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Show 8Il •679· V""'V"'-..J Part. II. ]ohn 16. 13• An Add,.ep to 'Pr'oteHantJ.' VoL.L any rifing of Heart againft their Perfecutors (!"uch more againft P:-Iceable DHI'enters) but with much foftnefs and Chanty, com.miferate their lgno· ranee and Anger: Offering to inform them, and praymg that they may be forgiven. This is to be Religious, and therefore thofe thar:Perfecute for Religion any ways are lrreligiom. 11 The next Caufe of Perfecution is the grofs but general miftake which Peo~le are under concerning the Nature of the Church and Kingdom of Chnft, For the lamentable Worldlinefs of Mens Minds hath put them upon thofe Carnal Conftru!Hons which have made Way for all the extern:~l Coercion and Violence, ufed by_ bad and fuffer'd by good. Men,_ on the Score of Religion, from the Beginnmg. And no. ";onder If ordmary, Perfons tumble upon this Conftmalon,_ when .the .Dtfc1ples of Jefus (bewd thefl!· felves fo ill read in the Myftenes of hts Kmgdom, that after a1l the Inn· macy they had had with him, they refrain•d not to ask, When fbttlltbeKingdom h' rrjlored to lfrael. They look't abroad, had a Worldly Idra in their Minds· Jer»s like, they waited for external Deliverance from the Power of the' R1mans, rather than an Internal Salvation from the Dominion of Satan; and interpreted thofe Words to Worldly Lofs and Freedom, which did relate to the Lofs and Redemption of the Soul: But Jefus taught them better Things; yet {o, as not to deny or fiarly difcourage and rebuke them ; for that, though true, might have been more at that Time, than they could have born; therefore he winds off with them upon the Time and the Sea· fon of the Thing, knowing that the Time was at Hand, that they fhould be benet taught and fatisfied of the Nature of his Kingdom, unto which he referred them. When the Spirit of Truth comes, it jball lead )'Oil into aU Truth, etC". That the Kingdom of Chtift is not of this World, hoo been before obferved, and the Reafon is fo great that all Men of Common Senfe muft allow it, upon ChrHl's Principle and Argument; for fays he, tbln r»oul4. my Servanu fight for me; truly implying, becaufe the Kingdoms of this World are evidently fct up and maintained by worldly Force, and that he will have no worldly Force ufed in the Bufincfs of his Kingdom, that therefore it is not of this World. Confequently, thofe that attempt to fer up }lis Kingdom by worldly Force, or make that their Pretence to ufe ir, are none of his Servants : They are truly but Men of this World ; fuch as fcek an Earthly, and not an Heavenly Crown and Kingdom: Themfelves, and not Chrift Jefus. Where, by the way, let me obferve, th::tt though the Jews to engage;, Pilate the more eafily to their fide, impeach't Cbrifl of being' an Enemy to C~Jar, they were Enemies, and He appeared a F,·iend to Cdfar; for he came to re~m the Lives of Men, to make them better Subjeas; to obey Ctefar, not for Fear, but for Gmjcie~tce1"alu: A way to make C~nr's Province, both eafie and fafe. But the Jews would have had him Ct ar's Enemy; one that fhould have forceably refcu'd them from C4far ower; That was what they waited for; a Captain General to head the Revolt, and with an High Hand to overbear and captive C~far, as he had done them: And, 'tis more than probable, that this Appearance being after quite another Manner and to another End than they expe8ed ~ They therefore rejeUed him ; their Hearts being fet upon the Defire of • Worldly Empire: But to return; Chrifi told his Difciples, that be bad cbofen them o11t of the World; how pray) Not to converfe or li\1C bodily in it? No fuch Matter: But he had chofen or jingled tbem[rom the Nature, Spirit, Glary, l'olicy and Pomp of this World. How Perfons, fo qualified, can make a Worldly Church or Kingdom, unlefs they defert Chrift's DoB:rine, is paft n1y Skill to tell. So that the Capacity that Chriftian1 ftand in to Chrift is Spiritual, and not Worldly or Carnal\ and for that Re:1fon not Carnal ot Worldly, but Spiritual Methods and Weapons only are to be ufed to inform or reclaim fuch as are Ignorant or Difohedicnt. And if we will give Anci .. em Story credit, we !hall find that Worldly Weapons were never <mploy· . <d VoL. I. An .Addreft to 'Pr'oteflantt. ~ ~h:i~ia~hrillian Church rill the became Worldly, and fo ceafr to be tru• '58r J Bur why thould I fay the CbMrcb; rhe tl . 79. lt !S her ~eaders have taughr herto.err· mo ahufcd l:fo~d in the World; ~ hebeves, lS fo tu from being true in P '·and that of be!revurg tlltbe ChMr&h , the. ~burch her felf has long helieve~l~t of FJ8: as welJ as.Reafon, that belte\ed, ~v~r fince that Son of Men h s the Cl~rgy, th~t !S, the Prieft, and Supenortty upon the Lair H ave p~athfed 3 DtfhnElion from Story delivered us by' Ellftbit~/Pam b)hat will perufe th~ Ecclefialticai Rll/}znii.J, Sozomen and more eli ,P 1 tR, Socrater &bohtjluiR, Evagrius Bnron_i11s bimJelf, 'will find but p:ctal Y the Councils, B. Ujher, ay, and of thts. 00 many and fad lnfianccs of the Truth In tborr, People apprehending h Ch Yifibleand Worldly, like Other Stoc~ . urch and KingdomofCbrifrto he lt not only to be Lawful but Ne ffiettes and Governments, have thought Wo:l~ to fuppon his church and c~i~r~o~ ufe th~ Arts and Force of this Reltgton ha.rh been incorporated wit~ th ; e?'ecJally. fi?ce th~ lntereft of from that Ttme he hath been made at o. the C,v,J M4gijlr?tte: For c~end, though about Church Mattera Cffos ub;,'ufgue Tabt~lte, and fucti as gamft the State, and confequendy th~ sve . en repute<! Tran~gretrors a .. Offence. \Vhereas had Chriflitmr re . ~at~ lllter~fied_ In pumfhing the "end ?~rity, in the Self·denying Pari~~~n d dIS ~e~r pnmiriye Simplicity • ~nfhanay had fiood in Holy Li vin n /n .u enng Dofhme of Chriji; ~t.' Compul~on would have been L!v~n it~ot In Worldly Regiment; and Its Utf!1o!t RJgour, e\'en to obfiinate En~mi~ Arms Reafons and Truth, and ft~ their Communion, and that nOt tiiJ m h of Af:ftates, hut Renouncing Jan Endeavours had been ufed to reclaim ~hem or arance and many Chri· Tofumupall, TheKingdomsof h' W . Civil Matters, and here the Laws a:d p orldf~nd in"outward, Bodily and But the Kingdom and Church of Ch ·ftwe~ o . en reach and are effeftual. fiands not in Bodily Exercife (wh' hn , t at rs chofen out of the World :; iJ~~it n.":d~~Tr~.k~' ~~ ~~i~~:~::hrp~;;th~~~h~~h6c~rll:r::fi, nd I Tim. •· •• ~e.n; us o~ly the Power of that Kin of k· ~mpulfion can bring?rforce Jott.,..,1,2f.. lS In the Mrnds and Souls of the J fig d hg reoufnefs whofe Kmgdom own free Spidt, which like the Wiu , an e rules by the Law of hls Cwit~o.ut this Spirit of'Regeneration'~~· {!fownb '},here it lijJeJb: And as Joh;].l. hnfh Church or Kingdom and lefs M' ~n c:m e !Jlade a Member of er of MJn to command or '· · 3 lnlficr, fo neuher is it in t-he Pow .. ploy'd to make Men Mem~;; ~J ~~~ift?"~~ue~ly all worldly Force em~ fe~ual as unnatural. I could be ver la: UIC an.d Ki~gdom is as inef-fruaful, and fo much the Caufe of ~ fi ge .upon this Pomt, for it is very another to be affi~n'd, this were enou erh ~cutlon, that if there were never muft needs rpeet Wtth every Man's Jul , and upo'! du~ Confideration it add the Senfe of Memorable Ha!u of J.ment and Expenence, I win here ~ When our Saviour in the Afls aft nth-1,on thi~ .Subjeft. . c to his DifcipJes con'cerning the 'Kingd IS f ~urreEhon, war difcourfing t forth into thisQueftion Wilt thou now 0fr 0 h 0~·. they prefently brake ' rainly thisQpeftion bet;aystheir Igno;e ore fhe. mgdomunro Ifrael? Cer~ c a Kingdom, lille unto the Kin Joms of bncr:e: elrThoughrs frill ran upon c to long and fo often heard ou'!Saviou/ e Vorid. notwirhftanding they had ' fore fhortly takes them up Na ell ilto the contrary: Our Saviour rbere-; t~e Purpofe; the Kingd~m t~at t~~Nmfi y~ur QJJ;llion is nothing to ' Ktngdom than you conceive. Sixteen ~utdo ~nyof IS an~ther Mtmner .of hath the Gofpel been preached unro h r ears, 8 fllod exc11rrrt, ' out yet ? I doubt ir Whe 'fi the World, and is this Srain fpunged I Noris Ecc/t"ji.e, ofth~ Notesn~~daF,.ft/rofc ravel and 1are Difpures, de : hence, they of Rome take the Wo;td' tty o the Church? Is .it not from . and Stifia in P!autgs his Comedies J( l~knd the Church to be like ltierct~ry , 0 1 e one another, that one of them ~ rnuft |