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Show lbCROSS, No CROWN. VoL. f. · d H that difobey God's Low, ond tHai daily J66S: 3t1d impl!;:be.Confcb~'bce ban ougbtrt~ot to do. and for which they ftand COIJI ~ a. tbcfe '' rngs "' I~ t ey Se3t in th'e Souls of Men : The Light of Chap. vn: demned bef.ore <f.l s h udr~·~~ft hidden Things of Darknefs, the moll fe· whofe Pre ti~e a~d!'~o~~ealed Inclinations of U~godly Men. This is the tr~t Thofgtfl/ fi lied. and as it is impurel fo -ns unpeaceable, crofS, aad St!lencetb a. o d. fr~mrd perverfe, and perfecuting; Jealous that an~ hard to ~ mtreate , a~d hatin and abufing thofe that are. ihouttrn h,Ttte~,t~h~ P~rr~ made Cninga Murder~r : 'T~s .a Spiteful Q..u~lity; §. ' wnd Reven e. What ! W at not bn Rtbston an~ Worfln£ tU .Gen1 4o t. fU~of ~~1 atb ., , Be bad aU t5e E,rericr Parts •J Wcr]h1p, be ojjered zo ar 'A~{. ~d ·the OfFerin1g of it felf might b~ as good: But it feems M w;t as h ~ offered it w,3s not. So long ago did God regard th~ In~ef~ e ear(, t ~f the Soul.' Well! what was the Confequence of thiS Dif nor Wo,rfl>•)l • p "de ftomach'd it: He could not bear to be our-done by b" fereQ~e · CaR: :~w Wrothfill and re(olved to Vindicate Iris Offering, by ~:n~ the fef~fal of it upon his Brother's Life': A_nd without any Re-fa l4 to ~arural Affeilion,. or the low and early Condlt,oll of Mankmd, be 'harouflY. Jid his Hands zn hu Brother's Blood. . • a§: IX The Religion of the apollatiz.'d Jerot d1d .no b. etter ' for, havmg 1oit.the inward Life, Power and Spifit o~ the Law, they were puffed up wnr. tll.at Knowledge they had; and therr Pretences to .A.hrabam, .Mof~r, :fnd the Prornifes of qod, in that Frame, fervcd only to blow them up m .. tci an upfufferabfe p,.id~, JJrrog~ncy, an'd Crudty •. F_or. they could not bear t'rue Vifion, wheh it came to v1tit them, and ~ntertam d the Mefi'engers of their Peace as if theY had Qeen Wolves' ant! Tigers. . . ~. x. Yea, 'tis remarkable, the falfe Prop_hets, the great Engineers a· ~afnft the True Ones, Were' ever fure to ptrfecute them as falfe; and, by t\eir ln(ereft, with Earthly Princes, or the Poor feduced Mulntude, made them the Inftrutnerits of 'their Malice. Thus 'twas that one Holy Provhet w 5 rawn afundet another Stoned to De3.th, !:/c. So proud and obfhnate iS afalfe Knowle. ~b, and the Af~irers after it : Which made holy St~fhen cry out 0 j~ fti .;htcked and tintlrtumcife.d zn Heart and Ear, ye nfij tbe lt£1< 1•1'• HofJ Gboft 1 as id your Forbers, fo de y_t. . • § . X!. The hue Knowledge caine Wilh the Joy of Angels, finging P~·~· 1 n &/rtb ond (;.,J.,iU rowards Mtn .,_ The falfe Knowledge enretrarnd uke 2' 14" ~tie Mcif;ge W"th Caluf1101es: Chrift tnu~ nce~s be an I.mpoltor ; 3!Jd tha~ tnuft prove hi;b· fo, ro Wtt, his Po we~ of \19orkml? of Muacles; whtch wa, thJt .which provecf the torttra,ry . . they 1\oned ht'?'•,and frequently foug~t ~0 kill him 1 which at I; I\ they wtckedl\1 atc?mphlh d._ Bur what wos theu Mcmte to ic? Why, he cried out ag:linft then Hypocnfie, the Bro~d Pby· laE\:eries, the ijonour they fought of Me~. T~ be fhorr, they gtve t~e R.eifon themfelVdi in thefe Words J If we let hun. tbu_r alone, nU ft1~n w10 1otl.n -t1'· ll~. "believe on bim: That is, tie will ta'k~ away our Credt~ wnh the People; they ¢i1l adhere to him, and. d~fett us 4 and io we fhal' lofe our Power .andRe-. 'putation With {he Mulmo'de. ' §. xn. And the TrUth is,_ he came t"O 1~\lel their Honour, to overthrow theit R;brnlhi£, and by his' Grace t6 bnng the People to that Inward "Knowledge of God, wHich rh~y by 'rriln!llteffion, were departed from_; t!lat ro iH5h'ni~hr fee the l:J~ettj{,!nefi of Ibm Bl1nd Gutd~ who .by thelf vltn TrWt[ior1s; rhad made vo~d the R.ig~~eou~nefs of ihe Law; a~d wbo Were fo fa·r ftorrl being rlle .tru~ Doaor; and ltvely Ex-pqunders of 1t, that in Reality riley W'ele the Chjldre~ of tile Devil,, wJto 1 was a pr?ud Lyar, all.d cruel Mt'lrderet, !tom the Begtnlimg. §. XllL Thei.r P.ride in falfe KnowlEljlge haying mad~ them upcapable Of receirihg the Simpli~ity of the GofRel, Chrlil: iiJOn~l ~~~Farber. that b& Jtlat.· u. 2 ~;. "bd~ bid 'lh'e '},Jyfteries o/1(t frpm rh~ .M!ift and .'Prud&nt, nnd revenkd t_b~m to Bobes. ic "'" rllis Fa\.fe Wifdom 'ftVeTI'd the Mil/2\s of the Atbemant to fh!t De~e that. ~h~y 'defplfed the Pr~ch1pg of rJu; Apoft!e Paul, as • iiaiit anJ'fo;l;p, Thinl· BC!t r~ar Apol\le, 'who, of'alt the "f~:C~~i~~ foL. I. No C R 0 S S, No C R 0 W N. Educltion in the Learning-of thofe Times, bitterly reft~ on that Wifdon1, 16681 fu much valued by Jews and Greekr; Where (fays he) zs the Wife r Where 1./"""V"'J ;, the Scri!M? Wber4 isthe Difputer of thir World? Hath not God made Chap. Vll. Joolijh til< Wifdom of this World? And he gives a good Reafon for it, That ~ , 0 Flr/h jhuuld Glory in his Prefenu. Wh1ch is to fay, God will ftain the ~ Cor. •· 20· PriJeuf .Afan in Falfe Knowledge, that he ihould have nothing on this Oc· Ver • . 29. cafiolfto be prQUd of: It lbould be owing only to the Revelation of the Spirit of God. The Apoftle ~oes further, and affirms, That the World by lb. v. ,,. Wifdom knew not God: That IS, it was fo far from an H~lp, that, as Men utejr, it was an Hindrance to the true Knowledge of God, And in his firft F.piftle to his beloved Timothy, he concludes rhus: 0 Timothy! Keep that WbKh is committe4 ID thy Trufl, nvoiding profane and vain Babhlings, and &Tlln.6. 2~ GppojitiMis of Suimce, fa/fly fo caUeJ, ThiS was the Senfe of Apollo!ical Times, when the Divine Grace gave the true Knowledge of God, and was ' the Guide of Chriftians. §.XIV. Weill But what has been theSuccefs ofthofe.J.gu, that followed the Apoj/olic•l? Any whit better than that of the Jewijh Times? W.or one Jot. They have exceeded them ; as with their Pretences to greater Knowkdge, fo in their Degeneracy from the true Chri.ftiAn Life: For tho.' they had a more Exce11ent Pattern than the ]euut to whom God fl1"ke by A'Jofls his Servant, he fpeaking to them by his &loved Son, the Exprifs I111oge of his Subjlanee, the PerfeElion of all Meeknefs and Humility : And tho' they feemed addiaed to nothing more, than ;~n Atlorari .. oR of his Name, and a Veneratioft to the Memory of his Bleffed Difc.iples, and Apofiles; yet fo great was their Defe{/ion, from the inward Power and Life of Cbriflinnity in the Soul, that their Refpe8: was little more than FoMal and Ceremoniom. For notwirhftanding they, like the Jews, we:remighty zealous in Garnijhins their Sepulehre~, and Curious in carving ohbeir lmttgu;. not only keeping: with any Pretence what might be the R:ttiqucs of their Perfons, but recommending a Thoufand Things as Reliquu, which :ue purely Fabulous, and very often Ridiculous, and to be fure alto;.. gether Unchriftian : Yet as to the great and weighty Things of the Chriltr i•n Law, vtz. Love_, Mulmefl, and Se!f·de~~tal, [hey were degenerated • T.hey grew High-minded, Pro11d, Boajlers, mitbout }:;'atural.Aff~OiDif, Curiour,. anW ContrfJ'Ve-rjlal; eVer perplexing the Cb11rcb with dollbt{ul nnd dJI6ioll$ !t_11ejl.i111s; jiUiffg the People ~ith Difputationr, Strife 3nd Wrangling, draw. in~ them into Parr irs, till at !.all they fell into Blood , As if they had been the worfe for being once Chriflian·s. . 0 the miferable State of thefe prmnded Cbrifli•nJ! That inllead of Clirift.'s and his Apoftles Dotl:rine, of Loving En~miu, :tnd Ble./}ing the$ diltt curft them, they ihould telch the People under the Nodon of Chriflitt1l' 2eal, tnoft inhumanly to Butc~r one another, and inftead of fuffering . their own Blood to be lhed for the Tellimony of Jefus, they lhou!d lhe& •h• Blood of the Wir.eJTes of Jifru, for Heret!cks: Thus thatfubtil Serpe11r, 011crafty, Evil Spirit, that tempted .Adam out of Innocency, and the ]ew.r frdm the Law. of God, h31 beguil'd the Cbrifiians, by Lymg Vanitiest to depart frorrt the Chriftian Law of Ho!inefs, and fo they are become Slaves to liim : For he r.uler iii the Heartt of the Children of Dtfobedience. §. :XOV. And it is ohfervable, that as Pride (which is ever followed by $j,perllition~nd Obflinocy) put Adam upon feeking an higher Station than <!:lod placed him in; and as the Jeau, out of the fame Pride~ to out-do their Ptrttun, gil'en them of God by Mo{es upon the Mount, fu rbeir Pojl HyG~s Poft, nnd taug!Jt for Dol/riner rfi~ir own Traditionr, in!omuch rhat !h.0fe that tefufed Conformity to them, rantheHaz::ud ofCrucifo, Cru(ijie; So the N-ominal•Chrifi'i9.ns, from the fame Sin of Prid~, with greu Suf1!r .. flition and .A.rroganet, have introduced. inftea.d of a" Spiritual Wodhip and. Difdpline, that' which is evidently Ceremo,nious and Worldly; with fuch lnntwadons'lnd 'Fraditions of~n, as are the Fruit of the Wifdom that is ftorft below : Wit11efs tHeir· numerous and pcrplext Coun,ilr and Cruds, !l'itjl \~nfprm or /lurn, at the End of them, . §, xvr |
