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Show 784 An AddrefJ to 'Proteffanu. VoL. i. 6 'WJry, that on no Hand they may .mifcarry .. Now it will be. an exce1.1e~r ~ ' Caution for rhe keeping of Doitune P';lre, tf they ~all avo1d a!l cuuo~s PJrt 11. ·'~·and vain Connovedies: If they fhall.ter ~fore rh71r Eyes the Scope and. Sea. 5· ' End Of all Religious Doltrints, and ltkcw1le a Senes or _Caral_ogue of a~ I ' fuch Things as make ro the Attainment of that End (o~ whtch \1\JC fo~-. ' metly fpake ~) if they (hall affett, nor only rh_e Mar_rer H ielf, bur alfo; ' the Words :md Phrafi!s which rhe Holy Ghofi In Scnpt~re makes UJc ol, ' and exceedingly fufpeft all different Forr~s of Speakmg .. Nor that I ' would have them fpeak nothing but Hebrai.(m1; for fo thetr Langu:~ge ' would nor be plain nor imelligi_ble: bm I wtlb rh_ar th~~ W<?uld Oum all ' fuch Expreftions, as have been wvenred by overn1ce D1ipurams, beyond ' what was neceffary to exprefs the _Scnfe of ~he Hehnw and (:reek, and ' all thofe Tenets which Men by thea own \¥as .do ~olle8: and mfer from r: rhe Scriprures. Now of whar Concernment rh1s wtll be, we rna~ gather • bv this Inltance: The Papifls think it one and the fame Thing to fay, T!Je ' church cannot Err; and [0 fay in rhe \Vvr~s of our L~rd, rt~hcrtj(lever ' two or three jhall be gathered together in my l\'am~, there wdi 1 be 111 tbe 1111djl 'of them. Yet is the Dift'erencc very ~rear, whtch may rhus appear, for~ ' afmuch as in Cafe any one fhall c.oncc1ve the Churc~ to be the Pup~, c;ar' dinals, and Bilhops anointed by the Pope; he heanng the aforef::lld Sen' renee, will judge, rhn whatfoever they lbJll decree, ought to be ot Fo_rce. ' Bur if he (hall rather mind the Words of our Lord, and fhall conltder ' that rhofe Kind of Men do regard nothing bur their own Co~modiry, ' Wealth and Dominion; he will be fo far from fo underfiandlllg rhc:r., ~ that peradventure not being able to allow the Deeds ar:-d rra~hce$. of ' rhcfe Men, he will come tO ~ope from t~ofc w.ords, That Jfhtmielt, wnh ' fome other good Men, lovmg God wtth thetr whole HcJrt, fhall come ' together, and un.1nimoufly implore the AffiUance of ~a~. they thal_l be ' better able to determine what it is that ought to be belle\' d and praEbfcd ' for the Attainmenc of SalvJtion, than if they fhould perfiit ro put th~ir ' ConfideRce in fuch Paftors. Now this Rule, th.lt the Words of the Scnp .. ' ture ought to be ufed r:ither than any other, is then efpecially to be ob, c' ferv'd, when any Thing is delivered as a cenain and .rrye_d Tmth? or a~ a ' Rule of Faith or Life or our of which ~IDY or her Thmg ts to be lnft.rred. ' For in Expofirions and Explana~io!ls, as rhere is need happily of greater ' Liberty, fo is there lefs Danger tf tt be taken. For, \~hen as. the Word of ' God, and the Expofition thereof, arc ar one and. the !arne T1mc bor_h to' gerber in View as ir were, there no Man can be tgnoranr, that the Expo· ' fition u tbe Hlqrd of Man, fo that be may reje{f it, ip.c:1fe ir feem i~per' rinent. And Look, by what Means a Man may htnder the DoElnne ~{ ' Religion from being changed, by the felf-fame he may find whether It ' be ch.1nged or no. Now ev~ry Man ought to _compare the DoC:trine of ' rhar Age wherein he lives, V.:Hh _no other D~Cl:nne th:m that whtch was ' our of Quefl:ion fpotlefs, w~tch IS the DoEl:nne of ~he AJ?ofiles. ·W~ere' fore notwithftanding that m our Age the Gofpel 1s as 1t were revn'ed, ' yet 'ought nor any Man thus ro think, that he ought to Examine whe~_ ' rher the Gofpel hath not lofi any of that Purit~ where}.lnr? it had at ' this Time arrived; he ought rat_her to look. agam :11.1d agam, whether ' fame Corruption do not ye~ rema~n, whe~her u be not m fame Part ?S Jet ' not fufficiently reftored to ns anctcnt Puruy and Luftre .i and con,fi~ently ' perf wade himfelf, That he cannot be (t~at _I may_ fa ipea~) fuffictenrly ' fuperititious in reje3-ing every Word wh1ch ts not m the Scnptures .. F?r 1 as much as Man will ever. be more wife and wary than the Holy Spu!t, ' and can very hardly forbear to mingle fomewhat from his own He:td : ' So that whatever comes from Man, can never be ii.dficiently fufpeded . ' And becaufe a Thing will be fo much the better preferv'd, by bow much ' the Greater is the Number of thofe rhat keep it ; the People ought ohen ' to be put in Mind, that both the Readir.g of the Scriptures and lhe Care ' of Religion belongs not to the Paflors of the C!mrcb only; bur that et·cry ' ene that would be fav'd ought to mak& diligent Search, whether any C_or· - :ro~~ VoL. I. An Addreji to 'Pr~tejlantJ; 78. 1 ruption be already, or is for the future like be· , S : to do no lefs carefully, than if he were perrw!~ed t1n;:~fh:n~ a~~ ~hf~ _ I679. _ were ~lfleep: And whatfoever is wom to take the com l e lm e ~ ' from fuch Studies, Care muft he taken that th Th" bon People ofF Parr. II. ' away. Concerning which Matter we !hall rn at tng .e whol~y taken Sea. ;. ' anon. ' ore convenxently difcourfe ' Now, Forafmuch as the Profit will be frnall if fome . M ; fbfC:XVe thJt ah Error is introduc'd; unlefs he dircover rif:~~~e Err~~ ~a~ , n~~:l;~C: d~~e ereNuft o~ Neceility. bb fome Way ~ow this may c~nv~' which the Apofile p~:po~n~: t~an:1oer ,...oerath~ore firLung Way, than that ' b .fJ d . ~·1 111 1anr, er two or three Pro· ' fb::fttfb~"' l:;ti;:eft the rt fi]~dge; a;;.d if any thing be revc_aled to him t Cor .•• , , h 11 _, ormer e zent. .ror )'e 1110y aU praphecy one by 1 t at a ma{/cqrn, and all may he exhorttd. If fome one Perfon fhai{:{• ·, yva¥~1[~ea In rheftChurch, ~nd ~o Man at any 'rime may contradiCt: him, It WI e a. very range Thmg, If that one Man be nor uffed u · f h ' , ~not fall mto fuch a Conceit of hirnfelf; as to think rh!'t he is fb 1 1 e , fin, that he only hath Under~nding, he alone is wife: That alt0~h! , re are a C~mpany of Brute Amrnals as it were, who ou ht ro de end , onLy UJ?On h1m, and to do norhing but learn of him. An~ if an ~ , lhall thmk, that hirnfelf likewife hath fome Ability; to teach h Ju an , ~i~n~;h;~ ~a~,.a(; hJinous fiOffender. Bur wha.~ fa}(S the Ap~ftl: tot th~c? 1 r. e or oJ o come . -r_om you ? or came 1t unto you only? Jf on , J ccm t'£ h/. a Prophet, or SpirituaL; let him acknowledge what J write unt~ , yo'!. to c t 'JeC1mmonds of rbt Lord. But if any one be igno!'o-nt let him , be '.tnorant. f~herefore Brethren., labour tbat ye may Prophecy o;d fo o·d 1 , C'}0 t ta fp~aR nutb Tongues, let all Things be done decem/y 1md i~ order r It exceedmgly to be lamen.ted, thar ~his Cuflom, and rhe Prafl.ife 0f this , b orn~a~d ofUthe Lord, ts nor agatn reftored into tho Churches and • roug t mto fe. But forne Men may fay, Such is tlie R:~funefs ~fthia , Age of ours, fucru the Boldn.efs, fuch the lmpudence, that if it were al' lowed to every one t? fpeak m the Congregation, there wiH be no End of 1 Brawls and Contenuon. Why fo? Is a Man another Kind of Creature , now; than what he was of Old? Thou wilr fay, He is: For Mankind hath , com_Inually degener:~red, groyvn worf~ :~nd worfe, and feerns now tO have , attamed the Top of Conu.ption. Is It iO indeed? But, fuppofe it to be , fo;. 'Fhou thali an the Teachell of the People, art nor thou alfo thy fclf • mad~ of th_e !a me ~ol~? Art not thou horn in the fame Age? Ina.fmuch , as this Ordtnance pnnc1pally wa~ intended to keep Paftors within the 1 Bounds o£ Modefty, that they may underftand that they are nor the Au ... , thors ofthe Word of God, t!hat r_hey have not alone received the Spirjr: , By how UJUC~ rhe more Manktnd hath degenerated, by fo much rhe greater Ne~d IS there thereof; for that there is now more Rafhnefs A _ ; rogance, Pnde, than of Old; -this is true, as well of the Pafl:ors' an~ , Teacher~, as of the r~~ of the People. Art thou a. Prophet? Haft rhou any Pomon of the Sputt? Ifrhou haft not, fo unfitting it is that thou a 1 ~one !hould'fi fpeak in theCongreg:~tion,rhat there will hardlY be found an; that d_eferves rather to be filenc'd, than thy felf. But if thou art a Pro! , pher, If thou haft the Spirit, ~ark what the Apofile fays, Jidnov:/edge , (quoth he) that rboJe Thmgs wbuh I write, are 1he Commandments of the 1 Lo_r~. Go to rhen, On the on~ ~ide we have the Judgment of our Lord, wtlhng that Prophecy (for th1s 1s a Word that we are obliged to ufe) : lbo~ld be common to all, and thlt not for the DeftruEl:ion, bur rhe SJtvauon of the Church: On the other Side, we have thy Judgment who : feareft leaft that may breed Contention and Con'fulion; whofeJudgme11 r now ought we rather to itand to? If thou fhalt conceive we mult ftand to ' thine, confider wh:tt thou a!fumeft unto thy felf and what will become ' of thy Modcfty. Our Lord, it !h01lld feem, und~rfiood nor what a Kind ' of Creature Man was; he wanted thy Wifdom belike, to admonifh him ~ of the Danger; or haply he thought not upon that Corruption which 5 H : lhould |
