OCR Text |
Show 75° !679· ~ Part II. s.a •. An Addrefs to "Protejlallts. Vat., l. oftheir Deeds, and that therefore they lhould ferve him; bur theymufi be difl:in£Uy inform'd of his Nature, and all h'is Attribut~s, h is PurpofCs and his Decrees, and the Suirablenefs of them all to the Lt~e and Plummer of their Underftanding ~ So that God Wit¥ to he, wbar _rb~zr Co'!du}ions 1wOJt/d allow him to be; tbtlt yet knew not tbem_{tlvu. Nor dtd It faudie that there was a Chrilt, that this Cbrift was the Son of God, that God 10 loved Man· kind, as beholding them in a Way of Deftruction, be fent his Son r,o proclaim Pardon upon True Repemance, and offer'd a General Reconciliation to as many as received and embrac'd his Tefiithony; and that to that End He laid down his Life a Ranfom, Rofe and Afcended, and gave his Gootl Spirit to lead his Fo1lowers afte.r his Example, in. the W~y of Truth and Holinefs: BNt thqmufl fearcb mto the Se~re~ df tlm Relatton, bow, and after what Manner be U the Son of God? Hn Aarure, Power and Perfon mufl be Jifcufs"d: They will bef•tisfied in tbis, before they can find in their Hearts to believe in him. Next, Whether be be the Caufe, or the Ejfefl of God's Love? What WtU that Price be paid, and Ranfom be gave ? And bow be died for 111? If Properly and Stri81y, or Tropically and Elegnnrly, to fatisfte the Juflice of God ? Jlnd reberber God cou/J, or could not bnve Snved .Man ana-. tber Way? Jf this Mercy were offer'd to aU, or but fame? Jind whether ~cceptance and Repentance be with the Confent of the Creature, or by''" irrefijlible Grace? What Body he Rofe nnd .Afcended with? .And what Bodic.r we }hall have in the Refurrellion, in 1\'ature, St11ture, and Proportion ? Laitly, What thH Spirit if, tbar comes from Chrift ? If it comes from God a/fo? Wbether .it he God, or an Inferior Minifler? How it Extfls? If a Perfon, in what Relation, Degree, or D1gnity it fland.r to the Father and Son? With Abun, dance more of'this Unreafonable Strain, flowing from the Curious, Un! OVern'd, and Re!llefs Minds of Men. No Man would be ufed by hisServant as they treat God. He mufi wait our Leifure, before we will believe, receive, and obey him: His Meff'age' is obfcure, we don't underitand it ; he muft grarifieour Curiofiry; we defire to be better f:uisficd with it before we believe or deliver it; it comes not prefently up to Men's Underftandings; 'ds rooobfcur'ely expreft; we will explain it, and deliver it with more Caution, Clearnefs and Succefs, than it is delivered to us. Thus God's Revelation hath been fcan'd, and his Precepts examin'd, hefore Licens'd by hls Creature: Man would be Wifer than God; more wary then the Holy Ghoft. Our Lord, it fhould feem, underftood not what Kind of Creature Man wass he wanted his Wifdom to admonifh him of the Danger; or haply he though' not upon that Corruption, which fhould befall Mankind in theie Lnter Ages of the World, which might require the Abilities of Men ro fupply the Wants and Defects left by the Holy Ghoft, in the Wording of the Scripture.-- I wror.g not this PraEl:ice; 1 render ic nor more OdioUs than it is: Jr is an h,excufJble Piece of Prefum~tion, that which debafes the External Teftimony of God, and draws Men off from that which is Eternal roo. It introduces the Traditions of Men, in the Room of God's Re· cords, and ferteth up their Judgment and Refults for the Rule of Chrifiian Faith, and Canons of Chrift's Church. This is one of thofe Things, that made Rome fo hateful, and her Yoke intolerable to our Predeceffors: P1e4 tended DeduB:ions from Scripture, put in the Room of Scripture, with J Superfedeas to all Dilfent upon never fo J uft a Ground of Diffatisfailion. I hefeech you Prorejlan11, by rhe Mercies of GOD, 'nd Love of JESUS CHRIST, ratified to you in his Moft Precious Blood, Flee Rome at HoJH~; · Look to the Enemies of your own Houfe ! Have a Care of this Prefumpti· on; carry it npt too high; lay not Srrefs, where God has bid none, nei· ther ufe His Royal Stamp ~o Authorize your ~pprehenfions in the Name of his lnfiitutions. I d~ not faf, thut Men are never to c:rprefs their Minds upon any Place ofS~npture to Edific::ttion: There is a Chriflian Liberty nor to be denied; hut never to by down Arllcles of Fttith, w!Jith e'Uer o11ghr ro he in the Very La11g11age of Holy Writ, to avoid TempttUion and Slrif~. You fee, hoW the contrary Method hath been the Grtllt 1J1ake-Bate in all Ages, and thelmpo· fition Vo"L. I. An .Addrefs to 'Proteflant1; fiti'm of fuch Opinion, the Privilege of Hy ocr' b Honeit Minds; to be fure the fad Occafiol of ~:;d ut the ~narc of ~a.ny ons. 1t was plainly feen, that by the many Difput s ~nd m~erable DJvifi· Men's Wits were confounded with their Maners T~~tth '!! ro { Jrom hence, therhood was deltroyed. Thus the Devil ailed 'the Part b~~ho • and Bra· and D~fend,nr, and managed rhe p,ffio'O' of borh Parries ro hi oi Opponent was D1fcord. And but too many were ready to crfi d s nd, whtch the Mif~a~Jiages on both Sides, That nothing Ce~tai:~o:l~h~mfelveJ•/dm bout RebgJOn; for it fo fell out that whilft Men were e &01/c II e a .. lin~ and braw.ling about fome o~e Opinion of Relig~on r~:r~tft!ly wrangPoints of Fauh and Life were little regarded Uni~y hrok o ~mp.orrant ~roy.ed, and thofe Wounds m::tde, that were ne~e~ cloted bute~irh ~~? ~;: t~n~toh of onyJart~: Not a Godd SamaFiran being to be found to heal and co e t em. ow 1t was that a Godly Man was diflinguilh'd fro U godly. by ~his, let ~i? Lif7 have been almoft what it would, that{:! f~em?d to rnatntatn t~eOpin.lOnS tn Vogue, and to abhor tbe DoE!rin~, which in rome One or TwoPOJntr, m1ght he reputed Beretital, orSchijmatica/, ' J' . 0 that we could but fee how many, and how Great Defeats Satan hlltb gzve11 to theJilork of(J_od m the Hrarts of Men! What Defolations he hath m~lb by tpts one Evtl, Conrroverfie; begot of Opinion, and ufed for it. sn. o:v f(w haftebcontended for the Faitb, a.r it was once deliver'd to tb; amr.r. . e ~.u e a Man of Brafs, that could refrain from Weepin at the.fe C.alamtttes. And truly I .muft defire to take Lca.ve fometimes togbewail this Brok~n Condition of.cbrijlendom, and to beftow my Tears in Se .. cret upon thefe Com~on Rums : And I befeech God Almighty with a. ~oul fenfibly touch't wnh the Mifchiefs that naturatlf flow from this Praft .. ICe, to awak~n you to a moft fpeedy and ferious Cunfideration of your ~r~fent Scandmg, and Amendment of your Mifcarriage in this and all other Oints t~at may concern your qood, and his Glory. Put away Wrath! Away w!t~ Clamours! Away wnh Arrogance and Impatience l Let that Holy Spmt of .God, which we in common profefs to be theCbrifl_ian's Guidt have the _ordenng of our Underfiandings in Spititual Things left Ignoranc~ fhould mlftake, Intereft wreft, or Prejudice pervert the 'senfe of God's Book. For ~s too many .are Ignor~nt of the Divine Truth through their own Concuptfce~ce, and V1le AffeEhons, thlt carry them away to the De~ fire of other Th1ngs, and therefore eafily miftake about Nice or Obfcurc! Matters; fo th;re are not a few, who come to fearch the Scriptures with. Pre-poffefsd M1nds, that are forry to meet with a Contradi8::ion to their o~n Judgment, infiead of being glad to find the Truth, and who ufe their Wus to rack out. another ~enfe than ~hat which is Genuine; which Sort of Men ufe_ the S~nprure for tr's Authonty, and not it's Senfe, or Truth. A)l thts \Yhtle, the Head is fet at Work, not the Heart, and that which Cbnfi moft 1nfifted upon, is leafi concerned in this Sort of Faith and Chrifti ... a~ity; and t~at is, Keephtg His Gom'!landmenn For "tis Opinion, not Obedience_; _Nouon, and not Regenerauon, that fuch Men purfue. This Kind of Reh9tonleaveth them as bad as it finds them, and worfe; for they have fomething more to be proud of. Here is a Creed inde:d, but of what? The ~nclujiont of .Men, and what to do) To prove they believe in Chrift, who, It feems, never made them. It had been happy for the World, that there had ~e~n no other Creeds, than what He and His Apofl:les gave and left ~ And.tt IS llQt the ~eaft Arg~ment again~ their b~ing needful to Cbri/lianCom .. munton, that Chrijl and Hn .AJ!of!le.r drd Not tbmk {o, who were not wanting to declare tbe Whole CtJunfel of God to the Church. T? conclude: If you defire Peace, love Truth, feel\ Piety, and hare Hya pocnfie, lay by aU thofc Things called .Article.r of Faith, and Canons of the Church,. that arc not to he found in expre/s Terms in Srcipture, or {o plainly ~uth~rtz~d hy Scripture, a.r may, wirb &Je, be difcerned hy every lion"eP and Con[~!Cn11om Perfon. And in the Room of thofe numerous and di(puted Opimons, made the Bond of Exrernal Communion, let fome Plain, General and Neceffary Truths be laid down in Scripture Terms, and let them be few; t5r . I679• ~ Pan 11. Sea. z.· |