I &s;hall offer one in&s;tance more Materiall, which is, <HI>Act.</HI> 8.13. where we finde <HI>Simon Magus</HI> though a Witch, yet was he admitted into the Church by being baptized. Though af|terward <HI>Peter</HI> told him, <HI>ver.</HI> 23. <HI>That he was in the gall of bitterne&s;&s;e, and in the bond of iniquity.</HI></P>
<PB N="22" REF="16">
<P>Truly I gladly ha&s;ten to a Conclu&s;ion, and I hope by this little I &s;ay, you will ea&s;ily judge what manner of Mettle the re&s;t of the Gentlemans Di&s;cou&s;e is made up of. And though he may tell us of his leaving the Spirit, yet I &s;uppo&s;e he was not guided by the Spirit in the penning his la&s;t booke (unle&s;&s;e it were a Spirit of delu|&s;ion) for the Spirit which Chri&s;t promi&s;ed, <HI>John</HI> 16.13. <HI>Howbeit when he is come which is the Spirit of truth, he will leade you into all truth.</HI> But to my under&s;tanding, I never read vanity, in &s;o large a Character and &s;mall a volume, as in the booke intituled, <HI>Pills to purge Malignants,</HI> con&s;idering to what end he &s;aith it was Com|po&s;ed. Well, let us rather pitty then provoke the Gentleman, by di&s;covering any more of his weakne&s;&s;e, at pre&s;ent remembring this charitable Motto: <HI>Humanum e&s;t errare.</HI></P>
<P>Thus having briefly, gently, and &s;eriou&s;ly (as I may) handled the Gentlemans di&s;cour&s;e, I hope he will as a loving Neighbour, kindly accept it, when he findes that he hath &s;ome Neighbours, that are willing, &s;o farre as abilities will give them leave, to requite his Cour|te&s;ies.</P>
<P>And for a Conclu&s;ion, I de&s;ire that &s;ome pa&s;&s;ages in Scripture, which are of wonderfull worth and weight may be humbly, ear|ne&s;tly, and ingeniou&s;ly con&s;idered, which may tend both to the obe|dience and comfort of tho&s;e that de&s;ire truly to feare God, and walke in his wayes.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="conclusion">
<HEAD>The Conclu&s;ion.</HEAD>
<P>We finde in Scripture that there are two fearfull &s;innes that mo&s;t people have beene guilty of; The one in being Stubborne and Rebellious again&s;t the Will and Councell of God, declared by his Me&s;&s;engers and Mini&s;ters: The other delight in believing and tru|&s;ting in Lying Vanites, <HI>viz.</HI> the Dreames and Divinations of mens hearts whom God never &s;ent. And to the end we may not fall un|der either of the&s;e extreames; it is our duty to take a &s;urvey of both the&s;e particulars, and to inquire by that perfect rule of Scri|pture &s;o farre as we are able to under&s;tand, and try, who are true, and who are fal&s;e Mini&s;ters and Me&s;&s;engers. That &s;o as on the one hand we may not be found Fighters again&s;t God, or Contemners of his Mini&s;ters; &s;o on the other, we might not by blinde obedi|ence, be &s;o led by blinde guides, that at la&s;t both we and they fall into the ditch.</P>
<P>As to the fir&s;t of the&s;e, we finde the people of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> to be great|ly
<PB N="23" REF="16">guilty of, both before, in, and after the Captivity. You cannot be ignorant of divers examples in that kinde.</P>
<P>Jer. 7.13, 14, 15. <HI>Therefore now becau&s;e ye have done all the&s;e workes,</HI> &s;aith the Lord. <HI>and I ro&s;e up early and spake unto you, but when I spake you would not heare me, neither when I called would you an&s;wer,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>And I will ca&s;t you out of my &s;ight, as I have ca&s;t out all your brethren, even the whole &s;eede of Ephraim,</HI> ver&s;e 26. Chap. 7.8. Chap. 17.23.44.16. <HI>As for the word that thou ha&s;t spoken unto us, in the name of the Lord we will not hearken unto thee, &amp;c.</HI> And &s;o all the other Prophets declare the peoples Ob&s;tinacy, Contempt, and Rebellion to the Commandements of God declared by his Me&s;&s;en|gers. But afterwards, more e&s;pecially in abu&s;ing tho&s;e gracious tenders of mercy unto eternall &s;alvation by Chri&s;t him&s;elfe, and his Mini&s;ters, as is te&s;tified <HI>John</HI> 1.11. <HI>He came unto his owne, and his owne received him not.</HI> And upon the fir&s;t &s;ending out of the Apo|&s;tles, <HI>Mat.</HI> 10.5. <HI>Goe not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any of the Cities of the Samaritans enter ye not.</HI> 6. <HI>But goe rather to the lo&s;t &s;heepe of the hou&s;e of I&s;rael.</HI> Yet for all this mercy and loving kinde|ne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t Je&s;us, we finde their Ob&s;tinacy and Rebllion come to a heighth of Bla&s;phemy, when contrary to their owne con&s;cien|ces, they told Chri&s;t that he ca&s;t out Devils by <HI>Belzehub:</HI> Cer|tainely a People come to &s;uch a fulne&s;&s;e of iniquity, cannot be farre from that de&s;truction, &s;poken of <HI>Proverbs</HI> 1.24. to the 31. <HI>Becau&s;e I have called and ye refu&s;ed, I have stretched out my hand and none would regard but have de&s;pi&s;ed all my Councell, and would none of my correction; I will al&s;o laugh at your de&s;truction, and mock when your feare commeth like &s;udden de&s;olation: and your destruction &s;hall come like a whirle-winde, when affliction and angui&s;h &s;hall come upon you,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>I might much enlarge this, but de&s;ire Brevity, that the di&s;cour&s;e may not <HI>&s;hew the Writers Vanity, or vex the Readers Pati|ence.</HI></P>
<P>Now as to the &s;econd thing which is the peoples tru&s;ting in lies and vanities, even to their owne confu&s;ion. <HI>Jer.</HI> 7.19.</P>
<P>We &s;hall finde if we &s;erioufly examine whence it &s;prings, that the roote of all the mi&s;chiefes, mi&s;ery, and de&s;truction of Nations, is from their wicked Prie&s;ts, lying Prophets, and pretended Me&s;&s;en|gers and Mini&s;ters of God, whom he never &s;ent, nor gave any Commi&s;&s;ion unto. How &s;ad was the ca&s;e of <HI>Ahab, Kings.</HI> 22. to
<PB N="24" REF="17">have the advice and be thru&s;t forward by the councell of foure hun|dred lying Prophets to his owne de&s;truction.</P>
<P>We finde when the Lord &s;ent <HI>Jeremiah</HI> to declare his wrath a|gain&s;t the people of <HI>I&s;rael;</HI> in <HI>chap.</HI> 2. <HI>ver.</HI> 2. he mildly rea&s;ons with the people, &s;aying, <HI>Thus &s;aith the Lord, I remember thee with the kindne&s;&s;e of thy youth, and the love of thy marriage, when thou wentest after me in the wilderne&s;&s;e in a land that was not &s;owne:</HI> Ver&s;e 3. <HI>I&s;rael was a thing hallowed unto the Lord:</HI> Ver&s;e 5. <HI>What iniquity have your Fathers found in me, that they are gone farre from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vaine?</HI> But in <HI>ver.</HI> 8. we have the rea&s;on fully; <HI>The Prie&s;ts &s;aid not, where is the Lord? And they that &s;hould mini&s;ter the Law knew me not, the Pa&s;tors al&s;o offen|ded again&s;t me, and the Prophets prophecied in</HI> Baal, <HI>and went after things that did not profit.</HI> And chap. 4.30, 31. <HI>An horrible and filthy thing is committed in the Land, &amp;c.</HI> Chap. 14.14. <HI>The Prophets pro|phecie lies in my name, I have not &s;ent them, neither did I command them, neither spake I unto them, but they prophecie unto you a fal&s;e vi&s;ion, and divination, and vanity, and deceitfulne&s;&s;e of their owne heart.</HI> Chapter 18.15. <HI>Becau&s;e my people have forgotten me, and have burnt Incen&s;e to vanity, and their Prophets have cau&s;ed them to &s;tumble in their wayes, from the ancient wayes; to walke in paths and way that is not trodden.</HI> Chapter 23.1.21. <HI>I have not &s;ent the&s;e Pro|phets, yet they ran: I have not &s;poken unto them, yet they prophe|cied.</HI></P>
<P>I might bring a cloud of witne&s;&s;es to confirme what hath beene a&s;&s;erted, but you may read them at large.</P>
<P>But let us inquire whether they gave the people any better coun|&s;ell in the time that Chri&s;t and his Di&s;ciples preached among&s;t them. Truly all along the New Te&s;tament we finde them oppo&s;ing the Doctrine, and per&s;ecuting Chri&s;t and his Di&s;ciples in per&s;on; and that they might be &s;ure to fill up the mea&s;u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">e of their tran&s;|gre&s;&s;ion, and to bring the Bloud of Chri&s;t and all the Prophets, upon their own heads, and unavoydable ruine on the Nation, you may read their councell at large, <HI>Mat.</HI> 27.1. <HI>When the morning was come, all the chiefe Prie&s;ts and Elders of the people, tooke councell again&s;t Je&s;us to put him to death,</HI> and in the 20. you may &s;ee the influence they had upon the people: <HI>But the chiefe Prie&s;ts and Elders per&s;waded the multitude that they &s;hould aske</HI> Barrabas <HI>and de&s;troy</HI> Je&s;us: But their wages was as &s;ad as their worke, when there was
<PB N="25" REF="17">not one &s;tone left &s;tanding upon another in <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> that was not throwne downe. But were not the&s;e people a zealous, &s;trict, and exact people in their Religion, and wayes of Wor&s;hip? Yea, and we finde Chri&s;t often &s;peaking of it, but withall di&s;covering the worme at the roote, as their making of long prayers, when they meant to devoure widows hou&s;es? And their tything of herbs, when they neglected Judgement and Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, &amp;c. Did they not condemne Chri&s;t for keeping company with the Publicans and &s;inners, and yet did not they drive a trade of trea&s;on by whole|&s;ale with <HI>Judas?</HI></P>
<P>Thinke you they were not like to teach the people truth well, when they had a Mint of Lyes going to furni&s;h the <HI>Roman</HI> Soldiers with? when they hired them to &s;ay, <HI>his Di&s;ciples came by night and &s;tole him away while we &s;lept?</HI></P>
<P>And were they not a people that boa&s;ted much in their Church and Ordinances, <HI>John</HI> 8.33. <HI>Of being Abrahams children and free,</HI> and yet at that time they would, and afterwards did murder the Lord of life and glory? Was it not common for them to fa&s;t (it may be twice a weeke) but was not the end to &s;mite with the fi&s;t of wickedne&s;&s;e? And hath here not lately been Con&s;piracy and Re|bellion (again&s;t the pre&s;ent Government) rapt in the mantle of private Fa&s;ts, which the hand of Ju&s;tice hath found out, and de|&s;ervedly puni&s;hed for all the Cloaks of preci&s;e&s;t Religion? If that Tribes &s;ufferings in this Nation hath not beene great, it is the better for them, if they make a right u&s;e of it; and leave them to con|&s;ider their owne conditions, for the&s;e la&s;t 12. yeares. But I will give you a few examples of former times, and if to them they doe not, yet to me they &s;trike Horror and amazement, to con&s;ider the dreadfull dealing of God, towards &s;uch as have pretended to be his Me&s;&s;engers, when indeede they have beene ab&s;olute Lyars, run|ning greedily after the errour of <HI>Balaam,</HI> to Prophecy for re|ward, and may well expect the reward of <HI>Corah.</HI> And that you may be &s;ure to know &s;uch deceivers, they have &s;o large a Character, that he that runs may reade it, <HI>Jude</HI> 19. the&s;e be they that &s;eperate them&s;elves, having not the Spirit. We finde in the 1 <HI>Kings</HI> 18. foure hundred and fifty of <HI>Baals</HI> Prophets, that after they had cry|ed and bawled all day, and cut them&s;elves with Knives and Laun|ces, could not prevaile any thing, to per&s;wade the people in the pre&s;ence of the true Prophet <HI>Elijah,</HI> what a tragicall hand did the
<PB N="26" REF="18">poore deluding wretches make at the Brooke <HI>Ki&s;hon. Jeremiah</HI> 28.15, 16.17. <HI>Then &s;aid the Prophet Jeremiah, unto the Prophet Hana|niah, the Lord hath not &s;ent thee, but thou make&s;t this people to tru&s;t in a lye, therefore thus &s;aith the Lord, behold I will ca&s;t thee from of the face of the earth; this yeare thou &s;halt dye becau&s;e thou ha&s;t taught Re|bellion again&s;t the Lord.</HI> So <HI>Hananiah</HI> the Prophet dyed the &s;ame yeare in the &s;eventh month. I will among&s;t many, give you but one in&s;tance more, becau&s;e I ha&s;ten, <HI>Jer.</HI> 19.21, 22. <HI>Thus &s;aith the Lord of Ho&s;ts and God of I&s;rael, of Ahab the Sonne of Kolaiah, and Zedekiah, the Sonne of Maa&s;ejah, which prophe&s;ie a lye unto you in my name, be|hold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon, and he &s;hall &s;lay them before your eyes: And of them &s;hall be taken up a Cur&s;e by all the Captivity of Judah, which are in Babylon, &s;aying, the Lord make thee like Zedekiah, and like Ahab, whom the King of Babilon roasted in the fire.</HI></P>
<P>Truly the Doctrine and u&s;e of the&s;e examples are &s;o plaine, and ea&s;ie to be under&s;tood in the Text, that I &s;hall forbeare any large applications, but come to the thing, and that in &s;hort. It hath beene the mi&s;ery of the world in generall, to pin their faith on their teachers &s;leeves. And without Controver&s;ie, if the Leaders of the People cau&s;e them to erre, they that are led by them, will be de|&s;troyed. How many hundred thou&s;ands peri&s;hed in dauncing after the pipe of <HI>Peter</HI> the <HI>Monke</HI> by his pretended revelation? per&s;wa|&s;wading almo&s;t all Chri&s;tendome, to fight for the recovery of the holy Land from the Turkes, when the Scripture &s;aith expre&s;ly, <HI>Luk.</HI> 21.24. <HI>That the Jews &s;hould be led away Captive into all Nations, and Hieru&s;alem &s;hould be troden down of the Gentiles, untill the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled.</HI></P>
<P>Nay what brawlings, quarrellings and fightings is there in any Na|tion, but to be &s;ure the Clergy &s;o called, are promoters of it. (I won|der what comfort the Epi&s;copall and Presbyterian Clergy have in their former abetting their Intere&s;t) and a&s;&s;uredly what ever at pre|&s;ent is uppermo&s;t, if it be not of God it will fall. With what fury do both Popi&s;h &amp; Prote&s;tant Church-men excite poor &s;ouls to murder one the other, upon a Religious account, the one becau&s;e Idolaters, the other becau&s;e Hereticks. Nay, none &s;o eager as they which pre|tend mo&s;t holine&s;&s;e, thundering out cur&s;es of the large&s;t &s;ize, upon the refu&s;ers, as they pretend, of Chri&s;t and the Go&s;pell, when indeed it is onely to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2+ letters">pe the power which keeps them under, whereby they may get into the Chaire to Lord it, as did the late Presbiters &amp; others, in the ruine of their Fathers the Bi&s;hops, but no more of this at pre&s;ent.</P>
<PB N="27" REF="18">
<P>Now to the thing which is of mo&s;t concernment, how &s;hall we do to know who are true Mini&s;ters, and if it be p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;ible to walk in a Go&s;pel obedience; for an&s;wer whereunto, in &s;hort, I cannot find in Scripture that ever God appointed any to declare his will unto any per&s;on or people, but that they had &s;omething more then their bare words to te&s;tifie their &s;ending as it was in the ca&s;e of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> to <HI>Pharoah,</HI> of the man of God that come from <HI>Iudah,</HI> and prophecied again&s;t the Altar in <HI>Bethel,</HI> 1 <HI>Kings cha.</HI> 13. of <HI>Elijah</HI> and <HI>Eli&s;ha,</HI> and &s;o through the Old Te&s;tament; and in the New Te&s;tament Chri&s;t him&s;elf &s;aith, <HI>John</HI> 5.31. <HI>if I &s;hould bear witne&s;&s;e of my &s;elfe, my witne&s;&s;e were not true,</HI> and ver. 36. <HI>but I have greater witne&s;&s;e then that of</HI> John, <HI>for the works which the Father have given me to fini&s;h, the &s;ame works that I do bear witne&s;&s;e of me, that the Father hath &s;ent me:</HI> Without que&s;tion the Scribes and Phari&s;ees had a formall way of praying and teaching, but when Chri&s;t taught, he taught as one having authority, and not like unto them; and he tells tho&s;e hypo|crites, <HI>Mat.</HI> 15.8, 9. <HI>This people draweth neer unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far off from me, but in vain they wor&s;hip me, teaching for doctrines the traditions of men.</HI> Joh. 9.1, 2. <HI>then called he his twelve Di&s;ciples together, and gave them pow|er and authority over all divels, and to heal di&s;ea&s;es, and he &s;ent them forth to preach the Go&s;pel, and to cure the &s;ick,</HI> Mat. 10.7, 8. <HI>And as you go preach &s;aying, the Kingdome of heaven is at hand, heal the &s;ick, clean&s;e the Lepers, rai&s;e up the dead, ca&s;t out the divels, freely ye have received, freely give,</HI> and this not to Apo&s;tles only, but promi&s;ed to believers in generall, <HI>Mark</HI> 16.17. And in the 20. we find the word con|firmed by miracles: Now if this was the confirmat<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">on of the Go|&s;pel Mini&s;tery, I wonder our Mini&s;ters are not endued with &s;uch gifts, or prove to us from Scripture, that the Church and Mini&s;tery was to continue, and yet the gifts to cea&s;e. But it may be objected that the&s;e gifts were given for bringing in of unbelievers, it were well if all in the Nation were believers, but certainly we had need have &s;omething to ground our faith and obedience upon, more then bare words, &s;eeing if you hear four preachers upon one text, it is much if three be not of a different opinion. But then comes in the great objection, what if we have not a true Mini&s;tery nor Ordinan|ces, then we have no faith? well, not too ha&s;ty, it was a &s;erious di&s;|cour&s;e that the woman of <HI>Samaria</HI> had with Chri&s;t, <HI>Iohn</HI> 4. about wor&s;hip, and ver. 21. Je&s;us &s;aid unto her, woman believe me, the hour cometh, when ye &s;hall neither in this mountain, not at Jeru&s;a|lem
<PB N="28" REF="19">wor&s;hip the Father, &amp;c. and ver. 24. God is a Spirit, and they that wor&s;hip him, mu&s;t wor&s;hip him in Spirit and Truth.</P>
<P>Certainly where much is given, much is required, and &s;o on the contrary; but if by rea&s;on of the over&s;preading of abomination God hath withdrawn tho&s;e vi&s;ible gifts from the Mini&s;tery, mu&s;t we pre&s;ently make us Gods to go before us? let us rather a little con&s;ider what the Lord &s;peaks by the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah, chap.</HI> 50.11. <HI>behold all ye that kindle a fire, that compa&s;&s;e your &s;elves about with &s;parks, walk in the light of your fire, and in the &s;parks that ye have kindled, this &s;hall you have at mine hand, you &s;hall lie down in &s;orrow.</HI> When <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> for a while had left the I&s;raelites, and was gone into the Mountain, <HI>Exodus</HI> 32. as you may read at large, it was a woe|full wor&s;hip they performed to their god-calf, and &s;urely <HI>Aaron.</HI> made a bad, bad exchange of his Prie&s;thood, in making an Altar, and proclaiming a holy day to it. I might in&s;tance in divers the like particulars, but I ha&s;ten; yet let me offer one thing to con&s;ide|ration, which hath been a brand fixed on divers holy con&s;cientious per&s;ons, that they are a people that de&s;pi&s;e the Mini&s;tery, and live above Ordinances; no certainly it is their grief and &s;orrow of heart that they live below, and without them; and think you any per&s;ons profe&s;&s;ing Chri&s;t Je&s;us, dare be &s;uch rebells to him, as not to yeeld obedience to his commands, e&s;pecially when he tells them, <HI>that his yoke is ea&s;ie, and his burden light,</HI> but blame them not for not be|lieving <HI>Michals</HI> image to be <HI>Davids</HI> per&s;on, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 19.13. And now let us con&s;ider what gracious promi&s;es are made to &s;uch a people that &s;ee them&s;elves at &s;o great a lo&s;&s;e, read <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> 50.10. <HI>Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his &s;ervant,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>I&s;aiah</HI> 41.17, 18. <HI>Ch.</HI> 42.7.40.31.</NOTE> that walketh in darkne&s;&s;e, and hath no light, let him tru&s;t in the name of the Lord, and &s;tay upon his God. chap,</HI> 30.18. <HI>and therefore will the Lord wait that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you, for the Lord is a God of Judgement, ble&s;&s;ed are all they that wait for him, chap.</HI> 42.16. <HI>J will lead the blind by a way that they knew not, I will lead them in paths they have not known, I will make darkne&s;&s;e light before them, and crooked things &s;treight, the&s;e things will J do unto them, and not for&s;ake them.</HI></P>
<P>And did not Chri&s;t come to fill the empty, to cloath the naked, to feed the hungry, and to &s;et at liberty tho&s;e that were bound&punc; Without controver&s;ie, if ever we intend to be partakers of the&s;e
<PB N="29" REF="19">gifts before &s;poken, we mu&s;t be fir&s;t &s;en&s;ible of the want of them.</P>
<P>Thus have <HI>I</HI> briefly and faithfully, to my own under&s;tanding, gi|ven you a &s;mall ta&s;t, which upon your farther con&s;ideration I hope you will enlarge, and then <HI>I</HI> believe you will clearly di&s;cerne the &s;hadow from the &s;ub&s;tance, which is to know the difference of the Bapti&s;m of Chri&s;t from <HI>Iohns,</HI> or of water from the Spirit, of &s;peaking from &s;tudy, art, and learning, or from the gift of the Spi|rit to Prophecy, as 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.10. and of all the re&s;t of the gifts of the Spirit reckoned up in that chapter; and be a&s;&s;ured it is a duty, that highly concernes us all, to try by Scripture the Spirits of tho&s;e we hear; and it was that which was commendable in the noble Be|reans, that they &s;earched the Scriptures to &s;ee whether the things <HI>Paul</HI> &s;pake were &s;o or not, <HI>Act.</HI> 17.11. Nay it is the high commen|dation which God him&s;elf gives to the Church of <HI>Ephe&s;us, Revel.</HI> 2.2. <HI>I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou can&s;t not bear with them which are evill, and thou hast tried them which &s;ay they are Apostles, and are not, and ha&s;t found them liers.</HI></P>
<P>Now for tho&s;e that de&s;ire to know, and to be throughly ac|quainted with the practi&s;e, life, and power of Chri&s;tian Religion, may find it laid down in that incomparable Sermon preached by Chri&s;t him&s;elf in the Mountain, <HI>Mat.</HI> 5. to the 8. chapter, where|in the former part of the 5: chapter, the qualifications of Saints are di&s;covered to ver&s;e 12. and that their Religion might not re&s;t in formality, he tells them ver&s;e the 20. <HI>that except their righteou&s;ne&s;s exceed the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the Scribes and Phari&s;ees, they &s;hould not enter into the Kingdome of heaven;</HI> and to the end that they might not be unacquainted with the difference between a legall and Go|&s;pell obedience, he layes it forth in &s;undry particulars unto the 28. ver. of 7. chap. wherein, as by a mo&s;t perfect rule, we may be able to judge between Saints in word, and notion, and Saints in life and power; for under&s;tanding whereof, let us weigh and &s;eriou&s;ly con&s;i|der one in&s;tance of many, where Chri&s;t tells the people ver. 43. of of 5. chap. ye have heard that it hath been &s;aid of old, thou &s;halt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy, v. 44. but <HI>I</HI> &s;ay unto you <HI>love your enemies, ble&s;&s;e them which cur&s;e you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which per&s;ecute you,</HI> v. 45. <HI>that you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven, for he maketh his Sun to a|ri&s;e on the evill and the good, and &s;endeth rain on the ju&s;t and the un|just; for if you love them which love you, what reward &s;hall you have? do not the Publicans do the &s;ame?</HI> v. 47. <HI>and if you be friendly to your bre|thren
<PB N="30" REF="20" MS="y">only, what &s;ingular thing do ye? do not even the Publicans like|wi&s;e?</HI> if then this be the doctrine of Chri&s;t, and that which his Di&s;|ciples ought to practi&s;e, &s;hall we not be ready to cry out with them, who then can be &s;aved? the world at pre&s;ent is full of Pro|fe&s;&s;ors, and they full of fine words, &s;uch as may ju&s;tly be called in|ticing words of vanity: but I de&s;ire that we may all weigh our &s;elves at this balance, and mea&s;ure our &s;elves by this Standard; &s;o that when we find our &s;elves qualified, as is here &amp; more at large in Scripture expre&s;&s;ed, we may ju&s;tly expect the performance of the promi&s;es, in being made partakers of the like gifts, as the believers were in the primitive time. And thus at pre&s;ent <HI>I</HI> have done with this, de&s;iring the Lord in mercy to give us a right under&s;tanding in all things:</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="postscript">
<HEAD>A POSTSCRIPT.</HEAD>
<P>THat the Gentleman and others may not be deceived, in thinking tho&s;e of the Pari&s;h, who were not Petitioners again&s;t him, are for him, in approving his book; if they think &s;o, it is a gro&s;&s;e mi&s;take, for to my knowledge divers of them did conclude it to be a great abu&s;e to the whole Pari&s;h; and when I &s;pake of an|&s;wering it, they did pre&s;&s;e me exceedingly to it, not that I have any thing whereof to glory, but con&s;idering their earne&s;tne&s;&s;e, which I could not judge but to be in &s;incerity of heart, it put me in mind of a pa&s;&s;age, which when I was a School-Boy I then learned, and have not yet forgotten, it is <HI>Virgil Liber.</HI> 2 <HI>Aene<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">d.</HI> where <HI>Aeneas</HI> (though very unwilling, yet being earne&s;tly entreated by <HI>Dido</HI> Queen of Carthage) makes relation of the Trojan warres, and give this rea&s;on, as you may read at large:
<Q><L>Sed &s;i tantus amor ca&s;us cogno&s;cere no&s;tros,</L>
<L>Et breviter Trojae &s;upremum audire laborem.</L>
<L>Quanquam Animus memini&s;&s;e horret, luctuque refugit,</L>
<L>Incipiam, &amp;c.</L></Q></P>
<P>But I &s;hall &s;ay the contrary; <HI>it&agrave; finem facio,</HI> that though I abhorred to di&s;|cover my mind in print, yet a ju&s;t cau&s;e, and friends per&s;wa&s;ions, were two pre|vailing arguments to do it, I &s;hall only add one word more, and leave it to the con&s;ideration of him that hath mo&s;t right to it, (and the riddle may be unfolded hereafter) I can a&s;&s;ure you, that in this di&s;cour&s;e, I have not to my knowledge made any fal&s;e Mu&s;ter, neither have I, like &s;ome Commander, &s;crambled a pack of &s;trange faces together, to march through the City with as much confidence and little credit, as if they were his own li&s;ted company.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="20">
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
