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Show 314 1663. ·~ John ~J 44• 1 Pet.4.t8, 2 Cor. ~.u· Mat.12. 36. No CROSS, No CROWN. or Confcience, If the whole Ceremony were wortb t!Je Life of 11 -?M'"'! confidering ~he Dignity of the Na~ure; and the.lmponance of the Ltfc o~a~. both wah Retpefl: to God h1s Creator, htmfelf, and the Benefit of Ctvll Society ? ' §. 111. But the Truth is, the World, under its Degeneracy from God, k as much out of the way, as to True Honour and Refpect, as in other Things; for meerShews (and thofe :Vain Ones too) are much of the Honour and Ref peEl: that arc exprefs'd tn the World: That ~ Man may fly concerning them, as the ApoftJe fpeaks of Science, that IS, They ar~ it~Joo 71oilrs '"d Re./}dls faljly fo called; having nothing of the ~arute of True Honour and RefpeEl: in them : But as Degenerate Men, lovtng to be Honoured firft devifed them; fo Pride only loves and feeks them, and is affronted' and angry for wanr of them. Did Men know a True Chriftian State, a11d the Honour tbttt comes from Above, which jEsus teaches, they would not covet thefe very Vanities, much lefs infift upon them. §. IV. And here gi,·e rue Leave to fet down the Reafons more particularly, Why~. and the People whh whom I walk in Religious Society, have declined as Vain and Foolifh, fevcral Worldly Cuftoms and Fafhions of Re. fpect, much in ~eq?efi at this Time ofJ?ay: And I befeech thee, Reader, to lay aJide all PreJUdice and Scorn, and wah the Mcekne1S and Enquiry of a :fuber and difcreet Mind, read and weigh what may be here alledged in our Defence : And if we are mifiak:en, rather pity and inform, than defpife and abufe our Simplicity. §. V. The firfi and mofi preffing Motive upon our Spirits, to d~cline the PraClicc of thefe prefcnr Culloms of jjlullfng Oft" tbt l!at, lBolilfng tbe lSoDp O!li'lnd, and giving People dlauDp l!l:ttle~ anb Clpftbet~, in our Salutations and Addreil'cs, was, That Savour7 S!.{ht and Sen(r, that God, bJ His Light and Spirit, lJa~jiven us of the Chrijtian World .r Apo.flacy from God, 1111d the Cau{e .md 11Jr.U.r Of that Great n!td Lomentable DefeElion. In the Difcovery o( which, die Senfe of our State came firft before us, and we Were niade to fte Him wbom toe pierced, and to mourn for it. A Day of Humiliation overtook us, and we filinted to that Plcafure and Delight we once loved. Now our Works went before-hand to Judgment, and a ThorowSearch was made, and the Words of the Prophet became well underfiood &yus : _ Who can abide the Day of his Coming? .dnd tvho foal/ jland wbe11 be appears,? H~ is like a Refiner's Fire, and like FuUer't Sope. And as the Apoftlc faid, If the RighteoTJS fc.trcely be Javed, wbtrt jha/1 the U11godlj and the Sinner appear? Wherr.fore, fays the Apoftle Paul, knowing the Terror.r of the Lord, we perf wade Men: WhJt tO do? To come Ollt of the Natun, Spirit, Lu{1s and Cuflom.r of this wicked World: Remembring thlt, as Jefus has faicl, For every idle Word that .iHan jjeaknb, be jhallgive 11n Account in the Day of Judgmem. This Concern of Mind, and Dejctlion of Spirir, was ,-ifible to out Neighbours; and we are not afhamed to own, That the Tcrror.r of the Lord tQ(Ik fuc!J flold upon us, becaufe we bad long ttnder a Profej]ion of Rdigion Aricved God's Holy Spirit, that reproved min Secret for our Difobedience; that 111 we nbhorrtd to thi'ltkof continuing in our old Sins, Jo we frared to 11je Larof11l Things, left oce {bould t~.{e them unlawfuUy. The Words of the Prophet were fulfilled on us: Wberiforc do I fee every .iHt~n with bi.r Hand.r 011 his Loin.r, m a Wot!NW in Tr(1vazl? Many a Pang and Throw have we l1arl; our Heaven feemcd to melt away, and our Eanh to be removed our of irs P~ace; and we were like Men, as the_ Apofile flid, Upon wborn the J::nd.t cJ the World were come. God knows it was fo in this Day, the Brightnefs of his comiug to our Souls difcovered, and the Brc:Hh of his ~outh deitroyed every Plant he had not planted in us. He was a fwifr Wimefs againft every evil Thoughr, and every unfruitful Work; and blef.J fed be his Name we were not offended in him, or at his Righteous Judgments. Now it was, thH a Grand Inquelt came upon oqr whole Life: Every Word, Thought and Deed was brought to Judgmem, the Root e.'<.., amin'd, and its Tendency cou!Jdered, Tbe- Lujl of tbc Eve, tbe Llljl of the ' . Flrjb, Vo.t. J, M CR.OSS, M CROWN. Flejh, ttnd tbe Pride of Life u:ere open~d to our View;, tbe .Alyjlery-<?f lni- . J66S. 't)Uity in m. And by knowing the. Ewl Leaven, ~nd.ns dtvcrs Evtl Ef- ~ ~ed:s in our felves, how it had wrought, and what It had done, we came to . Chap. IX. ]1ave a Scnfe and Knowledge of the Statc.rof othrrs: And \\:hat we~ould nor, nay we dare not ler ljve and cQntinue in our felves (as betng mamfefted ro us r~ proceed from an Evil Principle in the Ti.me of Man's Dege~eracy) we could not comply with in others. Now this I fay, :1nd that tn the Fear and P1efence of the All·feeing J ull God, the prefent Honours apd Rcj}c{J of the World, among otber Things, became Bu.rdenfome. to us.: We faw they bad no Being in Paradife, that they g:ew m the. Ntght_-nm~, and came from an ~II Root; and that th.ey only delighted a vam and Ill Mtnd, and that much Pnde and Folly were m th.em. §. VI. And rhough we eafily fo1efaw the Stormr of Reproacb that would fa]\ upon us, for our refufing to praaife them ; yet we .were fo far from being {haken in our Judgment, th::tr it abundantl_y cor.firmed our Senfe of them. For fo exalted a Thing is Man, and fo lovmg of Ht/nour and Rejpe£1 even from his Fe/Jow-Creat11re.r, that fo foon as in Tendernif.r ·of Confcunce towardr God, we could nor perform them, as formerly, he becatJ?e mor~.concern" d than for all the refi of our D~fference$, however ~atenal to .Sal~ation. So that let the Honour of God, and our o.wn SJlvauon, do as tt Wlll, it was grearei Herefie and Blafphemy ro 1efufe htm the )iomagc of th.c 11af, and his ufual Title.r of Honour; to de,ry to !!le~ge br.r H~alt~t, or play Wftb him at Card.r and Dice, than any other !nn.e~ple we m:unt.aln.ed J for betng lefs in his View it feerned nor fo much rn h1s Way. §. VII. And ;hough it be frequenrly objeCled, T/J4t we fcek to fn up outward Form.r of Precifenif.r, and that lt Js but as a Green Rrbbon, t!Je ~adgc 'J[ the Party, tbe better to be known: ,I do declar~ in tP-e Fea~ of Almighty God that rhefe arc hut the Imaginattons :tnd vam Conlhuawns of unfenfible'Men, that have not had .rha_t Senfe, which th~ Lord hath given us, of what arifes from the Right and tbe Wrong Root m Man: And when fuch Cenfurers of our Simplicity Chall be i~1wardly touched. and ~wakened, ~y the mighty Power of God, and fee Thmg.r aJ they are m t~etr proper. 1\aturet and Seedr, they will then know their o~n Burd~n, and eafily acqutt us without the Imputation of Folly or Hypocnfie herem. '; -· §. VIII. To f:J:y, -That we J!:nrin at JmaU Tbingt, whi~b. become.r not People b[ fo fair Prerenjion.r to Ltberty and Freedqm of Sptrzt: I anfwer wtth Meeknefs, Truth and Sobriety;. Firft, nothing is Small, r.hat God makes .Matter of Confcicnce to do, or leave undooe. Nex.t, as mconjiderah/t as they are made, by thofe that objeCt upon us, they ~re much fet by ; fo -£reatly, a1 for our not giving tbe1n to be Beaten, lmprijoned, refufed ]~tftice, f:lc. To fay nothing of the Deri~on and ~eproach that hath been frequently fiun_g at ,us on tbis Account. So that If we had wa~ted a Proof of the Tr11t'b of our inwardBelitf and Judgment, tbe very,Pra8_tce of them tltar oppofed it, f»011ld ba.ve. abundantly confirmed us. But let lt fuffice to us, That Wi(dom ;, Juftificd of l!er Children' We only paffively let fall the Mat. 11• ••· Praaice of what we are taught to believe is V~in and Unchnfi1an: In whtch we are Negative to Forms : For we leave off, we d.on't fet up fvrms. §.IX. The World is fo fer upon the Ceremomotts Pqrt ond Ot~t}i:le. fJ/ Tbingr, that it has well befeem,ed the Wifdom of God in all A_ges, to bnn~ forth his Difpenfations with very different Jippea!ancct to ~heu fetled C~1- toms; thereby contraditl:ing Humane Inventions, and provm~ the lntegmy of his Confelfors. Nay, it is a Tefl upon the World: It tnes what Pattencr, Kindneft, Sobriety and Mode.r:_ation they have: If the.rougb ~nd hamel) 0Jttjide of Truth frumble nor their Minds from the Recepuon of It (who~ BeaJ#Y is within) ir makes a great Difcovery upon them. For he ~h1tch refuf~ a J'recious Jewel, be~::tufe it is prefented i~ a. Pl11in Bo~. W1l ne\'~r efteem it to its Vahte, nor fer his Hean upon .kee_ptng H: Therefore~ call tc a Te.ft, becaufe it fhcws where the He:nts :tnd A~e~tions of People fttck, af· ler all theii grear Pretences to mo~e exc~lf.~ Thing•. §. X. It |