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AN
APOLOGY FOR THE
TRUE CHRISTIAN DIVINITY
BEING AN
EXPLANATION AND VINDICATION
OF THE
PRINCIPLES AND DOCTRINES
OF THE PEOPLE CALLED
QUAKERS.
WRITTEN IN LATIN AND ENGLISH
BY ROBERT BARCLAY.

Acts xxiv. 14 : After the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers,
believing all things wliich are written in the^. law and the prophets.
Titus ii. 11, 12, 13, 14 : For the grace of God, that bringeth salvation, hath appeared to
' all men, teaching us, that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly,
righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the
glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ ; who gave himself
for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar
people, zealous of good works.
I Thes. v. 21 : Prove all tilings, hold fast that which is good.

PHILADELPHIA:
FOR SALE AT FRIENDS' BOOK-STORE,
No. 84 MULBERRY STREET.
Stereotyped by John l-'agan
1850.

7 o oO

TO
CHARLES II.
KING OF GREAT BRITAIN,
AND
THE DOMINIONS THEREUNTO BELONGING:
Robert Barclay, a servant of Jesus Christ, called of God to the Dis
pensation of the Gospel, now again revealed, and, after a long and dark
night of apostasy, commanded to be preached to all nations, wisheth
health and salvation.
As the condition of kings and princes puts them in a station more obvious
to the view and observation of the world, than that of other men, of whom,
as Cicero observes, neither any word or action can be obscure ; so are
those kings, during whose appearance upon the stage of this world it
pleaseth the Great King of kings singularly to make known unto men
the wonderful steps of his unsearchable providence, more signally observed,
and their lives and actions more diligently remarked, and enquired into by
posterity ; especially if those things be such as not only relate to the out
ward transactions of this world, but also are signalized by the manifestation
or revelation of the knowledge of God in matters spiritual and religious.
These are the things that rendered the lives of Cyrus, Augustus Caesar,
and. Constantine the Great in former times, and of Charles the Fifth, and
some other modern princes in these last ages, so considerable.
But among all the transactions which it hath pleased God to permit, for
the glory of his power, and the manifestation of his wisdom and provi
dence, no age fumisheth us with things so strange and marvellous, whether
with respect to matters civil or religious, as these that have fallen out
within the compass of thy time ; who, though thou be not yet arrived at
the fiftieth year of thy age, hast yet been a witness of stranger things than
many ages before produced. So that whether we respect those various
troubles wherein thou foundest thyself engaged while scarce got out of thy
(3)

IV TO THE KING.
infancy ; the many different afflictions wherewith men of thy circumstances
are often unacquainted ; the strange and unparalleled fortune that befel thy
father ; thy own narrow escape, and banishment following thereupon, with
the great improbability of thy ever returning, at least without very much
pains and tedious combatings ; or finally, the incapacity thou wert under to
accomplish such a design ; considering the strength of those that had pos
sessed themselves of thy throne, and the terror they had inflicted upon
foreign states-; and yet that, after all this, thou shouldest be restored with
out stroke of sword, the help or assistance of foreign states, or the con
trivance and work of human policy ; all these do sufficiently declare that
it is the Lord's doing; which, as it is marvellous in our eyes, so it will
be justly a matter of wonder and astonishment to generations to come ;
and may sufficiently serve, if rightly observed, to confute and confound that
atheism wherewith this age doth so much abound.
As the vindication of the liberty of conscience (which thy father, by
giving way to the importunate clamours of the clergy, the answering and
fulfilling of whose unrighteous wills has often proved hurtful and pernicious
to princes, sought in some part to restrain) was a great occasion of those
troubles and revolutions ; so the pretence of conscience was that which
carried it on, and brought it to that pitch it came'to. And though no doubt
some that were engaged in that work designed good things, at least in the
beginning, albeit always wrong in the manner they took to accomplish it,
viz. by carnal weapons ; yet so soon as they had tasted the sweets of the
possessions of them they had turned out, they quickly began to do those
things themselves for which they had accused others. For their hands
were found full of oppression, and " they hated the reproofs of instruction,
which are the way of life ;" and they evilly intreated the messengers of the
Lord, and caused his prophets to be beaten and imprisoned, and persecuted
his people, whom he had called and gathered out from among them, whom
he had made to beat their " swords into plough-shares, and their spears
into pruning-hooks," and not to learn carnal war any more : but he
raised them up, and armed them with spiritual weapons, even with his own
Spirit and power, whereby they testified in the streets and highways, and
public markets and synagogues; against the pride, vanity, lusts, and hypo
crisy of that generation, who were righteous in their own eyes • though
often cruelly intreated therefor : and they faithfully prophesied and fore
told them of their judgment and downfall, which came upon them as bv
several warnings and epistles delivered to Oliver and Richard Cromwell
the parliament, and other then powers, yet upon record, doth appear.

TO THE KING. V
And after it pleased God to restore thee, what oppressions, what banish
ments, and evil intreatings they have met with, by men pretending thy
authority, and cloaking their mischief with thy name, is known to most
men in this island ; especially in England, where there is scarce a prison
that hath not been filled with them, nor a judge before whom they have
not been haled ; though they could never yet be found guilty of any thing
that might deserve that usage. Therefore the sense of their innocency did
no doubt greatly contribute to move thee, three years ago, to cause some
hundreds of them to be set at liberty : for indeed their sufferings are singu
lar, and obviously distinguishable from all the rest' of such as live under
thee in these two respects.
First : In that among all the plots contrived by others against thee since
thy return into Britain, there was never any, owned of that people, found
or known to be guilty, though many of them have been taken and im
prisoned upon such kind of jealousies, but were always found innocent and
harmless, as became the followers of Christ ; not coveting after, nor con
tending for, the kingdoms of this world, but " subject to every ordinance
of man, for conscience sake."
Secondly : In that in the hottest times of persecution, and the most
violent prosecution of those laws made against meetings, being clothed
with innocency, they have boldly stood to their testimony for God, with
out creeping into holes or corners, or once hiding themselves, as all other
Dissenters have done ; but daily met, according to their custom, in the
public places appointed for that end ; so that none of thy officers can say
of them, that they have surprised them in a corner, overtaken them in a
private conventicle, or catched them lurking in their secret chambers ; nor
needed they to send out spies to get them, whom they were sure daily to
find in their open assemblies, testifying for God and his truth.
By which those who have an eye to see, may observe their Christian
patience and courage, constancy and suffering joined in one, more than in
' any other people that differ from them, or oppose them. And yet, in the
midst of those troubles, thou canst bear witness, that as on the one part,
they never sought to detract from thee, or to render thee and thy govern
ment odious to the people, by nameless and scandalous pamphlets and
libels ; so on the other hand, they have not spared to admonish, exhort,
and reprove thee ; and have faithfully discharged their consciences towards
thee, without flattering words, as ever the true prophets in ancient times
used to do to those kings and princes, under whose power, violence and
oppression was acted. >
1*

VI TO THE KING.
And although it is evident by experience, to be most agreeable both to
divine truth and human policy, to allow every one to serve God according
to their consciences, nevertheless those other sects, who for the most part
durst not peep out in the times of persecution, while these innocent people
stood bold and faithful, do now combine in a joint confederacy, notwith
standing all the former janglings and contentions among themselves, to
render us odious ; seeking unjustly to wrest our doctrine and words, as
if they were inconsistent both with Christianity and civil society : so that
to effectuate this their work of malice against us, they have not been
ashamed to take the help, and commend the labours, of some invidious
Socinians against us. So do Herod and Pontius Pilate agree to crucify
Christ. But our practice, known to thee by good experience to be more con
sistent with Christianity and civil society, and the peace and welfare, of
this island, than that of those who thus accuse us, doth sufficiently guard
us against this calumny ; and we may indeed appeal to the testimony of
thy conscience, as a witness for us in the face of the nations.
These things moved me to present the world with a brief, but true
account of this people's principles, in some short theological propositions ;
which, according to the will of God, proving successful beyond my ex
pectation, to the satisfaction of several, and to the exciting in many a desire
of being farther informed concerning us, as being every where evil spoken
of; and likewise meeting with public opposition by some, as such will
always do, so long as the devil rules in the children of disobedience ; I
was thereby farther engaged, in the liberty of the Lord, to present to the
world this apology of the truth held by those people : which, because of
thy interest in them, and theirs in thee, as having first appeared, and mostly
increased, in these nations under thy rule, I make bold to present unto
thee. Thou knowest, and hast experienced their faithfulness towards their
God, their patience in suffering, their peaceableness towards the king, their
honesty, plainness and integrity in their faithful warnings and testimonies
to thee ; and if thou wilt allow thyself so much time as to read this, thou
mayest find how consonant their principles are both to scripture, truth, and
right reason. The simplicity of their behaviour, the generality of their
condition, as being poor men and illiterate ; the manner of their procedure,
being without the wisdom and policy of this world ; hath made many con
clude them fools and madmen, and neglect them, as not being capable of
reason. But though it be to them as their crown, thus to be esteemed of

TO THE KING. Vll
the wise, the great, and learned of this world, and though they rejoice to
be accounted fools for Christ's sake ; yet of late some, even such who in
the world's account are esteemed both wise and learned, begin to judge
otherwise of them, and find that they hold forth things very agreeable both
to scripture, reason, and true learning.
As it is inconsistent with the truth I bear, so it is far from me to use this
epistle as an engine to flatter thee, the usual design of such works ; and
therefore I can neither dedicate it to thee, nor crave thy patronage, as if
thereby I might have more confidence to present it to the world, or be
more hopeful of its success. To God alone I owe what I have, and that
more immediately in matters spiritual ; and therefore to him alone, and to
the service of his truth, I dedicate whatever work he brings forth in me ;
to whom only the praise and honour appertain, whose truth needs not the
patronage of worldly princes ; his arm and power being that alone by
which it is propagated, established, and confirmed. But I found it upon
my spirit to take occasion to present this book unto thee ; that as thou
hast been often warned by several of that people, who are inhabitants of
England ; so thou may'st not want a seasonable advertisement from a
member of thy ancient kingdom of Scotland ; and that thou may'st know,
which I hope thou wilt have no reason to be troubled at, that God is rais
ing up and increasing that people in this nation. And the nations shall
also hereby know, that the truth we profess is not a work of darkness,
nor propagated by stealth ; and that we are not ashamed of the " gospel
of Christ," because we know it to be " the power of God unto salvation ;"
and that we are no ways so inconsistent with government, nor such dis
turbers of the peace, as our enemies, by traducing us, have sought to make
the world believe we are : for which to thee I dare appeal, as a witness of
our peaceableness and Christian patience.
Generations to come shall not more admire that singular step of Divine
Providence, in restoring thee to thy throne, without outward bloodshed,
than they shall admire the increase and progress of this truth, without all
outward help, and against so great opposition ; which shall be none of the
least things rendering thy memory remarkable. God hath done great
things for thee ; he hath sufficiently shown thee, that it is by him princes
rule, and that he can pull down and set up at his pleasure. He hath often
faithfully warned thee by his servants, since he restored thee to thy royal
dignity, that thy heart might not wax wanton against him, to forget his
mercies and providences towards thee ; whereby he might permit thee to
be soothed up, and lulled asleep in thy sins, by the flattering of court-
parasites, who, by their fawning, are the ruin of many princes.

Vlll TO THE KING.
There is no king in the world, who can so experimentally testify of
God's providence and goodness ; neither is there any who rules so many
free people, so many true Christians : which thing renders thy government
more honourable, thyself more considerable,, than the accession of many
nations, filled with slavish and superstitious souls.
Thou hast tasted of prosperity and adversity ; thou knowest what it is
to be banished thy native country, to be over-ruled, as well as to rule, and
sit upon the throne ; and being oppressed, thou hast reason to know how
hateful the oppressor is both to God and man: if after all these warnings
and advertisements, thou dost not turn unto the Lord with all thy heart,
but forget him, who remembered thee in thy distress, and give up thyself
to follow lust and vanity ; surely great will be thy condemnation.
Against which snare, as well as the temptation of those that may or do
feed thee, and prompt thee to evil, the most excellent and prevalent remedy
will be, to apply thyself to thatXight of Christ, which shineth in thy con
science, which neither can, nor will flatter thee, nor suffer thee to be at
ease in thy gins ; but doth and will deal plainly and faithfully with thee,
as those that are followers thereof have also done.
God Almighty, who hath so signally hitherto visited thee with hjs love, so
touch and reach thy heart, ere the day of thy visitation be expired, that
thou mayest effectually turn to him, so as to improve thy place and
station for his name. So wisheth, so prayeth,
Thy faithful friend and subject,
ROBERT BARCLAY.
From Ury, the place of my pil
grimage, in my native country
of Scotland, the 25th of the
month called November, in the
yearMDCLXXV. K 7£r

R. B. Unto the Friendly Reader wisheth Salvation.
Forasmuch as that, which above all things I propose to myself, is
to declare and defend the truth, for the service whereof I have given .
up and devoted myself, and all that is mine ; therefore there is no
thing which for its sake, by the help and assistance of God, I may
not attempt. And in this confidence, I did some time ago publish
certain propositions of divinity, comprehending briefly the chief prin
ciples and doctrines of truth ; which appearing not unprofitable to
some, and being beyond my expectation well received by many,
though also opposed by some envious ones, did so far prevail, as in
some part to remove that false and monstrous opinion, which lying
fame, and the malice of' our adversaries, had implanted in the minds
of some, concerning us and our doctrines.
In this respect it seemed to me not fit to spare my pains and
labour ; and, therefore, being actuated by the same Divine Spirit, and
the like intention of propagating the truth, by which I published the
propositions themselves, I judged it meet to explain them somewhat
more largely at this time, and defend them by certain arguments.
Perhaps my method 'of writing may seem not only different, but
even contrary, to that which is commonly used by the men called
divines, with which I am not concerned : inasmuch as I confess my
self to be not only no imitator and admirer of the schoolmen, but an
opposer and -despiser of them as such, by whose labour I judge the
Christian religion to be so far from being bettered, that it is rather
destroyed. Neither have I sought to accommodate this my work to
itching ears, who desire rather to comprehend in their heads the
sublime notions of truth, than to embrace it in their hearts : for what
I have written comes more from my heart than from my head,; what
I have heard with the ears of my soul, and seen with my inward eyes;
b «

10 TO THE FRIENDLY READER.
and my hands have handled of the Word of Life, and what hath been
inwardly manifested to me of the things of God, that do I declare ;
not so much regarding the eloquence and excellency of speech, as
desiring to demonstrate the efficacy and operation of truth ; and if I
err sometimes in the former, it is no great matter ; for I act not here
the grammarian, or the orator, but the Christian ; and therefore in
this I have followed the certain rule of the Divine Light, and of the
Holy Scriptures.
And, to make an end ; what I have written, is written not to feed
the wisdom and knowledge, or rathef, vain pride of this world, but to
starve and oppose it, as the little preface prefixed to the propositions
doth show ; which, with the title of them, is as followeth.

THESES THEOLOGKLE.

TO
THE CLERGY,
OF WHAT SOKT SOEVER,
UNTO WHOSE HANDS THESE MAY COMEj
BUT MORE PARTICULARLY
To the Doctors, Professors, and Students of Divinity in the Uni
versities and Schools of Great Britain, whether Prelatical, Pres
byterian, or any other;
Robert Barclay, a Servant of the Lord God, and one of those
who in derision are called Quakers, wisheth unfeigned repentance,
unto the acknowledgment of the Truth.
Friends, Unto you these following propositions are offered ; in which, they
being read and considered in the fear of the Lord, you may perceive
that simple, naked truth, which man by his wisdom hath rendered so
obscure and mysterious, that the world is even burthened with the
great and voluminous tractates which are made about itj and by their
vain jangling and commentaries, by which it is rendered a hundred
fold more dark and intricate than of itself it is : which great learning,
so accounted of — to wit, your school divinity, which taketh up almost
a man's whole life-time to learn, brings not a whit nearer to God,
neither makes any man less wicked, or more righteous than he was.
Therefore hath God laid aside the wise and learned, and the disputers
of this world ; and hath chosen a few despicable and unlearned in-
(11)

12 THESES THEOLOGICiE.
struments, asto letter-learning, as he did fishermen of old, to pub
lish his pure and naked truth, and to free it of those mists and fogs
wherewith the clergy hath clouded it, that the people might admire
and maintain them. And among several others, whom God hath
chosen to make known these things — seeing I also have received, in
measure, grace to be a dispenser of the same Gospel — it seemed good
unto me, according to my duty, to offer unto you these propositions ;
which, though short, yet are weighty, comprehending much, and de
claring what the true ground of knowledge is, even of that know
ledge which leads to Life Eternal ; which is here witnessed of, and
the testimony thereof left unto the Light of Christ in all your con
sciences. Farewell,
R. B.

THESES TIIEOLOGICaE.

13

THE FIRST PROPOSITION.
Concerning the true Foundation of Knowledge.
Seeing the height bf all happiness is placed in the true
knowledge of God, ("This is life eternal, to know thee John xvii.
the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent,") '
the true and right understanding of this foundation and
ground of knowledge, is that which is most necessary to be
known and believed in the first place.
THE SECOND PROPOSITION.
Concerning Immediate Revelation.
Seeing "no man knoweth the Father but the Son, and Mat.xi.27.
he to whom the Son revealeth him ;" and seeing the reve
lation of the Son is in and by the Spirit ; therefore the tes
timony of the Spirit is that alone by which the true know
ledge of God hath been, is, and can be only revealed ;
who as, by the moving of his own Spirit, he converted the
chaos of this world into that wonderful order wherein it
was in the beginning, and created man a living soul, to
rule and govern it, so by the revelation of the same Spirit
he hath manifested himself all along unto the sons of men,
both patriarchs, prophets, and apostles ; which revelations
of God by the Spirit, whether by outward voices and ap
pearances, dreams, or inward objective manifestations in
the heart, were of old the formal object of their faith, and
remain yet so to be ; since the object of the saints' faith is
the same in all ages, though set forth under divers admi
nistrations. Moreover, these divine inward revelations,
which we make absolutely necessary for the building up
of true faith, neither do nor can ever contradict the outward
testimony of the scriptures, or right and sound reason.
Yet from hence it wilTnot follow, that these divine revela
tions are to be subjected to the examination, either of the
outward testimony of the scriptures, or of the natural reason
of man, as to a more noble or certain rule or touchstone :
2

14 THESES THEOLOGICJE.
for this divine revelation and inward illumination, is that
which is evident and clear of itself, forcing, by its own
evidence and clearness, the well-disposed understanding
to assent, irresistibly moving the same thereunto ; even as
the common principles of natural truths move and incline
the mind to a natural assent : as, that the whole is greater
than its part; that two contradictory sayings cannot be
both true, nor both false : which is also manifest, according
to our adversaries' principle, who — supposing the possibility
of inward divine revelations — will nevertheless confess
with us, that neither scripture nor sound reason will con
tradict it : and yet it will not follow, according to them,
that the scripture, or sound reason, should be subjected to
the examination of the divine revelations in the heart.

THE THIRD PROPOSITION.
Concerning the Scriptures.
From these revelations of the Spirit of God to the saints,
have proceeded the scriptures of truth, which contain,
1. A faithful historical account of the actings of God's
people in divers ages, with many singular and remarkable
providences attending them. 2. A prophetical account of
several things, whereof some are already past, and some
yet to come. 3. A full and ample account of all the chief
principles of the doctrine of Christ, held forth in divers
precious declarations, exhortations, and sentences, which,
by the moving of God's spirit, were at several times, and
upon sundry occasions, spoken and written unto some
churches and their pastors: nevertheless, because they are
only a declaration of the fountain, and not the fountain
itself, therefore they are not to be esteemed the principal
ground of all truth and knowledge, nor yet the adequate
primary rule of faith and manners. Nevertheless, as that
which giveth atrue and faithful testimony ofthe first founda
tion, they are and may be esteemed a secondary rule, sub
ordinate to the Spirit, from which they have all their ex

THESES THEOLOGICiE. 15
cellency and certainty; for as by the inward testimony of
the Spirjt we do alone truly know them, so they testify,
that the Spirit is that guide by which the saints are led into John xvi.
all truth : therefore, according to the scriptures, the Spirit g^ viii
is the first and principal leader. And seeing we do there- u-
fore receive and believe the scriptures, because they pro
ceeded from the Spirit ; therefore also the Spirit is more
originally and principally the rule, according to that re
ceived maxim in the schools, Propter quod pmumquodque
est tale, illud ipsum est magis tale. Englished thus : < That
for which a thing is such, that thing itself is more such.'

THE FOURTH. PROPOSITION.
Concerning the Condition of Man in the Fall.
All Adam's posterity, or mankind, both Jews and Gen- Rom. v. 12,
tiles, as to the first Adam, or earthly man, is fallen, dege
nerated, and dead, deprived of the sensation or feeling of
this inward testimony or seed of God, and is subject urito
the power, nature, and seed of the serpent, which he sows
in men's hearts, while they abide in this natural and cor
rupted state ; from whence it comes, that not their words
and deeds only, but all their imaginations are evil perpetu
ally in the sight of God, as proceeding from this depraved
and wicked seed. Man, therefore, as he is in this state,
can know nothing aright ; yea, his thoughts and concep
tions concerning God and things spiritual, until he be dis
joined from this evil seed, and united to the divine light,
are unprofitable both to himself and others : hence are re
jected the Socinian and Pelagian errors, in exalting a na
tural light; as also of the Papists, and most Protestants,
who affirm, That man, without the true grace of God, may
be a true~minister of the gospel. Nevertheless, this seed
is not imputed to infants, until by transgression they actu
ally join themselves therewith ; for they are by nature the Eph1. ii. 2.
children of wrath, who walk according to the power ofthe
prince of the air.

16

THESES THEOLOGICJE.

THE FIFTH AND SIXTH PROPOSITIONS.
Concerning the Universal Redemption by Christ, and also
the Saving and Spiritual Light, wherewith every man is
enlightened.
THE FIFTH PROPOSITION.
Ezek xviii. God, out ofhis infinite love, who delighteth not in the
T32- ,. death of a sinner, but that all should, live and be saved,
John**' ie'. hath so loved the world, that he hath given his only Son a
¦fit 'ii9 11. light, that whosoever believeth in him should be saved;
Eph. v. 13. who enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world,
6b' "' ' and maketh manifest all things that are reproveable, and
teacheth all temperance, righteousness, and godliness:
and this light enlighteneth the hearts of all in a day,* in
order to salvation, if not resisted : nor is it less universal
than the seed of sin, being the purchase of his death, who
l Cor. xv. tasted death for every man ; " for as in Adam all die, even
^ so in Christ shall all be made alive."

THE SIXTH PROPOSITION.
According to which principle (or hypothesis), all the
objections against the universality of Christ's death are
easily solved ; neither is it needful to recur to the ministry
of angels, and those other miraculous means, which, they
say, God makes use of, to manifest the doctrine and history
of Christ's passion unto such, who, living in those places
of the world where the outward preaching of the gospel is
unknown, have well improved the first and common grace ;
for hence it well follows, that as some of the old philoso
phers might have been saved, so also may now some — who
by providence are cast into those remote parts of the world,
where the knowledge of the history is wanting — be made
partakers of the divine mystery, if they receive and resist
* Pro tempore : for a time.

THESES THEOLOGICiE. 17
not that grace, " a manifestation whereof is given to every iCor.xii.7.
man to profit withal." This certain doctrine then being
received, to wit : that there is an evangelical and saving
light and grace in all, the universality of the love and
mercy of God towards mankind — both in the death of his
beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the manifesta
tion of the light in the heart — is established and confirmed
against all the objections of such as deny it. Therefore
" Christ hath tasted death for every man :" not only for all Heb. ii. 9.
kinds of men, as some vainly talk, but for every one, of
all kinds ; the benefit of whose offering is not only ex
tended to such, who have the distinct outward knowledge
of his death and sufferings, as the same is declared in the
scriptures, but even unto those who are necessarily ex
cluded from the benefit of this knowledge by some inevi
table accident ; which knowledge we willingly confess to
be very profitable and comfortable, but not absolutely
needful unto such, from whom God himself hath withheld
it ; yet they may be made partakers of the mystery of his
death — though ignorant of the history — if they suffer his
seed and light- — enlightening their hearts — to take place ;
in which light, communion with the Father and Son is en
joyed, so as'of wicked men to become holy, and lovers
of that power, by whose inward and secret touches they
feel themselves turned from the evil to the good, and learn
to do to others as they would be done by ; in which Christ
himself affirms all to be included. As they then have
falsely and erroneously taught, who have denied Christ to
have died for all men ; so neither have they sufficiently
taught the truth, who affirming him to have died for all,
have added the absolute necessity of the outward know
ledge thereof, in order to the obtaining its saving effect ;
among whom the Remonstrants of Holland have been
chiefly wanting, and many other asserters of Universal
Redemption, in that they have not placed the extent of this
salvation in that divine and evangelical principle of light
and life, wherewith Christ hath enlightened every man that
comes into the world, which is excellently and evidently
2* c

18 THESES THEOLOGICiE.
held forth in these scriptures, Gen. vi. 3. Deut. xxx. 14.
John i. 7, 8, 9. Rom. x. 8. Tit. ii. 11.
THE SEVENTH PROPOSITION.
Concerning Justification.
As many as resist not this light, but receive the same, in
them is produced an holy, pure, and spiritual birth, bring
ing forth holiness, righteousness, purity, and all those other
blessed fruits which are acceptable to God; by which holy
birth, to wit, Jesus Christ, formed within us, and working
his works in us — as we are sanctified, so we are justified
in the sight of God, according to the apostle's words,
1 Cor. vi. " But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are jus-
"¦ tified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of
our God." Therefore it is not by our works wrought in
our will, nor yet by good works, considered as pf them
selves, but by Christ, who is both the gift and the giver,
and the cause producing the effects in us ; who, as he hath
reconciled us while we were enemies, doth also in his
wisdom save us, and justify us after this manner, as saith
Tit. iii. 5. the same apostle elsewhere, " According to his mercy he
saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and the renew
ing of the Holy Ghost."

THE EIGHTH PROPOSITION.
Concerning Perfection.
Rom.yi. 14. In whom this holy and pure birth is fully brought forth,
Id.vi.U2, 18. the body of death and sin comes to be crucified and re-
iJohnm.6. moveclj anc| their hearts united and subjected unto the
truth, so as not to obey any suggestion or temptation of
the evil one, but to be free from actual sinning, and trans
gressing bf the law of God, and in that respect perfect.
Yet doth this perfection still admit of a growth ; and there
remaineth a possibility of sinning, where the mind doth
not most diligently and watchfully attend unto the Lord.

THESES THEOLOGICiE. 19

THE NINTH PROPOSITION.
Concerning Perseverance, and tlie Possibility of Falling
from Grace.
Although this gift, and inward grace of God, be suffi
cient to work out salvation, yet in those in whom it is re
sisted it both may and doth become their condemnation.
Moreover, in whom it hath wrought in part, to purify and
sanctify them, in order to their further perfection, by dis
obedience such may fall from it, and turn it to wantonness,
making shipwreck of faith ; and " after having tasted of l Tim. i. 6.
the heavenly gift, and been, made partakers of the Holy 5e6 ' vl" 4'
Ghost, again fall away." Yet such an increase and stabi
lity in the truth may in this life be attained, from which
there cannot be a total apostasy.
THE TENTH PROPOSITION.
Concerning, the Ministry.
As by this gift, or light of God, all true knowledge in
things spiritual is received and revealed ; so by the same,
as it is manifested and received in the heart, by the strength
and power thereof, every true minister of the gospel is or
dained, prepared and supplied in the work ofthe ministry:
and by the leading, moving, and drawing hereof, ought
every evangelist and Christian pastor to be led and ordered
in his labour and work of the gospel, both as to the place
where, as to the persons to whom, and as to the times when
he is to minister. Moreover, those who have this authority
may and ought to preach the gospel, though without human
commission or literature ; as on the other hand, those who
want the authority of this divine gift, however learned or
authorized by the commissions of men and churches, are
to be esteemed but as deceivers, and not true ministers of
the gospel. Also, who have received this holy and un
spotted gift, "as they have freely received, so are they Mat. x. 8.

20 THESES THEOLOGIOE.
freely to give," without hire or bargaining, far less to use
it as a trade to get money by it : yet if God hath called any
from their employments, or trades, by which they acquire
their livelihood, it may be lawful for such, according to the
liberty which they feel given them in the Lord, to receive
such temporals — to wit, what may be needful to them for
meat and clothing — as are freely given them by those to
whom they have communicated spirituals.

THE ELEVENTH PROPOSITION.
Concerning Worship.
All true and acceptable worship to God is offered in the
inward and immediate moving and drawing of his own
Spirit, which is neither limited to places, times, or persons ;
for though we be to worship him always, in that we are to
fear before him, yet as to the outward signification thereof
in prayers, praises, or preachings, we ought not to do it
where and when we will, but where and when we are
moved thereunto by the secret inspirations of his Spirit in
our hearts, which God heareth and accepteth of, and is
never wanting to move us thereunto, when need is, of
which he himself is the alone proper judge. All other
worship then, both praises, prayers and preachings, which
man sets about in his own will, and at his own appoint
ment, which he can both. begin and end at his pleasure, do
or Jeave undone, as himself sees meet, whether, they be a
prescribed form, as a liturgy, or prayers conceived extem-
Ezek. xiii. porarily, by the natural strength and faculty of the mind.
Acts ii'. 4,' they are all but superstitions, will-worship, and abomina
ble idolatry in the sight of God ; which are to be denied,
rejected, and separated from, in this day of his spiritual
arising : however it might have pleased him — who winked
at the times of ignorance, with' respect to the simplicity
and integrity of some, and of his own innocent seed, which
lay as it were buried in the hearts of men, under the mass
of superstition — to blow upon the dead and dry bones,

xviii. 5.
John iii. 6
and iv. 21.
Jude xix.
Acts xvii.
23.

THESES THEOLOGIOE.

21

and to raise some breathings, and answer them, and that
until the day should more clearly dawn and break forth.

THE TWELFTH PROPOSITION.
Concerning Baptism.
As there is one Lord and one faith, so there is " one Eph. iv. 5.
baptism; which is not the putting away the filth. of the 2\T m'
flesh, but the answer of a good conscience before God, by S0!".".?'—'
the resurrection of Jesus Christ." And this baptism is a Col! ii. 12.'
pure and spiritual thing, to wit, the baptism of the spirit ° n m" "
and fire, by which we are buried with him, that being
washed and purged from our sins, we may " walk in new- 1 Cor. i. 17.
ness of life ;" of which the baptism of John was a figure,
which was commanded for a time, and not to continue for
ever. As to the baptism of infants, it is a mere human
tradition, for which neither precept nor practice is to be
found in all the scripture.

THE THIRTEENTH PROPOSITION.
Concerning the Communion, or Participation of the Body
and Blood of Christ.
The communion of the body and blood of Christ is in- 1 Cor. x.
ward and spiritual, which is the participation of his flesh joh'nvi. 32,
and blood, by which the inward man is daily nourished in 33v 35- „
. . . 1 oor. v. o.
the hearts of those in whom Christ dwells ; of which things
the breaking of bread by Christ with his disciples was a
figure, which they even used in the church for a time, who
had received the substance, for the cause of the weak ;
even as "abstaining from things strangled, and from Acts xv. 20.
blood ;" the washing one another's feet, and the anointing °4nxnlr
of the sick with oil ; all which are commanded with no less James v.14.
authority and solemnity than the former ; yet seeing they
are "but the shadows of better things, they cease in such as
have obtained the substance.

22 THESES THEOLOGICiE.

THE FOURTEENTH PROPOSITION.
Concerning the power of the Civil Magistrate, in matters
purely religious, and pertaining to the conscience.
Since God hath assumed to himself the power and do
minion of the conscience, who alone can rightly instruct
Luke ix. and govern it, therefore it is not lawful for any whatsoever,
Mat/vii. by virtue of any authority or principality they bear in the
12' 2?- government of this world, to force the consciences of
others ; and therefore all killing, banishing, fining, im
prisoning, and other such things, which men are afflicted
with, for the alone exercise of their conscience, or differ
ence in worship or opinion, proceedeth from the spirit of
Cain, the murderer, and is contrary to the truth ; provided
always, that no man, under the pretence of conscience,
prejudice his neighbour in his life or estate; or do any
thing destructive to, or inconsistent with human society;
in which case the law is for the transgressor, and justice to
be administered upon all, without respect of persons.

THE FIFTEENTH PROPOSITION.
Concerning Salutations and Recreations, fyc.
Eph. v. li. Seeing the chief end of all religion is to redeem man
JohnV.44. from tne spirit and vain conversation of this world, and to
Jer. x. 3. lead into inward communion with God, before whom, if
Acts x 26
Mat. xv. 13. we fear always, we are accounted happy ; therefore all the
Col. u. 8. yajn custoras an(j habits thereof, both in word and deed,
are to be rejected and forsaken by those who come to this
fear ; such as the taking off the hat to a man, the bowings
and cringings of the body, and such other salutations of
that kind, with all the foolish and superstitious formalities
attending them ; all which man has invented in his dege
nerate state, to feed his pride in the vain pomp and glory
of this world; as also the unprofitable plays, frivolous

THESES THE0L0GIC.8E. 23
recreations, sportings and gamings, which are invented to
pass away the precious time, and divert the mind from the
witness of God in the heart, and from the living sense of
his fear, and from that evangelical Spirit wherewith Chris
tians ought to be leavened, and which leads into sobriety,
gravity, and godly fear ; in which, as we abide, the bless
ing of the Lord is felt to attend us in those actions in
which we are necessarily engaged, in order to the taking
care for the sustenance of the outward ma"

AN
APOLOGY
FOR THE*
TRUE CHRISTIAN DIVINITY.

PROPOSITION I.
Concerning the true Foundation of Knowledge.
Seeing the height of all happiness is placed in the true
knowledge of God ; " This is life eternal, to know thee John xvii.
the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast
sent ;" the true and right understanding of this founda
tion and ground of knowledge is that which is most ne
cessary to be known and believed in the"first place.
He that desireth to acquire any art or science, seeketh
first those means bywhich that art or science is obtained.
If we ought to do so in things natural and earthly, how
much more then in spiritual ? In this affair then should
our enquiry be the more diligent, because he that errs in
the entrance is not so easily brought back again into the
right way ; he that misseth his road from the beginning of
his journey, and is deceived in his first marks, at his first
setting forth, the greater his mistake is, tlie more difficult
will be his entrance into the right way.
Thus when a man first proposeth to himself the know- The way to
ledge of God, from a_ sense of his own unworthiness, and j^^j^g
from the great weariness of his mind, occasioned by the °f God.
secret checks of his conscience, and the tender, yet real
3 d <W

26 PROPOSITION I.
glances of God's light upon his heart ; the earnest desires he
has to be redeemed from his present trouble, and the fervent
breathings he has to be ieased of his disordered passions
and lusts, and to find quietness and peace in the certain
knowledge of God, and in the assurance of his love and
good-will towards him, make his heart tender, and ready
to receive any impression ; and so — not having then a dis
tinct discerning — through forwardness embraceth any thing
that bring? present ease. If, either through the reverence
he bears to certain persons, or from the secret inclination
to what doth comply with his natural disposition, he fall
upon aiiy principles or means, by which he apprehends he
may come to know God, and so doth centre himself, it
will be hard to remove him thenee again, how wrong so
ever they may be : for the first anguish being over, he
becomes more hardy ; and the enemy being near, creates
a false peace, and a certain confidence, which is strength
ened by the mind's unwillingness to enter again into neto
doubtfulness, or the former anxiety of a search.
This is sufficiently verified in the example of the Phari-
Jewishdoc- sees and Jewish doctors, who most of all resisted Christy
Pharisees disdaining to be esteemed ignorant ; for this vain opinion
Christ *nev nac^ °^ ^ne'r knowledge hindered them from the -true
knowledge ; and the mean people, whf> were not so much
pre-occupied with former principles, nor conceited of their
own knowledge, did easily believe. Wherefore the Phari-
John vii. sees upbraid them, saying, " Have any of the rulers or
Pharisees -believed on him ? But this people, whieh knOw
not the law, are accursed." This is also abundantly proved
by the experience of all such, as being secretly touched
with the call of God's .grace unto them, do apply them
selves to false teachers, where the remedy proves worse
than the disease ; because instead of knowing God, or the
things relating to their salvation aright, they drink in wrong
opinions of him ; from which it is harder to be disentangled
than while the soul remains a blank, or Tabula rasa. For
they that conceit themselves wise, are worse to deal with
than .they that are sensible of their ignorance. Nor hath

OF THE TRUE FOUNDATION OF KNOWLEDGE. 27
it been less the device of the devil, the great enemy of
mankind, fo persuade men into wrong notions of God,
than to keep them altogether from acknowledging him ;
the latter taking with few, because odious ; but the other
having been the constant ruin of the world : for there hath
scarce been a nation found, but hath had some notions or
other of religion ; so that not from their denying any Deity,
but from their mistakes and misapprehensions of it, hath
proceeded all the idolatry and superstition of the world ;
yea, hence even atheism itself hath proceeded : for these
many and various opinions of God and religion, being so
much mixed with the guessings and uncertain judgments
of men, have begotten in many the opinion, That there is
no~ God at all. This,- and much more that might be said,
may show how dangerous it is to miss in this first step :
"All that come not in by the door, are accounted as
thieves and robbers."
Again, how needful and desirable that knowledge is,
which brings life eternal, Epictetus showeth, saying excel- Epictetus.
lently well, cap. 38, i'Si oti to KvpiiraTw, &c. Know, that
the main foundation of piety is this, To have d^as oiroXi^sis,
right Opinions and apprehensions of God.
This therefore I judged necessary, as a first principle, in
the first place to affirm ; and I suppose. will not need much
farther explanation or defence, as being generally acknow
ledged by all — and in these things that are without contro
versy I love to be brief — as that which will easily commend
itself to every man's reason and conscience ; and therefore
I shall proceed to the next proposition ; which, though it
be nothing less certain, yet by the malice of Satan, and the
ignorance of many, comes far more under debate.

28 PROPOSITION II.
PROPOSITION II.
Of Immediate Revelation.
Mat. xi. 27. Seeing " no man knoweth the Father but the Son, and he
to whom the Son revealeth him ;" and seeing the " reve
lation of the Son is in and by the Spirit ;" therefore the
testimony of the Spirit is that alone by which the true
knowledge of God hath been, is, and can be only re-
' vealed ; who as, by the moving of his own Spirit, he
disposed the chaos of this world into that wonderful
order in which it was in the beginning, and created man
a living soul, to rule and govern it, so by the revelation
of the same Spirit he hath manifested himself all along
unto the sons of men, both patriarchs^ prophets, and
apostles; which revelations of God by the Spirit, whe
ther by outward voices and appearances, dreams, or in
ward objective manifestations in the heart, were of old
the formal object of their faith, and remain yet so to be ;
since the object of the saints' faith is the same in all
ages, though held forth under divers administrations.
Moreover, these divine inward revelations, which we
make absolutely necessary for the building up of true
faith, neither do nor can ever contradict the outward tes
timony of the scriptures, or right and sound reason.
Yet from hence it will not follow, that these divine reve
lations are to be subjected to the test, either of the
outward testimony of the scriptures, or of the natural
reason of man, as to a more noble or certain rule and
touchstone ; -for this divine revelation and inward illu
mination, is that which is evident and clear of itself,
forcing, by its own evidence and clearness, the well-dis
posed understanding to assent, irresistibly moving the
same thereunto, even as the common principles of na-
, tural truths do move and incline the mind to a natural

OF IMMEDIATE REVELATION. 29
assent,: as, that the Whole is greater than its part;
that two contradictories can neither be both true, nor
both false.
§ I. It is very probable, that many carnal and natural Revelation
Christians will oppose this proposition ; who being wholly apostate y
unacquainted with the movings and actings of God's Spirit Cnrlstlans.
upon their hearts, judge the same nothing necessary ; and
some are apt to flout at it as ridiculous ; yea, to that height
are the generality of Christians apostatized and degenerated,
that though there be not any thing more plainly asserted,
more seriously recommended, or more certainly attested, in
all the writings of the holy scriptures, yet nothing is less
minded and more rejected by all sorts of Christians, than
immediate and divine revelation ; insomuch that once to
lay claim to it is matter of reproach. Whereas of old none
were ever judged Christians, but such as had the Spirit of
Christ, Rom. viii. 9. But now many do boldly call them
selves Christians, who make no difficulty of confessing they
are without it, and/ laugh at such as say they have it. Of
old they were accounted " the sons of God, who were led
by the Spirit of God," ibid. ver. 14. But now many aver
themselves sons of God, who know nothing of this leader;
and he that affirms himself so led, is, by the pretended
orthodox of this age, presently proclaimed an heretic. The
reason hereof is^ very manifest, viz. : -Because many in
these days, under the name of Christians, do experiment
ally find, that they are not actuated nor led by God's Spirit ;
yea, many great doctors, divines, teachers, and bishops of
Christianity, (commonly so called,) have wholly shut their
ears from hearing and their eyes from seeing this inward
guide, and so are become strangers unto it ; whence they
are, by their own experience, brought to this strait, either
to confess that they are as yet ignorant of God, and have
only the shadow of knowledge, and not the true knowledge
of him, or that this knowledge is acquired without imme
diate revelation. 3*

30 PROPOSITION II.
Knowledge For the better understanding then of this proposition, we
and'litelal do distinguish betwixt the certain knowledge of God, and
distin- the uncertain; betwixt the spiritual knowledge, and the
literal ; the saving heart-knowledge, and the soaring airy
head knowledge. The last, we confess, may be divers
ways obtained ; but the first, by no other way than the in
ward immediate manifestation and revelation of -God's
Spirit, shining in and upon the heart, enlightening and
opening the understanding.
§ II. Having then proposed to myself, in these proposi
tions, to affirm those things which relate to the true and
effectual knowledge which brings life eternal with it; there
fore I have truly affirmed, that this knowledge is no other-
ways attained, and that none have any true ground to be
lieve they have attained it, who have it not by this revela
tion of God's Spirit.
The certainty of which truth is suchj that it hath been
acknowledged by some of the most refined and famous of
all sorts of professors of Christianity in all ages ; who being
truly upright-hearted, and earnest seekers of the Lord —
however stated under the disadvantages and epidemical
errors of their several sects or ages — the true seed in them
hath been answered by God's love, who hath had regard
to the good, and hath had ofhis elect ones among all ; who
finding a distaste and disgust in all other outward means,
even in the very principles, and precepts more particularly
relative to their own forms and societies, have at las,t con
cluded, with one voice, that there was no true knowledge of
God but that which is revealed inwardly by his own Spirit.
Whereof take these following testimonies of the ancients :
Aug. ex. 1. "It is the inward master (saith Augustine) that
Joh.Ciii.Ep" teacheth, it is Christ that teacheth, it is inspiration that
teacheth: where this inspiration and unction is wanting it
is in vain that words from without are beaten in." And
thereafter : ".For he that created us, and redeemed us, and
called us by faith, and dwelleth in us by his Spirit, unless
he speaketh unto us inwardly, it is needless for us to cry
out."

OF IMMEDIATE REVELATION. 31
2. " There is a difference," saith Clemens Alexandrinus, Clem.
"betwixt that which any one saith of- the truth, and that strom.'1'
which the truth itself, interpreting itself, saith. A conjec
ture of truth differeth from the truth itself; a similitude, of
a thing differeth from the thing itself; it is one thing that
is acquired by exercise and discipline ; and another thing,
which by power and faith." Lastly, the same Clemens
saith, " Truth is neither hard to be arrived at, nor is it im- Ptedag.
possible to apprehend it ; for it is most nigh unto us, even
in our houses, as the most-wise Moses hath insinuated."
3. "How is it," saith Tertullian, "that since the devil Tertullia-
always worketh, and stirreth up the mind to iniquity, that d^velaiid.
the work of God should either cease, or desist to act ? Virgihibus,
Since for this end the Lord did send the Comforter, that
because human weakness could not at once bear all things,
knowledge might be by little and little directed, formed,
and brought to perfection, by the holy Spirit, that vicar of
the Lord. 'I have many things yet,' saith he, 'to speak
unto you, but ye cannot as yet bear them ; but when that
Spirit of truth shall come, he shall lead you into all truth,
and shall teach you these things that are to come.' But
of this his work we have spoken above. What is then the
administration of the Comforter, but that discipline be
directed, and the scriptures revealed, &c."
4. " The law," saith Hierom, " is spiritual, and there is Hieron. Ep.
need of a revelation to understand it." And in his Epistle Paulm-103-
150, to Hedibia, Quest. 11, he saith, " The whole Epistle
to the Romans needs an interpretation, it being involved
in so great obscurities, that for the understanding thereof
we need the help of the holy Spirit, who through the apos
tle dictated it."
5. " So great things," saith Athanasius, " doth our Athanasius
Saviour daily : he draws unto piety, persuades unto virtue, VerbTSeL
teaches immortality, excites to the desire of heavenly
things, reveals the knowledge of the Father, inspires power
against death, and shows himself unto every one." Gl.eg Mag
6. Gregory the Great, upon these words [He shall teach Horn. 30.
o J i r L _ _ _ upon the
you all things] saith, " That unless the same Spirit is pre- Gospel.

32

Cyril.Alex.
in The-
sauro, lib.
xiii. c: 3.

Bernardin Psal.
Ixxxiv.

Luther,
tom. v.
p. 76.

Phil. Me-
lancthon.

By the Spi-
rit alone
God is
known.

PROPOSITION II.
sent in the heart of the hearer, in vain is the discourse of
the doctor. Let no man then ascribe unto the man that
teacheth, what he understands from the mouth of him that
speaketh ; for unless he that teacheth be within, the tongue
ofthe doctor, that is without, laboureth in vain."
7. Cyrillus Alexandrinus plainly affirmeth, " That men
know that Jesus is the Lord by the Holy Ghost, no other
wise, than they who taste honey know that it is sweet, even
by its proper quality."
8. " Therefore," saith Bernard, " we daily exhort you,
brethren, that ye walk the ways of the heart, and that your
souls be always in your hands, that ye may hear what the
Lord saith in you." And again, upon these words of the
apostle [Let him that glorieth, glory in the Lord], " With
which threefold vice," saith he, "all sorts of religious men
are less or more dangerously affected, because they do not
so diligently attend, with the ears of the heart, to what the
Spirit of truth, which flatters none, inwardly speaks.'''
This was the very basis, and main foundation, upon
which the primitive reformers built.
Luther, in his book to the nobility of Germany,, saith,
" This is certain, that no man can make himself a teacher
of the holy scriptures, but the holy Spirit alone." And
upon the Magnificat' he saith, " No man can rightly know
God, or understand the word of God, unless he imme
diately receive it from the Holy Spirit ; neither can any one
receive it from the Holy Spirit, except he find it by expe
rience in himself; and in this experience the Holy Ghost
teacheth, as in his proper school ; out of which school no
thing is taught but mere talk."
Philip Melancthon, in his annotations upon John vi. :
" Those who hear only an outward and bodily voice, hear
the creature ;~but God is a Spirit, and is neither discerned,
nor known, nor heard, but by the Spirit ; and therefore to
hear the voice of God, to see God, is to know and hear the
Spirit. By the Spirit alone God is known and perceived.
Which also the more serious to this day do acknowledge^
even all such who satisfy themselves not with the superfi-

OF IMMEDIATE REVELATION. 33
cies of religion, and use it not as a cover or art. Yea, all
those who apply themselves effectually to Christianity, and
are not satisfied until they have found its effectual work
upon their hearts, redeeming them from sin, do feel that
no knowledge effectually prevails to the producing of this,
but that which proceeds from the warm influence of God's
Spirit upon the heart, and from the comfortable shining of .
his light upon their understanding."
And therefore to this purpose a modern author, viz. Dr. Dr. Smith '
Smith of Cambridge,, in his select discourses, saith well ; bridge,
" To seek our divinity merely in books and writings, is to •^"^ok.
seek the living among the dead ; we do but in vain many divinity.
times seek God in these, where his truth is too often not so
much enshrined as entombed. Intra te qucere Deum, Seek
God within thine own soul. He is best discerned,, msi>a i'#«<pij,
as Plotinus phraseth it, by an intellectual touch of him.
We must see with our eyes, and hear with our ears, and
our hands must handle the word of life — to express it in
St. John's words. — ?s"» xai -^vxys u&vais ns, &c, the soul
itself hath its sense, as well as the body. And therefore
David, when he would teach us to know what the divine
goodness is, calls not for speculation, but sensation :
1 Taste, and see that the Lord is good.' That is not the Psal.xxxiv.
best and truest knowledge of God which is wrought out
by the labour and sweat of the brain, but thatjwhich is
kindled-within us, by an heavenly warmth in our hearts."
And again : " There is a knowing of the truth as it is in
Jesus, as it is in a Christrlike nature ; as it is in that sweet,
mild, humble, and loving Spirit of Jesus, which spreads
itself, like a morning sun, upon the souls of good men, full
of light and life. It profits little to know Christ himself
after the flesh ; but he gives his Spirit to good men, that
searcheth the deep things of God." And again : " It is
.but a. thin airy knowledge that is got by mere speculation,
which is ushered in by syllogisms and demonstrations;
but that which springs forth from true goodness, is
Ssiore^ov n maaris iko&igews, as Origen speaks : c It brings
E

34

Apostasy
and a false
knowledgeintroduced.

Christian
ity is be
come an
art, ac
quired by
human scienceand indus
try.

PROPOSITION II.
such a divine light into the soul, as is more clear and: con
vincing than any demonstration.' "
- § III. That this certain and undoubted method ofthe
true knowledge of God hath been brought out of use, hath
been none of the least devices of the devil, to secure man
kind to his kingdom. For after the light and glory of the
Christian religion had prevailed over a good part of the
world, and dispelled the thick mists of the heathenish doc
trine of the plurality of gods, he that knew there was no
probability of deluding the world any longer that way, did
then puff man tip with a fake knowledge of the true God ;
setting him on work to seek God the wrong way, and per
suading him to be content with such a knowledge as was
ofhis own acquiring, and not of God's teaching. And this
device hath proved the more successful, because accommo
dated to the natural and corrupt spirit and temper of man,
who above all things affects to exalt himself; in which
self-exaltation, as God is greatly dishonoured, so therein the
devil hath his end ; who is not anxious how much God is
acknowledged in words, provided himself be but always
served; he matters not how great and high speculations'
the natural man entertains of God, so long as he serves his
own lusts and passions, and is obedient to his evil sugges
tions and temptations. Thus Christianity is become as it
were an art, acquired by human science and industry, like
any other art or science ; andv men have not only assumed
the name of Christians, but even have procured themselves
to be esteemed as masters of Christianity, by certain artifi
cial tricks, though altogether strangers to the spirit and life
of Jesus. But if we make a right definition of a Christian,
according to the scriptures, That he is one that hath the
spirit of Christ, and is led by it, how many Christians, yea,
and of these great masters and doctors of Christianity, so
accounted, shall we justly divest of that noble title ?
If those therefore who have- all the other means of know
ledge, and are sufficiently learned therein, whether it be
the letter of the scripture, the traditions of churches or the
works of creation and providence, whence they are able to

OF IMMEDIATE REVELATION. 35
deduce strong and undeniable arguments — which may be
true in themselves — are not, yet to be esteemed Christians
according to the certain and infallible definition above
mentioned ; and if the inward and immediate revelation of
God's Spirit in ,the heart, in such as have been altogether
ignorant of some, and but very little skilled in others, of
these means of attaining knowledge, hath brought them to
salvation ; then it will necessarily and evidently follow, that tionls^he
inward and immediate revelation is the only sure and cer- trueknow-ledge ot
tain way to attain the true and saving knowledge of God. God.
But the first is true : therefore the last
Now as this argument doth very strongly conclude for
this way of knowledge and against such as deny it, so in
this respect it is the more to be regarded, as the proposi
tions from which it is deduced are so clear, that our very
adversaries cannot deny them. For as to the first it is
acknowledged, that many learned men may be, and have
been, damned. And as to the second, who will deny but
many illiterate men may be, and are, saved ? Nor dare any
affirm, that none come to the knowledge of God and salva
tion by the inward revelation of the Spirit, without these
other outward means, unless they be also so bold as to ex- Abel, Seth
elude Abel, Seth, Noah, Abraham, Job, and all the holy Seed?'
patriarchs from true knowledge and salvation.
§ IV. I would however not be understood, as if hereby
I excluded those other means of knowledge from any, use
or service to man ; it is far from me so to judge, as con
cerning the scriptures, in the next proposition, will more
plainly appear. The question is not, what may be. profit
able or helpful, but what is absolutely necessary. Many
things may contribute to further a work, which yet are not
the main thing that makes the work go on.
The sum then of what is said amounts to this : That
where the true inward knowledge of God is, through the
revelation of his Spirit, there is all ; neither is there an ab
solute necessity of any other. But where the best, highest,
and most profound knowledge is, without this there .is
nothing, as to the- obtaining the great end of salvation.

36 PROPOSITION II.
This truth is very effectually confirmed by the first part of
the proposition itself, which in few words comprehendeth
divers unquestionable arguments, which I shall in brief
subsume. First, That there is no knowledge of the Father but
by the Son.
Secondly, That there is no knowledge of the Son but
by the Spirit.
Thirdly, That by the Spirit God hath always revealed
himself to his children.
Fourthly, That these revelations were the formal ob
ject of the saints' faith.
And Lastly, That the same continueth to be the ob
ject of the saints', faith to this day.
Of each . of these I shall speak a little particularly, and
then proceed to the latter part..
Assert, i. § V. As to the first, viz. That there is no knowledge
proved. of tne Fatner but by the Sonj -lt win easily be proved, be
ing founded upon the plain words of scripture, and is
therefore a fit medium from whence- to deduce the rest of
our assertions.
For the infinite and most wise God, who is the founda
tion, root and spring of all operation, hath wrought all
John i. i, things by his eternal Word and Son. "This is that Word
that was in the beginning with God, and was God, by
whom all things were made, and without whom was not
any thing made that was made." This is that "Jesus
Eph. iii. 9. Christ, by whom God created all things, by whom, and
for whofia, all things were created, that are in heaven and
in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or
dominions, or principalities, or powers," Col. i. 16. who
therefore is called, " The first-born of every creature,"
Col. i. 1-5. As then that infinite and incomprehensible
fountain of life and motion operateth in the creatures by
his own eternal word and power, so no creature has access
again unto him but in and by the Son, according to his
own express words, "No man knoweth the Father but
the Son, and he to whom the Son- will reveal him " Mat.

2,3,

OF IMMEDIATE REVELATION. 37
xi. 27. Luke x. 22. And again, he himself saith, " I am
the way, the truth, and the life : no man cometh unto the
Father but by me," John xiv. 6.
Hence he is. fitly called, The mediator betwixt God and
man : for having been with God from all eternity, being
himself God, and also in time partaking of the nature of
man, through him is the goodness and love of God con
veyed to mankind, and by him again man receiveth and
partaketh of these mercies.
Hence is easily deduced the proof of this first assertion,
thus: If no man knoweth the Father but the Son, and he to
whom the Son will reveal him, then there is no knowledge
of the Father but by the Son.
But, no man knoweth the Father but the Son :
Therefore, there is no knowledge of the Father but by ;
the Son.
The first part of the antecedent are the plain words of
scripture : the consequence thereof is undeniable ; except
one would say, that he hath the knowledge of the Father,
while yet he knows him not ; which were an absurd re
pugnance. Again, If the Son be the way, the truth, and the life,
and that no man cometh unto the Father, but by him;
then there is no knowledge of the Father but by the Son.
But the first is true : therefore the last.-
The antecedent are the very scripture words : the con
sequence is very evident : for how can any know a thing,
who useth not -the way, without which it is not knowable?
But it is already proved, that there is no other way but by
the Son ; so that whoso' uses not that way, cannot know
him, neither come unto him.
§ VI. Having, then laid down this first principle, I come Assert, ii.
to the second, viz. : That there is no knowledge of the Proved-
Son but by the Spirit; or, That^the revelation of the Son
of God is by the Spirit.
Where it is to be noted, that I always speak ofthe saving,
certain, and necessary knowledge of God ; which that it
4

38 PROPOSITION II.
cannot be acquired otherways than by the Spirit, doth also
appear from many clear scriptures. For Jesus Christ,, in
and by whom the Father is revealed, doth also reveal him
self to his disciples and friends in and by his Spirit. As
his manifestation was outward, when he testified and wit
nessed for the truth in this world, and approved himself
faithful throughout, so being now withdrawn, as to the out
ward man, he doth teach and instruct mankind inwardly
by his own Spirit; " He standeth at the door, and knock-
eth, and whoso heareth his voice and openeth, he comes
in" to such, Rev. iii. 20. Of this revelation of Christ in
him Paul speaketh, Gal. i. 16, in which he placeth the ex
cellency of his ministry, and the certainty of his calling.
And the promise of Christ to his disciples, " Lo,' I am
with you to the end of the world,'' confirmeth the same
thing ; for this is an inward and spiritual presence, as all
acknowledge : but what relates hereto will again occur. I
shall deduce the proof of this proposition from two mani-
Proof 1. fest places of scripture: the first is, 1 Cor. ii. 11, 12.
" What man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit
The things of a man which isin him ? Even so. the things of God
known by knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have
the Spirit of received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is
of God, that we might know the things which are freely
given us of God." The apostle, in the verses before,
speaking of the wonderful things which are prepared for
the saints, after he hath declared, that "the natural man
cannot reach them," adds, that " they are revealed by the
Spirit of God," ver. 9, 10, giving this reason, " For the
Spirit searcheth all things, even the deep things of God."
And then he bringeth in the comparison, in the verses above-
mentioned, very apt, and answerable to our purpose and
doctrine, that " as the things of a man are only known by
the spirit of man, so the things of God are only known by
the Spirit of God ;" that is, that as nothing below the spirit
of man (as the spirit of brutes, or any other creatures,)
can properly reach unto or comprehend the things of a
man, as being of a nobler and higher naturej so neither

OF IMMEDIATE REVELATION. 39
can the spirit of man, or the natural man, as the apostle
in the fourteenth verse subsumes, receive nor discern the
things of God, or the things that are spiritual, as being also
of an higher nature ; which the apostle himself gives for
the reason, saying, " Neither can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned." So that the apostle's words
being reduced to an argument, do very well prove the
matter under debate, thus :
If that which appertaineth properly to man, cannot be
discerned by any lower or baser principle than the spirit of
man ; then cannot those things, that properly relate unto
God and Christ, be known or discerned by any lower or
baser thing than the Spirit of God and Christ.
But the first is true: therefore also the second.
The whole strength of the argument is contained in the
apostle's words before-mentioned ; which, therefore, being
:granted, I shall' proceed to deduce a second argument,
thus: That which is spiritual can only be known and discerned
by the Spirit of God.
But the revelation of Jesus Christ, and the true and
saving knowledge of him, is spiritual :
Therefore the revelation of Jesus Christ, and the true
and saving knowledge of him, can only be known and dis
cerned by the Spirit of God.
The bther scripture is also a saying of the same apostle, Proof 2.
1 Cor. xii. 3. "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, Nomancan
but by the Holy Ghost." This scripture, which is full of Lord,e&c.
truth, and answereth full well to the enlightened under
standing of the spiritual and real Christian, may perhaps
prove. very strange to the carnal and pretended follower of
Christ, by whom perhaps it hath not been so diligently re
marked. Here the apostle doth so much require the Holy
Spirit in the things that relate to a Christian, that he posi
tively avers, we cannot so much as affirm Jesus to - be the
Lord without it ; which insinuates no less, than that the troths™*™
spiritual truths of the gospel are as lies in the mouths of biesc^fn
carnal and unspiritual men ; for though in themselves they men.

40 PROPOSITION II.
be true, yet -are they not true as to them, because not
known, nor uttered forth in and by that principle and spirit
that ought to. direct the mind and actuate it in such things :
they are no better than the counterfeit representations of
things in a comedy ; neither can it be more truly and pro
perly called a real and true knowledge of God and Christ,
than the actions of Alexander the Great, and Julius. Csesar,
&c, if now transacted upon a stage, might be called truly
and really their doings ; or the persons representing them
might be said truly and really to have conquered Asia,
overcome Pompey, &c.
This knowledge then of Christ, which is. not by the re
velation of his own Spirit in the heart, is no more properly
Like the the knowledge of Christ, than the prattling of a parrot,
a'parrot5 °f wmc^ has been taught a few words, may be said to be the
voice of a man ; for as that, or some other bird, may be
taught to sound or utter forth a rational sentence, as it hath
learned it by the outward ear, and not from any living prin
ciple of reason actuating it ; so just such is that knowledge
of the things of God, which the natural and carnal man
hath gathered from the words or writings of spiritual men,
which are not true to him, because conceived in the natural
spirit, and so brought forth by the wrong organ, and not
proceeding from the spiritual principle ; no more than the
words of a man acquired by art, and brought forth by the
mouth of a bird, not proceeding from a rational. principle,
are true with respect to the bird which utters them. Where
fore from this scripture I shall further add this argument :
If no man can say Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy
Ghost; then no man can know Jesus to be the Lord,. but
by the Holy Ghost.
But the first is true : therefore the second.
From this argument there may be another deduced, con
cluding in the very terms of this assertion : thus,
If no man can know Jesus to be the Lord, but by the
Holy Ghost, then there can be no certain knowledge or re
velation of him but by the Spirit.
But the first is true : therefore the second.

OF IMMEDIATE REVELATION. * 41
§ VII. The third thing affirmed is, That by the Spirit Assert, iii.
God always revealed himself to his children. -
For making the truth of this assertion appear, it will be
but needful to consider God's manifesting himself towards
and in relation to his creatures from the beginning, which
resolves itself always herein. The first step of all is ascribed
hereunto by Moses, Gen. i. 2. "And the Spirit of God moved
upon the face of the waters." I think it will not be denied,
that God's converse with man, all along from Adam to
Moses, was by the immediate manifestation of his Spirit : That reve-
and afterwards, through the whole tract of the law, he t|le10^ "i( ry
spake to his children no otherways ; which, as it naturally of God.
followeth from the principles above proved, so it cannot
be denied by such as acknowledge the scriptures of truth
to have been written by the inspiration of the-Holy Ghost :
for these writings, from Moses to Malachi, do declare, that
during all that time God revealed himself to his children
by his Spirit.
But if any will object, That after the dispensation ofthe Object.
law God's method of speaking was altered ;
I answer: First, That God spake always immediately Answ.
to the Jews, in that he spake always immediately to the
High-Priest from betwixt the Cherubims ; who, when he Sanctum
entered into the Holy of Holies, returning, did relate to the Sanctorum-
whole people the voice and will of God, there immediately
revealed. So that this immediate speaking never ceased in
any age.
Secondly, From this immediate fellowship . were none
shut out, who earnestly sought after and waited for it ; in
that many, besides the High-Priest, who were not so much
as of the kindred of Levi, nor of the prophets, did receive
it and speak from it ; as it is written, Numb. xi. 25, where
the Spirit is said to have rested on the seventy elders ; None snut
which Spirit also reached unto two that were not in the ~°p {Pm
1 . this lmme-
tabernacle, but in the camp ; whom when some would diate fel-
have forbidden, Moses would not, but rejoiced, wishing -ows lp"
that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that he would
put his Spirit upon them, ver. 29.

42

PROPOSITION II.

This is also confirmed, Neh. ix., where the elders ofthe
people, after their return from captivity, when they began
to sanctify themselves by fasting and prayer, numbering
up the many mercies of God towards their fathers, say,
verse- 20, "Thou gavest also thy good Spirit to instruct
them;" and verse 30, " Yet- many years didst thou for
bear, and testify against them by thy Spirit in thy pro
phets." Many are the sayings of spiritual David to this
purpose, as Psalm li. 11, 12, " Take not" thy holy Spirit
from me : uphold me with thy free Spirit." Psal. cxxxix.
7, " Whither shall I go from thy Spirit?" Hereunto doth
the prophet Isaiah ascribe the credit of his testimony, say
ing, chap, "xlviii. 16, " And now the Lord God and his
Spirit hath sent me." And that God revealed himself to
his children under the New Testament, to wit, to the
apostles, evangelists, and primitive disciples, is confessed
by all. How far now this yet continueth, and is to be
expected, comes hereafter to be spoken to.
Assert, iv. § VIII. The fourth thing affirmed is, That these revela
tions were the object of the saints' faith of old.
Proved. This will easily appear by the definition of faith, and
considering what its object is : for which we shall not dive
into the curious and various notions of the school-men, but
stay in the plain and positive words of the apostle Paul,
What faith who, Heb., xi. describes it two ways. " Faith," saith he,
" is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of
things not seen:" which, as. the apostle illustrateth it in the
same chapter by many examples, is no other but a firm and
certain belief of the mind, whereby it resteth, and in a sense
possesseth the substance of some things hoped for, through
its confidence in the promise of God : and thus the soul
hath a most firm evidence, by its faith, of things not yet
seen nor come to pass. The object of this faith is the pro
mise, word, or testimony of God, speaking in the mind.
Hence it hath been generally affirmed, that the object of
The object faith is Deus loquens, &c. that is, God speaking, &c. which
Deus id- is also manifest from all those examples deduced by the
quens. apostle throughout that whole chapter, whose faith was

OF IMMEDIATE REVELATION. 43
founded neither upon any outward testimony, nor upon
the voice or writing of man, but upon the revelation of
God's will, manifest unto them, and in them ; as in the
example of Noah, ver.- 7. thus, " By faith Noah, being
warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear,
prepared an ark to the saving of his house ; by the which
he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteous
ness which is by faith." What was here the object of Noah's
Noah's faith, but God speaking unto him ? He had not
the writings nor prophesyings of any going before, nor yet
the concurrence of any church or people to strengthen
him ; and yet his faith in the word, by which he contra
dicted the whole world, saved him and his house. Of
which also Abraham is set forth as a singular example,. be- Abraham1*
ing therefore called the Father of the faithful, who is said w
against hope to have believed in hope, in that he not only
willingly forsook his father's country, not knowing whither
he went ; in that he believed concerning the coming of
Isaac, though -contrary to natural probability ; but above
all, in that he refused not to' offer him up, not doubting
but God was able to raise him frOm the dead ; of whom it
is said, that in Isaac shall thy seed be called. And last of
all, in that he rested- in the promise, that his seed should
possess the land, wherein he himself was but a pilgrim,
and which to them was not to be fulfilled while divers ages
after. The object of Abraham's faith in all this was no
other but inward and immediate revelation, or God signi
fying his will unto him inwardly and immediately by his
Spirit. But because, in this part of the proposition, we made
also, mention of external voices, appearances, and dreams
in the alternative, I think also fit to speak hereof, what in
that respect may be objected ; to wit,
That those who found their faith' now upon immediate Object.
and objective revelation, ought to have also outward voices
or visions, dreams or appearances for it.
It is not denied, but God made use of the ministry of Ahsw.
angels, who, in the appearance of men, spake outwardly

44 PROPOSITION II.
The minis- to the saints of old, and that he did also reveal some things
gds°speak- to. them in dreams and visions ; none of which we will
mg in the afgrm to t,e ceas€d soas to nmit the power and liberty of
appearance ' l
of men to God in manifesting himself towards his children. But
of old.mtS while we are considering the object of faith, we must
not stick to that which is but circumstantially and acci
dentally so, but to that which is universally and substan
tially so.
Next again,, we must distinguish, betwixt that which in
itself is subject to doubt and delusion, and therefore is re
ceived for and because. of another; and that which is not
subject to any doubt, but is received simply for and because
of itself, as being prima Veritas,, the very first and original
truth. Let us then consider how or how far these outward
voices, appearances, and dreams wore the object of the
Revela- saints' faith : was it because they were simply voices, ap-
d1reamsyand pearances, or dreams ? Nay, certainly ; for they were not
visions. ignorant, that the devil might form a sound of words, con
vey it to the outward ear, and deceive the outward senses,
by making things to appear that are not. -Yea, do we not
see by daily experience, that the jugglers and mountebanks
can do as much as all that by their legerdemain ? God
forbid then that the saints' faith should be founded upon
sp fallacious a foundation as man's outward and fallible
senses. What made them then give credit to these visions ?
Certainly nothing else but the secret testimony of God's
Spirit in their hearts, assuring them that the voices, dreams,
and visions were of and from God. Abraham believed the
angels ; but who told him that these men were angels ?
We must not think his faith then was built upon his out
ward senses, but proceeded from the secret persuasion of
God's Spirit in his heart. This then must needs be
acknowledged to be originally and principally the object
of the saints' faith, without which there is no true and cer
tain faith, and by which many times faith is begotten .and
strengthened without any of these outward or visible
helps ; as we may observe in many passages of the holy
scripture, where it is only mentioned, " And God said,"

OF IMMEDIATE REVELATION. 45
&c. "And the word, of the Lord came" unto such and such,
saying, &c.
But if any one should pertinaciously affirm, That this Object.
did import an outward audible voice to the carnal ear ;
I would gladly know what other argument such an one Ahsw.
could bring for this his affirmation, saving his own simple
conjecture. It is said indeed, "The Spirit witnesseth The spirit
with our spirit," Rom. viii. 16 ; but not to our outward the spiritu-
ears. And seeing the Spirit of God is within us, and not ^ee"u°°tt0
without us only, it speaks to our spiritual, and not to our ward.
bodily ear. Therefore I see no reason, where it is so often
said in scripture, The Spirit said, moved, hindered, called
such or such a one, to do or forbear such or such a thing,
that any have. to conclude, that this was not an inward
voice to the ear of the soul, rather than an outward voice
to the bodily ear. If any be otherwise minded, let them,
if they can, produce their arguments, and we may further'
consider of them.
From all therefore which is above declared, I shall de
duce an argument to conclude the proof of this assertion,
thus;- That which • any one firmly believes, as the ground and
foundation of his hope in God, and life eternal, is the formal
object ofhis faith.
But the inward and immediate revelation of God's Spirit,
speaking in and unto the saints, was by them believed as
the ground and foundation of their hope in God, and life
eternal. Therefore these inward and immediate revelations were
the formal object of their faith.
§ IX. That which now cometh under debate, is what Assert v.
we asserted in the last place, to wit, That the same con-
tinueth to be the object of the saints' faith unto this day.
Many will agree to what we have said before, who differ
from us herein.
There is nevertheless a very firm argument, confirming
the truth of this assertion, included in the proposition itself,
to wit, That-the object of the saints' faith is tbe same, in

ours

46 PROPOSITION II.
all ages, though held forth under divers administrations ;
which I shall reduce to an argument, and prove thus :
First, Where the faith is one, the object of the faith is
one. But the faith is one : Therefore, &c.
That the faith is one, is the express words of the apostle,
Eph. iv. 5. who placeth the one faitlfwith the one Godj
importing no less, than that to- affirm two faiths is as absurd
as to affirm two gods.
, Moreover, if the faith of the ancients were not one and
the same with ours, i. e. agreeing in substance therewith,
and receiving the same definition, it had been impertinent
The faith of for the apostle, Heb. xi. to have illustrated the definition
of old the °f our *fartn Dv tn£ examples of that of the ancients, or to
same with g0 abo"ut to move us by the example of Abraham, if Abra
ham's" faith were different in nature from ours. Nor doth
any difference arise hence, because they believed in Christ
with respect to his appearance outwardly as future, and we
as already appeared : for neither did they then so believe
in him tb come, as not to feel him present with them, and
witness him near; seeing the apostle saith, " They all drank
of that spiritual rock which followed them, which rock was
Christ ;" nor do we s6 believe concerning his appearance
past, as not also to feel and know him present with us, and
to feed upon him ; except Christ j saith the apostle, be in
you, ye are reprobates ; so that both our faith is one, ter
minating in one and the same thing. And as to the other
part or consequence of the antecedent, to wit, That the
object is one where the faith is one, the apostle also proveth
it in the fore-cited chapter, where he makes all the worthies
of old examples to us. Now wherein are they imitable,
but because they believed in God? And what was the
object of their faith, but inward and immediate revelation,
as we have before proved ? Their example can be no ways
applicable to us, except we believe in God, as they did ;
that is, by the same object. The apostle clears this yet
further by his- own example, Gal. i. 16. where he saith
" So soon as Christ was revealed in him, he consulted not1

OF IMMEDIATE REVELATION. 47
with flesh and •blood, but forthwith believed and obeyed."
The same apostle, Heb. xiii. 7, 8. where he exhorteth the
Hebrews to follow the faith ofthe elders, adds. this reason,
" Considering the end of their conversation, Jesus Christ,
the same to-day, yesterday, and for ever:" Hereby notably
insinuating, that in the object there is no alteration.
If any now object the diversity of administration ; Object.
I answer ; That altereth not at all the object : for the Answ.
same apostle mentioning this diversity three times, 1 Cor.
xii. 4, 5, 6. centereth always in the same object ; the same
Spirit, the same Lord, the same God.
But further ; If the object of faith were not one and the
same both to us and to them, then it would follow that we
were to know God some other way than by the Spirit.
But this were absurd : Therefore, &c.
Lastly, this is most firmly proved from a common and
received maxim of the school-men, to wit, Omnis actus spe-
cificatur ab objecto, c Every act is specified from its object ;'
from which, if if be true, as they acknowledge, (though for
the sake of many I shall not recur to this argument, as
being too nice and scholastic, neither lay I much stress upon
those kind of things, as being that which commends not
the simplicity, of the gospel) it would follow, that if the ob
ject were different, then the faith would be different also.
Such as deny this proposition now-a-days use here a dis
tinction ; granting that 'God is to be known by his Spirit,
but again denying that it is immediate or inward, but in
and by the scriptures ; in which the mind of the Spirit (as
they say) being fully and amply expressed, we are thereby
to know God, and be led in all things.
As to the negative of this assertion, That the scriptures
are not sufficient, neither were ever appointed to be the
adequate and only rule, nor yet can guide or direct a Chris
tian in all those things that are needful for him to know,
we shall leave that to the next proposition to be examined.
What is proper in this place to- be proved is, That Chris
tians now are ter be led inwardly and immediately by the
Spirit of God, even in the same manner, though it befall

48 PROPOSITION II.
not many to be led in the same measure, as the saints were
of old.
Christians § X. I shall prove this by divers arguments, and first
beeiedbt0 from the Promise of Christ in these words> Jo^n xiv- 16>
the Spirit, « And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another
manneraT Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever." Ver. 17.
the saints of » Even the Spirit of truth, whom" the world cannot receive',
because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye
know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."
Again, ver. 26. " But the Comforter, which is" the Holy
Ghost, whom the Father- will send in my name, he shall
teach you all things, and bring, all things to your remem
brance." And xvi. 13. But "when he, the Spirit of truth
is come, he will, guide you into all truth: for he shall
not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear he shall
speak, and he will show you things to oome." We have
here first, who this is, and that is divers ways expressed,
to wit : The Comforter, the Spirit of truth, the Holy Ghost,
tho Sent ofthe Father in the name of Christ. -And hereby
is sufficiently proved the sottishness of those -Sdcinians and
other carnal Christians, who neither know nor acknowledge
any internal Spirit or power but that which is merely natural ;
by which they sufficiently declare themselves tb be of the
world, who cannot receive the Spirit, because they neither
see him hor know him. Secondly, Where this Spirit is to
be, "He dwelleth with you, and, shall be in you." And
Thirdly, What his work is, " He shall teach you all things,
and bring all things to your remembrance, and guide you
into all truth," oS-^y/jifsi ujnas sij uatfav <F akrihiav..
Query 1. As to the first, most do acknowledge that there is nothing
Comforter? e'se understood than what the plain words signify ; which
is also evident by many other places of scripture that will
Nonsensi- hereafter occur ; neither do I see how such as affirm ether
eal conse- wayS can avoid blasphemy : for, if the Comforter, the Holy
?uences . . . .
rom the _ Ghost, and -Spirit of truth, be all one with the scriptures,
beUe'fof the tnen ^ wiU follow that the scriptures are God, seeing it is
bSn'X9 true that the Holy Ghost is God- If these men's reasoning
spirit. might take place, wherever the Spirit is mentioned in rela-

OF IMMEDIATE REVELATION. 49
tion to the saints, thereby might be truly and prbperly un
derstood the scriptures ; which/what a nonsensical monster
it would make of the Christian religion, will easily appear
to all men. As where it is said, " A manifestation of the
Spirit is given to every man to profit withal ;" it might be
rendered thus : A manifestation of the scriptures is given
to every man to profit withal ; what notable sense this would
make, and what a curious interpretation, let us consider by
the sequel of the same chapter, 1 Cor. xii. 9, 10, 11. " To
another the gifts of healing, by the same Spirit ; to another
the working, of miracles, &c. But all these worketh that
one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man seve
rally as he will." What would now these great masters of
reason, the Socinians, judge, if we should place the scrip
tures here instead of the Spirit ? Would it answer their
reason, which is the great guide of their faith ? Would it
be good and sound reason in their logical schools, to affirm
that the scripture divideth severally as it will, and giveth to
some the gift of healing, to others the working of miracles ?
If then this Spirit, a manifestation whereof is given to
every man to profit withal, be no other than that Spirit of
truth before-mentioned which guideth into all truth, this
Spirit of truth cannot be the scripture. I could infer an hun
dred more absurdities of this kind upon this sottish opinion,
but what is said may suffice. For even some of themselves,
being at times forgetful or ashamed of their own doctrine,
do acknowledge that the "Spirit of God is another thing,
and distinct from the scriptures, to guide and influence the
saints. Secondly, That this Spirit is inward, in my opinion Query 2.
needs no interpretation or commentary, "He dwelleth ^a'pl'icei
with you, and shall be in you." This indwelling of the
Spirit in the saints, as it is a thing most needful to be
known and believed, so, is it as positively asserted in the
scripture as any thing else can be. "If so be that the
Spirit of God dwell in you," saith the apostle to the Ro
mans, chap. viii. 9. And again, " Know ye not that your
body is the temple ofthe Holy Ghost, 1 Cor. vi. 19. "And
5 G

50 PROPOSITION II.
that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you ?" 1 Cor. iii. 16.
Without this the apostle reckoneth no man a Christian.
" If any man (saith he) have not the Spirit of Christ, he is
none of his." These words immediately follow those
above mentioned out of the epistle to the Romans, "But
ye are not in the flesh, but "in the Spirit, if so be the Spirit
The Spirit of God dwell in you." The context of which showeth,
mamintoken that the apostle reckoneth it the main token of a Christian,
of a Chris- both positively and negatively :" for in the former verses
he showeth how the carnal mind is. enmity against God,
and that such as are in the flesh cannot please him. Where
subsuming, he adds concerning the Romans, that they are
not in the flesh, if the Spirit of God dwell in them. What
is this but to affirm, that they in whom the Spirit dwells
are no longer in the flesh, nor of those who please not God,
but are become Christians indeed ? Again, in the same
verse he concludes negatively, that "If any man have not
the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his ;" that is, he is no
Christian. He . then that acknowledges himself ignorant
and a stranger to the inward in-being of the Spirit of Christ
in his heart, doth thereby acknowledge himself to be yet
in the carnal mind, which is enmity to, God ; to be yet in
the flesh, where God cannot be pleased; and in short,
whatever he may otherways know or believe of Christ, or
however much skilled or acquainted with the letter of the
holy scripture, not yet to be, notwithstanding all that, at
tained to the least degree of a Christian ; yea, not once to
have embraced the Christian religion. For take but' away
the Spirit, and Christianity remains no more Christianity,
than the dead carcase of a man, when the soul and spirit is
departed, remains a man ; which the living can no more
abide, but do bury out of their sight, as a noisome and
useless thing,, however acceptable it hath been when actu
ated and moved by the soul. Lastly, Whatsoever is
excellent, whatsoever is noble, whatsoever is worthy, what- > .
soever is desirable in the Christian faith, is ascribed to this
Spirit, without which it could no more subsist than the
outward world without the sun. Hereunto have all true

OF IMMEDIATE REVELATION. 51
Christians, in all ages, attributed their strength and life. It
is by this Spirit that they avouch themselves to have been
converted to God, to have been redeemed from the world,
to have been strengthened in their weakness, comforted in
their afflictions, confirmed in their temptations, emboldened
in their sufferings, and triumphed in the midst of all their
persecutions. Yea, the writings of all true Christians are The great
ful] of the , great and notable things which they all affirm acts tnat
themselves to have done, by the power, and virtue, and ha-v,e been
, ' J , r ' / and are per-
efficacy of this Spirit of God working in them. " It is the formed by
Spirit that quickeneth," John vi. 63. It was the Spirit indlages.
that gave them utterance, Acts ii. 4. It was the Spirit
by which Stephen spake, that the Jews were not able
to resist, Acts vi. 10. It is such as Walk after the
Spirit that receive no condemnation, Rom. viii. 1. It is
the law- of the Spirit that makes free, ver. 2. It is by
the Spirit of God dwelling in us that we are redeemed
from the flesh, and from the carnal mind, ver. 9. It is
the Spirit of Christ dwelling in us that quickeneth our
mortal bodies, ver. 11. It is through this Spirit that the
deeds ofthe body are mortified, and life obtained, ver. 13.
It is by this Spirit that we are adopted, and " cry ABBA
Father," ver. 15. It is this " Spirit that beareth witness
with our spirit that we are the children of God," ver. 16.
It is this " Spirit that helpeth our infirmities, and maketh
intercession for us, with groanings which cannot be ut
tered," ver. 26. It is by this Spirit that the glorious things
which God hath laid up for us, which neither outward
ear hath heard, nor outward eye hath seen, nor the heart
of man conceived by all his reasonings, are revealed unto
us, 1 Cor. ii. 9, 10. It is by this Spirit that both wisdom
and knowledge, and faith, and miracles, and tongues, and
prophecies, are obtained, 1 Cor. xii. 8, 9, 10. It is by
this Spirit that we are " all baptized into one body," ver.
13. In short, what thing relating to the salvation of the
soul, and to the life of a Christian, is rightly performed, or
effectually obtained, without it? And what shall I say
more ? For the time would fail me to tell of all those things

52 PROPOSITION II.
which the holy men of old have declared, and. the ,saints
of this day do themselves enjoy, by the virtue and power
of this Spirit dwelling in them. Truly my paper could, not
contain the many testimonies whereby, this truth is con
firmed ; wherefore, besides what is above mentioned out
of the fathers, whom all pretend to reverence, and those
of Luther and Melancthon, I shall deduce yet one observ
able testimony out of Calvin, because not a few of the fol
lowers of his doctrine do refuse and deride (and that, as it
is to be feared, because of their own non-experience there
of) this way of the .Spirit's indwelling, as uncertain and
dangerous ; that so, if neither the testimony of the scrip
ture, nor the sayings of others, nor right reason can move
them, they may at least be reproved by the words of their
own master, who saith in the third book of his institutions,
cap. 2, on this wise : /
Calvin, of " But they allege, It is a bold presumption for any to
ly^ofthe*1" Pretend to an undoubted knowledge of God's will ; which,"
Spirit's in- saith he, " I should grant unto them, if we should ascribe
us. so much to ourselves as to subject the incomprehensible
counsel of God to the rashness of our understandings. But
while we simply say with Paul, that ' we have received not
the spirit of this world, but the Spirit which is of God,' by
whose teaching we know those things that are given us of
God, what can they prate against it without reproaching
the Spirit of God ? For if it be an horrible sacrilege to ac
cuse any revelation coming from him, either of a lie, of
uncertainty or ambiguity, in asserting its certainty wherein
do we offend ? But they cry out, That it is not without
great temerity that we dare so boast of the Spirit of Christ.
Who would believe that the sottishness of these men were
so great, who would be esteemed the masters of the world,
that they should so fail in the first principles of religion?
Verily I could not believe it, if their own writings did not
testify so much. Paul accounts those the sons of God,
who are actuated by the Spirit of God ; but these will have
the children of God actuated by their own spirits without
the Spirit of God. He will have us call God Father, the

OF IMMEDIATE REVELATION. 53
Spirit dictating that term unto us, which only can witness
to our spirits that we are the sons of God. These, though
they cease not to call upou God, do nevertheless dismiss
the Spirit, by whose guiding he is rightly to be called
upon. He denies them to be the sons of God, or the
servants of Christ, who are not led by his Spirit ; but these
feign a Christianity that needs not the Spirit of Christ. He
takes away the hope of a blessed resurrection, unless we
feel the Spirit residing in us ; but these feign a hope with
out any such feeling ; but perhaps they will answer, that
they deny not but that it is necessary to have it, only of
modesty and humility we ought to deny and not acknow
ledge it. What means he then, when he commands the
Corinthians to try themselves, if they be in the faith ; to
examine themselves, whether they have Christ, whom who
soever acknowledges not dwelling in him, is a reprobate?
' By the Spirit which he hath given us,' saith John, ' we
know that he abideth in us.' And what do we then else
but call in question Christ's promise, -while we would be
esteemed the servants of God without his Spirit, which he
declared he-would pour out upon all his ? Seeing these
things are the first grounds of piety, it is miserable blind
ness to accuse Christians of pride, because they dare glory Without
of the presence of the Spirit ; without which glorying, presence! 3
Christianity itself could not be. But by their example they Christian-
declare, how truly Christ spake, saying, That his Spirit cease.
was unknown to the world, and that those only acknow
ledge it, with whom it remains." Thus far Calvin.
If therefore it be so, why should any be so foolish as to
deny, or so unwise as . not to seek after this Spirit, which
Christ hath promised shall dwell in his children ? They
then that do suppose the indwelling and leading of his
Spirit to be ceased, must also suppose Christianity to be
ceased, which cannot subsist without it.
Thirdly, What the work of this Spirit is, is partly before WhaTisthe
shown, which Christ compriseth in two or three things, g^f the
"He will guide you into all truth;" "He will teach you J°hann™i
all things, and bring all things to your remembrance." 26.
5*

54 PROPOSITION II.
Since Christ hath provided for us so good an instructor,
why need we then lean so much to those . traditions and
commandments of men wherewith so many Christians have
burthened themselves ? Why need we set up our own
The Spirit carnal and corrupt reason for a guide to us in matters spi-
the guide, ^toial, as some wjjj neecjs Jo ? May it not be com
plained of all such, as the Lord did of old concerning Is
rael by the prophets, Jer. ii. 13 : "For my people have
committed two evils, they have forsaken me, the fountain
of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cis
terns, that can hold no water ?" Have not many forsaken,
do not many deride and reject, this inward and immediate
guide, this Spirit that leads into all truth, and cast up to
themselves other ways, broken ways indeed, which have
not all this while brought them out of the flesh, nor out of
the world, nor from under the dominion of their own lusts
and sinful affections, whereby truth, which is only rightly
learned by this Spirit, is so much a stranger in the earth ?
From all then that hath been mentioned concerning this
promise, and these words of Christ, it will follow, that
Aperpe- Christians are always to be led inwardly and immediately
nance to" by the Spirit of God dwelling in them, and that the same
church and 's a standmg and perpetual ordinance, as well to the church
people. in general in all ages, as to every individual member in
particular, as appears from this argument :
The promises of Christ to his children are Yea and Amen,
and cannot fail, but must of necessity be fulfilled.
But Christ hath promised, that the Comforter, the Holy
Ghost, the Spirit ~of truth, shall abide with his children for
ever; shalKdwell with them, shall be in them, shall lead
them into all truth, shall teach them all things;, and bring
all things to their remembrance :
' Therefore the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of
truth, his abiding with his children, &c, is Yea and
Amen, &c.
Again : No man is redeemed from the carnal mind, which
is at enmity with God, which is not subject. to the law of
God, neither can be : no man is yet in the Spirit, but in

OF IMMEDIATE REVELATION. 55
the flesh, and cannot please God, except he in whom the
Spirit of God dwells.
But every true Christian is in measure redeemed from
the' carnal mind, is gathered out ofthe enmity, and can be
subject to the law of God ; is out of the flesh, and in the
Spirit, the Spirit of God dwelling in him. '
Therefore every true Christian hath the Spirit of God
dwelling in him.
, Again :" Whosoever hath not the Spirit of Christ, is
none of his ;" that is, no child, no friend, no disciple of
Christ. But every true Christian is a child, a friend, a disciple
of Christ :
Therefore every true Christian hath the Spirit of Christ.
Moreover : Whosoever is the temple ofthe Holy Ghost,
in him the Spirit of God dwelleth and abideth.
But every true Christian is the temple of the H°ty Ghost :
Therefore in every true Christian the Spirit of God
dwelleth and abideth.
But to conclude : He in whom the Spirit of God dwell
eth, it is not in him a lazy, dumb, useless thing ; but it
moveth, acfuateth, govemeth, instructeth, and teacheth him
all things whatsoever are needful for him to know ; yea,
bringeth all things to his remembrance.
But the Spirit of God dwelleth in every true Christian :
Therefore the Spirit of God leadeth, instructeth, and
teacheth every true Christian whatsoever is needful for him
to know.
§ XI. But there are some that will confess, That the Object.
Spirit doth now lead and influence the saints, but that he
' doth it only subjectively, or in a blind manner, by enlight
ening their understandings, to understand and believe the
truth delivered in the' scriptures ; but not at all by pre
senting those truths to the mind by way of object, and this
they call, Medium incognitum assentiendi, as that of whose
working a man is not sensible.
This opinion, though somewhat more tolerable than the Answ.

56 PROPOSITION II.
former, is nevertheless not altogether according tb truth,
neither doth it reach the fulness of it.
Arg. l. 1. Because there be many truths, which as they are ap
plicable to particulars and individuals, and most needful to
be known by them, are in nowise to be found in the scrip
ture, as in the following proposition shall be shown.
Besides, the arguments already adduced do prove, that
the Spirit doth not only subjectively help us to discern
truths elsewhere delivered, but . also objectively present
those truths to our minds. For that which teacheth me all
things, and is given me for that end, without doubt pre
sents those things to my mind which it teacheth me. It is
not said, It shall teach you how to understand those things
that are written ; but, It shall teach you all things. Again,
That which bringeth all things to my remembrance, must
needs present them by way of object ; else it were im
proper to say, It brought them to my remembrance ; but
only, that it helpeth to remember the objects, brought from
elsewhere.
'Arg. 2. My second argument shall be drawn from the nature of
the new covenant ; by which, and those that follow, I shall
prove that we are led by the Spirit both immediately and
objectively. The nature of the new covenant is expressed
in divers places ; and
Proof l. First, Isa. lix. 21, " As for me, this is my covenant-with
them, saith the Lord ; My Spirit that is upon thee, and my
words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart
out of thy mouth, npr out of the mouth of thy seed, nor
out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from
The lead- henceforth' and for ever." By the latter part of this is suffi-
Spm° ' 6 ciently expressed the perpetuity and continuance of this
promise, " It shall not depart, saith the Lord, from hence
forth and for ever." In the former part is the promise
itself, which is the Spirit of God being upon them, and the
words of God being put into their mouths.
1. Imme- First, This was immediate, for there is no mention made
of any medium ; he saith not, I shall by the means of such
and such writings or books, convey such and such words

OF IMMEDIATE REVELATION. 57
into your mouths ; but My words, I, even I, saith the
Lord, have put into your mouths".
Secondly, This must be objectively ; for the words put 2. Objec-
into the mouth, are the object presented by him. He saith tlve y'
not, The words which ye shall see written, my Spirit shall
only enlighten -your understandings to assent unto; but
positively, "My words, which I have put in thy mouth,"
&c. From whence I argue thus :
Upon whomsoever the Spirit remaineth always, and put
teth words into his mouth, him doth the Spirit teach
immediately, objectively, and continually.
But the Spirit is always upon the seed of the righteous,
and putteth words into their mouths, neither departeth
from them :
Therefore the Spirit teacheth the righteous immediately,
objectively, and-continually.
Secondly, The nature of the new covenant is yet more Proof 2.
amply expressed, Jer. xxxi. 33, which is again repeated
and re-asserted by. the apostle, Heb. viii. 10, 11, in these
words, " For this is the covenant that I will make with the
house of Israel, after those days, saith the Lord, I will put
my laws into their minds, and write them in their hearts,
and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a
people. And they shall not teach every man his neigh
bour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord ;
for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest."
The object here is God's law placed in the heart, and
written in the mind ; from whence they become God's
people, and are brought truly to know him.
In this then is the law distinguished from the gospel ; The differ-
x PT1PP 1)6-
the law before was outward, written in tables of stone, but tween the
now is inward, written in the heart : of old the people de- ™d*^ard
pended upon their priests for the knowledge of God, but law.
now they have all a certain and sensible knowledge of Him ;
concerning which Augustine speaketh well, in his book
De Litera § Spiritu ; from whom Aquinas first of all seems
to have taken occasion to move this question, Whether
the new law be a written law, or an implanted law ? Lex
H

58 PROPOSITION II.
scripta, vel lex indita ? Which he thus resolves, affirming,
that the new law, or gospel, is not properly a law written,
as the old-was, but Lex indita, an implanted law ; and that
the old law was written without, but the new law is written
within, on the table of the heart.
How much then are they deceived, who, instead of
making the gospel preferable to the law, have made the
condition of such as are under the gospel far worse ? For
The gospel no doubt it is a far better and more desirable thing to con-
tionmore verse wrtn Cod immediately, than only mediately, as being
glorious an higher and more glorious dispensation ; and yet these
than that of ° , , , , & i , ¦ , t •
the law. men acknowledge that many under the law had imme
diate converse with God, whereas they now cry it is
ceased. Again : Under the law there was the holy of holies, into
which the high priest did enter, and received the word
of the Lord immediately from betwixt the cherubims, so
that the people could then certainly know the mind of the
Lord; but now, according to these men's judgment, we
are in a far worse condition, having nothing but the out
ward letter of the scripture to guess and divine from ; con
cerning the sense or meaning of one verse of which, scarce
two can be found to agree. But Jesus Christ hath pro
mised us better things, though many are so unwise as not
to believe him, even to guide us by his own unerring Spi
rit, and hath rent and removed the veil, whereby not only
one, and that once a year, may enter ; but all of us, at all
times, have access unto him, as often as we draw near unto
him with pure hearts : he reveals his will to us by his Spi
rit, and writes his laws in our hearts. These things then
. being thus premised, I argue,
Where the law of God is put into the mind, and written
in the heart, there the object of faith, and revelation of the
knowledge of God, is inward, immediate, and objective.
But the law of God is put into the mind, and written
in the heart of every true Christian, under the new cove
nant. Therefore the object of faith, and revelation of the

OF IMMEDIATE REVELATION. 59
knowledge of God to every true Christian, is inward, im
mediate, and objective.
The assumption is the express words of scripture : the
proposition then must needs be true, except that which is
put into the mind, and written in the heart, were either not
inward, not immediate, or not objective, which is most
absurd. § XII. The third argument is from these words of John, Arg. 3.
1 John ii. ver. 27, "But the anointing, which ye have re- Theanoint-
ceived of him, abideth in you, and ye need not that any mfnded'as
man teach you: but as. the' same anointing teacheth you
of all things, and is truth, and is no lie; and even as it
hath taught you, ye shall abide in him."
First, This could not be any special, peculiar, or extra- 1-
ordinary privilege, but that which is common to all the
saints, it being a general epistle,. directed to all them of
that age.
Secondly, The apostle proposeth this anointing in them, 2-.
as a more certain touch-stone for them to discern and try
seducers by, even than his own writings ; for having in the
former verse said, that he had written some things to them
concerning such as seduced them, he begins the next verse,
" But the anointing," &c, " and ye need not that any man
teach you," &c, which infers, that having said to them
what can be said, he refers them for all to the inward
anointing, which teacheth all things, as the most firm, con
stant, and certain bulwark against all seducers.
And lastly, That it is a lasting and continuing thing ; T ^
the anointing which abideth. If it had not been to abide
in them, it could not have taught them all things, neither
guarded them against all hazard. From which I argue
thus, He that hath an anointing abiding in him, which teach
eth him all things, so that he needs no man to teach him,
hath an inward and immediate teacher, and hath some
things inwardly and immediately revealed unto him.
But the saints have such an anointing :
Therefore, &c.

Lasting.

60 , PROPOSITION II.
, I could prove this doctrine from many more places; of
scripture, which for brevity's sake I omit; and now come
to the second part of the proposition, where the objections
usually formed against, it are answered-.
Object. § XIII. The most usual is, That these revelations are
uncertain.
Answ. But this bespeaketh much ignorance in the opposers;
for. we distinguish between the thesis and the. hypothesis;
that is, between the proposition and supposition. For it is
one thing to. affirm, that the true and undoubted revelation
of God's Spirit is certain and infallible ; and another thing
to affirm, that this or that particular person or people is led
infallibly by this revelation in what they speak or write,
because they affirm themselves to be so led by the inward
and immediate revelation of the Spirit. The first is only
asserted by us, the latter may be called in question. The
question is not who are or are not so led ? But whether
all ought not or .may not be so led ?
The cer- Seeing then we. have already proved that Christ hath
theSpirit's promised his Spirit to lead his children, and that every one
guidance 0f them both ought and may be led by it, if any depart
from this certain guide in deeds, and yet in words pretend
to be led by it into things that are not good, it will not
from thence follow, that the true guidance of the Spirit is
uncertain, or ought not to be followed ; no more than it
will follow that the sun showeth not light, because a blind
.man, or one who wilfully shuts his eyes, falls into a ditch
at noon-day for want of light ; or that no words are spoken,
because a deaf man hears them not ; or that a garden full
of fragrant flowers has no sweet smell, because he that has
lost his smelling doth not smell it ; the fault then is in the
organ, and not in the object.
All these mistakes therefore are to be ascribed to the
weakness or wickedness of men, and not to that Holy Spi
rit. Such as bend themselves most against this certain and
infallible testimony of the Spirit use commonly to allege
the example of the old Gnostics, and the late monstrous
and mischievous actings of the Anabaptists of Munster, all

OF IMMEDIATE REVELATION. 61
which toucheth us nothing at all, neither weakens a whit
our most true doctrine. Wherefore, as a most sure bul
wark against .such kind of assaults, was subjoined that
other part of our proposition thus : Moreover these divine
and inward revelations, which we "establish as absolutely
necessary for the founding of the true faith, as they do not
so neither can they at any time contradict the Scripture's
testimony, or sound reason.
Besides the intrinsic and undoubted truth of this asser- By expe-
tion, we can boldly affirm it from our certain and blessed
experience. For this Spirit never deceived us, never acted
nor moved us to any thing that was amiss ; but is clear
and manifest in its revelations, which are evidently dis
cerned by us, as we wait in that pure ahd undefiled light
of God, that proper and fit organ in which they are re
ceived. Therefore if any reason after this manner,.
That because some wicked, ungodly, devilish men have
committed wicked actions, and have yet more wickedly
asserted, that they were led into these things by the Spirit
of God;
Therefore, No man ought to lean to the Spirit of God,
or seek to be led by it,
I utterly deny the cqnsequence of this proposition, which, The absur-
were it to be received as true, then would all faith in God COnse-
and hope of salvation become uncertain, and the Christian °.uence-
religion be turned into mere scepticism. For after the
same manner I might reason thus :
Because Eve was deceived by the lying of the serpent;
Therefore she ought not to have trusted- to the promise
of God.
Because the old world was deluded by evil spirits ;
Therefore ought neither Noah, nor Abraham, nor Moses,
to have trusted the Spirit of the Lord.
Because a lying spirit spake through the four hundred
prophets that persuaded Ahab to go up and fight at Ramoth
Gilead; Therefore the testimony of the true Spirit in Micaiah was
uncertain, and dangerous to be followed.
6

62 PROPOSITION II.
Because there were seducing spirits crept into the church
of old ;
Therefore it was not good, or it is uncertain, to follow
the anointing, which taught all things, and is truth, and is
no lie.
Who dare say that this is a necessary consequence ?
Moreover, not only the faith of the saints, and church of
God of old, is hereby rendered uncertain, but also the
faith of all sorts of Christians now is liable to the like
hazard, even of those who seek a foundation for their faith
elsewhere than from the Spirit. For I shall prove by an
inevitable- argument, ab incommodo, i. e., from the ihcon-
veniency of it, that if the Spirit be not to be followed upon
that account, and that men may not depend uport it as
their guide, because some, while, pretending thereunto,
commit great evils ; that then, neither tradition, nor the
scriptures, nor reason,, which the Papists, Protestants, and
Socinians do respectively make the rule of their faith, are
1. Instances any whit more certain. The Romanists reckon it an error
o tra mon. tQ ceiebrate Easter any other w^ays than that church doth.
This can only be decided by tradition. And yet the Greek
church, which equally layeth claim to tradition with herself,
doth it otherwise. Yea, so little effectual is, tradition to de-
Euseb. cide the case, that Polycarpus, the disciple of John, and
cles. lib.v. Anicetus, the bishop of Rome, who immediately succeeded
c- 26- them, according to whose example both sides concluded
the question ought to be decided;, could not agree. Here
of necessity one of them must err, and that following tra
dition. Would the Papists now judge we dealt fairly by
them, if we should thence aver, that tradition is not to be
regarded ? Besides, in a matter of far greater importance
the same difficulty will occur, to wit, in the primacy of the
bishop of Rome ; for many do affirm, and that by tradition,
that in the first six hundred years the Roman prelates never
assumed the title of Universal Shepherd, nor were acknow
ledged as such. And, as that which altogether overturneth
this presidency, there are thosei that allege, and that from
tradition also, that Peter never saw Rome ; and that there-

OF IMMEDIATE REVELATION. 63
fore the bishop of Rome cannot be his successor. Would
you Romanists think this sound reasoning, to say as you
do? Many have been- deceived, and erred grievously, in trust
ing to tradition ;
Therefore we ought to reject all traditions, yea, even
those by which we affirm the contrary, and, as we think,
prove the truth.
Lastly, In the * council of Florence, the chief doctors * Cone.
of the Romish and. Greek churches did debate whole ses- 5. decreto-
sibns long concerning the interpretation of one sentence of 9.aodam5 h
the council of Ephesus, and of Epiphanius, and Basilius, Act. vi.
neither could they ever agree about it. 12. Cone.
Secondly, As to the scripture, the same difficulty oc- fi°o0Sess'
curreth : the Lutherans affirm they believe consubstantia- Cone. Flor.
tion by the scripture ;- which the Calvinists deny, as that. 480S& seq!'
which, they say, according to the same scripture, is a gross
error. The Calvinists again- affirm absolute reprobation,
which the Arminians deny, affirming the contrary ; wherein
both affirm themselves to be ruled by the scripture and 2- Of scrip-
ture.
reason in the matter. Should I argue thus then to the
Calvinists ?
Here the Lutherans and Armenians grossly err, by fol
lowing the scripture ;
Therefore the scripture is not a good nor certain rule ;
and e contrario.
Would either of them accept of this reasoning as good
and sound ? What shall I say of the Episcopalians, Pres
byterians, Independents, and Anabaptists of Great Britain,
who are continually buffeting one another with the scrip
ture? To whom the same argument might be alleged,
though they do all unanimously acknowledge it to be the
rule. And Thirdly, As to reason, I shall not need to say 3 Ofreason.
¦" -ii 1 • . I he de-
much ; for whence come all the controversies, contentions bates hence
and debates in the world, but because every man thinks ^xMhT
he follows right reason ? Hence of old came the jangles old and late
._. -tii phuoso-
between the Stoics, Platonists, Peripatetics, Pythagoreans, phers.

64 PROPOSITION II.
and Cynics, as of late betwixt the Aristotelians, Carte
sians, and other naturalists : Can it be thence inferred, or
will the Socinians, those great reasoners, allow us to con
clude, because many, and those very wise men, have
erred, by following, as they supposed, their reason, and
that with what diligence, care and industry they could, to
find, out the truth, that -therefore no man ought to make
use of it at all, nor be positive in what he knows certainly
to be rational ? And thus far as to opinions ; the same un
certainty is no less incident unto those other principles.
Anabap- § XIV. But if we come to practices, though I confess I
thefrwild do with my whole heart abhor and detest those wild prac-
ancfprotes ^ces w*"ca are written concerning the Anabaptists of Mun-
tants and ster ; I am bold to say, as bad, if not worse things, have
theirwars1 been committedT by those that lean tb tradition, scripture,
and blood- an(j reason : wherein also they have averred themselves to
shed, each - •>
pretending have been authorized by these rules. I need but mention
scripture ^ ^ tumuitSj seditions, and horrible bloodshed, where
with Europe hath been afflicted these divers, ages ; in
which Papists against Papists, Calvinists against Calvinists,
Lutherans against Lutherans, and Papists, assisted by Pro
testants, against other Protestants assisted by Papists, have
miserably shed one another's blood, hiring and forcing
men to kill each other, who were ignorant of the quarrel,
and strangers one to another : all, mean while, pretending
reason for so doing, and pleading the lawfulness of it from
scripture.
Tradition, For what have the Papists pretended for their many
andPreason, massacres, acted as well in France as elsewhere,- but tra-
made a co- Jition, scripture, and reason ? Did they not say, that reason
secution persuaded them, tradition allowed them, and scripture
der. mUr" commanded them, to persecute, destroy, and burn here
tics, such as denied this plain scripture, Hoc est corpus
meum, This is my body ? And are not the Protestants as
senting to this bloodshed, who assert the same thing, and
encourage them, by burning and banishing, while their
brethren are so treated for the same cause ? Are not the
islands of Great Britain and Ireland, yea, and all the Chris-

OF IMMEDIATE REVELATION. 65
tian world, a lively example hereof, which were divers
years together as a theatre of blood ; where many lost their
lives, and numbers of families were utterly destroyed and
ruined? For all which no other cause was principally
given, than the precepts of the scripture. If we then com
pare these actings with those of Munster, we shall not find
great difference ; for both affirmed and pretended they
were called, and that it was lawful to kill, burn, and de
stroy the wicked. We must kill all the wicked, said those
Anabaptists, that we, that are the saints, may possess the
earth. We must burn obstinate heretics, say the Papists,
that the holy church of Rome may be purged of rotten
members, and may live in peace. . We must cut off seduc
ing separatists, say the Prelatical Protestants, who trouble
the peace of the church, and refuse the divine hierarchy,
and religious ceremonies thereof." We must kill, say the
Calvinistic Presbyterians, the Profane Malignants, Who
accuse the Holy Consistorial and Presbyterian government,
and seek to defend the Popish and Prelatic hierarchy; as
also those other sectaries that trouble the peace of our
church. What difference I pray thee, impartial reader,
seest thou betwixt these ?
If it be said, The Anabaptists went without, and against Object.
the, authority ofthe magistrate, so did not the other;
I might easily refute it, by alleging the mutual testimo- Answ.
nies of these sects against one another. The behaviour of
the Papists towards Henry the Third and Fourth of France ; Examples
their designs upon James the Sixth in the gunpowder cruelties.
treason ; as also their principle of the Pope's power to
depose kings for the cause of heresy, and to absolve their
subjects from their oath, and give them to others, proves
it against them.
And as to the Protestants, how much their actions differ Protestant
from those other above-mentioned, may be seen by the anVperse.
many conspiracies and tumults which they have been active gutlt°,nsdn
in, both in Scotland and England, and which they have England,'
acted within these hundred years in divers towns and pro- f^
vinces ofthe Netherlands. Have they not oftentimes sought,

66 PROPOSITION II.
not only from the Popish magistrates, but even from those
that had begun to reform, or that had given them some
liberty of exercising their religion, that they might only be
permitted, without trouble or hindrance, to exercise their
religion, promising they would not hinder or molest the
Papists in.the exercise of theirs ? And yet did they not on
the contrary, so soon as they had power, trouble and abuse
those fellow-citizens, and turn them out of the city, and,
which is worse, even such who together with them had
forsaken the Popish religion ? Did they not these things in
many places against the mind of the magistrates ? Have
they not publicly, with contumelious speeches, assaulted
their magistrates, from whom they had but just before sought
and obtained the free exercise of their religion ? Repre
senting them, so soon as they opposed themselves to their
hierarchy, as if they regarded neither God nor religion?
Have they not by violent hands possessed themselves' of
the Popish churches, so called, or by force, against the
magistrates' mind, taken them away ? Have they not turned
out of their office and authority whole councils of magis
trates, under pretence that they were addicted to Popery?
Which Popish magistrates nevertheless~they did but a little
before acknowledge to be ordained by God ; affirming
themselves obliged to yield them obedience and subjection,
not only for fear, but for conscience' sake ; to whom more
over the very preachers and overseers of the reformed
church had willingly sworn fidelity ; and yet afterwards
have they not said, that the people are bound to force a
wicked prince to the observation of God's word ? There
are many other instances of this kind to be found in their
histories, not to mention many worse things, which we
know to have been acted in our time, and which for bre
vity's sake T pass by.
Lutheran j might say much of the Lutherans, whose tumultuous
seditions ... .
against the actions against their magistrates not professing the Lutheran
teachers, profession, are testified of by several historians worthy of
and assault credit. Among others, I shall propose only one example
Marquis of to the reader's consideration, which fell out at Berlin in

OF IMMEDIATE REVELATION. 67
the year 1615 : " Where the seditious multitude of the Branden-
Lutheran citizens, being stirred up by the daily clamours ^S'er- °*
of their preachers, did not only with violence break into many.
the houses of the-reformed teachers, overturn their libraries,
and spoil their furniture ; but also with reproachful words,
yea, and with stones, assaulted the Marquis of Branden
burg, the Elector's brother, while he sought by smooth
words to quiet the fury of the multitude ; they killed ten
of his guard, scarcely sparing himself, who at last by flight
escaped out of their hands." All which sufficiently de
clares, that the concurrence of the magistrate doth not alter
their principles, but only their method of procedure. So
that for my own part, I see no difference betwixt the act
ings of those of Munster, and these others, whereof the
one pretended to be led by the Spirit, the other by tradi
tion, scripture, and reason, save this, that the former were
rash> heady, and foolish", in their proceedings, and there
fore were the sooner brought to nothing, and so into con
tempt and derision : but the other, being more politic and
wise in their generation, held it out longer, and so have
authorized their wickedness more, with the seeming autho
rity of law and reason. But both their actings being equally
eyil, the difference appears to me to be only like that which
is between a simple silly thief, that is easily catched, and
hanged without any more ado ; and a company of resolute
bold robbers, who being better guarded, though their of
fence be nothing less, yet by violence do, to shun the
danger, force their masters to give them good terms.
From all which then it evidently follows, that they argue
very ill, who despise and reject any principle because men
pretending to be led by it do evil ; in case it be not the
natural and consequential tendency of that principle to lead
unto those things that are evil.
Again : It doth follow from what is above asserted, that
if the Spirit be to be rejected upon this account, all those
other principles ought on the same account to be rejected.
And for my part, as I have never a whit the lower esteem
of the blessed testimony of the holy scriptures, nor do the

68 PROPOSITION II.
less respect any solid tradition, that is answerable and ac
cording to truth ; neither at all. despise reason, that noble
Let none and excellent faculty of the mind, because wicked men
cenaintyof have abused the name of them, fo cover their wickedness,
the uner- an(i deceive the simple ; so would I not have any reject or
""GodTbe- doubt the certainty of that unerring Spirit which God hath
falsfpre- &yea nis children, as that which can alone guide them into
tenders to ajj truth, because some have falsely pretended to it.
§ XV. And because the Spirit of God is the fountain of
all truth and sound reason, therefore we have well said,
That it cannot contradict either the testimony of the scrip
ture, or right reason : " Yet, as the proposition itself con
cluded^ to the last part of which I now qome, it will not
from thence follow, that these divine revelations are to be
subjected to the examination either of the outward testi
mony of scripture, or of the human or natural reason of
man, as to a more noble and certain rule or touchstone ;
for the divine revelation, and inward illumination, is that
which is evident by itself, forcing the well-disposed under
standing, and irresistibly moving it to assent by its own
evidence and clearness, even as the common principles of
natural truths do bend the mind to a natural assent."
He that denies this part of the proposition must needs
affirm, that the Spirit of God neither can, nor ever hath
manifested itself to man without the scripture, or a distinct
discussion of reason ; or that the efficacy of this superna
tural principle, working upon the souls of men, is less evi
dent than natural principles in their common operations ;
both which are false.
For, First; Through all the scriptures we may observe,
that the manifestation and, revelation of God by his Spirit
to the patriarchs, prophets, and apostles, was immediate
and objective, as is above proved ; which they did not ex
amine by any other principle, but their own evidence and
clearness.
The self- Secondly, To say that the Spirit of God has less evi-
the Spirit? dence upon the mind of man than natural principles have,
is to have too mean and too low thoughts of it. How

OF IMMEDIATE REVELATION. 69
comes David to invite us to taste and see that God is good,
if this cannot be felt, and tasted ? This were enough to
overturn the faith and assurance of all the saints, both now
and of old. How came Paul to be persuaded, that nothing
could separate him from the love of God, but by that evi
dence and clearness which the Spirit of God gave him ?
The apostle John, who knew well wherein the certainty of
faith consisted, judged it no ways absurd, without further
argument, to ascribe his .knowledge and assurance, and
that of all the saints, hereunto in these words; "Hereby
know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he
hath given us of his Spirit," 1 John, iv. 13. And again,
chap. v. ver. 6 : "It is the Spirit that beareth witness, be
cause the Spirit is truth."
Observe the reason brought by him, " Because the Spirit
is truth ;" of whose certainty and infallibility I have here
tofore spoken.. We then trust to and confide in this Spirit,
because we know, and certainly believe, that it can only
lead us aright, and never mislead us ; and from this certain
confidence itis that we affirm, that no revelation coming The Spirit
from it can ever contradict the scripture's testimony nor ^"crin.'8
right reason: not as making this a more certain rule to our- ture nor
selves, but as condescending to such, who not discerning son.
the revelations of the , Spirit, as they proceed purely from
God, will try them by these mediums. Yet those that have
their spiritual senses, and can savour the things of the
Spirit, as it were in prima instantia, i. e., at the first blush,
can discern them without, or before they apply them either
to scripture or reason; just as a good astronomer can cal- Natural de-
culate an eclipse infallibly, by which he can conclude, if ™°nSBtf™"m
the order of nature continue, and some strange and unna- astronomy
... ...... „ and geome-
tural revolution intervene not, there will be an eelipse oi try.
the sun or moon such a day, and such an hour ; yet can he
not persuade an ignorant rustic of this, until he visibly sees
it. So also a mathematician can infallibly know, by the
rules of art, that the three angles of a right triangle are
equal to two right angles ; yea, can know them- more cer
tainly than any man by measure. And some geometrical

70 PROPOSITION II.
demonstrations are by all acknowledged to be infallible,
which can be scarcely discerned or proved by the senses ;
yet if a geometer be at , the pains to certify some ignorant
man concerning the certainty of his art, by condescending
to measure it, and make it obvious to his senses, it will not
thence follow, that that measuring is so "certain as the de
monstration itself, or that the demonstration would be un
certain without it.
¦§ XVI. But to make an end, I shall add one argument
to prove, that this inward, immediate, objective revelation,
which we have pleaded for all along, is the only sure, cer
tain, and unmovable foundation of all Christian faith;
which argument, when well considered, I hope will have
weight with all sorts of Christians, and it is this :
Immediate That which all professors of Christianity, of what kind
thefm-10" so?ver) are forced ultimately to recur unto, When pressed
movable to-fhe last ; that for and because of which all other founda-
of all Chris- tions are recommended, and accounted worthy to be be-
tian faith. \[eve^ an(j without which they are granted to be of no
weight at all, must needs be the only most true, certain,
and unmovable foundation of all Christian faith.
But inward, immediate, objective revelation by the
Spirit, is that which all professors of Christianity, of .what
kind soever, are forced ultimately to recur unto, &c.
Therefore, &c.
The proposition is so evident, that it will not be denied ;
the assumption shall be proved by parts.
Papists' And first, As to the Papists, they place their foundation
their ™ in the judgment of the church and tradition. If we press
trhatoion"d them to say' Whv they believe as the church doth? Their
why ? answer is, Because the church is always led by the infalli
ble Spirit. So here the leading of the Spirit is the utmost
foundation. Again, if we ask them, Why we ought to trust
tradition? They answer, Because these traditions were
delivered us by the doctors and fathers of the church;
which doctors and fathers, by the revelation of the Holy
Ghost, commanded the church to observe them. Here
again all ends in the revelation of the Spirit.

OF IMMEDIATE REVELATION. 71
And for the Protestants and Socinians, both which ac- Protestants
knowledge the scriptures to be the foundation and rule of ^nsmake
their faith ; the one as subjectively influenced by the Spirit the scrfP-.
tuxes their
of God to use them, the other as managing them with and ground and
by their own reason ; ask both, or either of them, Why ^yd?ation'
they trust in the scriptures, and take them to be their rule ?
Their answer is, Because we have in them the mind of God
delivered unto us by those to whom these things were in
wardly, immediately, and objectively revealed by the Spirit
of God ; and not because this or that man wrote them, but
because the Spirit of God dictated them.
It is strange then that men should render that so uncer- Christians
tain and dangerous to follow, upon which alone the certain anVnoTby
ground and foundation of their own faith is built ; and that nature.hold
o ¦ ' revelation
they should shut themselves out from that holy fellowship ceased con-
with God, which only is enjoyed in the Spirit, in which we scripture.
are commanded both to walk and live.
If any reading these things find themselves moved, by
the strength of these scripture arguments, to assent and be
lieve such revelations necessary, and yet find themselves
strangers to them, which, as I observed in the beginning,
is the cause that this is so much gainsaid and contradicted,
let them know, that it is not because it is ceased to become
the privilege of every true Christian that they do not feel
it,^but rather because they are not so much Christians by
nature as by name ; and let such know, that the secret light
which shines in the heart, and reproves unrighteousness, is
the small beginning of the revelation of God's Spirit, which
was first sent into the world to reprove it of sin, John xvi.
8. And as by forsaking iniquity thou comest to be ac
quainted with that heavenly voice in thy heart, thou shalt
feel, as the old man, or the natural man, that savoureth not
the things of God's kingdom, is put off, with his evil and
corrupt affections and lusts ; I say, thou shalt feel the new
man, or the spiritual birth and babe raised, which hath its
spiritual senses, and can see, feel, taste, handle, and smell
the things of the Spirit ; but till then the- knowledge of
things spiritual is but as an historical faith. But as the

72 PROPOSITION III.
Whowants description ofthe light, of the sun, or of curious colours to
seMnouhe a blind rnan> wno> though of the largest capacity, cannot
light. so wen understand it by the most acute and lively descrip
tion, as a child' can by seeing them ; so neither can the
natural man, of the largest capacity, by the best words,
even scripture words, so well understand the mysteries of
God's kingdom, as the least and weakest' child who' tasteth
them, by having them revealed inwardly and objectively by
the Spirit.
Wait then for this in the small revelation of that pure
i. light which first reveals things more known; and as thou
becomest fitted for it, thou shalt receive more and more,
and by a living experience easily refute their ignorance,
who ask, How dost thou know that thou art actuated by
the Spirit of God ? Which will appear to thee a question
no less ridiculous, than to ask one whose eyes are open,
how he knows the sun shines at noon-day? And though
this be the surest and most certain way to answer all objec
tions ; yet by what is above written it may appear, that the
mouths of all such opposers as deny this doctrine may be
shut, by unquestionable and unanswerable reasons.

PROPOSITION III.
Concerning the- Scriptures.
From these revelations of the Spirit of God to the saints
have proceeded the Scriptures of Truth, which con
tain,
I. A faithful historical account of the actings of God's peo
ple in divers ages ; with many singular and remarkable
providences attending them.
II. A prophetical account of several things, whereof some
are already past, and some yet to come.
III. A full and ample account of all the chief principles of
the doctrine of Christ, held forth in divers precious de-

OF THE SCRIPTURES. 73
clarations, exhortations - and sentences, which, by the
moving of God's Spirit, were at several times, and upon
sundry occasions* spoken and written unto some churches
and their pastors.
Nevertheless, because they are only a declaration of the
fountain, and not the fountain itself, therefore they are
^not to be esteemed the principal ground of all truth and
knowledge, nor yet the adequate primary rule of faith
and manners. Yet because they give a true and faithful
testimony of the first foundation, they are and may be
esteemed a. secondary rule, subordinate to the Spirit,
from which they have all their excellency and certainty :
for as by the inward testimony ofthe Spirit we do alone
truly know them, so they testify, That the Spirit is that John xvi.
Guide by which the saints are led into all Truth ; there- vij- ]J™'
fore, according to the scriptures, the Spirit is the first
and principal leader. Seeing then that we do therefore
receive and believe the scriptures because they proceed
ed from the Spirit, for the very same reason is the Spirit
more originally and principally the rule, according to
the received maxim in the schools, Propter quod unum-
quodque est tale, illud ipsum est magis tale: That for
which a thing is such, that thing itself is more such.
§ I. The former part of this proposition, though it needs
no apology for itself, yet it is a good. apology for us, ahd
will help to sweep away that, among many other calumnies,
wherewith we are often loaded, as if we were vilifiers and
deniers of the scriptures ; for in that which we affirm of *
them, it doth appear at what high rate we value them, ac- The holy
counting them, without all deceit or equivocation, the most the'raost"
excellent writings in the world ; to which not only no other excellent
& 7 •> writings in
writings are to be preferred, but even in divers respects the world.
not comparable thereto. For as we freely acknowledge
that their authority doth not depend upon the approbation
or canons of any church or assembly ; so neither can we
subject them to the fallen, corrupt, and defiled reason of
man : and therein as we do freely agree with the Protestants
7 K

74 PROPOSITION III.
against the error of the Romanists, so on the other hand,
we cannot go the length of such Protestants as make their
authority to depend upon any virtue or power that is in the
writings themselves ; but we desire to ascribe all to that
Spirit from Which they proceeded.
We confess indeed there wants not a majesty in the style,
a coherence in the parts, a good scope in the whole; but
seeing these things are not discerned by the natural, but
only by the spiritual man, it is the Spirit of God that must
give us that belief of the scriptures which may satisfy our
consciences ; therefore some of the chief among Protestants,
both in their particular writings and public confessions, are
forced to acknowledge this.
Calvin's Hence Calvin, though he "saith he is able to prove that
that"tb.0en3r ^ there be a God in heaven, these writings have proceeded
scripture's from him, yet he concludes another knowledge to be ne-
certainty is , ' , . ... .
from the cessary. Instit. lib-1, cap. 7, sect. 4.
Spirit. « guf. j^5> sajtn jjg^ (l we reSpect the consciences, that
they be not daily molested with doubts, and hesitate
not at every scruple, it is requisite that this persuasion
which we speak of be taken higher than human reason,
judgment, or conjecture-; to wit, from the secret testi
mony of the Spirit." And again, "To those who ask,
that we prove unto them, by reason, that Moses and the
prophets were inspired of God to speak, I answer, That
the testimony of the Holy Spirit is more excellent than all
reason." And again, "Let this remain a firm truth, that
he only whom the Holy Spirit hath persuaded, can repose
himself on the scripture with a true certainty." And
lastly, "This then is a judgment which cannot be begotten
but by an heavenly revelation," &c.
The conies- The same is also affirmed in the first public confession
French " °f tne French churches, published in the year 1559, Art.
churches; 4 . a We know these books to be canonical, and the most
certain rule of our faith, not so much by the common ac
cord and consent of the church, as by the testimony ahd
inward persuasion of the Holy Spirit."

OF THE SCRIPTURES. 75
Thus alsp in the fifth article of the confession of faith, Churches
of the churches of Holland, confirmed by the Synod of assSt'Ine*1
Dort: " We receive these books only for holy and canoni- same-
cal — not so much because the church receives and ap
proves them, as because the Spirit of God doth witness in
our hearts that they are of God."
And, lastly, The divines, so called, at Westminster, who Westmin-
began to be afraid of, and guard against the testimony of gion?h"fes"
the Spirit,' because they perceived a dispensation beyond Slme-
that which they were under beginning to dawn, and to
eclipse them ; yet" could they not get by this, though they
have laid it down neither so clearly, distinctly, nor honestly
as "they that went before. It is in these words, chap. 1.
sec. 5 : " Nevertheless, our full persuasion and assurance
of the infallible truth thereof, is from the inward work of
the Holy Spirit, bearing witness by and with the Word in
our hearts."
By all which it appeareth how necessary it is to seek the
certainty of -the scriptures from the Spirit, and no where
else. The infinite j anglings and endless contests of those
that seek their authority elsewhere, do witness to the truth
hereof. For the ancients themselves;, even of the first centuries, Apocrypha.
were not agreed among themselves concerning them ; while Conc.Laod.
some of them rejected books which we approve, and others ^an- 1?> ln
of them approved those which some of us reject. It is not 163.
unknown to such as are in the least acquainted with anti- hX°m the
quity, what great contests are concerning the second epistle yea[ **64>
of Peter, that of James, the second and third of John, and from the ca-
the Revelations,, which many, even very ancient, deny to "he W^s-
have been written by the beloved disciple and brother of d°m of ®°-
•* r lomon, Ju-
James, but by another of that name. What should then dith, To-
become of Christians, if they had not received that Spirit, Maccabees
and those spiritual senses, by which they know how to dis- which the
-' r * j j _ council ol
cern the true from the false ? It is the privilege of Christ's Carthage,
sheep indeed that -they hear his voice, and refuse that of a year 399, e
stranger; which privilege being taken away, we are left a received.
prey to all manner of wolves.

76

PROPOSITION III.

The Scrip
tures are
not the
principal
ground of
truth.

§ II. Though" then we do acknowledge.the scriptures to
be very heavenly and "divine writings, the use of them to
be very comfortable and necessary to the church of Christ,
and that we also admire and give praise to the Lord, for
his wonderful providence" in preserving these., writings so
pure and uncorrupted as we have them, through so long a,
night of apostacy, to be a testimony of his truth against
the wickedness and abominations even of those whom he
made instrumental in preserving them, so that they have
kept them to be a witness against themselves ; yet we may
not call them the principal fountain of all truth and know
ledge, nor yet the first adequate rule of faith and manners ;
because the principal fountain of truth must be the Truth
itself; i. e., that whose certainty and authority depends not
upon.another. When we doubt ofthe streams of any river
or flood, we recur to the fountain itself; and, having found
it, there we desist, we can go no farther ; because there it
springs out of the bowels of the earth, which are inscrut
able. Even so the writings and sayings of all men we
must bring to the Word of God, I mean the Eternal Word,
and if they agree hereunto, we stand there. For this Word
always proceedeth, and doth eternally proceed from God,
in and by which the unsearchable wisdom of God, and un
searchable' counsel and will conceived in the heart of God,
is revealed unto us. That then the scripture is not the
principal ground of faith and knowledge, as it appears by
what is above spoken, so it is proved in the latter part of
the proposition, which, being reduced to an argument, runs
thus :
That Whereof the certainty and authority depends upon
another, and which is received as truth because of its pro
ceeding from another, is not to be accounted the principal
ground and origin of all truth and knowledge :
But the scriptures' authority and certainty depend upon
the Spirit by which they were dictated ; and the reason why
they were received as truth is, because they proceeded from
the Spirit:
Therefore they are not the principal ground of truth.

OF THE SCRIPTURES. 77
To confirm this argument, I added the school maxim :
Propter quod unumquodque est tale, illud ipsum magis est
tale. Whieh maxim, though I confess it doth not hold
universally in all things, yet in this it doth and will very
well hold, as by applying it, as we have above intimated,
will appear. ¦
The Same argument will hold as to the other branch of Neither are
the proposition, That it is not the primary adequate rule primary6
of faith and manners ; thus : rule of faith
That which is not the rule of my faith in believing the ners.
scriptures themselves, is not the , primary adequate rule of
faith and manners :
But the scripture is not, nor can it be the rule of that
faith by which I believe them, j&c.
Therefore, &c.
But as to this part, we shall produce divers arguments That the
hereafter. As to what is affirmed, that the Spirit, and not ff ls the
the scriptures, is the rule, it is largely handled in the former
proposition ; the sum whereof I shall subsume in one argu
ment, thus :
If by the Spirit we can only come to the true knowledge
of- God ; if by the Spirit we are to be led into all truth,
and so be taught of all things; then the Spirit, and not the
scriptures, is the foundation and ground of all truth and
knowledge, ahd the primary rule of faith and manners :
But the first is true, therefore also the last.
Next, the very nature of the gospel itself declareth that
the scriptures cannot be the only and chief, rule of Chris
tians, else there should be no difference betwixt the law
and the gospel; as from the nature of the new covenant,
by divers scriptures described in the former proposition, is
proved. , But besides these which-are before mentioned, herein Wherein
doth the law and the gospel differ, in that the la,w, being gospeTdtf-
outwardly written, brings under condemnation, but hath *er-
not life in it to save ; whereas the gospel, as it declares and
makes manifest the evil, so, being an inward powerful
thing, it gives power also to obey, and delivers from the
7*

78 PROPOSITION III.
evil. Hence it is called Euaf^Xiov, which is glad, tidings.
The law or letter, which is without us, kills ; but the gos
pel, which is the inward spiritual law, gives life ; for it
consists not so much in words as in virtue. Wherefore
such as come to know it, and be acquainted with itj come
to feel greater power over their iniquities than all outward
laws or rules can give them. Hence the apostle concludes^
Rom. vi. 14, " Sin shall not have dominion over you : for
ye are not under the law, but under grace." This grace
then that is inward, and not an outward law, is to be the
rule of Christians. Hereunto the apostle commends -the
elders of the church, saying, Acts xx. 32, " And now,
brethren, I- commend you to God, and to the word of his
grace, which is able to build you up; and to give you an
inheritance among all them which are sanctified." He
doth not commend them here to outward laws or writings,
but to the word of grace, which is inward ; even the spi
ritual law, which makes free, as he elsewhere affirms^ Rom.
viii, 2, " The law ofthe Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, hath
made me free from the law of sin and death." This spiritual
law is that which the apostle declares he preached and
directed people unto, which wasnot outward-, as by Rom.
x. 8, is manifest ; where distinguishing it from the law, he
saith, " The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in
thy heart ; that is the word of faith which we preach."
From what is above said I argue thus :
The principal rule of Christians, under the gospel is not
an outward letter, nor law outwardly written'and delivered,
but an inward spiritual law, engraven in the heart, the law
of the Spirit of life, the word that is nigh in the heart and
in the mouth.
But the letter ofthe scripture is outward, of itself a dead
thing, a mere declaration of good things, but not the things
themselves:
The scrip- Therefore it is not, nor can be, the chief or principal rule
ture not the „ ~. . . . r sr .
rule. of Christians.
§ III. Thirdly, That which is given to Christians for a
rule and guide, must needs be so full,- that it may clearly

OF THE SCRIPTURES. 79
and distinctly guide and order them in all things and occur
rences that-may fallout.
But in that there are numberless things, with regard to
their circumstances, which particular Christians may be con
cerned in, for which there can be no particular rule had in
the scriptures ;
Therefore the scriptures cannot be a rule to them.
I shall give an instance in two or three particulars to
prove this proposition. It is not to be doubted but some
men are particularly called to some particular services ;
their being not found in which, though the act be no ge
neral positive duty, yet in so far as it may be required of
them, is a great sin to omit ; forasmuch as God is zealous
of his glory, and every act of disobedience to his will ma
nifested, is enough not only to hinder one greatly from
that comfort and inward peace which otherwise he might
have, but also bringeth condemnation.
As for instance, some are called to the ministry of the
word : Paul saith, There was a necessity upon him to
preach the gospel ; wo unto me, if I preach not.
If it be necessary that there be now ministers of the
church, as well as then, then there is the same necessity
upon some, more than upon others to occupy this place ;
which necessity, as it may be incumbent upon particular
persons, the scripture neither doth nor can declare.
If it be said, That the qualifications of a minister are Object.
found in the scripture, and by applying these qualifications
to myself, I may know whether I be fit for such a place or
not; I answer, The qualifications of a bishop, or minister, as Answ.
they are mentioned both in the epistle to Timothy and
Titus, are such as may be found in a private Christian ;
yea, which ought in some measure to be in every true
Christian : so that this giveth a man no certainty. Every
capacity to an office giveth me not a sufficient call to it.
Next again, By what rule shall I judge if I be so quali
fied ? How do I know that I am sober, meek, holy, harm
less ? Is it not the testimony of the Spirit in my conscience

80 PROPOSITION III.
that must assure me hereof? And suppose that I was qua
lified and called, yet what scripture rule shall inform me,
whether it be my duty to preach in this or that place, in
France or England, Holland or Germany ? Whether I shall
take up my time in confirming the faithful, reclaiming
heretics, or converting infidels, as also in writing epistles
to this or that church? ,
The general rules of the scripture, viz., To be diligent
in my duty, to do all to the. glory of God, and for the
good of his church, can give me no light in this thing.
Seeing two different things may both have a respect to that
way, yet may I commit a great error and offence in doing
the one, when I am called to the other. If Paul, when his
face was turned by the Lord toward Jerusalem, had gone
back to Achaia, or Macedonia, he might have supposed he
could have done God more acceptable service, in preach
ing and confirming the churches, than in being shut up in
prison in Judea ; but would God have been pleased here
with ? Nay certainly. Obedience is better than sacrifice ;
and it is not our doing that which is good simply that
pleaseth God, but that good which he willeth us to do.
Every member hath its particular place in the body, as the
Apostle showeth, 1 Cor. xii. If then, I being the foot,
should offer to exercise the office of the hand ; or being the
hand, that of the tongue; my service would be trouble
some, and not acceptable ; and instead of helping the body,
That which I should make a schism in it. So that that which is good
one^oVo* f°r an°ther to do, may be sinful to me : for as masters will
maybe sin- have their servants to obey them, according to their good
fill to an- . , ' ,.,,.' ,, , . , , • ,
other. pleasure, and not only in blindly doing that which may
seem to them to tend to their master's profit, whereby it
may chance, the master, having business both in the field
and in the house, that the servant that knows not his mas
ter's will may go to the field, when it is the' mind of the
master he should stay and do the business of the house,
would not this servant then deserve a reproof, for not an
swering his master's mind? And what master is so sottish
and careless, as, having many servants, to leave them in

OF THE UCRIPTURES. 81
such disorder as not to assign each his particular station,
and not only the general terms of doing that which is pro
fitable ? which would leave them in various doubts, and
no doubt end in confusion.
Shall we then dare to ascribe unto Christ, in the order
ing of his church and servants, that which in man might
justly be accounted disorder and confusion? The apostle
showeth this distinction well, Rom. xii. 6, 7, 8, " Having Diversities
then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to ° gI ts'
us ; whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the
"proportion of faith; or ministry, let us wait. on- our minis
tering ; or he that teacheth, on teaching ; or he that ex-
horteth, on exhortation." Now what scripture rule showeth
me that I, ought to exhort, rather than prophesy? or to
minister, rather than teach ? Surely none at all. Many
more difficulties of this kind occur in the life of a Chris
tian. Moreover, that which of all things is most needful for Of faith and
him to know, to wit, whether he really be in the faith, and ^nthe"
an heir of salvation, or not, the scripture can give him no scripture
certainty in, neither can it be a rule to him. That this thee?
knowledge is exceeding desirable and comfortable all do
unanimously acknowledge ; besides that it_ is especially
commanded, 2 Cor. xiii. 5, " Examine yourselves, whether
ye be in the faith, prove your own selves ; know ye not
your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye
be reprobates ? And 2 Pet. i. 10, "Wherefore the rather,
brethren, give diligence tp make your calling and elec
tion sure." Now I say, What scripture rule can assure
me that I have true faith ? That my calling and election is

sure

If it be said, By comparing the scripture marks of true
faith with mine :
I demand, Wherewith shall I make this observation?
What shall ascertain me that I am not mistaken ? It cannot
be the scripture : that is the matter under debate.
If it be said, My own heart :
How unfit a judge is it in its own case ? And how like
L

82 PROPOSITION III.
to be partial, especially if it be yet unrenewed ? Doth not
The heart the scripture say, that " it is deceitful above all things ?"
ceitfui! 6" I find the promises, I find the threatenings, iri the scrip
ture ; but who telleth me that the one belongs to me more
than the other ? The scripture gives me a mere .declaration
of these things, but makes no application ; so that the as
sumption must be of my own making, thus ; as for exam
ple : I find this- proposition in scripture ;
"He that believes, shall be saved:" thence I draw the
assumption. But I, Robert, believe ;
Therefore, I shall be saved.
The minor is of my own making, not expressed in the
scripture ; and so a human conclusion, not a divine posi
tion ; so that my faith and assurance here is not built upon
a scripture proposition, but upon an human principle;
which, unless I be sure of elsewhere, the scripture gives
me no' certainty in the matter.
Again, If I should pursue the argument further, and
seek a new medium out of the scripture, the same difficulty
would occur : thus,
He that hath the true and certain marks of true faith,
hath true faith :
But I have those marks :
Therefore I have true faith.
For the assumption is still here of my own making, and
is. not found in the scriptures; and by consequence the
conclusion can be no better, since it still followeth the
weaker proposition. This is indeed so pungent, that the
The inward best of Protestants, who plead for this assurance, ascribe
oftheSpmt it to the inward testimony of the Spirit ; as Calvin, in that
8cripture°f large citation, cited in the former proposition. So that,
promises, not to seek farther into the writings of the primitive Pro
testants, which are full of such expressions, even the West
minster confession of faith affirmeth, chap, xviii, sect. 12,
" This certainty is not a bare conjecture and probable per
suasion, grounded upon fallible hope, bufan infallible
assurance of faith, founded upon the divine truth of the

OF THE SCRIPTURES. 83
promise of salvation ; the inward evidences of these graces,
unto which these promises are made ; the testimony of the
Spirit of adoption, witnessing to our spirits that we are the
children of God ; which Spirit is the earnest of our in
heritance, whereby we are sealed to the day of redemp
tion." Moreover, the scripture itself, wherein we are so ear
nestly pressed to seek after this assurance, doth not at all
affirm itself a rule- sufficient to give it, but wholly ascribeth
it to the Spirit, as Rom. viii. 16, " The Spirit itself beareth
witness with our spirit; that we are the children of God,"
1 John iv. 13, "Hereby know we that we dwell in him,
and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit;"
and chap. v. 6, "And it is the Spirit that beareth witness,
because the Spirit is truth."
§ IV. Lastly, That cannot be the only, principal, nor That the
chief rule, which doth not universally reach every indivi- !£" noun*
dual that needeth it, to produce the necessary effect; and chief rule.
from the "use of which, either by some innocent and sinless
defect, or natural yet harmless and blameless imperfection,
many who are within the- compass of the visible church,
and may, without absurdity, yea, with great probability,
be accounted of the elect, are necessarily excluded, and
that either wholly, or at least from the immediate use
thereof. But it so falls out frequently concerning the
scriptures, in the case of deaf people, children, and idiots, l.Deafpeo-
who can by no means have the benefit of the scriptures. §le' cllllj
ci rr ¦ ¦ dren, and
Shall we then affirm, that they are without any rule to God- idiots in
ward, or that they are all damned? As such an opinion is s ance '
in itself very absurd, and inconsistent both with the justice
and mercy of God, so I know no sound reason can be
alleged for it. Now if we may suppose any such to be
under the new" covenant dispensation, as I know none will
deny but that we may suppose it without any absurdity,
we cannot suppose them without some rule and means of
knowledge ; seeing it is expressly affirmed, " They shall
be all taught of God," John vi. 45. "For all shall know
me from the least to the greatest," Heb. viii. 11. But

84 PROPOSITION III.
secondly, Though we were rid of this difficulty, how many
illiterate and yet good men are there in the church of God,
who cannot read a letter in their own mother tongue?
Which imperfection^ though it be inconvenient, I cannot
tell whether we may safely affirm it to be sinful. These
can have no immediate knowledge of the rule of their
faith ; so their faith must needs depend upon the credit of
other men's reading or relating it unto them ; where either
the altering, adding, or omitting of a little word may be a
"foundation in the poor hearer of a very dangerous mistake,
whereby he may either continue in some iniquity ignorant-
2. Papists ly, or believe a lie confidently. As for example, The
second * " Papists in all their catechisms, and public exercises of ex-
command- aminations towards the people, have boldly cut away the
ment from , ¦ • , -i
the people, second command, because it seems so expresslyto strike
against their adoration. and use of images; whereas many
of these people, in whom by this omission this false opinion
is fostered,- are under a simple impossibility, or at least a
very great difficulty, to be outwardly informed of this
abuse. But further ; suppose all could read the scriptures
in their own language ; where is there one of a thousand
that hath that thorough knowledge of the original languages
in which they are written, so as in that respect immediately
3. The un- to receive the benefit of them ? Must not all these here
certainty ot ,
the inter- depend upon the honesty and faithfulness of the interpre-
the'scrip- ters •? Which how uncertain it is for a man to build his
jur?' a"d. faith upon, the many corrections, amendments, and various
teratingit. essays, which even among Protestants have been used,
whereof the. latter have constantly blamed and corrected
the former, as. guilty of defects and errors, doth sufficiently
declare. And that even the last translations in the vulgar
languages need to be corrected, as I could prove at large,
were it proper in -this place, learned men do confess.
But last of all, there is no less difficulty occurs even to
those skilled in the original languages,- who cannot so im
mediately receive the mind of the authors in these writings,
as that their faith doth not at least obliquely depend upon
the honesty and credit of the transcribers, since the origi-

OF THE SCRIPTURES. 85
nal copies are granted by all not to be now extant. Of
which transcribers Jerome in his time complained, saying, Hieron.
That they wrote not what they found, but what they under- SlucS
stood. And Epiphanius saith, That in the good and cor- P- 2*7.
rect copies of Luke it was written, that Christ wept, and Epiph. in
that Irenseus doth cite it ; but that the Catholics blotted it tom.^oper.
out, fearing lest heretics should have abused it. Other
fathers also declare, That whole verses were taken out of
Mark, because of the Manichees.
But further, the various readings of the Hebrew cfia- Thevarioua
racter by reason of the points, which some plead for, as Jn| Hebrew
coeval with the first writings, which others, with no less character,
probability, allege tobe a later invention ; the disagreement
of divers citations of Christ and the apostles with those
passages in the Old Testament they appeal to ; the great
controversy among the fathers, whereof some highly approve
the Greek Septuagint, decrying and rendering very doubt
ful the Hebrew copy, as in many places vitiated and altered
by the Jews ; other some, and particularly Jerome, exalting
the certainty of the Hebrew, and rejecting, yea, even de
riding the history of the Septuagint, which the primitive
church chiefly made use of; and -some fathers that lived
centuries before him, affirmed to be a most certain thing:
and the many various readings in divers copies of the
Greek, and the great altercations among the fathers of the
first three centuries, who had greater opportunity to be
better informed than we can now lay claim to, concerning
the books to be admitted or rejected, as is above observed ;
I say, all these and much more which might be alleged,
puts the minds even of the learned into infinite doubts,
scruples, and inextricable difficulties : whence we may very
safely conclude, that Jesus Christ, who promised to be al
ways with his children, to lead them into all truth, to guard
them against the devices of the enemy, arid to establish ;
their faith upon a"h unmovable rock, left them not to be
principally ruled by that, which was subject in itself to
many uncertainties : and therefore he gave them his Spirit,
as their principal guide, which neither moths nor time can
8

86 PROPOSITION III.
wear out, nor transcribers nor translators corrupt ; which
none are so young, none so illiterate, none in so remote a
place, but they may come to be reached, and rightly in-
fornieo! by it.
Through and by the'clearness which. that Spirit gives us
it is,,that we are only best rid of those difficulties that oc
cur to us concerning the scriptures. The real and un
doubted experience whereof I myself have been a witness of,
with great admiration ofthe love of God to his childrenin
Wrong these latter days: fori have known some of my friends,
o?scripture who profess the same faith with me, faithful servants of the
discernedin Most High God, and full of divine knowledge of his truth,
the Spirit . 6. ' , , . n , ,° . ...
by the un- as it was immediately and inwardly revealed to them by the
ktterB? " Spirit, from a true and living experience, who not only
were ignorant of the Greek ahd Hebrew, but even some of
them could not read their own vulgar language, who being
pressed by their adversaries .with some citations out of the
English translation, and finding them to disagree with the
manifestation of truth in their own hearts, have boldly
affirmed the Spirit of God never said so, and that it was
certainly wrong; for they did not' believe that any of the
holy prophets or apostles had ever written so ; which when
I on this account seriously examined, I really found to be
errors and corruptions of the translators ; who, as in most
translations, do not so much give us the genuine significa
tion of the words, as strain them to express that which
comes nearest to that opinion and notion they have -of
truth. And this seemed to me to suit very well with that
saying of Augustine, Epist. 19, ad Hier. Tom ii. fol. 14,
after he has said, " That he gives only that honour to those
books which are called canonical, as to believe that the au
thors thereof did in writing not err," he adds, " And if I
shall meet with anything in these writings that seemeth re
pugnant to truth, I shall not doubt to say, that either the
volume is faulty or erroneous ; that the expounder hath
not reached what was said ; or that I have in no wise un
derstood it." So that he supposes that in the transcription
and translation there may be errors.

OF THE SCRIPTURES. 87
§ V. If it be then asked me, Whether I think hereby to Object.
render the scriptures altogether uncertain, or useless ?
I answer; Not at all. The proposition. itself declares Answ. i.
how much I esteem them ; and provided that to the Spirit
from which they came be but granted that place the scrip
tures themselves give it, I do freely concede to the scrip
tures the secondplace, even whatsoever they say of them
selves ; which -the apostle Paul chiefly mentions in two
places, Rom, xv. 4: "Whatsoever things were written
aforetime, were written for our learning, that we through
patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope."
2 Tim. iii. 15, 16, 17 : The holy scriptures are able to
make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is , in
Christ Jesus. All scripture given by inspiration of God,
is profitable — for correction, for instruction in righteous
ness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly fur
nished unto all good works.
For though God doth principally and chiefly lead us by
his Spirit, yet he sometimes conveys his comfort and con
solation to us through his children, whom he raises up and
inspires to speak or write a word in season, whereby the
saints are made instruments in the hand of the Lord to
strengthen and encourage one another, which doth also
tend to perfect and make them wise unto salvation ; and
such as are led by the Spirit cannot neglect, but do natu- The saints*
rally love, and are wonderfully cherished by that which comfort is
proceedeth from the same Spirit in another; because such Q". *a™e ,,
mutual emanations of the heavenly life tend to quicken the
mind when at any time it is overtaken with heaviness.
Peter himself declares this to have been the end of his
writing, 2 Pet. i. 12, 13 : " Wherefore I will not be neg
ligent to put you always in remembrance of these things,
though ye know them, and be established in the present
truth ; yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this taber
nacle, to stir you up, by putting you in remembrance."
God is teacher of his' people himself; and there is no
thing more express, than that such as are under the new
covenant, need no man to teach them : yet it was a fruit

88

PROPOSITION III.

Answ. 2.
The scrip
tures a
looking- glass.

of. Christ's ascension to send teachers and pastors for per
fecting of the saints. So that the same work is ascribed
to the scriptures as to teachers; the one to make the
man of God perfect, the other for the perfection of the
saints. As then teachers are not to go before the teaching of
God himself under the new covenant, but to follow after
it ; neither are they to rob us of that great privilege which
Christ hath purchased unto us by his blood ; so neither is
the scripture to go before the teaching of the Spirit, or to
rob us of it.
Secondly, God hath seen meet that herein we should, as
in a looking-glass, see the conditions and experiences of
the saints of old; that (finding our experience answer to
theirs, we might thereby be the more confirmed and com
forted, and our hope of obtaining the same end. strength
ened ; that observing the providences attending them, seeing
the snares they were liable to, and beholding their deliver
ances, we may thereby be made' wise unto salvation, and
seasonably reproved and instructed in righteousness.
This is the great work of the scriptures, and their ser-
™ jesl w?rk vice to us, that we may witness them fulfilled in us, and so
and service. .
discern the stamp of God's spirit and ways upon them, by
the inward acquaintance we have with the same Spirit and
work in our hearts. The prophecies of the scriptures are
also very comfortable and profitable unto us, as the same
Spirit enlightens us to observe them fulfilled, and to be ful
filled ; for in all this it is to be observed, that it is only the
spiritual man that can make a right use of them : they are able
to make the man of God perfect, so it is not the natural man ;
and whatsoever was written' aforetime, was written for our
comfort, [our] that are the believers, [our] that are the saints;
concerning such the apostle speaks : for as for the others,
the apostle Peter plainly declares, that the unstable and
unlearned wrest them to their own destruction : these were
they that were unlearned in the divine and heavenly learn
ing of the Spirit, not in human and school literature ; in
which we may safely presume that Peter himself, being a

The scrip-

OF THE SCRIPTURES. 89
fisherman, had no skill ; for it may with great probability,
yea certainty, be affirmed, that he had no knowledge of
Aristotle's logic, which both Papists and Protestants now,* Logic.
degenerating from the simplicity of truth, make the hand- 1675,
maid of divinity, as they call it, and a necessary introduc
tion to their carnal, natural, and human ministry. By the
infinite obscure labours of which kind of men, intermixing
their heathenish stuff, the scripture is rendered at this day
of so little service to the simple people : whereof if Jerome
complained in his time, now twelve hundred years ago,
Hierom. Epist. 134, ad Cypr. Tom. 3, saying, "It is wont
to befal the most part of learned men, that it is harder to
understand their expositions, than the things which they
go about to expound ;" what may we say then, considering
those great heaps of commentaries since, in ages yet far
more corrupted ?
§ VI. In this respect above mentioned, then, we have
shown what service and use the holy scriptures, as managed
in and by the Spirit, are of to the church of God ; where- The scrip.
fore we do account them a secondary rule. Moreover, be- ^ja™6"
cause they are commonly acknowledged by all to have rule.
been written by the dictates of the Holy Spirit, and that
the errors which may be supposed by the injury of times
to have slipped in, are not such but that there is a sufficient
clear testimony left to all the essentials of the Christian
faith; we do look upon them as the only fit outward judge
of controversies among Christians; and that whatsoever
doctrine is contrary unto their testimony, may therefore
justly be rejected as false. And for our parts, we are very
willing that all our- doctrines and practices be tried by
them ; which we never refused, nor ever shall, in all con
troversies with our adversaries, as the judge and test. We
shall also be very willing to admit it as a positive certain
maxim, That whatsoever any do, pretending to the Spirit,
which is contrary to the scriptures, be accounted and
reckoned a delusion of the devil. For as we never lay
claim to the Spirit's leadings, that we may. cover ourselves
in any thing that is evil ; so we know, that as every evil
8* m

90 PROPOSITION III.
contradicts the scriptures, so it doth also" the Spirit in the
first place, from which the scriptures came, and whose mo
tions can never contradict one another, though they may
appear sometimes to be contradictory to the blind eye of
the natural man, as Paul and James seem to contradict
one another.
Thus far we have shown both what we believe, and
what we believe not, concerning the holy scriptures, hop
ing we have given them their due place. But since they
that will ne£ds have them to be the only, certain, and
principal rule, want not some show of arguments, even
from the scripture itself (though it no where calls itself so)
by which they labour to prove their doctrine^ I shall
briefly lay them down by way of objections, and answer
thenij before I make an end of this matter.
Obj. 1. § VII. Their first objection is usually drawn frOm Isaiah
viii. 20, " To the law and to the testimony ; if they speak
not according to this Word, it is because there is no light
in them." , Now this law, testimony, and word, they'plead
to be the scriptures.
Answ. To which I answer ; That that is to beg the thing in
question, and remains yet unproved. Nor do I know for
what reason we may not safely affirm this law and word to
be inward : but suppose it was outward, it proves not the
case at all for them, neither makes it against us ; for it
may be confessed, without any prejudice to our cause, that
the outward law was more particularly to the Jews a rule,
and more principally than to us ; seeing their law was out
ward and literal, but ours, under the new covenant, as
hath been already said, is expressly affirmed to be inward,
and spiritual ; so that this scripture is so far from making
To try all against us, that it makes for us. For if the Jews were
what V by directed to try all things by their law, which was without
them, written in tables of stone ; then if we will have this
advice of the prophet to reach us, we must make it hold
parallel to that dispensation bf the gospel which we are
under : so that we are to try all things, in the first place,
by that word of faith which is preached unto us, which the

OF THE SCRIPTURES. 91
apostle saith. is in the heart; and by that law which God
hath, given us, which the apostle saith also expressly is
written and placed in the mind.
Lastly, If we look to this place according to the Greek
interpretation of the Septuagint, our adversaries shall have
nothing from therice to carp ; yea, it will favour us much;
for there it is said, that "the law is given us for a help;"
which very well agrees with what is above asserted.
Their second objection is from John v. 39, " Search the Obj. 2.
scriptures," &c.
Here, say they, we are commanded, by Christ himself,
to search the scriptures.
I answer, First, That the scriptures ought to be searched, Answ. 1.
we do not at all deny ; but are very willing to be tried by
them, as hath been above declared : but the question is,
Whether they be the only and principal rule ? Which this
is so far from proving, that it proveth the contrary; for
Christ checks them here for too high an esteem of. the
scriptures,, and neglecting of him that was to be preferred
before them, and to whom they bore witness, as the fol
lowing words declare-; "for in them ye think ye have Search the
eternal life, and they are they which testify of me : and ye &"f ures'
will not come unto me, that -ye might have life." This
shows, that while they thought they had eternal life in the
scriptures, they neglected to come Unto Christ to have life,
of which the scriptures bore witness. This answers well
to. our purpose, since our adversaries now do also exalt
the scriptures, and think to have life in them ; which is no
more than to look upon them as the only principal rule and
way to life, and yet refuse to come unto the Spirit of which
they testify, even the inward spiritual law, which could
give them life : so that the cause of this people's ignorance
and unbelief was not their want of respect to the scriptures,
which though they knew, and had a high esteem of, yet
Christ testifies in the former verses, that they had neither
" seen the Father, nor heard his voice at any time ; neither
had his word abiding in them ;" which had they then had,
then they had believed in the Son. Moreover, that place Answ. 2.

92 PROPOSITION III.
may be taken in the indicative mood, Ye search the scrip
tures ; which interpretation the Greek word will bear, and
so Pasor translateth it": which by the reproof following
seemeth also to be the more genuine interpretation, as Cy
rillus long ago hath observed.
Obj.3. § VIII. Their third, objection is from these words, Acts
xvii. 11, "These were more noble than those in Thessalo
nica, in that they received the word with all readiness of
mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those
things were so."
Here, say they, the Bereans are commended for search
ing the scriptures, and malting them the rule.
Ans. l. I answer ; That the scriptures either are the principal or
only rule, wilLnot at all follow from this ; neither will their
searching the scriptures, or being commended for it, infer
any such thing: for we recommend and approve the use
of them in that respect as much as any ; yet will it not
follow, that we affirm them to be the principal and only
rule. Secondly, It is to be observed that these were the Jews
of Berea, to whom these scriptures, which were the law
and the prophets, were more particularly a rule ; and the
thing under examination was, whether the birth, life, works,
and sufferings of Christ, did answer to the prophecies con
cerning him ; so that it was most proper for them, being
Jews, to examine the apostle's doctrine by the scriptures ;
seeing he pleaded it to be a fulfilling of them. It is said
nevertheless, in the first place, That "they received the
word with cheerfulness ;" and in the second place, " They
searched the scriptures :" not that they searched the scrip
tures, and then received the word ; for then could they not
have prevailed to convert them, had they not first minded
the word abiding in them, which opened their understand
ings ; no more than the Scribes and Pharisees, who, as in
the former objection we observed, searched the scriptures,
and exalted them, and yet remained in their unbelief, be
cause they had not the word abiding in them.
Ans. 3. But lastly, If this commendation of the Jewish Bereans

Ans. 2.
The Bere
ans search
ing the
scripturesj makes
them not
the only
rule to try
doctrines.

OF THE SCRIPTURES. 93
might infer that the scriptures were the only and principal
rule to try the apostle's doctrine by, what should have be
come of the Gentiles ? How should they ever have come
to have received the faith of Christ, who neither knew the
scriptures, nor believed "them ? We see in the end of the
same chapter, how the apostle, preaching to the Athenians, The Athe-
took another method, and directed them to somewhat of nians m".
God within themselves, that they might feel after him. He
did not go about to proselyte them to the Jewish- religion,
and to the belief of the law and the prophets, and from
thence to prove the coming of Christ; nay, he took a
nearer way. Now certainly the principal and only rule is
not different; one to the Jews, and -another to the Gen
tiles ;" but is universal, reaching both : though secondary
and subordinate rules and means may be various, and
diversely suited, according as the people they are used to
are stated and circumstantiated : even so we see that the
apostle to the Athenians used a testimony of one of their
own poets, which he judged would have credit with them ;
and no doubt such testimonies, whose authors they esteem
ed, had more weight with them than allthe sayings of
Moses, and the prophets, whom they neither knew nor
would have cared for. Now because the apostle used the
testimony of a poet to the Athenians, will it therefore follow
he made that the principal or only rule to try his doctrine
by ?-' So neither will it follow, that though he made use
of the scriptures to the Jews, as being a principle already
believed by them, to try his-doctrine, that from thence the
scriptures rhay be accounted the principal or only rule.
§ IX. The last, and that which, at first view seems to be
the greatest objection, is this :,
If the scripture be not the adequate, principal, and only Obj. 4.
rule, then it would follow that the scripture is not com
plete, nor the canon filled ; that if men be now imme
diately led and ruled by the Spirit, they may add new
scriptures of equal authority with the old ; whereas every
one that adds is cursed : yea, what assurance have we, but

94

Answ.

Obj. 1.

Ans. 1.

Ans. 2.

Gal. i. 8.

A new re
velation is
not a new
gospel.

Books ca
nonical.

PROPOSITION III.
at this rate every one may bring in a new gospel according
to his fancy?
The dangerous consequences insinuated in this objection
werefully answered in the latter part of the last proposition,
in what was said a little before, offering freely to disclaim
all pretended revelations contrary to the scriptures.
But if it be urged, That it is not enough to deny these
consequences, if they naturally follow from your doctrine
of immediate revelation, and denying the scripture to be
the only rale ;
I answer ; We have proved both these doctrines to be
true and, necessary, according to the scriptures themselves;
and therefore to fasten evil consequences upon them, which
we make appear do not follow, is not to accuse us, but
Christ and his apostles, who preached them.
But Secondly, We have shut the door upon all such
doctrine in this very position ; affirming, That the scrip
tures give a full -and ample testimony to all the principal
doctrines of the Christian faith. For we do firmly believe
that there is no other gospel or doctrine to be preached,
but that which was delivered by the apostles ; and do freely
subscribe to that saying, Let him that preacheth any other
gospel, than that which hath been already preached by the
apostles, and according to the scriptures, be accursed.
So we distinguish betwixt a revelation of a new gospel,
and new doctrines, and a new revelation of the good old
gospel and doctrines ; the last we plead for, but the first
we utterly deny. For we firmly believe, That no " other
foundation can any man lay, than that which is laid already.
But that this revelation is necessary we have already proved;
and this distinction doth sufficiently guard us against the
hazard insinuated in the objection.
As to the scriptures being1 a filled canon, I see no neces
sity of believing it. And if these men, that believe the
scriptures to be the only rule, will be consistent with their
own doctrine, they must needs be of my judgment ; seeing
it is simply impossible to prove the cahon by the scriptures.
For it cannot be found in any book of the scriptures, that

OF THE SCRIPTURES. 95
these books, and just these, and" no other, are canonical,
as all are forced to acknowledge ; how can they then evite
this argument ?
That which cannot be proved by scripture is no necessary
article of faith.
But the canon of the scripture ; to wit, that there are so
many books precisely, neither more nor less, cannot be
proved by scripture :
Therefore, it is no necessary article of faith.
If they should allege ; That the admitting of. any other Obj. a.
books to be now written by the same Spirit might infer the
admission of new doctrines ;
I deny that consequence ; for the principal or fundamen
tal doctrines of the Christian religion are contained in the
tenth part of the scripture ; but it will not follow thence
that the rest are impertinent or useless. If it should please
God to bring to us any of those books, which by the injury
of time are tost, which are mentioned in the scripture ; as,
The Prophecy of Enoch ; the Book of Nathan, &c, or, the Books lost.
Third Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians ; I see no reason
why we ought not to receive them, and place them with
the rest. That which displeaseth me is, that men should
first affirm that the scripture is the only and principal rule,
and yet make a great article of faith of that which the scrip
ture can give, us no light in.
As for instance : How shall a Protestant prove by scrip
ture, to such as deny the Epistle of James to be authentic,
that it ought to be received ?
First, If he would say, Because it contradicts not the
rest;, besides that there is no mention of it in any of the
rest, perhaps these men think it doth contradict Paul in
relation to faith, and works. But, if that should be granted,
it would as well follow, that every writer that contradicts
not the scripture, should be put into the canon ; and by
this means these men fall into a greater absurdity than they
fix upon us: for. thus they would equal every one the
writings of their own sect with the scriptures ; for I sup
pose they judge -their own confession of faith doth not con-

96

Whether
the Epistle
of James be
authentic,and how to
know it ?

Obj. 3.

Answ.

What it
means to
add to the
scriptures.

PROPOSITION III. /~
tradict the scriptures : Will it therefore follow that it should
be bound up with the Bible ? And yet it seems impossible,
according to their principles-, to bring any better argument
to prove the Epistle of James to be authentic. There is
thenthis unavoidable necessity ~to say, We know it by the
same Spirit from which it was written ; or otherwise to step
back to Rome, and say, We know by tradition that the
church hath declared it to be canonical ; and the church
is infallible. Let them find a mean, if they can. So that
out of this objection we shall draw an unanswerable argu
ment ad hominem, to our purpose.
That which cannot assure me concerning an article of
faith necessary to be believed, is not the primary, adequate,
only rule of faith, &c.
But the scripture cannot thus assure me ; Therefore, &c.
I prove the assumption thus :
That which cannot assure me concerning the canon of
the scripture, to wit, that such books are only to be ad
mitted, and the Apocrypha excluded, cannot assure me of
this. l
Therefore, &c.
And lastly, As to these words, Rev. xxii. 18, That " if
any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto
him the plagues that are written in this book ;" I desire
they will show me how it relates to any thing else than to
that particular prophecy. It saith not, Now the canon of
the scriptures is filled up, no man is to write more from
the Spirit; yea, do not all confess that there have been
prophecies and true prophets since ? The Papists deny it
not. And do not the Protestants affirm, that John Hus
prophesied of the. reformation ? Was he therefore cursed.?
Or did he therein evil ? I could give many other exam
ples, confessed by themselves. But, moreover, the' same
was in effect commanded long before, Prov. xxx. 6, "Add
thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be
found a liar:" Yet how many books of the prophets were
written after ? And the same was said by Moses, Deut. iv.
2, "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command

OF MAN IN THE FALL. 97
you ;, neither shall ye diminish aught from it." So that,
though we should extend that of the revelation beyond the
particular prophecy of that book, it cannot be understood
but of a new gospel, or new doctrines, or bf restraining
man's spirit, that he mix not his human words with the
divine ; and not of a new revelation of the old, as we have
said before.

PROPOSITION IV.
Concerning the Condition of Man in the FaU.
All Adam's posterity, or mankind, both Jews and Gentiles,
as to the first Adam, or earthlj' man, is fallen, degene
rated, and dead ; deprived of the sensation or feeling of
this inward testimony or seed of God; and is subject Rom. v. 12,
unto the power, nature, and seed of the serpent, which '
he soweth in men's hearts, while they abide in this na
tural and corrupted estate : from whence it comes, that
not only their words and deeds, but all their imagina
tions, are evil perpetually in the sight of God, as pro
ceeding from this depraved and wicked seed. Man
therefore, as he is in this state, can know nothing aright ;
yea, his thoughts and conceptions concerning God and
things spiritual, until he be disjoined from this evil seed,
and united to the Divine Light, are unprofitable both to
himself and others. Hence are rejected the Socinian
and Pelagian errors, in exalting a natural light ; as also
of the Papists, and most Protestants, Who affirm, That
man, without the true grace of God, may be a true
minister of the gospel. Nevertheless, this seed is not
imputed to infants, until by transgression they actually
join themselves therewith ; for they are by nature " the
children of wrath," who walk according to the "power Eph. ii.
of the prince of the air, the spirit that now worketh in
the children of disobedience," having their conversation
in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh,
and of the mind.
9 N

98 PROPOSITION IV.
§ I. Hitherto we have discoursed how the true know
ledge of God is attained and preserved ; also of what use
and service the holy scripture is to the saints.
We come nowto examine the state and condition of man
as he stands in the fall; what his Capacity and power is;
and how far he is able, as' of himself, to- advance in rela
tion to the things of God. Of this we touched a little in
the beginning of the second proposition ; but the full, right,
and thorough understanding of it is bf great use and ser
vice ; because from the ignorance and altercations that have
been about it, there have arisen great and dangerous errors,
both on the one hand and on the other. While some do
so far exalt the light of nature, or the faculty of the natural
man, as capable of himself, by virtue of the inward will,
faculty, light, and power, that pertains to his nature, to fol
low that which is good, and make real progress towards
heaven; and of these are the Pelagians, and Semi-Pela
gians of old ; and of late the Socinians, and divers others
among the Papists ; others again will needs run into an-
Augus- other extreme, to whom Augustine, among the ancients,
against2 P^- first made way in his declining age, through the heat of his
lagius. zeai against Pelagius, not only confessing man incapable
of himself to do good, and prone to evil ; but that in his
very mother's, womb, and .before he commits any actual
transgression, he is contaminate with - a real guilt, whereby
he deserves eternal. death: in which respect they are not
afraid to affirm, That many poor infants are eternahy
damned, and for ever endure the torments of hell. There
fore the God of truth, having now .again revealed his truth
that -good and even way, by his own Spirit, hath taught
us to avoid both these extremes.
That then which our proposition leads to treat of is,
First, What the condition of man is in the fall ; and how
far incapable to meddle in the things of God.
And, secondly, That God doth not impute this evil to
infants, until they actually join with it : that so, by estab
lishing the truth, we may overturn the errors on both
parts.

OF MAN IN THE FALL. 99
And as for that third thing included in the proposition
itself concerning these teachers which want the Grace of
God, we shall refer that to the tenth proposition, where the
matter is more particularly handled.
§ II. As to the first, not to dive into the many curious P^kt I.
notions which many have concerning the condition of Adam
before the fall, all agree in this : That thereby he came to Adam's
a very great loss, not only in the things which related to
the outward man, but in regard of that true fellowship and
communion he had with God. ' This loss was signified unto
him in the command, " For in the day thou eatest thereof,
thou shalt surely die," Gen. ii. 17. This death could not
be an outward death, or the dissolution of the outward
man ; for as to that, he did not die yet many hundred
years after ; so that it must needs respect his spiritual life
and communion with God. The consequence of this fall,
besides that which relates to the fruits of the earth, is also
expressed, Gen. iii. 24, "So he drove out the man, and
he placed at the east of the garden, of Eden, cherubims,
and a flaming sword, which turned every way, to keep the
way ofthe tree of life." Now whatsoever literal signification
this may have, we may safely ascribe to this paradise a
mystical signification, and truly account it that spiritual
communion and fellowship, which the saints obtain with
God by Jesus Christ ; to whom only these cherubims give
way, and unto as many as enter by him, who calls himself
the Door. So that, though we do not ascribe any whit of Guilt not
Adam's guilt to men, until they make it theirs by the like AdanVs
acts of disobedience ; yet we cannot suppose that men, posterity.
who are come of Adam naturally, can have any good thing
in their nature, as belonging to it ; .which he, from whom
they derive their nature, had not himself to communicate
unto them.
If then we may affirm, that Adam did not retain in his
nature (as belonging thereunto) any will or light capable to
give him knowledge in spiritual things, then neither can
his posterity; for whatsoever real good any man doth, it
proceedeth not from his nature, as he is man, or the son of

100 PROPOSITION IV.
Adam ; but from the seed of God in him, as a new visita
tion of life, in order to bring him out of this natural con
dition : so that, though it be in him, yet it is'not of him;
and this the Lord himself witnessed, Gen, vi. 5, where it
is said, he " saw that every imagination of the thoughts of
his heart was only evil continually:" which words, as
they are very positive, so are they very comprehensive.
Every ima- Observe the emphasis of them ; First, There is " every
ginationof imagination ofthe thoughts of his heart;" so that this ad-
the natural ° . ° .
man is evil, mits of no exception of any imagination of the thoughts
of his heart. Secondly, " Is only evil continually ;" it is
neither in some part evil continually, nor yet only evil at
some times ; but both only evil, and always and continu
ally evil ; which certainly excludes any good, as a proper
effect of man's heart, naturally : for that which is only evil,
and that always, cannot of its own nature produce any
good thing. The Lord expressed this again a little after,
chap. viii. 21, "The imagination of man's heart" is evil
from his youth." Thus-inferring how natural and proper
it is untq him ; from which I thus argue :
If the thoughts of man's heart be not only evil, but al
ways evil; then are they, as they simply proceed from his
heart, neither good in part, nor at any time.
But the first is true ; therefore the last.
' Again,
If man's thoughts be always and only evil, then are they
altogether useless and ineffectual to him in the things of
God. But the first is true ; therefore the last.
The heart Secondly, This appears cleaily from that saying of the
ceiX"de" Prophet Jeremiah, chap. xvii. 9, « The heart is deceitful
above all things, and desperately wicked." For who can
with any colour of reason imagine, tliat that which is so
hath any power of itself, or is in any wise fit to lead a man
to righteousness, whereunto it is of its own nature directly
opposite ? This is as contrary to reason, as it is impos
sible in nature that a stone, of its own nature and proper
motion, should fly upwards : for as a stone of its own na-

OF MAN IN THE FALL. 101
ture inclineth and is prone to move downwards towards the
centre, so the-heart of man is naturally prone and inclined
to evil, ^some to one, and some to another. From this then
I also thus argue :
That which is "deceitful above all things, and desper
ately wicked," is not fit, neither can it lead a man aright
in things that are good and honest.
But the heart of man is such :
Therefore, &c.
But the apostle Paul describeth the condition of men in Rom.iii.io.
the fall at large, taking it out of the Psalmist. " There is arld liii. 2,
none righteous, no not one : there is none that understandeth, &c-
there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone
out of the way, they are altogether become unprofitable ;
there is none that doth good, no not one. Their throat is Man's
an open sepulchre, with their tongues they have used tne fall.
deceit, the poison of asps is under their lips; whose
mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are
swift to shed blood ; destruction and misery are in their
ways : and the way of peace have they not known. There
is no fear of God before their eyes." What more positive
can be spoken ? He seemeth to be particularly careful to
avoid that any good should be ascribed to the natural man ;
he shows how he is polluted in all his ways ; he shows how
he is void of righteousness, of understanding, of the know
ledge of God ; how he is out of the way, and in short un
profitable ; than which nothing can be more fully said to
confirm our judgment: for if this be the condition of the
natural man, or of man as he stands in the fall, he is unfit
to' make bne right step to heaven.
If it be said, That is riot spoken ofthe condition of man Object.
in general ; but only of some particulars,, or at the least
that it comprehends not all ;
The text showeth the clear contrary in the foregoing Answ.
verses, where the apostle, takes in himself, as he stood in
his natural condition. " What then ? Are we better than
they? No, in no wise; for we have before proved both
Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin, as it is
9*

102

PROPOSITION IV.

By what
nature the
Gentiles
did do the
things of
the law.

written :" and so lie goes on ; by which it is manifest that
he speaks of mankind in .general.
Object. If they object that which the same apostle saith %in the
foregoing chapter, ver 14, to wit, That the Gentiles do
by nature the things -contained in the law, and so conse
quently do by nature that which is good and acceptable in
the sight of God ;
Ans. 1. I answer; This nature must not, neither can be under
stood- of man's own nature, which is corrupt and fallen ;
but of the spiritual nature, which proceedeth from the seed
of God in man, as it receiveth a new visitation of God's •
love, and is quickened by it : which clearly appears by the
following words, where he -saith, " These having not the
law," i. e., outwardly, " are a law unto themselves; which
show the work of the law written in their hearts." These
acts of theirs then are an effect of the law written in their
hearts ; but the scripture declareth, that the writing of the
law in the heart is a part, yea and a- great part too, of the
new covenant dispensation, and so no consequence nor
part of man's nature.
Secondly, If this nature here spoken of could be under
stood of man's own nature, which he hath as he is a man,
then Would the apostle unavoidably contradict himself;
since he elsewhere positively declares, That the natural
man diseerneth not the things of God, nor can. Now I
hope the law of God is among the things of God, especially
as it is written in the heart. The apostle in the viith chap.
of the same epistle, saith, verse 12, that » the law is holy,
just, and good ;" and verse 14, the "law is spiritual, but
he is carnal." Now in what respect is. he carnal, but as
he stands in the fall unregenerate ? Now what inconsistency
would here-be, to say, That he is carnal, and yet not so of
his own nature, seeing it is from his nature that he is so
denominated? We see the apostle contra-distinguisheth
the law as spiritual, from man's nature as carnal and sinful.
Mat.vii. 16. Wherefore, as Christ saith, There can no grapes be ex
pected from thorns, nor figs of -thistles ; so neither can the
fulfilling of the law, which is spiritual, holy, and just, be

Ans. 2.

The natural
man dis
eernethnot, &c.

OF MAN IN THE FALL. 103
expected from that nature which is corrupt, fallen, and
unregenerate. Whence we conclude, with good reason,
that the nature here spoken of, by which the Gentiles are The Gen-
said to have done the things contained in the law, is not ^"tire"
the common nature of men ; but that spiritual nature that j" doing the
ariseth from the works of the righteous and spiritual law
that is written in the heart. I confess they of the other
extreme, when they are pressed with -this testimony by the
Socinians and Pelagians, as well as by us when we use
this scripture, to show them how some of the heathen, by
the light of Christ in their1 heart, came to be saved, are
very far to seek ; giving this answer, That there were some
relics of the heavenly image left in Adam, by which the
heathen could do some -good things. Which, as it is in
itself without proof, so it contradicts their own assertions
elsewhere, and gives away their cause. For if these
relics were of force to enable them to fulfil the righteous
law of God, it takes away the necessity of Christ's com
ing ; or at least leaves them a way to be saved without
him ; unless they will say (which is worst of all) That
though they really fulfilled the righteous law of God, yet
God damned them, because of the want of that particular
knowledge, while he himself withheld all means of their
coming to him, from them ; but of this hereafter.
§ III. I might also here use another argument from
these words of the apostle, 1 Cor. ii, where he so positively
excludes the natural man from an understanding in the
things of God ; but because I have spoken of that scrip
ture in the beginning of the second proposition, I will here
avoid to repeat what is there mentioned, referring there- Socinians
unto : yet. because the Socinians and others, who exalt the fight'ofthe
light of the natural man, or a natural light in man, do ob- natural
ject against this scripture, I shall remove it before I pro- *A uan
Ceed.* progrediar.
They say, The Greek word 4^1x05 ought . to be trans- Object.
lated animal, and not natural; else, say they, it would
have been qwirixos. From which they seek to infer, that it
is only the animal man, and not the rational, that is ex-

104 PROPOSITION IV.
eluded here from discerning the things of God. Which
shift, without disputing about the word, is easily refuted ;
neither is it any wise consistent with the scope of the
place. For,
Ans. l; First, The animal life is no other than that which man
manLmthel hath in common with other living creatures; for as he is a
same with mere man he differs no otherwise from beasts than by the
natural. ' , . .
rational property. Now the apostle deduceth his "argument
in the foregoing verses from this simile ; That as the things
of a man cannot be known but by the spirit of a man, so
the things of God no man knoweth but by the Spirit of
God. But I hope these men will .confess unto me, that
the things of a man are not known by the animal spirit
only, i. e. by that which -he hath in common with the
beasts, but by the rational ; so that it must be the rational
that is here understood. Again, the assumption shows
dearly that the apostle had no such intent as these men's
gloss would make him have, viz. : " So the things of God
knoweth no mail, but the Spirit of God." According to
their judgment he should have said, The things of God
knoweth no man by his animal spirit, but by his rational
spirit : for to say, the Spirit of God, here spoken of, is no
other than the rational spirit of man, would border upon
blasphemy, since they are so often contrai distinguished.
Again, going on, he saith not that they are rationally, but
spiritually discerned.
Ans. 2. Secondly, The apostle throughout this chapter shows
how the wisdom of man is unfit to judge of the things of
God, and ignorant of them. Now I ask these men, whether
a man be called a wise man from his animal property, or
The ration- from his rational ? If from his rational, then it is not only
themnatural tne animal, but also the rational, as he is yet in the natural
state ex- state, which the apostle excludes here, and whom he con
cluded trom . . *• ; . .
discerning tra-distinguisheth from the spiritual, verse 15, But the
ofeGod?gS spiritual man judgeth all things. This cannot be said of
any man merely because rational, or as he is a man, seeing
the men of the greatest reason, if we may so esteem men,
whom the scripture calls wise, as were the Greeks of old,

OF MAN IN THE FALL. 105
not only may be, but often are enemies to the kingdom of
God; while both the preaching of Christ is said to be
foolishness with the wise men of the world, and the wis
dom ofthe world is said to be foolishness with God. Now
whether it be any ways probable that either these wise men
that are said to account the gospel foolishness, are only so
called with respect to their animal property, and not their
rational ; or that the wisdom that is foolishness with God
is riot meant of the rational, but only the animal property,
any rational man, laying aside interest, may easily judge.
§ IV. I come now to the other part,, to wit, That this Infants, no
evil and corrupt seed is not imputed to infants, until to"^^611
they actually join with it. For this there is a reason given
in the end of the proposition itself, drawn from Eph. ii.
For these are by nature children of wrath, who walk ac
cording to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that
now worketh in the children of disobedience. Here the
apostle gives their evil walking, and not any thing that is
not reduced to act, as a reason of their being " children of
wrath." And this is suitable to the whole strain of the
gospel, where no man is ever threatened or judged for
what iniquity he hath not actually wrought : such indeed
as continue in iniquity, and so do allow the sins of their
fathers, God will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children. Is it not strange then that men should entertain an opinion
so absurd in itself, and so cruel and contrary to the nature
as well of God's mercy as justice, concerning which the
scripture is altogether silent ? But it is manifest that man
hath invented this opinion out of self-love, and -from that
bitter root from which all errors spring ; for the most -part The abso-
of Protestants that hold this, having, as they fancy, the oTllectl^rf
absolute decree of election to secure them and their chil- springs
. from self-
dren,, so as they cannot miss of salvation, they make no love.
difficulty to send all others, both old and young, to hell.
For whereas self-love, which is always apt to believe that
which it" desires, possesseth them with a hope that their
part is secure, they are not solicitous how they leave their
o

106 PROPOSITION IV.
neighbours, which-are the far greater part of mankind, in
these inextricable difficulties. The Papists agairi. use this
opinion as an art to augment the esteem of their church,
and reverence of its sacraments, seeing they pretend it is
washed away by. baptism ; only in this they appear to be a
little more merciful, in that they send not these unbaptized
infants to hell, but to a certain limbus, concerning which
the scriptures are as silent as of the other. This then is not
only not authorized in the scriptures, but contrary to the
( express tenor of them. The apostle saith plainly, ,Rom< iv.
15, "Where no law is, there is no transgression." And
again, ch. v. 13, "But sin is not imputed, where there is
no law." Than which testimonies there is nothing more
To infants positive ; since to infants there is no law, seeing as such
law6 so no tnev are ut*erfy incapable of it ; the law cannot reach any
transgres- but such as have in some measure less or more the exer
cise of their understanding, which infants have not. So
that from thence I argue thus :
Sin is imputed to none, where there is no law.
But to infants there is no law :
Therefore sin is not imputed to them.
The proposition is the apostle's own words; the as
sumption is thus proved :
Those who are under a physical impossibility of either
hearing, knowing, or understanding any law, where the
impossibility is not brought upon them by any act of their
own, but is according to the very order of nature appointed
by God ; to such there is no law.
But infants are under this physical impossibility :
Therefore, &c.
Secondly, What can be more positive than that of Ezek.
xviii. 20-, " The soul that sinneth, it shall die : the son shall
not bear the iniquity of the father." For the prophet here
first showeth what ; is the cause of man's eternal death,
which he saith is his sinning ; and then, as if he purposed
expressly to shut out such an opinion, he assures us, " The
son shall not bear the iniquity of the father." From which
I thus argue i

OF MAN IN THE FALL. " 107
If the son bear not the iniquity of his father, or of his Infants
immediate parents, far less shall he bear the iniquity of Adlm°a
Auam. transgres-
But the son shall not bear the iniquity ofhis father :
Therefore, &c.
§ V. Having thus far shown how absurd this opinion
is, I shall briefly examine the reasons its authors bring
for it.
First, They say, Adam was a public person, and there- Obj. l.
fore all men sinned in him, as being in his loins. And for
this they allege that of Rom. v. 12, " Wherefore as by one
man sin entered into the world, and death by sin ; and so
death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."
These last words, say they, may be translated, In whom all
have sinned.
To this I answer : That Adam is a public person is not Answ.
denied; and that through him there-is a seed of sin pro
pagated to all men, which in its own nature is sinful, and
inclines men to iniquity ; yet it will not follow from thence,
that infants, who join not with this seed, are guilty. As for
these words in the Romans, the reason of the guilt there
alleged is, " For that all have sinned." Now no man is
said to sin, unless he actually sin in his own person ; for
the Greek words itp £ may very well" relate to davalos, which
is the nearest antecedent ; so that they hold forth, how that
Adam, by his sin, gave an entrance to sin in the world :
and so death entered by sin, £<p' 3, i. e. upon which [viz.
occasion] or, in which [viz. death] all others have sinned ;
that is, actually in their own persons ; to wit, all that were
capable of sinning : of which number that infants could not
be, the apostle clearly shows by the following verse : " Sin
is not imputed, where there is no law :" and since, as is
above proved, there is no law to infants, they cannot . be
here included.
Their second objection is fromT'salm li. 5, " Behold I Obj. 2.
was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive
me." Hence, they. say, it appears that infants from their
conception are guilty.

108 PROPOSITION rv.
Answ. How they infer this consequence, for my part I see not.
The iniquity and sin here appears to be far moreascribable
Conceived to the parents than to the child. It is said indeed, '.' In sin
swered.n' did mv mother conceive me ;" not my mother did conceive
me a sinner. Besides, that, so interpreted, contradicts ex
pressly the scripture before-mentioned, in making children
guilty of the sins of their immediate parents, (for of Adam
there is not here any mention) contrary to the plain words,
" the son shall not bear the father's iniquity."
Obj. 3. Thirdly, They object, " That the wages of sin is death ;"
and that seeing children are subject to diseases and death,
therefore they must be guilty of sin,
Answ. I answer, That these things are a consequence of the
fall, ahd of Adam's sin, is confessed ; but that that infers
Death the necessarily a guilt in all others that are subject to them is
sin^answer- denied. For though the whole outward creation suffered a
ed- . decay by Adam's fall, which groans under vanity ; accord
ing to which it is said in Job, that the heavens are not
clean in the sight of God ; yet will it not from thence fol
low, that the herbs, earth, and trees are sinners.
Next, death, though a consequent of the fall, incident
to man's earthly nature, is. not the wages of sin in the
saints, but rather a sleep, by which they pass from death
to life ; which is so far from being troublesome and pain
ful to them, as all real punishments for sin are, that the
apostle counts it gain: "To me," saith he, "to die is
gain," Philip i. 21.
Obj. 4. Some are so foolish as to make an objection farther,
saying, That if Adam's sin be not imputed to those who
actually have not sinned, then it would follow that alT in
fants are saved.
Answ. But we are willing that this supposed absurdity should
be the consequence of our doctrine, rather than that which
it seems our adversaries reckon not absurd, though the un
doubted and unavoidable consequence of theirs, viz.:
That many infants eternally perish, not for any sin of their
own, but only for Adam's iniquity ; where we are willing

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 109
to let the controversy stop, commending both to the illu
minated understanding of the Christian reader.
This error of our adversaries is both denied and refuted
by Zuinglius, that eminent founder of the Protestant
churches of 'Switzerland, in his book De Baptismo, for
which he is. anathematized by the Council of Trent, in the
fifth session. We shall only add this information : That
we confess then that -a seed of sin is- transmitted to all men
from Adam, although imputed to none, until by sinning
they actually join with it ; in which seed he gave occasion
to all to sin, and it is the origin of all evil actions and
thoughts in men's hearts, iy S to wit, davaru, as it is in
Rom. v., i. e., in which death all have sinned. For this
seed of sin is frequently called death in the scripture, an$
the body of death ; seeing- indeed it is a death to the life
of righteousness and holiness : therefore its seed and its
product is called the old man, the old Adam, in which all
sin is ; for which cause we use this name to express this sin, Original sin
and not that of original sin ; of which phrase the scripture phrsacSe|>ture
makes no mention, and under which invented and unscrip
tural barbarism this notion of imputed sin to infants took
place among Christians.

PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
Concerning the Universal Redemption by Christ, and also
the Saving and Spiritual Light, wherewith every Man is
enlightened.
PROPOSITION V.
God, out of his infinite love, who delighteth not in the Ezek. xviii.
death of a sinner, but that all should live and be saved,
hath ^o loved the world, that he hath given his only Son
a Light, that whosoever believeth in him shall be saved,
10

110 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
John iii. 16, who enlighteneth every man that cometh
into the world, John i. 9, and .maketh manifest all
things that are reprovable, Ephes^ v. 13, and teacheth
all temperance, righteousness, and godliness; and this
Light enlighteneth the hearts of all for a time, in Order
to salvation ; and .this is it which reproves the sin of all
individuals, and would work out the salvation of-all, if
not resisted. Nor is it less universal than the seed of
sin, being the purchase- of his death, who tasted death
for every man : for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ
all shall be made alive, 1 Cor. xv. 22.

PROPOSITION VI.
According to which principle or hypothesis all the objec
tions against the universality of Christ's death are easily
solved ; neither is it needful to recur to the ministry of
angels, and those other miraculous means which they
say God useth to manifest the doctrine and history of
Christ's passion unto such, who, living in parts of the
world where theoutward preaching of the gospel is un
known, have well improved the first and common grace.
For as hence it well follows that some of the old philo
sophers might have been saved, so also may some, who
by providence are>. cast into those remote parts of the
world where the knowledge of the history is wanting,
be made partakers of the divine mystery, if they receive
1 Cor. xii.7. and resist not that grace, a manifestation whereof is
given to every man to profit withal. This most certain
doctrine being then received, that there is an evangelical
and saving light and grace in all, the universality of the
love and mercy of God towards mankind, both in the
death ofhis beloved Son the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the
manifestation of the light in the heart, is established and
confirmed, against all the objections of such as deny it.
Heb. ii. 9. Therefore Christ, hath tasted death for every man ; not

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. Ill
Only for all kinds of men -, as some vainly talk, but for
every man of all kinds ; the benefit of whose offering is
not only extended to such who have the distinct outward
knowledge of his death and sufferings, as the same is
' declared in the scriptures, but even unto those who are
necessarily excluded from the benefit of this knowledge
by some inevitable accident ; which knowledge we wil
lingly confess to be very profitable and comfortable, but
not absolutely needful unto such from whom God him
self hath withheld it ; yet they may be made partakers
of the mystery of his death, though ignorant of the his
tory, if they suffer his seed and light, enlightening their
hearts, to take place ; in which light communion with the
Father and the Son is- enjoyed; so as of wicked men to
become holy, and lovers of that power, by whose in
ward and secret touches they feel themselves turned from
the evil to the good, and learn to do to others as they
would be done by, in which Christ himself affirms all to
be included. As they have then falsely and erroneously
taught, who have denied Christ to have died for all men :
so neither have they sufficiently taught the truth, who,
affirming him to have-died for all., have added the abso
lute necessity of the outward knowledge thereof, in
order to obtain its saving effect. • Among whom the Re
monstrants of Holland have been chiefly wanting, and
many other asserters of universal redemption, in that
they have not placed the extent of this salvation in that
divine and evangelical principle of light and life where
with Christ hath -enlightened every man that cometh into
the world, which is excellently and evidently held forth
in these scriptures^ Gen. vi-. 3 ; Deut. xxx. 14 ; John i.
7, 8, 9, 16 ; Rom. x. 8; Titus, ii. 11.
Hitherto we have considered man's fallen, lost, cor
rupted, and degenerated condition. Now it is fit to en
quire how, and by what means he may come to be freed
out of this miserable and depraved condition, which in
these two propositions is declared and demonstrated ; which

112

PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.

I thought meet to " place together because of their affinity,
the one being as it were an explanation of the other.
Absolute As for that doctrine which these propositions chiefly

tio ™ that strike at, to wit, absolute reprobation, according to which
horrible and some are n0{ afr^d to assert, That God, by an eternal
blasphemous doc
trine, de
scribed.

This doc
trine a no
velty.

and immutable decree, hath predestinated to eternal dam
nation the far greater part of mankind, not considered as
made, much less as fallen, without any respect to their dis
obedience or sin, but only for the demonstrating of the
glory of his justice ; and that for the bringing this about,
he hath appointed these miserable souls necessarily towalk
in their wicked ways, that so his justice may lay hold on
them : and that God doth therefore not only suffer them to
be liable to this misery in many parts of the world, by
withholding from them the preaching of the gospel and the
knowledge of Christ, but even in those places where the
gospel. is preached, and salvation by Christ is offered;
whom though he publicly invite them, yet he justly con
demns for disobedience, albeit he hath withheld from them
all grace by which they could have laid hold of the gospel,
viz.i : Because he hath, by a secret will unknown to all
men, ordained and decreed (without any respect had to
their disobedience or sin) that they shall not obey, and that
the offer of the gospel shall never prove effectual for their
salvation, but only serve to aggravate and occasion their
greater condemnation. \
I say, as to this horrible and blasphemous doctrine, our
cause is common with many others, who have both wisely
and learnedly, according to scripture, reason, and anti
quity, refuted it. Seeing then that so much is said already
and so well against this doctrine, that little can be super
added, except what hath been said already, I shall be short
in this respect ; yet,- because it lies so in opposition to my
way, I cannot let it altogether pass.
§ I. First, We may safely call this doctrine a novelty,
seeing the first four hundred years after Christ there is no
mention made of it : for as it is contrary to the scripture's
testimony, and to the tenor of the gospel, so all the ancient

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 113
writers, teachers, and doctors of the church pass it over
with a profound silence. The first foundations of it were The rise of
laid in the later writings of Augustine, who, in his heat
against Pelagius, let fall sorne expressions which some
have unhappily gleaned up, to the establishing of this
error; thereby contradicting the truth, and sufficiently
gainsaying many others, and many more and frequent ex
pressions of the same Augustine. ' Afterwards was this
doctrine fomented by Dominicus a friar, and the monks
ofhis order; and at last unhappily taken up by John Cal
vin, otherwise a man in divers respects to -be ¦commended,
to the great staining of his reputation, and defamation both
of the Protestant and Christian religion ; which though it
received the decrees of the synod of Dort for its confirma- ,
tion, hath since lost ground, and begins to be exploded by
most men of learning and piety in all Protestant churches.
However, we should not oppugn it for the silence of the
ancients, paucity of its asserters, or for the learnedness of
its opposers, if we did, observe it to have any real bottom
in the writings or sayings of Christ and the apostles, and
that it were not highly injurious to God himself, to Jesus
Christ our Mediator and Redeemer, and to the power,
virtue, nobility, and excellency of his blessed gospel, and
lastly unto all mankind.
• § II. First, It is highly injurious to God> because it 1. Highly
makes him the author of sin," which of all things is most c^™"8 10
contrary to his nature. I confess the asserters of this prin- making
• iii- ii-i -n him the au-
ciple deny this consequence ; but that is but a mere iliu- thor of sin.
sion, seeing it so naturally follows from their doctrine, and
is equally ridiculous, as if a man should pertinaciously
deny that one and two make three. For if God has de
creed that the reprobated ones shall perish, without, all
respect to their evil deeds, but only of his own pleasure,
and if he hath also decreed long before they were in being,
or in a capacity to do good or evil, that they should walk
in those wicked ways, by which, as by a secondary means,
they are led to that end-; who, I pray, is the first author
and cause thereof but God, who so willed and decreed ?
10* p

114 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
This is as natural a consequence as can be : and therefore,
although many of the. preachers of this .doctrine have
sought out various, strange, strained, and intricate dis
tinctions to defend their opinion, and avoid this horrid
consequence; yet some, and that of the most eminent of
them, have been so plain in the matter, as they have put
it beyond all doubt. Of which I shall instance a few among
* Calvin in many passages. *" I say, That by the ordination and will
Id'f'ins?' of God> Adam fel1- God would have man t0 fal1- Man
c. is! s. l.' is blinded by the will and commandment of God. We
Pdra!db'lde refer the causes of hardening us to God. The highest or
vid Id fns°t" remote cause of hardening is the will of God„ It followeth
c. 23." s. l. ' that the hidden tounsel of God is the cause of hardening.'' '
t Beza lib. These are Calvin's expressions. t"God>" saitn ?eza,
de Praed. „ ^th predestinated not- only unto damnation, but also
t Id. de unto the causes of it, whomsoever he saw meet." J" The
Prasad, decree of God cannot be excluded from the causes of cor-
SZanch. de ruption.". §" It is certain," saith Zanchius, " that God is
5.XICo\Clib.q the first cause of obduration. Reprobates are held so fast
Def 6c^at2 under God's almighty decree, that they cannot but sin and
de praed. perish." ||"It is the opinion," saith Paraeus, " of our
lib.Tde8' doctors,' That God did inevitably decree the temptation
ttaTc 1™" and ^au °f man# ^ne creature sinneth indeed necessarily,
Id. c. l. by the most just judgment of God. Our men do most
rightly affirm, that the fall of man was necessary and in-
ir Martyr evitahle, by accident, because of God's decree." f"God,"
in Rom. gajtn ]yiartyr) ,< doth incline and force the wills of wicked
** Zuing. men into great sins." **" God," saith Zuinglius, " moveth
fa!6 Pr°v' the robber to kill. He killeth, God forcing him thereunto.
But thou wilt say, he is forced to sin ; I permit truly that
ttResp.adhe is forced." ff" Reprobate persons,"- saith Piscator,
LprSi2oa " are absolutely ordained to this two-fold, end, to undergo
everlasting punishment, and necessarily to sin ; and there
fore to sin, that they may be justly punished,"
If these sayings do npt plainly and evidently import that
God is the author of sin, we must not then seek these men's
opinions from their words, but some way else. It seems
as if they had assumed to themselves that monstrous -and

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 115
twofold will they feign of God ; one by which they declare
their minds openly, and another more secret and hidden,
which is quite contrary to the other. Nor doth it at all
help them, to say that man sins willingly, since that willing
ness, proclivity, and propensity to evil is, according to
their judgment, so necessarily imposed upon him, that he
cannot but be willing, because God hath willed and de
creed him to be so. Which shift is just as if I should take
a child incapable to resist me, and throw it down from a
great precipice; the weight of the child's body indeed
makes it go readily down, and the violence of the fall upon
some rock or stone beats out its brains and kills it. Now
then, I pray, though the body of the child goes willingly
down, for I suppose it, as to its mind, incapable of any
will, and the weight of its body, and not any immediate
stroke of my hand, who perhaps am at a great distance,
makes-it die, whether is the child or I the proper cause of
its death? Let any man of reason judge, if God's part be
not, with them, as great, yea, more immediate, in the sins of
men, as by the testimonies above brought doth appear;
whether doth not this make him not only the author of sin,
but more unjust than the unjustest of men ?
§ III. Secondly, This doctrine is injurious to God, be- 2. It makes
cause it makes him delight in the death of sinners, yea, J^f death
and to will many to die in their sins, contrary to .these of a sinner.
scriptures, Ezek. xxxiii. 11 ; 1 Tim. ii. 4 ; 2 Pet. iii. 9.
For if he hath created men only for this very end, that he
might show forth his justice and power in them, as these
men affirm, and for effecting thereof hath not only with
held from them the means of doing good, but also pre
destinated the evil, that they might fall into it; and that
he inclines and forces them into great sins ; certainly he
must necessarily delight in their death, and will them to
die ; seeing against his own will he neither doth, nor can
do any thing.
§ IV. Thirdly, It is highly injurious to Christ our me- 3 It renders
diator, and to the efficacy and excellency of his gospel ; mediation
for it renders his mediation ineffectual, as if he had not by lneffect«al-

116 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
his sufferings thoroughly broken down the middle wall, nor
yet removed the wrath ofGod, nor purchased the love of
God towards all mankind, if it was- afore decreed that it
should be of no service to the far greater part of mankind.
It is tq no purpose to allege, that the death of Christ was
of efficacy enough to have saved all mankind, if in effect
its virtue be not so far extended as to put all mankind into
a capacity of salvation.
4. It makes Fourthly, It makes the preaching of the gospel a mere
a mock?6 mock and illusion, if many of these, to whom it is preach
ed, be by an irrevocable decree excluded from being
benefited by it ; it wholly makes useless the preaching of
faith and repentance, and the whole tenor of the gospel
promises and threatenings, as being all relative to a former
decree and means before appointed to such; which, be
cause they cannot fail, man needs do nothing but wait for
that irresistible juncture, which will come, though it. be
but at the last hour of his life, if. he be in the decree of
election ; and be his diligence and waiting what it can, he
shall never attain it, if he belo/ng to the decree of repro
bation.
5. It makes Fifthly, It makes the coming of Christ, and his propi-
the coming . ¦" . , • , , ¦ • rr , ' ,
of Christ tiatory sacrifice, which the scripture affirms to have been
wrath.0f tae fru^ °f God's love to the world, and transacted for the
sins and salvation of all men, to have been rather a testi
mony of God's wrath to the world, and one of the greatest
judgments, and severest acts of God's indignation towards
mankind, it being only ordained to save a very few, and
for the hardening, and augmenting the condemnation of
the far greater number of men, because they believe not
truly in it ; the cause of which unbelief again, as the divines
[so called] above assert, is the hidden counsel of God:
certainly the coming of Christ was never to them a testi
mony of God's love, but rather of his implacable wrath:
and if the world may be taken for the far greater number
of such as live in it, God never loved the world, according
to this doctrine, but rather hated it greatly, in sending his
Son to be crucified in it.

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 117
§ V. Sixthly, This doctrine is highly injurious to man- 6. It ren-
kind ; for it renders them in a far worse condition than the kfn|™™"
devils in hell. For these were some time in a capacity to worse con-
have stood, and do suffer only for their own guilt ; where- the de-
as many millions of men are for ever tormented, according vlls—
to them, for Adam's sin, which they neither knew of, nor
ever were accessary to. It renders them worse than the
beasts of the field, of whom the master requires no more
than they are able to perform ; and if they be killed, death
to them is the end of sorrow ; whereas man is for ever tor
mented for not doing that which he never was able to do.
It puts him into a far worse condition than Pharaoh put —Than the
the Israelites ; for though he withheld straw from them, in^'pha.
yet by much labour and pains they could have gotten it : ia°h.
but from men they make God to withhold all means of
salvation, so that they can by no means attain it ; yea, they
place mankind in that condition which the poets feign of
Tantalus, who, oppressed with thirst, stands in water up to Tantalus's
the chinv yet can by no means reach it with his tongue ; con ' lon"
and being tormented with hunger, hath- fruits hanging at
his very lips, yet so as he can never lay hold on them with
his teeth ; and these things are so hear him, not to nourish
him, but to torment him. So do these men : they make
the outward creation of the works of Providence, the
smitings of conscience,, sufficient to convince the heathen
of sin, and so to condemn and judge them : but not at all
to help them to salvation. They make the preaching of
the gospel, the offer of salvation by Christ, the use of the
sacraments, pf prayer, and good works, sufficient to con
demn those they account reprobates within the church,
serving only to inform them to beget a seeming faith and
vain hope ; yet because of a secret impotency; which they
had from their infancy, all these are wholly ineffectual to
bring them the least step towards salvation ; and do only
contribute tq render their condemnation the greater, and
their torments the more violent and intolerable.
Having thus briefly, removed this false doctrine which
stood in my way, because they that are desirous may see it

118 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
both learnedly and piously refuted by manyothers, I come
to the matter of our proposition, which is, That " God out
of his infinite love, who delighteth not in the death of a
sinner, but that all should live and be saved, hath sent his
only begotten Son into the world, that whosoever believeth
in him might be saved;" which also is again affirmed in the
Christ tast-, sixth prpposition, in these words, Christ then tasted death
evedrymhan.r for eveiT man> of a11 kinds- Such is the evidence of thiS
truth, delivered almost wholly .in the express words- of
scripture, that it will not need much probation. Also, be
cause our assertion herein is common with many others,
who have both earnestly and soundly, according to the
scripture, pleaded for this universal redemption, I shall be
the more brief in it, that I may come to that which may
seem more singularly d peculiarly ours.
Christ's re- § VI. This doctrine of universal redemption, or Christ's
universal, dying for all men, is of itself so evident from the scripture
contrary to testimony, that there is scarce found any other article of
the doctrine j ¦> . ¦ j
of absolute the Christian faith so frequently, so plainly, and so posi
tion.0 *" tively asserted. It is that which maketh the preaching of
Christ to be truly termed the gospel, or an annunciation of
glad tidings to all. Thus the angel declared the birth and
coming of Christ to the shepherds to be, Luke ii. 10, " Be
hold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be
to all people:" -he saith not, to a few. Now if this ""coming
of Christ had not brought a possibility of salvation to all,
it should rather have been accounted bad tidings of great
sorrow to most people ; neither should the angel have had
reason to have sung, "Peace on earth, and good will to
wards men," if the greatest part of mankind had been
necessarily shut out from receiving any benefit by it. How
should Christ have sent out his servants to " preach the
gospel to every creature," Mark xvi. 15, (a very compre-
, hensive commission) that is, to every son and daughter of
mankind, without all exception? He commands them to
preach salvation to all, repentance and remission of sins
to all ; warning every one, and exhorting every one, as
Paul did, Col. i. 28. Now how could they have preached

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 119
the gospel to every man, as became the ministers of Jesus The gospel
Christ; in much assurance, if salvation by that gospel had J„P'veearcyhed
not been possible to all? What! if some of those had man-
asked them, or should now ask any of these doctors, who
deny the universality of Christ's deathrand yet preach it to
all promiscuously, Hath Christ died for me? How can
they, with confidence, give a certain answer to this ques
tion ? If they give a conditional answer, as their principle
obligeth them to do, and say, If thou repent, Christ hath
died for thee ; doth not the same question still recur ? Hath
Christ died for me, so as to . make repentance possible to
me ? To this they can answer nothing, unless they run in
a circle ; whereas the feet of those that bring the glad
tidings of the gospel of peace are said to be beautiful, for
that they preach the common salvation, repentance unto
all; offering a door of mercy and hope to all, through
Jesus Christ, who gave himself a ransom for all. '_ The
gospel invites all ; and certainly by the gospel Christ in
tended not to deceive and delude the greater part of man
kind, when he invites and crieth, saying.; "Come unto
me, all ye that labour and are' heavy laden, and I will give
you rest." If all then ought to seek after him, and to look
for salvation by him, he must needs have made salvation
possible to all ; for who is bound to seek after that which
is impossible ? Certainly it were a mocking of men to bid
them do so. And such as deny, that by the death of Christ
salvation is madepossible to all men, do most blasphe
mously make God mock the world, in giving his servants a
commission to preach -the gospel of salvation unto all,
while he hath before decreed that it shall not be possible
for them to receive it. Would not this make the Lord tp Theabsur-
send forth his servants with a lie in their mouth, (which doctrineof
were blasphemous to think) commanding them to -bid all absolute re-
¦ it i i-ii • i- i r i iii probation.
and every one believe that Christ died for them, and had
purchased life and salvation ? whereas it is no such thing,
according to the forementioned doctrine. But seeing
Christ, after he arose and perfected the work of our re
demption, gave a commission to preach repentance, remis-

120 PROPOSITIONS V. AND Vi;
sion pf sins, and salvation to all, it is manifest that he died
for all. For, He that hath commissionated his servants thus
to preach, is a God of truth, and no mocker of poor man
kind ; neither doth he require of any man that which is
simply impossible for him to do : for that no man is bound
to do that which is impossible, is a principle of truth en
graven in every man's mind. And seeing he is both a most
righteous and merciful God, it cannot at all stand, either
with his justice or mercy, to bid such men repent or be
lieve, to whom it is impossible.
§ VII. Moreover, if we regard the testimony of the scrip
ture in this matter, where there is not One scripture, that I
know of, which affirmeth Christ not to die' for all, there are
divers that positively and expressly assert, He did ; as 1
To pray for Tim. ii. 1, 3, 4, 6 : "I exhort therefore, that first of all,
Christ'died supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giying of thanks,
for all— be made for -all men," &c. " For this is good and accept
able in the sight of God our Saviour, who will have all
men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge ofthe
truth ; who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in
due time." Except we will have the apostle here to assert
quite another thing than he intended, there can be nothing
more plain to confirm what we have asserted. Arid this
scripture- doth well answer to that manner of arguing which
we have hitherto used ; for, first, the apostle here recom
mends them to pray for all men ; and to obviate such an
objection, as if he had said with our adversaries, Christ
prayed not for the world, neither willeth he us to pray for
all ; because he willeth riot that all should be saved, but
hath ordained many to be damned, that he might show forth
his justice in them ; he obviates, I say, such ah objection,
—And will telling them, that "it is good and acceptable in the sight
men to be °^ ^od, who' will have all men to be saved." I desire to
saved. know what can be more expressly affirmed ? or can any two
propositions be stated in terms more contradictory than
these two ? God willeth not some to be saved ; and, God
willeth all men to be saved, or, God will have no man pe
rish. If we believe the last, as the apostle hath affirmed,

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 121
the first must be destroyed ; seeing of contradictory propo
sitions, the > one being admitted, the other .is destroyed.
Whence, to conclude, he gives us a reason of his willing
ness that all men should be saved, in these words, " Who
gave himself a ransom for all ;" as if he would have said,
Since Christ died for all, since he gave himself a ransom
for all,^therefore he will have all' men to be saved. This
Christ himself gives as a reason of God's love to the world,
in these words, John iii. 16 : " God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever be-
lieVeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life ;"
compared with 1 John iv. 9. This [whosoever] is an in
definite term, from which no man is excluded. From all
which then I thus argue :
For whomsoever it is lawful to pray, to theiri salvation Arg. 1.
is possible :
But it is lawful to pray for every individual man in the
whole world :
Therefore salvation is possible unto them.
I prove the major proposition thus ;
No man is bound to pray for that which is impossible to Arg. 2.
be attained:
-But every man is bound and commanded to pray for all
men: Therefore it is not impossible to be obtained.
I prove also this proposition further, thus ;
No man is bound to pray, but in faith : Arg. 3.
But he that prayeth for that, which he judges simply im
possible to. be obtained, cannot pray in faith :
Therefore, &c.
Again, That which God -willeth is not impossible: Arg. 4.
But God willeth all men to be saved : '
Therefore it is not impossible.
And lastly ;
Those for whom our Saviour gave himself a ransom, tb Arg. 5.
such salvation is possible :
But our Saviour gave himself a ransom for all :
11 Q

122 -PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
Therefore-salvation is possible unto them'.
Proof l, . . § VIII. Tins is very positively affirmed, Heb. ii. 9, in
these words, " But we see Jesus, who. was made a little
lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned
with glory and honour, that he.'by the grace of God should
taste death for every man." He that will but open his
eyes, may see this truth here asserted: if he "tasted death
for every man,"- then certainly there -is no- man for whom
he did not taste death ; then there is no man who may not
be made a sharer of the benefit of it ; for he came not
"to condemn the world, but that the world through him
might be saved," John iii." 17. "He came not to judge
Our adyer- the world, but to save the world," John xii. .47. . Whereas,,
doctrfne^of6 according to the doctrine of our adversaries,- he rather
a great part came to condemn the world, and judge it ; and not that it
being pre- might be saved by him, or to save it. For if he never
damnatfon1 came to bring salvation to the greater part of mankind, but
refuted. that his coming, though it could never do them good, yet
shall augment their condemnation ; from thence it necessa
rily follows, that he came not. of intention to save, but to
judge and condemn the greater part ofthe world, contrary
to his own express testimony ; and as the apostle Paul, in
the words above cited, doth assert affirmatively, That
God willeth the salvation of all, so doth the apostle Peter
Proof 2. assert negatively, That he willeth not the perishing of
any, 2 Pet. iii. 9. " The Lord is not slack concerning his
promise, as some men count, slackness ; but is long suffer
ing to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that
all should coine to repentance." And this is correspon
dent to that of the prophet Ezekiel, xxxiii. 11 : " As I live,
saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the
wicked ; but that the wicked turn from his way and live."
If it be safe to believe God, and trust in him, we must not
think that he intends to cheat us by all these expressions
through his servants, but that he was in good earnest. And
that this will and desire of his hath not taken effect, the
blame is on our parts, as shall be after spoken of; which
could not be, if we never were in any capacity of salva^

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 123
tion, or that Christ had never died for us, but left us under
an impossibility of salvation. What mean alb those earnest
invitations, all those serious expostulations, all those re
gretting contemplations, wherewith the holy scriptures are
full ? As., Why will ye die, O house of Israel ! Why-
will ye not Come unto me, that ye might have life? I have
Waited to be gracious unto you : I have sought to gather
you : I have knocked at the door of your hearts : Is not
your destruction of yourselves? I have called all the day
long. If men who are so invited be under no capacity of
being saved, if salvation be impossible unto them, shall we ,
suppose God in this to be no other but like the author of a
romance, or master of a Comedy, who amuses and raises
the various affections and passions of his spectators by
divers and strange accidents ; sometimes leading them into
hope, and sometimes into despair ; all those actions, in
effect, being but a mere illusion, while he hath appointed
What the conclusion of all shall be ?
Thirdly, This doctrine is abundantly confirmed by that Proof 3.
of the apostle, 1 John ii. 1,2: " And if any, man sin, we
have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the right
eous. And he is the propitiation for our sins ; and not for
ours only, but also for the sins of the^whole world." The Adversa.
way which our adversaries take to evite this testimony, is ment on the
most foolish and ridiculous: the world here, say they, is words, "the
the world of believers: for this commentary we have no- world."
thing but their own assertion, and so while it manifestly
destroys the text, may be justly rejected. For, first, -let
them show me, if they can, in all the scripture, where the
whole world is taken for believers only; I shall show
them where it is many times taken for the quite contrary ;
as, The world knows me not: The world receives me
not: I am not of this world: besides all these scrip
tures, Psalm xvii. 14; Isai. xiii. 11 ; Mat. xviii. 7; John
vii. 7, and viii. 26; and xii. 19, ahd xiv. 17, and xv. 18,
19, and xvii. 14, and xviii. 20 ; 1 Cor. i. 21, and ii. 12, and
vi. 2 ; Gal. vi. 14 ; James i. 27 ; 2 Pet. ii. 20 ; 1 John ii.
15, and iii. 1, and iv. 4, 5, and many more. Secondly,

1 24 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
The apostle in this very place contra-distinguisheth the
world from the saints thus; " And not for ours only, but
for the sins of the whole world :" What means the apostle
by ours here ? Is not that the sins of believers?. Was
not he one of those believers ? And was not this an uni
versal epistle, written to all the saints that then were ? So
that according to these men's comment, there should be a
very unnecessary and foolish redundancy in the apostle's
words; as if he had said, He is a propitiation not only for
the sins of all believers, but for the sins of all believers :
Is not this to make the apostle's words void of good sense ?
Let them show us wherever there is such a manner of speak
ing in all the scripture, where any of the penmen first, name
the believers in concreto with themselves, and then contradis
tinguish them from some other whole world of believers?
That whole world if it be of believers, must not be "the
world we live in. But we need no better interpreter for
the apostle than himself, who uses the very same expression
and phrase in the same epistle, ch. v. 19, saying, " We
know that we aTe of God, and the whole world lieth in
wickedness." There cannot be found in all the scripture
two places which run more parallel ; seeing in both, the
same apostle, in the same epistle to the same persons, con-
tradistinguisheth himself, and the saints to whom he writes,
from the whole world; which, according to these men's
commentary, ought to be understood of believers: as if
John had said, We know particular believers are of God ;
but the whole world of believers lieth in wickedness. What
absurd wresting of scripture were this ? And yet it may
be as well pleaded for as the other ; for they differ not at
all. Seeing then that the apostle John tells us plainly, That
Christ not only died for him, and for the saints and mem
bers of the church of God, to whom he wrote, but for the
whole worldy let us then hold it for a certain and undoubted
truth, notwithstanding the cavils of such as oppose.
This might also be proved frOm many more scripture
testimonies, if it were at this season needful. All the
fathers, so called, and doctors of the church, for the first

OF UNIVERSAL' AND SAVING LIGHT. 125
four centuries, preached this doctrine ; according to which
they boldly held forth the gospel of Christ, and efficacy of The hea-
his death ; inviting and entreating the heathen to come vited'to sal-
and be partakers of the benefits of it, showing them how vatIon ;
47 to- none pie-
there was a door opened for them all to be saved through destinated
Jesus Christ ; not telling them that God had predestinated t°on^mna"
any of them to damnation, or had made salvation impossi
ble to them, by withholding power and grace, necessary to
believe, from them. But of many of their sayings, which.
might be alleged, I shall only instance a few.
Augustine on the xcvth Psalm saith, "The blood of Proof 4.
Christ is of so great worth, that it is of no less value than mome|s0f
the whole world." the doctors
Prosper ad Gall. c. 9 : " The redeemer of the world ofthe first
gave his blood for the world, and the world would not be c^Ut'died
redeemed, because the darkness did not receive the light. for a11-
He that saith, the Saviour was not crucified for the re
demption of the whole world, looks not to the virtue of
the sacrament, but to the part of infidels ; since the blood
of our Lord Jesus Christ is the price of the whole world ;
from which redemption they are strangers, who either de
lighting in their captivity would not be redeemed, or after
they were redeemed returned to the same servitude."
The same Prosper, in his answer to Vincentius's first
objection: " Seeing therefore because of one common na
ture and cause in truth, undertaken by our Lord, all are
rightly said to be redeemed, and nevertheless all are not
brought out of captivity ; the property of redemption with
out doubt belongeth to those from whom the prince of this
world is shut out, and riow are not vessels of the devil, but
members of Christ ; whose death was so bestowed upon
mankind, that it belonged to the redemption of such who
were not to be regenerated. But so, that that which was
done by the example of one for all, might, by a singular
mystery, be celebrated in every one. For the cup of im
mortality, which is made up of our infirmity and the divine
power, hath indeed that in.it which may profit all; but if
it be not drunk, it doth not heal."
11*

126 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
The author de vocat. gentium, lib. 11. cap. 6 : "There
is no cause to doubt but that our Lord Jesus Christ died
for sinners and wicked men. And if there can be any
found, who may be said not to be of this number, Christ
hath not died for all ; he made himself ,a redeemer for the
whole world."
Chrysostom on John i. : " If he enlightens every man.
coming into the world, how comes it that. so many men
remain without light? For all do riot so much as acknow
ledge Christ. How then doth he enlighten every man?
He illuminates indeed so far as in him is ; but if any of
their own accord, closing the eyes of their mind, will not
The cause direct their eyes unto the beams of this light, the cause that
mam in" they remain in darkness is not from the nature ofthe light,
darkness. but through their own malignity, who willingly have ren
dered themselves unworthy of so great a gift. But why
believed they not? Because .they would not: Christ did
his part."
The Arelatensian synod, held about the year 490, "Pro
nounced him accursed, who should say that Christ hath
not died- for all, or that he would not have all men' to be
saved." Ambrose on Psalm- cxviii. Serm. 8 : " The mystical Sun
of Righteousness is arisen to all; he came to all; he suf
fered for all ; and rose again, for all : and therefore he suf
fered, that he might take away the sin of the world. But if
any one believe not in Christ, he robs himself of this gene
ral benefit, even as if one by closing the windows should
The sun- hold out the sun-rbeams. The sun is , not therefore . not
beams shut . ...
out, heat arisen to, all,- because such a one hath so robbed himself
of its heat : but the sun keeps its prerogative ; it is such a
one's imprudence that he shuts himself out from the" com
mon benefit ofthe light."
The same, in his 11th book of Cain and Abel, cap. 13,
saith :" Therefore he brought unto all the means of health,
that Whosoever should perish, .may ascribe to himself the
causes of his death, who would not be cured when he had
the remedy by which he might have escaped."

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 127
§ IX. Seeing then that this doctrine of the universality
of Christ's death is so certain and agreeable to the scrip
ture testimony, and to the sense of the purest antiquity, it
may-- be wondered how so many, some whereof have been
esteemed not only learned, but also pious, have been ca
pable to fall into so gross and . strange an error. But the
cause of this -doth evidently appear, in that the way and
method by which the virtue and efficacy of his death is
communicated to all men,. hath not been rightly under
stood, or indeed hath been erroneously taught. The Pe- Pelagian
lagians, ascribing all to man's will and nature, denied man
to have any seed of sin conveyed to him from Adam. And
the Semi-Pelagians, making grace as a gift following upon
man's merit, or right improving ofhis nature, according to
their known principle, Facienti quod in se est, Deus non de-
negat gratiam.
. This gave Augustine, Prosper, and some others occa- Extremes
sion, labouring, in opposition to these opinions, to magnify ^ lome°
the grace of God, and paint 'out the corruption of man's mal™g
¦ i ¦ r i i ii -i God the au-
nature, as the proverb is of those that seek to make straight thor of sin.
a crooked stick, to incline to the other extreme. So also
the reformers, Luther and others, finding among other
errors the strange expressions used by some of the Popish
scholastics concerning free will, and how much the ten
dency of their principles is to exalt man's nature and lessen
God's grace, having all those sayings of Augustine and
others for a pattern, through the like mistake ran upon the
same extreme : though afterwards the Lutherans, seeing
how far Calvin and his followers drove this matter, who,
as a man of subtle and profound judgment, foreseeing
where it would land, resolved above board to assert that
God had decreed the means as well as the end, and there
fore had ordained men to sin, and excites them thereto,
which he labours earnestly to defend, and that there was
no avoiding the making of God the author of sin^ thereby
received occasion to discern the falsity of this doctrine,
and disclaimed it, as appears by the later writings of Me-
lancthon, and the Mompelgartensian conference, where

128 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
Epit. Hist. Lucas Osiander, one of the collocutors, terms it impious ;
Osiirid.UC8e ca]ls ^ a making God the author of sin, and an horrid and
Cent. 16. horrible blasphemy. Yet because none of those who have
 asserted this universal redemption since the reformation
have given a, clear, distinct, and satisfactory testimony how
it is communicated- to. all, and so have fallen short of fully
declaring the perfection of the gospel dispensation, others
have been thereby the more strengthened in their errors ;
which I shall illustrate by one singular example.
The Arminians, and other assertors of universal . grace,
use this as a chief argument :
That which every man is bound to believe, is true r
But every man is bound .to .believe that Christ died for
him: Therefore, &c.
Of this argument the other party deny the assumption,
saying: That they who never heard of Christ, "are not
Remon- obliged to believe in him^ and seeing the Remonstrants
strants' /as ^ney are commonly called) do generally themselves ac-
strengthens knowledge, that without the outward knowledge of Christ
decreeo'f6 there is no salvation, that gives the other party yet a stronger
reproba- argument for their precise decree of reprobation. For, say
they, seeing we all see really, and in effect, that God hatb
withheld from many generations, and yet from many na
tions, that knowledge which is absolutely needful to salva
tion, and so hath rendered it simply impossible unto them ;
why may he not as well withhold the grace necessary to
make a saving application of that knowledge, where it is
preached ? For there is no ground to say, That this were.
injustice in God, or partiality, more than his leaving those
others in utter ignorance ; the one being but a withholding
grace to apprehend the object of faith, the other a with
drawing the object itself.. For answer to this, they are
forced- to draw a conclusion from their former hypothesis
of Christ's dying for all, and God's mercy and justice,
saying, That if these heathen, who live in these remote
places, where the outward knowledge of Christ is not, did
improve that common knowledge they have, to whom the

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 129
outward creation is for an object of faith, by which they
may gather that there is a God, then the Lord would, by
some providence, either send an angel to tell them of
Christ, or convey the scriptures to them, or bring them
some way to an opportunity to meet with such as might
inform them. Which, as it gives always too much to the
power and strength of man's will and nature, and- savours
a little of Socinianism and Pelagianism, or at least of Semi-
Pelagianism, so, since it is only built upon probable con
jectures, neither hath it evidence enough to convince any
strongly tainted with the other doctrine ; nor yet doth it
make the equity and wonderful harmony of God's mercy
and justice towards all so manifest to the understanding.
So that I have often observed, that these assertors of uni
versal grace did far more pithily and strongly overturn the
false doctrine of their adversaries, than they did establish
and confirm the truth and certainty of their own. And
though they have proof sufficient from the holy scriptures
to confirm the universality of Christ's death, and that none None, by-
are precisely, by any irrevocable decree, excluded from bTe'decreef"
salvation, vet I find when they" are pressed in the respects excluded iron) sfllvs.*
above mentioned, to show how God hath so far equally tion.
extended the capacity to partake of the benefit of Christ's
death Unto all, as to communicate unto them, a sufficient
way of so doing, they are somewhat in a strait, andare put
more to give us their conjectures from the. certainty of the
former presupposed truth ; to wit, that because Christ hath
certainly died for all, and God hath not rendered salvation
impossible to any, therefore there must be some way or
other by which they may be saved ; which must be by im
proving some common grace, or by gathering from the
works of creation and providence; than by really demon
strating, by convincing and spiritual arguments, what that
way is.
§ X. It falls out then, that as darkness, and the great
apostasy, came not upon the Christian world all at once,
but by several degrees, one thing making way for another ;
until that thick and gross vail eame to be overspread, where-
R

130 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
with the nations were so blindly covered, from the seventh
and eighth, until the sixteenth century; even as the dark
ness of the night comes not upon the outward creation at
once, but by degrees,- according as the sun declines in
each horizon ; so neither did that full and clear light and
knpwledge of the glorious dispensation of the gospel of
Christ appear all at once ; the work of the first witnesses
being more to testify against and discover the abuses of
the apostasy, than to establish the truth in purity. He that
comes to build a new city, must first remove the old rub
bish, before he can see to lay a new foundation ; and he
that comes to an house greatly polluted and full of dirt,
will first sweep away arid remove the filth, before he put up
his own good and new furniture. The dawning of the day
dispels the darkness, and makes us see the "things that are
most conspicuous : but the distinct discovering and dis
cerning of things, so as to make a certain and" perfect ob
servation, is reserved for the arising of the sun, and its
shining in full brightness. And we can, from a certain
experience, boldly affirm, that the not waiting for this, but
building among, yea, and with, the old Popish rubbish, and
setting up before a full purgation, hath been to most Pror
testants the foundation of many a mistake, and an occasion
The more of unspeakable hurt. Therefore the Lord God, who as he
very ofthe seeth meet doth communicate and make known to man the
gospel re- more full, evident, and perfect knowledge of his everlasting
this our truth, hath been pleased to reserve the more full discovery
age- of . this glorious and evangelical dispensation to this our
age ; albeit divers testirrionies have thereunto been borne
by some noted men in several ages, as shall hereafter ap
pear. And for .the greater augmentation of the glory of
his grace, that no man might have whereof to boast, he
hath raised up a few despicable and illiterate men, and for
the most part mechanics, to be the dispensers of it ; by
which gospel all the scruples, doubts, hesitations and ob
jections above mentioned are easily and evidently answered,
and the justice as well as mercy of God, according to their
divine and heavenly harmony, are exhibited, established,

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 131
and confirmed. According to which- certain light and
gospel, as the knowledge thereof has been manifested to us
by the revelation of Jesus Christ in us, fortified by our own
sensible experience, and sealed by the testimony of the
Spirit in our hearts, we can confidently affirm, and clearly
evince, according to the testimony of the holy scriptures,
the following points :
§-XI. First, That God, who put of his infinite love sent Prop. I.
his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into the world, who tasted
death for every man, hath given to every man, whether A day of
Jew or Gentile, Turk or Scythian, Indian or Barbarian, of ™itationt°
whatsoever nation, country, or place, a certain day or time
of visitation ; during which day or time it is, possible for
them to be saved, and to partake of the fruit of Christ's
death. Secondly, That for this end God hath communicated Prop. ii.
and given unto every man a measure of the light of his A measure
own Son, a measure of grace, or a measure of the Spirit, all.
which the scripture expresses by several names, as some
times of the seed of the kingdom, Mat. xiii. 18, 19 ; the
Light that makes^ all things manifest, Eph. v. 13 ; the
Word of God, Rom. x. 17; or manifestation of the Spirit
given to profit withal, 1 Cor. xii. 7 ; a talent, Mat. xxv.
15 ; a little leaven, Mat. xiii. 33 ; the gospel preached in
every creature, Col. i. 23.
Thirdly, That God, in and by this Light and Seed, in- Prop. III.
vites, calls, exhorts, and strives with every man, in order
to save him ; which, as it is received and. not resisted, God's sal-
works the salvation of all, even of those who are ignorant wrought by
of the death and sufferings of Christ, and of Adam's fall, th,e ught *"
both by bringing the'm to a sense of their own misery, and
to be sharers in the sufferings of Christ inwardly,- and- by
making them partakers of his resurrection, in becoming
holy, pure, and righteous, -and recovered out of their sins.
By which also are saved they that have the knowledge of
Ghrist outwardly, in that it opens their understanding
rightly to use and apply the things delivered in the scrip
tures, and to receive the saving use of them : but that this

132

PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.

Conseq. 1.

Conseq. 2.

Conseq. 3.

may be resisted and rejected in both, in which then Gpd
is said to be resisted and pressed down, and Christ to be
again crucified, and put to open shame in arid among men.
And to those who thus resist and refuse him, he becomes
their condemnation.
First, then, According to this doctrine the mercy of God
is excellently well exhibited, in that none are necessarily
shut out from salvation ; and his justice is demonstrated,
in that he condemns none but such to whom.he really made
offer of salvation, affording them the means sufficient there
unto. Secondly, This doctrine, if well weighed, will he found
to be the foundation of Christianity, salvation, and assur
ance. v
Thirdly,, It agrees and answers with the whole tenor of
the gospel promises and threats, and with the nature of the
ministry of Christ ; according to which,' the gospel, salva
tion, and repentance are commanded to be preached to
every creature, without respect of nations, kindred, fami
lies, or tongues.
Conseq. 4. Fourthly, It magnifies and commends the merits and
death of Christ, in that it riot only accounts them sufficient
to save all, but declares them to be brought so nigh unto
all, as thereby to be put into the nearest capacity of sal
vation.
Conseq. 5. Fifthly, It exalts above all the grace of God, to which it
attributeth all good, even the least and smallest actions that
are so ; ascribing thereunto not only the first beginnings
and motions of good, but also the whole conversion and
salvation of the soul.
Conseq. 6. Sixthly, It contradicts, overturns, and enervates, the
false doctrine Of the Pelagians, Semi-Pelagians, Socinians,
and others, who exalt the light of nature, the liberty of
man's will, in that it wholly excluded the natural man from
having any place or portion in his own salvation, by any
acting, moving, or working of his own, until he be first
quickened, raised up, and actuated by God's Spirit.
Conseq. 7. Seventhly, As it makes the whole salvation of man solely

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 133
and alone to depend upon God, so it makes his condemna
tion wholly and in every respect to be of himself, in that
he refused and resisted somewhat that from God wrestled
and strove in his heart, and forces him to acknowledge
God's just judgment in .rejecting and forsaking of him.
Eighthly, It takes away all ground of despair, in that it Conseq. 8.
gives every one cause of hope and certain assurance that
they may be saved ; neither doth feed any in security, in
that none are certain how soon their day may expire : and
therefore it is a constant incitement and provocation, and
lively encouragement to every man, to forsake evil, and
close with that which is good.
Ninthly, It wonderfully commends as well the certainty Conseq. 9.
of the Christian religion among infidels, as it manifests its
own verity to all, in that it is confirmed and established by
the experience of all men ; seeing there was never yet a
man found in anyplace ofthe earth, however barbarous
and wild, but hath acknowledged, that at some time or
other, less or more, he hath found somewhat in his heart
reproving him for some things evil which he hath done,
threatening a certain horror if he continued in them, as
also promising and communicating a cerfain peace and
sweetness, as he has given way to it, and riot resisted it.
Tenthly, It wonderfully showeth the excellent wisdom Conseq. 10.
of God, by which he hath made the means of salvation so
universal and comprehensive, that it is not needful to recur
to those miraculous and strange ways ; seeing, according
to this most true doctrine, the gospel reacheth all, of what
soever condition, age, or nation.
Eleventhly, It is really and effectively, though not in so Conseq. 11.
many words, yet by deeds, established and confirmed by
all the preachers, promulgators, and doctors ofthe Christian
religion that ever were, or now are, even by those that
otherways in their judgment oppose this doctrine, in that
they all, wherever they have been or are, or whatsoever
people, place, or country they come to, do preach to the
people, and to every individual among them, that they may
be saved ; entreating and desiring them to believe in Christ,
12

134 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
who hath died for them. So that what they deny in the
general, they acknowledge of every particular ; there being
no man to whom they do not preach in order to salvation,
telling him Jesus Christ calls and wills hiin to believe and
be saved ; and that if he refuse, he shall therefore be con
demned, and that his condemnation is of himself. Such
is the evidence and virtue of Truth, that it constrains its
adversaries even against their wills to plead for it. -
Conseq. 12. Lastly, "" According to this doctrine, the former argument
used by the Armiriians, and evited by the Galvinists, Con
cerning every man's being bound to . believe that Christ
died for him, is, by altering the assumption, rendered in
vincible ; thus,
That which every man is bound to believe, is true :
But every man is bound to believe that God is merciful
unto him v
Therefore,-&c.This assumption no man can deny, seeing his mercies
are said to be over all his works. And herein the scripture
every where declares the mercy of God to be, in that he in
vites and calls sinners to repentance, and hath opened a
way of salvation for them : so that though, those men be
not bound to believe the history of Christ's death and pas
sion who never came to know of it, yet they are bound to
believe that God will be merciful to them, if they follow
his ways; and that he is merciful' unto them, in that he
reproves them for evil, and encourages them to good.
Our adver- Neither ought any man to believe that God is unmerciful
merciful as- to him, or that he hath from the "beginning ordained him
sertion of f0 come into the world that he might be left to his own evil
tjrod. ...
inclinations, and so do wickedly as a means appointed by
God to bring him to eternal damnation ; which, were it
true, as our adversaries affirm it to be of many thousands,
I see no reason why a man might not believe ; for certainly
a man may believe the truth.
As it manifestly appears from the thing itself, that these
good and excellent consequences follow from the belief of
this doctrine, so from the proof of them it will yet. more

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 135
evidently appear ; to which before I come, it is requisite ftx
speak somewhat concerning the state of -the controversy,
which will bring great light to the matter : for from the not
right understanding of a matter under debate, sometimes
both arguments on the one hand, and objections on the
other, are brought, which do no way hit the case ; and
hereby also our sense and judgment therein will be more
fully understood and opened.
§ XII. First, then, By this day and time of visitation, Qdes. l.
which we say God gives unto - all, during which they may of teh|fatlng
be saved, we do not understand, the whole time of every question.
man's life ; though to some it may be extended even to
the very hour of death, as we see in the example of the
thief converted upon the cross ; but such a season at least
as sufficiently exoneratefh God of every man's condemna
tion, which to some may be sooner, and to others later, ac
cording as the Lord in his wisdom sees meet. So that That many
many men may outlive this day, after which there may be J^day'of8
no possibility of salvation to them, and God justly suffers God's visi-
them to be hardened, as a just punishment of their unbe
lief, and even raises them up as instruments of wrath, and
makes them a scourge one against another. Whence to
men in this condition may be fitly applied those scriptures
which are abused to prove that God incites men necessarily
to sin. This is notably expressed by the apostle, Rom. i,
from verse 17 to the end, but especially verse 28, "And
even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge,
God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things
which are not convenient." That many may outlive this
day of God's gracious visitation unto them, is shown by
the example of Esau, Heb. xii. 16, 17, who sold his
birthright ; so he had it once, and was capable to have
kept it ; but afterwards, when he would have inherited the
blessing, he was rejected. This appears also by Christ's
weeping over Jerusalem, Luke xix. 42, saying, " If thou
hadst known in this thy day the thing's that belong unto thy
peace ; but now they are hid from thine eyes." Which
plainly imports a time when they might have known them,

136 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
which now was removed from them, though they were yet
alive : but of this more shall be said hereafter.
Ques. 2. § XIII. Secondly, By this seed, grace, and word of
God, and light wherewith we say every one is enlightened,
and hath a measure of it, which strives with him in order
to save him, and which may, by the stubbornness and
wickedness of man's will., be quenched, bruised, wounded,
pressed down, slain and crucified, we understand not the
proper essence and nature of God precisely taken, which
is not divisible into parts and measures, as being a most
pure, simple being, void of all composition or division, and
therefore can neither be resisted, hurt, wounded, crucified,
The light , or slain .by all the efforts and strength of men ; but we
and^tspro- understand a spiritual, heavenly, and invisible principle, in
pS"heH de" wmcn God, as Father, Son and Spirit, dwells ; a measure
of which divine and glorious life is in all men as a seed,
which of its own nature, draws, invites, and inclines to
God; and this some call vehiculum Dei, or the spiritual
body of Christ, the flesh and blood of Christ,, which came
down from heaven, of which all the saints do feed, and are
thereby nourished unto eternal life. And as every un
righteous action is witnessed against and reproved' by this
light and seed, so by such actions it is hurt, wounded, and
slain, and flees from them even as the flesh of man flees
from that which is of a contrary nature to it. Now because
it is never separated from God nor Christ, but wherever it
l Tim. vi. is, God and Christ are as wrapped up therein, therefore
and in that respect as it is resisted, Gpd is said to be re
sisted ; and where it is borne down, God is said to be
pressed as a cart under sheaves, and Christ is said to be
slain and crucified. And on the contrary, as this seed is
received in the heart, and suffered to bring forth its natural
and proper effect, Christ comes to be formed and raised,
of which the scripture makes so much mention, calling it
the new man ; Christ within, the hope of glory. This
is that Christ within, which we are heard so much to speak
and declare of; every where preaching him up, and ex
horting people, to believe in the light, and obey it, that

16

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 137
they may come to know Christ in them, to deliver them
from all sin.
But by this, as we do not at all intend to equal ourselves
to that-holy man the Lord Jesus Christ, who was born of
the virgin Mary, in whom all the fulness of the Godhead
dwelt hodily, so neither do we destroy the reality of his That the
present existence, as some have falsely calumniated us. thenGod°-
For though we affirm that Christ dwells in us, yet not im- head dwells
i-ii i-i i • ¦ ,..,.. in Christ
mediately, but mediately, as he is in that seed, which is in bodily, &c
us ; whereas he, to wit, the Eternal Word, which was with
God, and was God, dwelt immediately in that holy man.
He then is as the head, and we as the members ; he the '
vine, and we the branches. Now as the soul of man dwells
otherwise and in a far more immediate manner in the head
and in the heart, than in the hands or legs ; and as the sap,
virtue, and life of' the vine lodgeth far otherwise in the
stock and root than in the branches, so God dwelleth
Otherwise in the man Jesus than in us. We also freely
reject the heresy of Apollinarius, who denied him to have
any soul, but said the body was only actuated by the God
head. As also the error of Eutyches, who made the man
hood to be wholly swallowed up of the Godhead. Where
fore, as we believe he was a true and real man, so we also
believe that he continues so to be glorified in the heavens
in sovd>-and body, by whom God shall judge the world, in
tbe gre'at and general day of judgment.
§ XIV. Thirdly, We understand not this seed, light, or Ques. 3.
grace to be an accident, as most men ignorantly do, but a ug^ ;aa
real spiritual substance, which the soul of man is capable spiritual
1 ' . . . . , . substance,
to feel and apprehend; from which that real, jspiritual, in- which may
ward birth in believers arises, called the new creature, the thesouland
new man in the heart. This seems strange to carnal- apprehend-
minded men, because they are not acquainted with it ; but
we know it, and are sensible of it, by a true and certain
experience. Though it be hard for man in his natural
wisdom to comprehend it, until he come to feel it in him
self; and if he should, holding it in the mere notion, it
would avail him little; yet we are able to make it appear
12* s

138 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
to be true, arid that our faith concerning it is not without
a solid ground : for it is in and by this inward and sub
stantial seed in our hearts as it comes to receive nourish
ment, and to have a birth or geniture in us, that we come
to have those spiritual senses r ised -by which we are made
capable of tasting, smelling, seeing, and handling the
things of God : for a man cannot reach unto those things
by his natural spirit and senses, as is above declared.
Next, We know it to be a substance, because it subsists
in the hearts of wicked men, even while they are in their
wickedness, as shall be hereafter proved more at large.
Now' no accident can be in a subject without it give the
subject its own denomination ; as where whiteness is in a
The de- subject, there the subject is called white. So we dis-
fperation in tinguish betwixt holiness, as it is an accident, which deno-
the soul of minates man so, as the seed receives la place in him, and
betwixt this holy substantial seed, which many times lies in
man's heart as a naked grain in the stony ground. So also
as we may distinguish betwixt health and medicine ; health
cannot be in a body without the body be called healthful,
because health is an accident ; but medicine may be in a
body that is most unhealthful, for that it is a substance.
And as when a medicine begins to work, the body may in
some respect be called healthful, and in some respect un
healthful, so we'acknowledge as this divine medicine
receives place in man's heart, it may denominate him in
some part holy and good, though there remain yet a cor
rupted unmortified part, or some part of the evil humours
unpurged out ; for where two contrary accidents arerin one
subject, as health and sickness in a body, the subject re
ceives its denomination from the accident which prevails
most. So many men are called saints, good and holy men,
and that truly, when this holy seed hath wrought in them
in a good measure, and hath somewhat leavened them into
its nature, though they may be yet liable to many infirmities
and weaknesses, yea and to some iniquities: for as the
seed of sin and ground of corruption, yea and the capacity
of yielding thereunto, and sometimes actually falling, doth

OF UNIVERSAL AND -SAVING LIGHT. 139
not denominate a good and holy man impious ; so neither
doth the seed of righteousness in evil men, and the possi
bility of their becoming one with it, denominate them good
or holy.
§ XV. Fourthly, We do not hereby intend any ways to Qces. 4.
lessen or derogate from the atonement and sacrifice of Jesus
Christ ; but on the cpntrary do magnify and exalt it. For
as we believe all those things to have been certainly trans
acted which are recorded in the holy scriptures concerning
the birth, life, miracles, sufferings, resurrection and ascen
sion of Christ.; so we do also believe that it is the duty of
every one to believe it to whom it pleases God to reveal
the. same, and to bring to them the knowledge of it ; yea
we believe it were damnable unbelief not to believe it,
when so declared ; but to resist that holy seed, which as
minded would lead and incline every one to believe it as
it is offered unto them, though it revealeth not in every one
the outward and explicit knowledge of it, nevertheless it
always assenteth to it, ubi declarator, where it is declared.
Nevertheless as we firmly believe it was necessary that
Christ should come, that by his death arid sufferings he
might offer up himself a sacrifice to God for our sins, who
his own self ", bare our sins in his own body on the tree ;"
so we believe that the remission of sins which any partake That re-
of, is only in and by virtue of that most satisfactory sacri- ™ngSj° °^y
fice, and no otherwise. For it is by the obedience of that and alone
. . . by Christ.
one that the free gift is come upon all to justification. For
we affirm, that as all men partake of the fruit of Adam's
fall, in that by reason of that evil seed, which through him
is. communicated unto them, they are prone and inclined
unto evil, though thousands of thousands be ignorant of
Adam's fall, neither ever knew ofthe eating ofthe forbidden
fruit ; so also many may come to feel the influence of- this
holy and divine seed and light, and be turned from evil to
good by it, though they knew nothing of Christ's coming
in the flesh, through whose obedience and sufferings it is
purchased unto them, And as we affirm it is absolutely
needful that those do believe the history of Christ's, outward

140 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
appearance, whom it pleased God to bringlo the knowledge
of it ; so we do freely confess, that even that outward know
ledge is very comfortable to such as are subject tp and led
by the inward seed and light. For not only doth the sense
of Christ's love and sufferings tend to humble them, but
they are thereby also strengthened in their faith, and en
couraged to follow that excellent pattern which he hath
left us, " who suffered for us," as saith the apostle Peter,
1 Pet. ii. 21, "leaving us an example that we should fol
low his steps:" and many times we are greatly edified ahd
refreshed with the-^gracious sayings which proceed out of
The history his mouth. The history then is profitable and comfortable
wUh°the e with the mystery, and never without it ; but the mystery is
mystery. an(j may ^e prontable without the explicit and outward
knowledge of the history.
Ques. 5. gut Fifthly, This brings us to another question, to wit,
How Christ "Whether Christ be in all men or no ? Which sometimes
is in all i , • ¦ i
men. hath been asked us, and arguments brought against it ; be
cause indeed it is to be found in some of our writings that
Christ is in all men j and we often are heard, in our public
meetings and declarations, to desire every man to know and
be acquainted with Christ in them, telling them that Christ
is in them ; it is fit therefore, for removing of all mistakes,
to say something in this place concerning this matter. We
have said before how that a divine, spiritual, and superna
tural light is in all men ; how that that divine supernatural
light or seed is vehiculum Dei ; how that God and Christ
dwelleth in it, and is never separated from it ; also how
that, as it is received and closed with in the heart, Christ
comes to be formed and brought forth : but we are far from
ever having said, that Christ is thus formed in all men, or
in the wicked : for that is a great attainment, which the
apostle travailed that it might be brought forth in the Gala
tians. Neither is Christ in all men by way of union, or
indeed, to speak strictly, by way of inhabitation ; because
this inhabitation, as it is generally taken, imports union, or
the manner of Christ's being in the saints : as it is written,
" I will dwell in them, and Walk in them," 2 Cor. vi. 16.

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 141
But in regard Christ is ' in all men as in a seed, yea, and
that he never is nor can be separate from that holy pure
seed and light which is in all men ; therefore may it be said
in a larger sense, that he is in all, eyen as we observed
before. The scripture saith, Amos ii. 13, God is pressed
down as a cart under sheaves ; and Heb. vi. 6, Christ
is crucified in the ungodly ; though to speak properly and
strictly, ireither can God be pressed down, nor Christ, as
God, be crucified. In this respect then, as he is in the
seed which is in all men, we have said Christ is in all men,
and have preached and directed all men tp Christ in them,
who lies crucified in them by their sins and iniquities, that Christ cru-
they may look upon him whom they have pierced, and re- man by mi-
pent : whereby he that now lies as it were slain and buried quities.
in them, may come to be raised, and have dominion in
their hearts over all. And thus also the apostle Paul
preached to the Corinthians and Galatians, Christ cruci
fied in them, & 5(wv as the , Greek hath jt, 1 Cor. ii. 2 ;
Gal. iii. 1.' This Jesus Christ was that which the apostle
desired to know in them, and make known unto them, that
they might come to be sensible how they had thus been
crucifying Christ, that so they might repent and be saved.
And forasmuch as Christ is called that light that en
lightens every man, the light of the world, therefore the
light is taken for Christ, who truly is the fountain of light,
and hath his habitation in it for ever. Thus the light of
Christ is sometimes called Christ, i. e. that in which Christ
is, and from which he is never separated.
§ XVI. Sixthly, It will manifestly appear by what is
above said, that we understand riot this divine principle to
be any part of man's nature, nor yet to be any relics of any >
good which Adam lost by his fall, in that we make it a
distinct separate thing from man's soul, and all the facul
ties of it : yet such is the; malice of our adversaries, that
they cease not sometimes to calumniate us, as if we preach
ed up a natural light, or the light of man's natural con
science. Next, there are that lean to the doctrine of Spcinus
and Pelagius, who persuade themselves through mistake,

142

The facul
ties of
man's rea
son.

Anti-Christ in
the temple
of God.

The divine
light and
natural rea
son distin
guished.

PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
and out of no ill, design to injure us, as if this which we
preach up were some natural power and faculty of- the soul,
and that we only differ in the wording of it, and not in the
thing itself; whereas there can be no greater difference
than -is betwixt us in that matter : for we certainly know
that this light of which we speak is not only distinct, but
of a different nature from the soul of nian, and. its faculties.
Indeed that man, as he is a rational creature, hath reason
as a natural faculty of his soul, by which he can discern
things that are rational, we deny not ; -for this is a property
natural and essential to him, by which he can know and
learn many arts and sciences, beyond what- any other ani
mal can do by the mere animal principle. Neither- do we
deny but by this rational principle man may apprehend in
his brain, and in the notion, a knowledge of God and spi
ritual things; yet that not being the right organ, as in the
second- proposition hath more at length been signified, it
cannot profit him towards salvation, but rather hindereth ;
and indeed the great cause of the apostasy hath been, that
mail hath sought to fathom the things of God in and by this
natural and rational principle, and_ to build up a religion in
it, neglecting and overlooking this principle and seed of
God in the heart ; so that herein, in the most universal and
catholic sense, hath Anti-Christ in every man set up him
self, and sitteth in the temple of God as God, and above
every thing that is called God. For men being the tem
ple of the Holy Ghost, as saith the apostle, 1 Cor. iii. 16,
when the rational principle sets up itself there above the
seed of God, to reign and rule as a prince in spiritual
things, while the holy seed is wounded and bruised, there
is Anti-Christ in every man, or somewhat exalted above
and against Christ. Nevertheless we do not hereby affirm
as if man had received his reason to no purpose, or to be
of no service unto him, in no wise ; we look upon reason
as fit to order and rule man in things natural. For as God
gave two great lights to rule the outward world, the sun
and moon, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser
light to rule the night; so hath he given man the light of

OF UNIVERSAL AND ' SAVING LIGHT. 143
his Son, a spiritual divine- light, to rule him in things spi
ritual, and the light of reason to rule him in things natural.
And even as the moon borrows her light from the sun, so
ought men, if they would be rightly and comfortably or
dered in natural things, to have their reason enlightened
by this- divine and pure light. Which' enlightened reason,
in those that obey and follow this true light, we confess
may be useful to man even in spiritual things, as it is still
subservient and subject to the other ; even as the animal
life in man, regulated and ordered by his reason, helps
him in going about things that are rational. We do fur- The light
ther rightly distinguish this from man's natural conscience .; gushed
for conscience being that in man which ariseth from the ""om man's
natural faculties of man's soul, may be defiled and cor- conscience.
rupted. It is said expressly of the impure, Tit. i. 15,
" That even their mind and conscience is defiled ;" but
this- light can never be corrupted nor defiled ; neither did
it ever consent to evil or wickedness in any : for it is said
expressly, that it makes all things manifest that are re-
provable, Eph. v. 13, and so is a faithful, witness for God
against every unrighteousness in man. Now conscience, Conscience
to define it truly, comes from conscire,. and is that know- denned-
ledge which ariseth in man's heart from what agreeth, con-
tradicteth, or is contrary to any thing believed by him,
whereby he becomes conscious to himself that he trans-
gresseth by doing that which he is persuaded he ought not
to do. So that the mind being once blinded or defiled
with, a wrong belief, there ariseth a conscience from that
belief, which troubles him when he goes against it. As
for example: A Turk who hath possessed himself with a Example of
false belief that it is unlawful for him to drink wine, if he a ur '
do it, his conscience smites him for it ; but though he keep
many concubines, his conscience troubles him not, because
his judgment is already defiled with a false opinion that it
is lawful for him- to do the one, and unlawful to do the
other. Whereas if the light of Christ in him were minded,
it would reprove him, not only for committing fornication,
but also, as he became obedient thereunto, inform him that

144 PROPOSITIONS V. AND Vl'.
Mahomet was an impostor ; as well as Socrates was in
formed by it, in his day, of the falsity of the heathen's
gods.
Example of So if a Papist eat flesh in Lent, or be not diligent enough
apis . jn a(jorationof saints and images, or if he should conteimi
images, his' conscience would smite him for it, because his
judgment is already blinded with a false belief concerning
these things : whereas the light of Christ never consented
tp any of those abominations. Thus then man's natural *
conscience is sufficiently distinguished from it; for con-^
science followeth the judgment, doth not inform it; but;
this light, as it is received, removes the blindness of the
judgment, opens the understanding, and rectifies both the
judgment and conscience. So we confess also, that con
science is an excellent thing, where it is rightly informed
and enlightened ; wherefore some of us have "fitly com-
The natural pared it ta the lanthorn, and the light of Christ to a Candle :
compared6 a lanthorn is useful, when a clear candle burns and shines in -
to a lan- it ¦ but otherwise of no use. To the light of Christ then
thorn, and . . . ° . .
the light of in the conscience, and not to mari's natural conscience, it
candle.10 * is tnat we continually commend men ; this, not that, is it
which we preach up, and direct people to, as to a most
certain guide unto life eternal.
Lastly, This light, seed, &c, appears to be no power or
natural faculty of man's mind'; because a man that is in
his health can, when he pleases, stir up, move, and exer
cise the faculties of his soul ; he is absolute master of them ;
and except there be some natural cause or impediment in
the way, he can use thein at his pleasure : but this light
and seed of God in man he cannot move and stir up
when he pleaseth ; but it moves, blows, and strives with
man, as the Lord seeth meet. For though there be a pos
sibility of salvation to every man during the day of his
visitation, yet cannot a man, at any time when he pleaseth,
The wait- or hath some sense of his misery, stir up that light and
the mo"- grace> s0 as to procure to himself tenderness of heart ; but
ings of the he must wait for it : which comes upon all at certain times
grace. and seasons, wherein it works powerfully upon the soul,

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 145
mightily tenders it> and breaks it ; at which time, if man
resist it not, but closes with it, he comes to know salvation
by it. Even as the lake of Bethesda did not cure all those
that washed, in it, but such ,only as washed first, after the
angel had moved upon the waters ; so God moves in love
to mankind, in this seed iri his heart, at some singular times, ,
setting his sins in order before him, and seriously inviting
him to repentance, offering to him remission of sins and
salvation ; which if man accept of, he may be saved. Now
there is no man alive, and I am confident there shall be
none to whom this paper shall come, who, if they will
deal faithfully and honestly with their own hearts, will not
be forced to acknowledge that they have been sensible of
this in some measure, less, or more ; which is a thing that
man cannot bring upon himself with all his pains and in
dustry. This then, oh man and woman! is the day of
God's gracious visitation to thy soul, which if thou resist
not, thou shalt be happy for ever. This is the day of the
Lord, which, as Christ saith, is like the lightning, which Mat. xxiv.
shineth from the east unto the west ; and the" wind or spirit, j^n ;ii 8
which blows upon the heart, and no man knows whither it
goes, nor whence it comes.
§ XVII. And lastly, This leads me to speak concerning Qdes. 7.
the manner of this seed or light's operation in the hearts
of all men, which will show yet more manifestly, how
widely we differ from all those that exalt a natural power
or light in man ; and how our principle leads above all
others to attribute our whole salvation to the mere power,
spirit, and grace of God.
To them then that ask us after this manner; How do ye
differ from the Pelagians and Arminians ? For iftwo men
have equal sufficient light and grace, and the one be saved
by it, and the other not; is it not because the one improves
it, the other not ? Is not then the will of man the cause
of the one's salvation beyond the other ? I say, to such
we thus answer : That as the grace and light in all is suffi- The light's
cient to save all, and of its own nature would save all ; so rnPorder"o
it strives and wrestles with all in order to save them ; he salvation.
13 t

146 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
that resists its striving, is the cause of his own condemna
tion ; he that resists it not, it becomes his salvation,: so that
in him that is saved, the working is of the grace, and not
of the man; and it is a passiyeness rather than an^act;
though afterwards, as man is wrought upon, there is a will
raised in him, by which he comesJo be a co-worker with
the grace : for according to that of Augustine, " He that
made us without us, will not save us without us." So that
the first step is nPt by man's working, but by. his not con
trary working. And we believe, that at these singular sea
sons of every man's visitation above mentioned, as man is
wholly unable of himself to work with the grace, neither
can he move one step out of the natural condition, until
the grace lay hold upon him ; so it is possible for him to
be passive, and not to resist it,- as it is possible for him to
resist it. So we say, the grace of God works in and upon
man's nature; which, though of itself wholly corrupted
and defiled, and prone to evil, yet is capable to be wrought
upon by the grace of God ; even as iron, though a hard
and cold metal of itself, may be warmed and softened by
the heat of the fire, and wax melted by the sun. And as
iron or wax, when removed from the fire or sun, returneth
to its former condition of coldness and hardness ; so man's
heart, as it resists or retires from the grace of God, returns
to its former condition again. I have often had the manner
of God's working, in order to salvation -towards all men,
illustrated to my mind by one or two clear examples,
which I shall here add for the information of others.
The exam- " The. first is, Of a man heavily diseased ; to whom I
el'se'd rnln' compare man in his fallen and natural condition. I sup-
and the p0Se God, who is the great physician, not only to give this
physician. , ; , - , , , r , ' J b
man physic, after he hath used all the industry he can for
his own health, by any skill or knowledge of his own ; as
those that say, If a man improve his reason or natural fa
culties, God will superadd grace ; dr, as others say, that
he cometh and maketh offer of a remedy to this man out
wardly, leaving it to the liberty of man's will either to re
ceive it or reject it. But He, even the Lord, this great

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 147
physician, cometh and poureth the remedy into his mouth,
and as it were layeth him in his bed ; so that if the sick
man-be but passive, it will necessarily work the effect: but
if he be stubborn and untoward, and will needs rise up
and go forth into the cold, or eat such fruits as are hurtful
to him, while the medicine should operate ; then, though
of its nature it tendeth.to cure him, yet it will prove de
structive to him, because of those obstructions which it
meeteth with. Now as -the man that should thus undo
himself would certainly be the cause of his own death ;' so
who will say, that, if cured, he owes not his health
wholly to the physician, and not to any deed of his own ;
seeing his part was not any action, but a passiveness ?
The second example is, Of divers men lying in a dark The exam-
pit together, where all their senses are so stupified, that Tying stupi-
they are scarce sensible of their own misery. To this I *jed, in.a
... i- • x da™ P]t'
compare man in his natural, corrupt, fallen condition. I and their
suppose not that any of these men, wrestling to deliver them- e lverer-
selves, do thereby stir up or engage one able to deliver them
to give them his help, saying within himself, I see one of
these men willing to be delivered, and doing what in him
lies, therefore he deserves to be assisted ; as say the Soci
nians, Pelagians, and Semi-Pelagians. Neither do I sup
pose that this deliverer comes to the top of the pit, and
puts down a ladder, desiring them that will to come up ;
and so puts them upon using their own strength and will to
come up ; as do the Jesuits and Arminians': yet, as they
say, such are not delivered without the grace ; seeing the
grace is that ladder by which they were delivered. But I
suppose that the deliverer comes at certain times, and fully
discovers and informs them of the great misery and hazard
they are in, if they continue in that noisome and pestiferous
place ; yea, forces them to a certain sense of their misery,
(for the wickedest men at times are made sensible of their
misery by God's visitation,) and not only so, but lays hold
upon them, and gives them a pull, in order to lift them out)
of their misery ; which if they resist not will save them ;'
only they 'may resist it. This being applied as the former,

148 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
doth the same way illustrate the matter. .Neither is the
grace of God frustrated, though the effect of it be diverse,
according to its object, being the ministration of mercy .and
love, in those that reject it hot, but receive it, John i. 12,
but the ministration of wrath and condemnation in those
A simile of that do reject it, John iii. 19, even as the sun, by one, act
melting and or operation, melteth and softeneth the wax, and hardeheth
hardening the_clay. The nature ofthe sun is- to cherish the creation,
p '"''' , and therefore the living are refreshed by it, and the flowers
send forth a good savour, as it shines upon them, and the
fruits of the trees are ripened ; yet cast forth a dead car
cass, a thing without life, and the same reflection of the
sun will cause it to stink, and putrefy it ; yet is not the sun
said thereby to be frustrated of its proper effect. So, every
man during the day of his visitation is shined upon by the
sun of righteousness, and capable of being influenced by
it, so as to send forth good fruit, and a good savour, and
to be melted by it ; but when he hath sinned out his day,
then the same sun hardeneth him, as it doth the clay, and
makes his wickedness more to appear and putrefy, and send
forth an evil savour.
All have § XVIII. Lastly, As we truly affirm that God willeth no
grace sum- man f-0 perish, .an(j therefore hath given to all grace suf-
ciem tor , r ' ° °
salvation ficient for salvation ; so we do not deny, but that in a
ofGod. special manner he worketh in some, in whom grace so
prevaileth, that they necessarily obtain salvation ; neither
doth God suffer them to resist. For it were absurd to say,
that God had not far otherwise extended himself towards
the virgin Mary and the apostle Paul, than towards many
others : neither can we affirm that God equally loved the
beloved disciple John and Judas the traitor ; yet so far,
nevertheless, as none wanted such a measure of grace by
which they might have been saved, all are justly inexcus
able. And also God working in those to whom this pre-
valency of grace is given, doth so hide himself, to shut out
ah security and presumption, that such may be, humbled,
and the free grace of God magnified, and all reputed to be
of the free gift ; and nothing from the strength of self.

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 149
Those also who perish, when they remember those times
of God's visitatiQh towards them, wherein he wrestled with
them by his Light and Spirit, are forced to confess, that
there was a time wherein the door of mercy Was open unto
them, and that they are justly condemned, because they
rejected their own salvation.
Thus both the mercy and justice of God are established,
and the will and 'strength of man are brought down and
rejected; his condemnation is made to be of himself, and
his salvation only to depend upon God. Also by these
positions two great objections, which * often are brought
against this doctrine, are well solved.
The first is deduced from those places of scripture, Object.
Wherein God seems precisely to have decreed and pre
destinated' some to salvation; and for that end, to have
ordained certain means, which fall not out to others ; as
in the calling of Abraham, David, and others, and in the
conversion of Paul ; for these being numbered among
such to whom -this prevalency is given, the objection is
easily loosed.
The second is drawn from those places, wherein God Predestina-
seems to have' ordained some wicked persons to destruc- v^on0 |„d
tion ; and therefore to have obdured their hearts to force pre-ordina-
i " ¦ 11 • "i i ii tlon t0 de"
them urito great sins, and to have raised them up, that he struction,
might show in them his power, who, if they be numbered answere ¦
amongst those men whose day of visitation is passed over,
that objection is also solved ; as will more evidently ap
pear to any one that will make a particular application of
those things, which I at, this time, for ' brevity's sake,
thought meet to pass, over.
' § XIX. Having thus clearly and evidently stated the
question, and opened our mind and judgment in this mat
ter, as divers objections are hereby prevented, so will it
make our proof both the easier and the shorter.
The first thing, to be proved is, That God hath given to pKop. 1.
every man a day or time, of visitation, wherein it is possible rQve •
for him to be saved. If we can prove that there is a day
and time given, in which those might have been saved that
13*

150 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
actually- perish," the matter is done: for hone -deny but
Proof l. those that are saved have a day of visitation. This then
appears by the regrets and complaints- which the^ Spirit of
God throughout the whole scriptures makes, even to those
Those that that did perish ; sharply reproving them^ for that they did
a^ay of* not accept of, nor close with God's visitation and offer of
mercy of- mercv to them. Thus the. Lord expresses himself then
iorcd. th.6m -
' first of all to Cain, Gen. iv. 6, 7, "And the Lord said unto
Instances. Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance
1. Cain. fajjen ? jf thou d fa wej^ gnalt thou not fae accepte(l p jf
thou dost not well, sin lieth at the door." This was said
to Cain before he slew his brother Abel, when the evil
seed began to tempt him, and work in his heart ; we see
how God gave warning to Cain in season, and in the day
of his visitation towards him, acceptance and remission if
he did well: for this interrogation, " Shalt thou not'be ac
cepted?" imports an affirmative, " Thou shalt be accepted,
if thou dost well." So that if we'may trust God-Almighty,
the fountain of all truth and equity, it was possible in a
day, even for Cain to be accepted. Neither could God
have proposed the doing of good as a condition, if he had
not given Cain sufficient strength, whereby he was capable
to do good. This the Lord himself also shows, even that
2. The old he gave a day of visitation to the old world, Gen. jyi. 3,
"And the Lord said, My Spirit, shall not always strive in
man ;" for so it ought to be translated. This manifestly
implies, that his Spirit did strive, with man, and doth strive
with him for a season ; which season expiring, God ceaseth
to strive with him, iri order to save him^ for the Spirit of
God cannot be said to strive with man after the day of his
visitation is expired ; seeing it naturally, and without any*
resistance, works its effect then, to wit, continually to judge
and condemn him. From this day of visitation, that God
God is long hath given to every one, is it that he is said to " wait to be
andlonf' gracious," Isa. xxx. 18, and to be " long suffering," Exod.
beaigrafious xxxiv- 6 > Numb- »v- l8 5 Psal- Jxxxvi. 15; Jer. xv. 15.
unto all— Here the prophet Jeremy, in his prayer,' lays hold upon
the "long suffering of God;" and in his expostulating

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 151
with God, he shuts out the objection of our adversaries in
the , 18th verse : " Why is my pain perpetual, and my
wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed ? Wilt thou
altogether be unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail ?"
Whereas according to pur adversaries' opinion, the pain
of the most part of men is perpetual, and their wound alto
gether incurable ; yea, the offer of the gospel, and of sal
vation unto themj is as a lie, and as waters that fail, being
never intended to be of any effect unto them. The apostle
Peter says expressly, that this long suffering of God waited
in the days of Noah for those ofthe old world, 1 Pet. iii.
20, which, being compared with that of Gen. vi. 3, before
mentioned, doth sufficiently hold forth our proposition.
And thatnone may object that this long suffering or striv
ing of the Lord was not in order to save them, the same —In order
to SR.VP
apostle saith expressly, 2 Pet. iii. 15, That the long suf- them.
fering of God is to be accounted salvation ; -and with
this " long suffering," a little before in the 9th verse, he
couples, " That God is not willing that any should perish."
Where, taking him to be his own interpreter, as he is most
fit, he holdeth forth-, That those to whom the Lord is long
suffering, which he declareth- he was to the wicked of the
old world, and is now to all, "not willing that any should
perish," they are to account this long suffering of, God to
them salvation. Now how or in what respect can they
account it salvation, if there be not so much as a possibility
of salvation conveyed to them therein^ For it were not
N salvation to them, if they could not be saved by it. In
this matter Peter further refers to the writings of Paul,
holding forth this to have been the universal doctrine.
Where it is observable what he adds upon this occasion,
how there are some things in Paul's epistles hard to be Some
understood, which the unstable and unlearned wrest to p5uf'sepis
their own destruction ; insinuating plainly this of thpse beander.1'
expressions in Paul's epistles, as Rom. ix., &c, which stood.
some, unlearned in spiritual things., did make to contradict
the truth of God's long suffering towards all, in which he
willeth not any of them should perish, and in which they

152 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
all may be saved. Would to God many had taken more
heed than they have done to this advertisement! That
place of the apostle Paul, wlich Peter seems here most
particularly to hint at, doth much contribute also to clear
the matter, Rom. ii. 4, "Despisest thou the' riches of his
goodness, and forbearance, and long suffering, not know
ing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance ?"
Paul speaketh here to the unregenerate, and to the wicked,
who, in the following verse he saith, " Treasure up wrath
unto the day of wrath ;" and to such he" commends the
riches of the forbearance and long suffering of God ; show
ing that the tendency of God's goodness leadeth to repent
ance. How could it necessarily tend to lead them to
repentance, how could it be, called riches or goodness to
them, if there were not a time wherein they might repent
by it, and come to be sharers of the riches exhibited in it ?
From all which I thus argue :
Aro-. If God plead with the wicked, from the possibility of
rit°strive'1" their being accepted; if God's Spirit strive in them for a
mthewick- seag0n, in order to save them, who afterwards perish; if
he wait to be gracious unto them ; if he be lorig suffering
towards them ; and if this long suffering be salvation to
them while it endureth, during which time God willeth
them not to perish, but exhibiteth to them the riches of his
goodness and forbearance to lead them to repentance;
then there is a day of visitation wherein such might have
been, or some such now may be saved, who have perished,
and may perish, if they repent not :
But the first is true ; therefore also the last.
Pr. II. § XX. Secondly, This appeareth from the prophet
Isaiah, v. 4, "What could I have done more to my vine-
The vine- yard ?" For in verse 2, he saith : He had fenced it, and
eTrVrought gatnered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the
forth wild choicest vine; and yet, saith he, "when I looked it
should have brought forth grapes, it brought forth wild
grapes." Wherefore he calleth the inhabitants of Jerusa
lem, and men of Judah, to judge betwixt him and his
vineyard, saying ; " What, could I have done more to my

grapes.

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 153
vineyard, than I have done in it ? and yet," as is said, " it
brought forth wild grapes:" which was applied to many
in Israel who refused God's mercy. The same example is
used by Christ, Mat. xxi. 33 ; Mark xii. 1 ; Luke xx. 9,
where Jesus shows, how to some a vineyard was planted,
and all things given necessary for them, tp get them fruit
to pay or restore to their master ; and how the master many
times waited to be merciful to them, in sending servants
after servants, and passing by many offences, before he de
termined to destroy and cast them out. First then, this
cannot be understood of the saints, or of such as repent
and are saved ; for it is said expressly, "He will destroy
them." Neither would the parable any ways have answered
the end for which it is alleged, if these men had not been
in a capacity to have done good ; yea, such was their
capacity, that Christ saith in the prophet? " What could I
have done more ?" So that it is more than manifest, that
by this parable, repeated in three sundry evangelists, Christ
holds forth his " long . suffering towards men, and their
wickedness, to whom means of salvation being afforded,
do nevertheless resist, to their pwn condemnation. To
these also are parallel these scriptures, Pro. i. 24, 25, 26 ;
Jer. xviii. 9, 10; Mat. xviii. 32, 33, 34; Acts xiii. 46.
Lastly, That there is a day of visitation given to the Pr. III.
wicked, wherein they might have been saved, and which
being expired, they are shut out from salvation, appears
evidently by Christ's lamentation over Jerusalem, expressed Christ's la-
in three sundry places, Matfh. xxiii. 37; Luke xiii. 34; over Jeru-
and xix. .41, 42 ; " And when he was come near, he be- salem.
held the city, and wept over it, saying: If thou„ hadst
known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which
belong unto thy peace ; but now they are hid from *thine
eyes!" Than which nothing can be said more evident to
prove our doctrine. For, First, he insinuates that there
was a day wherein the inhabitants of Jerusalem might have
known those things that belonged to their peace. Se
condly, That during that day he was willing to have
gathered them, events an " hen gathereth her chickens."
u

154

PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.

When
men'shearts are
hardened.

The one
talent was
sufficient.

A familiar example, yet very significative in this case;
which shows that the offer of salvation made unto them
was not in vaiiron his part, but as really, and with as great
cheerfulness and willingness, as a "hen gathereth her
chickens." Such as is the love and care ofthe hen toward
her brood, such is the care of Christ to gather lost men and
women, -to redeem them out of their corrupt and degene
rate state. Thirdly, That because they refused,'the things
belonging to their peace were hid from their eyes. Why
were they hid ? Because ye would not suffer me to gather
you ; ye would hot see those things that were good' for
you, in the season of God's love towards you ; arid there
fore now, that day being expired, ye cannot see them :
and, for a farther judgment, God suffers you to be harden
ed in unbelief.
So it is, after real, offers of mercy and salvation rejected,
that men's hearts are hardened, and not before. Thus that
saying is verified, " To him that hath, shall be given ; and
from him that hath not, shall be taken away even that which
he hath." This may seem a riddle, yet it is according to
this doctrine easily solved. He hath not, because he hath
lost the season of using it, and so to him it is now as no
thing ; for Christ uses this expression, Matth. xxv. 26, upon
the occasion of the taking the one talent from the slothful
servant, and giving it to him that was diligent ;. which
talent was no ways insufficient of itself, but of the same
nature with those given to the others ; and therefore the
Lord had reason to exact the profit of it proportionably, as
well as from the rest: so I say, it is after the rejecting of
the day of visitation, that the judgment of obduration is
inflicted upon men and women, as Christ pronounceth it
upon the Jews out of Isa. vi. 9, which all the four evange
lists make mention of, Matth. xiii. 14 ; Mark iv. 12 ; Luke
viii. 10 ; John xii. 40 ; and last of all the apostle Paul,
after he had made offer of the gospel of salvation to the
Jews at Rome, pronounceth the same, Acts xxviii. 26,
after that some believed not ; " Well spake the Holy Ghost,
by Isaiah the prophet, unto our fathers, saying, Go unto

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 155
this people, ahd say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not
understand ; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive.
For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears
are dull of hearings and their eyes have they closed ; lest
they should see with their eyes,, and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts, and should be converted,
and I should heal them." So it appears, that God would
have them to see, but they closed their eyes; and there
fore they are justly hardened. Of this matter Cyrillus Cyril.Alex.
Alexandrinus upon John, lib. 6, cap. 21, speaks well, an
swering to this objection. " But some may say, if Christ
be come into the worjd, that those that see may be blinded,
their blindness is not imputed unto them ; but it rather
seems that Christ is the cause of their blindness, who saith,
' He is come into the world, that those that see may be
blinded.' But," saith he, " they speak not rationally, who
object these things unto God, and are not afraid to callhim
the author of evil. For, as the sensible sun is carried upon
our horizon, that it may communicate the gift of its clear
ness unto all, and make its light shine upon all ; yet if any
one close his eyelids, or willingly turn himself from the The cause
sun, refusing the benefit of its light, he wants its illumina- remaining
tion, and remains in darkness, not through the defect of in dark-
the sun, but through his own fault. So that the true Sun, closing his
who came to enlighten those that sat in darkness, and in eyes>
the region of the shadow of death, visited the earth for this
cause, that he might communicate unto all the gift of know
ledge and grace, and illuminate the inward eyes of all by
a spiritual splendour : but many reject the gift of this hea
venly light freely given to them, and have closed the eyes
of their minds, lest so excellent an illumination, or irradia
tion of the eternal light should shine unto them.' It is not
then through defect of the true Sun that they are blinded,
but only through "their own iniquity and hardness; 'for,'
as the wise man saith, Wisdom ii., <¦ their wickedness hath
blinded them.' "
From all which I thus argue :
If there was a day wherein the obstinate Jews might have

156

PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.

The obsti
nate Jews
had a day.

Prop. II.
Proved.

Proof I.
The light
enlightening every
man, &c.

Obs. 1.

— Not to a
certainnumber of
men, but
every man.

known the things that belonged to their peace, which, be
cause they rejected it, was hid from their eyes ; if there
was a time wherein Christ would have1 gathered them," who,
because they refused, could not be gathered ;-theri such as
might have been saved do actually perish, that slighted the
day of God's visitation towards them, wherein they might
have been converted and saved.
But the first is true ; therefore also the last.
§. XXI. Secondly, That which comes in the second place
to be proved is, That whereby God offers to work this sal
vation during the day of every man's visitation ; and that
is, That he hath given to every man a measure of saving,
sufficient, -and supernatural light and grace. This I shall
do, by God's assistance, by some plain and clear testimo
nies of the scripture.
First, From that of John i. 9 : " That was the true light,
which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."
This place doth so clearly favour us, that by some it is
called the Quaker's text ; for it doth evidently demonstrate
pur assertion ; so that it scarce needs either consequence
or deduction, seeing itself is a consequence of two propo
sitions asserted in the former verses, from which it followeth
as a conclusion in the very terms of our faith. The first
of these propositions is, " The life that is in him is the light
of men r" the second, " The light shineth in the darkness :"
and from these two he infers, and " He is the true light,
which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."
From whence I do in short observe, That this divine
apostle calls Christ the light of men, and giveth us this as
one of the chief properties, at least considerably and espe
cially to be observed by us ; seeing hereby, as he is the
light, and as we walk with him in that light which he com
municates to us, we come to have fellowship and commu
nion with him ; as the same apostle saith elsewhere, 1 John i.
7. Secondly, That this light shineth, in darkness, though
the darkness comprehend it not. Thirdly, That this true
light enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world.
Where the apostle, being directed by God's Spirit, hath

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 157
carefully avoided their captiousness, that would have re
stricted this to any certain number": where every one is,
there is none excluded. Next, should they be so obstinate,
as sometimes they are, as to say that this [every man] is
only every one of the elect ; these words following, " every
man that cometh into the world," would obviate that objec
tion. So that it is plain there comes no man into the world,
whom Christ hath not enlightened in some measure, and
in whose dark heart this light doth not shine ; though the
" darkness comprehend it not," yet it shineth there ; and
the nature thereof is to dispel the darkness, where men
shut not their eyes upon it. Now for what end this light The light
is given, is expressed in verse ,7, where John is said to darkness5
come for a " witness, to bear witness to the light, that all t>e.B£t8
men through it might believe ;" to wit, through the light,
Si <wS, which doth very well agree with cpwrk, as being the
nearest antecedent, though most 'translators have (to make
it suit with their own doctrine) made it relate to John, as
if all men were to believe through John. For which, as
there is nothing directly in the text, so it is contrary to the
very strain of the context. For, seeing Christ hath lighted
every man with this light, Is it not that they may come to
believe through it ? All could not believe through John,
because all riien could not know of John's testimony ;
whereas every man being lighted by this may come there
through to believe. John shined not in darkness ; but this
light shineth in the darkness, that having dispelled the dark
ness/ it may produce and. beget faith. And lastly, We
must believe through that, and become believers through
that, by walking in which, fellowship with God is known
andenjoyed; but, as hath been above observed, it is by
walking in this light that we have this communion and fel
lowship ; not by walking in John, which were nonsense.
So that this relative Si <xu«rS, must needs be referred to the
light, whereof John bears witness, that through that light,
wherewith Christ hath lighted every man, all men might
come to believe. Seeing then this light is the light of Jesus
Christ, and the light through which men come to believe,
14

158 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
The light is I think it needs not to be doubted, but that it is a super-
ra^saving, natural, saving, and sufficient light. '" If it were not super-
and suffi- natural, it could not be properly called the light of Jesus;
for though all things be his, and of him, and from him;
yet those things which are common and peculiar to our na
ture, as being a part of it, we are not said in so special a
manner to have from Christ. Moreover, the evangelist
is holding out to us here the office of Christ as mediator,
and the benefits which from him as such, do redound
unto us.
Obs. 2. Secondly, It cannot be any of the natural gifts or.facul-
ties of our soul, whereby we are said here to be enlight
ened, because this light is said to " shine in the darkness,"
The dark- and cannot be comprehended by it. Now this darkness is
man'snatu- n0 other but man's natural condition and state ; in which
ral state natural state he can easily comprehend, and doth compre-
and condi- r , . . .. , .
tion: hend, those things that are peculiar and. common to him as
such. That man in his natural condition is called dark
ness, see Eph. v. 8; "For ye were sometimes darkness,
but now are ye light in the Lord." And in other places,
as Acts xxvi. 18, Gol. i. 13, 1 Thess. v. 5, where the con
dition of man in his natural state is termed darkness; there
fore I say this light cannot be any natural property or*fa-
culty of man's soul, but a supernatural gift and grace of
Christ.
Obs. 3. Thirdly, It is sufficient and saving.
Arg. 1. That which is given " that all men through it may be
lieve," must needs be saving and sufficient i. that, by walk
ing in which, fellowship with the saints and the blood of
Christ, " which cleanseth from all sin," is possessed, must
be sufficient:
But such is the Light, 1 John, i. 7.
Therefore, &c.
Moreover ;
Ars. 2. That which we are commanded tp believe in " that we
may become the children of the light," must be a super
natural, sufficient, and saving principle :
But we are commanded to believe in this light:

OF UNIVERSAL AND. SAVING LIGHT. 159
Therefore, &c.
The proposition cannot be denied. The assumption is
Christ's own words, John xii. 36: "While ye have the
light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of
the light."
To this they object, That by light ' here is understood Object.
Christ's outward person, iri whom he would have them be
lieve. That they ought to have believed in Christ, that is, that Answ.
he was the Messiah that was to come, is not denied ; but
how they evince that Christ intended that here, I see not : Whether
nay the place itself shows the contrary, by these words, outward
" While ye have the light ;" and by the verse going before, person was
" Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon
you :" which words import, that when that light in which
they were to believe was removed, then they should lose
the capacity or season of believing. Now this could not
be understood of Christ's person, else the Jews might have
believed in him ; and many did savingly believe in him, as
all Christians do at this day, when the person, to wit, his
bodily presence, or outward man, is far removed from
them. So that this light in which they were commanded The light
to believe must be that-inward spiritual light that "shines in not Christ's
their hearts for a season, even during the day of man's outward
... - ., . . ¦ 1, • ¦ man or per-
visitation ; which white it continueth to call, invite and ex- son.
hort, men are said to have it, and may believe in it ; but
when men refuse to believe in it, and reject it, then it ceas-
eth to be a light to show them the way ; but leaves the
sense of their unfaithfulness as a sting in their conscience ;
which is a terror and darkness unto them, and upon them,
in which they cannot know where to go, neither can work
any ways profitably in order to their salvation. And there
fore to such rebellious ones the day of the Lord is said to
be darkness, and not light, Amos v. 18.
From whence it appears, that though many receive not
the light, as many comprehend it not, nevertheless this
saving light shines in all, that it may save them. Con
cerning which also Cyrillus Alexandrinus saith well, and

160 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
Cyrillus defends our principle : » With great diligence -and watch-
nlsTpon"' fulness," saith he, " doth the apostle John endeavour to
John, lib. i. anticipate and prevent the vain thoughts of men : for there
'" ap" ' is here a wonderful method of sublime things, and over-
lurning of objections. He had just now called- the Son
the true light,, by whom he affirmed that every man coming
into the world was -enlightened; yea, that he was in the
world, and the, world was made by him. One may then
object, If the word of God be the light, and if this light
enlighten the hearts of men, and suggest unto men piety
and the understanding of things ; if he was always in the
world, and was the creator or builder of the world, why
was he so long unknown unto the world? It seems. rather
to follow because he was unknown to the world, therefore
the world was not enlightened by him, nor he totally light.
Lest any should so object, he^divinely infers, and the world
knew him not. Let not the world," saith he,," accuse
the word of God, and his eternal light, but its own weak-
The son ness ; for the son enlightens, but the creature rejects "the
butman"8' grace that is given unto it, and abuseth the sharpness of
through understanding granted it, by which it might have naturally
buries illu- known God ; and, as a prodigal, hath turned its sight to the
""nation, creatures, neglecting to go forward, and through laziness
and negligence buried the illumination, and despised this
grace. Which that the disciple of Paul might not do, he was
commanded to watch ; therefore it is to be imputed to their
wickedness, who are illuminated, and not unto the light.
For as albeit the sun riseth upon all, yet he that is blind
receiveth no benefit thereby ; none thence can justly accuse
the brightness of the sun, but will ascribe the cause of not
seeing to the blindness ; so I judge it is to be understood
of- the only begotten Son of God : for he is the true light,
and sendeth forth his brightness upon all ; butthe god of
this world, as Paul saith, hath blinded the minds of those
that believe not, 2 Cor. iv. 4, that the light of the gospel
shine not unto them. We say then that darkness is come
upon men, not because they are altogether deprived of
light, for nature retaineth still the strength of understand-

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 161
ing divinely given it, but because man is dulled. by an evil
habit, and become worse, and hath made the measure of
grace in some respect to languish. When therefore the
like befalls man, the Psalmist justly prays, crying, <¦ Open
mine eyes, that I may behold the wonderful things of thy
law.' For the law was given that this light might be kindled
in us, the blearedness of the eyes of our minds being wiped
away, and the blindness being removed which detained us
in our former ignorance. By these words then the world
is accused as ungrateful and insensible, not knowing its
author, nor bringing forth the good fruit of the illumination ;
that it may now seem to be said truly of all, which was of
old said by the prophet of the Jews, I expected that it
should have brought forth grapes, but it brought forth wild
grapes. For the good fruit of the illumination was the
knowledge ofthe only Begotten, as-a cluster hanging from
a fruitful branch," &c.
From which it appears Cyrillus believed that a saving Grace no
illumination was given unto all. For as to what he speaks natural Slft-
of nature, he understands it not of the common nature of
man by itself, but of that nature which hath the strength
of understanding divinely given it: for he understands this
universal illumination to be of the same kind with that grace
of which Paul makes mention to Timothy, saying, " Neg
lect not the grace that is in thee." Now it is not to be
believed that Cyrillus was so ignorant as to judge that grace
to have been some riatural gift.
§ XXII. That this saving light and seed, or a measure Proof II.
of it, is given to all, Christ tells us expressly in the parable
of tbe sower, Mat. xiii. from ver. 18 ; Mark iv., and Luke The seed of
viii. 11, he saith, That this seed sown in those several sorts aomissown
of grounds is the word of the kingdom, which the apostle in several
calls the word of faith, Rom. x. 8, James i. 21, o' Aoyos grounds
g(ji<pu7off, the " implanted ingrafted word, which is able to distinction.
save the soul ;" the words themselves declare that it is that ,
/which is saving in the nature of it, for in the good ground
it fructified abundantly.
Let us then observe, that this seed of the kingdom, this
14* v

162 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
saving, supernatural, and sufficient word, was really sown
in the stony thorny ground, and by the wayside, where it
did not pro'fit, but became useless as to these grounds: it
was, I say, the same seed that Was sown in the good ground:
It is then the fear of persecution and deceitfulness of
riches, as Christ himself interpreteth the parable, which
hindereth this seed to grow in the hearts of many : not
but that in its own nature it is sufficient, being the
same with that which groweth' up and prospereth in the
hearts of those who receive it. So that though all are not
saved by~ it, yet there is a seed of salvation planted and
sown in the hearts pf all by God, which would grow, up
and redeem the soul, if it were not choked and hindered.
Concerning this parable Victor Antiochenus on Mark iv.,
as he is cited by Vossius, in his Pelagian History, book vii.,
saith, " That our Lord Christ hath liberally sown the divine
seed of the word, and proposed it to all, without respect
of persons $ and as he that soweth distinguisheth not be
twixt ground and ground, but simply casteth in the seed
without distinction, so our Saviour hath offered the food
i of the divine word so far as was his part, although he was
not ignorant what would become of many. Lastly J He so
behaved himself, as he might justly say, What should I
have done that I have not done ?" And to this answered
the parable of the talents, Mat. xxv., he that had two ta
lents was accepted, as well as he that had five, because he
used them to his master's profit : and he that had one
might have done so ; his talent was of the same nature of
the rest ; it was as capable to have proportionably brought
forth its interest as the rest. And so though there be not
a like proportion of grace given to all, to some five talents,
to some two talents, and to some but one talent ; yet there
is given to all that which is sufficient, and no more is re
quired than according to that which is given: "For unto
whomsoever much is given, from him shall much be re
quired," Luke xii. 48. He that had the two talents was
accepted for giving four, nothing less than he that gave the
ten : so should he also that gave the one, if he had given

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 163
two ; and no doubt one was capable to have produced
two, as well as five to have produced ten, or two four.
§ XXIII. Thirdly, This saving spiritual light is the gos- Proof III.
pel, which the apostle saith expressly is preached <' in every The light is
creature under heaven ;" even that very "gospel whereof {{Je powe^1'
Paul was made a minister," Col. i. 23. For the gospel is of God
not a mere declaration of good things, being the " power every crea-
of God unto salvation to.all those that believe," Rom. i. 16. heaven.*1"
Though the outward declaration of the gospel be taken
sometimes for the gospel ; yet it is but figuratively, and by
a metonymy. For to speak properly, the gospel is this in
ward power and life which preacheth glad tidings in the
hearts of all men, offering salvation unto them, and seeking
,to redeem them from their iniquities, and therefore it is
said to be preached " in every creature under heaven :"
whereas there are many thousands of men and women to
whom the outward gospel was never preached. Therefore
the apostle Paul, Romans i., where he saith " the gospel
is the. power of God unto salvation," adds, that "therein
is revealed the righteousness of God from faith to faith ;"
and also the "wrath of God against suoh as hold the truth
of God in unrighteousness :" for this reason, saith'he, "be
cause that which may be known of God is manifest in them ;
for God hath showed it unto them." Now that which may
be known of God, is known by the gospel, which was
manifest in them. For those of whom the apostle speaks
had no outward gospel preached unto them ; so that it was
by the inward manifestation of the knowledge of God in
them, which is indeed the gospel preached in man, "that
the righteousness pf God is revealed from faith to faith ;"
that is, it reveals to the soul -that which is just, good, and
righteous ; and that as the soul receiveth it and believes,
righteousness comes more and more to be revealed from
one degree of faith to another. - For though, as the follow
ing verse Saith, the outward creation declares the power
of God ; yet that which may be known of him is manifest
within : by which inward manifestation we are made capa
ble to see and discern the Eternal Power and Godhead in

164 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI. ,
the outward creation ; so were it not for this inward prin
ciple, we could no more understand the invisible things of
God by the outward visible creation, than a blind man can
see and discern the variety of shapes and colours, or judge
of the beauty of the outward creation. Therefore he saith,
first, " That which may be known of God is manifest in
them," and in and by that they may read and understand
the power ahd Godhead in those things that are outward
and visible. And though any might pretend that the out
ward creation doth of itself, without any supernatural or
saving principle in the heart, even declare to the natural
man that there is a God ; yet what would such a knowledge
avail, if it did not, also communicate to me what the will
of God is, and how I shall do that which is acceptable to
him ? For the outward creation, though it may beget a
persuasion that there is some eternal power or virtue by
beget a per- -which the world hath had its beginning; yet it doth not
suasion in ,,..,- - , ?. , . . '
man of an tell me, nor dotlrit inform me of that which is just, holy,,
and righteous ; how I shall be delivered from my tempta
tions and evil affections, and come unto righteousness;
that must be from some inward manifestation in my heart.
Whereas those Gentiles of whom the apostle speaks knew
by that inward law and manifestation of the knowledge of
God in them to distingriish betwixt good and evil, as in
the next chapter appears, of- which we shall speak hereafter.
The prophet Micah, speaking of man indefinitely, or in
general, declares this, Mic. vi. 8, " He hath showed thee,
0 man, what is good. And what doth the Lord require
of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk
humbly with God ?" He doth not say God requires, till
he hath first assured that he hath showed unto them. Now
because this is showed unto all men, and manifest in them,
therefore, saith the apostle, is the " wrath of God revealed
against them, for that they hold the truth in' unrighteous
ness ;" that is, the measure of truth, the light, the seed, the
grace in them: for that they hide the talent in the earth ;
that is, in the earthly and unrighteous part in their hearts,
and suffer it not to bring forth fruit, but to be choked with

The out
ward crea
tion may

eternal
power or
virtue.

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 165
the sensual cares of this life, the fear of reproach, and the
deceitfulness of riches, as by the parables above mentioned
doth appear. But the apostle Paul opens and illustrates
this matter yet more, Rom. x., where he declares, "That
the word which he preached" (now the word which he
preached, and tbe gospel which he preached, and whereof
he was a. minister, is one and the same) "is not far off, but
nigh in the heart and in the mouth ;" which done, he frameth
as it were the objection of our adversaries in the 14th and
15th verses, "How shall they believe in him of whom they
have not heard? And how shall they hear without a
preacher?" This he answers in the 18th verse, saying,
" But, I say, have they not heard ? Yes, verily, their sound
went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of
the world;" insinuating that this divine preacher hath The divine
sounded in the ears and hearts of all men : for of the out- the^ord
ward apostles that saying was not true, neither then,, nor ™gh, hath
, n <• i i sounded in
many hundred years after ; yea, for aught we know, there the ears and
may be yet great and spacious nations and kingdoms that men!80 *
never have heard of Christ nor his apostles as outwardly.
This inward and powerful word of God is yet more fully
described in the epistle to the Hebrews, chap. iv. 12, 13 :
"For the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper
than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing
asunder of soul and spirit; and of the joints and marrow,
and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
The virtues of this spiritual word are here enumerated : it
is 'quick, because ft searches and tries the hearts of all ; no
man's heart is exempt from it: for the apostle gives this
reason of its being so in the following verse : " But all Before
things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with things are
whom we have to do : and there is not any creature that is mamfest-
not manifest in his sight." Though this ultimately and me
diately be referred to God, yet nearly and immediately it
relates to the word or light, which, as hath been before
proved, is in the hearts of all, else it had been improper to
have brought it in here. The apostle shows how " every
intent and thought ofthe heart is discerned by the word of

166 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
And every God," because all things are naked before God; which
anTintent imports nothing else but it is in and by this word whereby
ofthe Q0d se(jS anci discerns man's thoughts; and so it must
needs be in all men, because the apostle saith, "there is
The faith- no creature that is not manifest in his sight." This then is
ml witness, that faithful witness and messenger of God that bears wit
ness for God, and for his righteousness in the hearts of all
men : for he hath not,left. man without a witness, Acts
xiv. 17, and he Is said to be " given for a witness to the
people," Isa. Iv. 4. And as this word beareth witness for
God, so it is not placed in men only to condemn them :
for as he is given for a " witness," so saith the prophet,
A leader he is given for a leader and commander. . The light is
malde™" given> tnat a11 through it may believe,. John i. 7, "for
faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God,"
which is placed in man's heart, both to be a witness for
God, and to be a means to bring man to God through faith
and repentance : it is therefore powerful, that it may divide
A two-edg- betwixt the soul and the spirit : it is like a two-edged
" " sword, that it may cut off iniquity from him, and separate
betwixt the precious and the vile ; and because man's heart
is cold and hard like iron naturally, therefore hath God
A fire and placed this word in him, which is said to be like a fire, and
like a hammer, Jer. xxiii. 29, that like as by,the heat, of
the fire the iron, of its own nature cold, is warmed, and
softened, and by the strength of the hammer is framed ac
cording' to the mind of the worker ; so the cold and hard
heart of man is by the virtue and powerfulness of this word
of God near and in the heart, as it resists not, warmed and
softened, and receiveth a heavenly and celestial impression
and image. The most part of the fathers have spoken at
large touching this word, seed, light, and saving voice call
ing-all unto salvation, and able tp save.
Clem.Alex. Clemens Alexandrinus saith, lib. 2, Stromal., "The
divine word hath cried, calling all, knbwing well those that
will not obey ; and yet, because it is in our power either
to obey or not to obey, that none may have a pretext of
ignorance, it hath made a righteous call, and requireth but

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 167
that which is according to the ability and strength of every
one." The selfsame, in his warning to the Gentiles :
"For as," saith he, "that heavenly ambassador of the
Lord-, 'the. grace of God, that brings salvation, hath ap
peared unto all,' &c. This is the new song, coming and
manifestation of the word, which now shows itself in us, "
which was in the beginning, and was first of all." And
again, " Hear, therefore, ye that are afar off; hear, ye who
are near ; the word is hid from none, the light is common
to all, and shineth to all. There is no darkness in the
word ; let us hasten to salvation, to the new birth, that we The gather-
being many, may be gathered into the one alone love." o'ne'and
Ibid, he saith, "That there is infused into all, but princi- alone love.
pally into those that are trained^ up in doctrine, a certain
divine influence, *% <Wopf>oia &si'a." And again he speaks
concerning the innate witness, " worthy of belief, which
of itself doth plainly choose that which is- most honest."
And again he saith, "That it is not impossible to come
unto the, truth, ahd lay hold of it, seeing it is most near to
us, in our own houses, as the most wise Moses declareth,
living in three parts of us, viz. in our hands, in our mouth,
and in our heart. This," saith he, " is a most true badge
ofthe truth, which is also fulfilled in three things, namely,
in counsel, in action, in speaking." And again he saith
also unto the unbelieving nations, " Receive Christ, receive
light, receive sight, to the end thou^ mayest rightly know
both God and man. The word that hath enlightened us The en-
is more pleasant than gold, and the stone of great value." wmrLnme
And again he saith, " Let us receive the light, that we may
receive God ; let us receive the light, that we may be the
scholars ofthe Lord." And again he saith to those infidel
nations, " The heavenly Spirit helpeth thee ; resist and
flee pleasure." Again, lib. 5, Strom., he saith, " God forbid
that man be not a partaker of divine acquaintance, Ss'ias
hmias, who in Genesis is said to be a partaker of inspira
tion." And Pa?d, lib. 1, cap. 3, "There is-," saith he,
" some lovely and some desirable thing in man, which is
called the in-breathing of God, Ijjwpuo'iifji.a ©sS." The same

168 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
man, lib. 10, Strom., directeth men unto, the light and
water in themselves, who have the eye of the soul darkened
or dimmed through evil education and learning : let them
enter-in unto their own domestic light,, or unto the- light
which is in their own house, fgis ro oixsiov epSis fSaSi^ku, unto
the truth, which manifests accurately and, clearly these
things that have been written.
J. Martyr. Justin Martyr, in his first Apology, saith, " That the
word which was and is, is in all ; even that- very same
word which, through the prophets, foretold things to
come."
Auth. de The writer of the Calling of the Gentiles, saith, lib. 1,
Voc. Gent. cap_ 23 a We believe according tb the same, viz. scripture,
and most religiously confess, that God was never wanting
in care to the generality of men ; who although he did lead
by particular lessons a people gathered to himself unto
godliness, yet he withdrew from no nation of men the
gifts of his own goodness, that they might be convinced
that they had received the words of the prophets, and legal
commands in services and testimonies of the jirst prin
ciples." Cap. 7, he saith, "That he believes that the
help of grace hath been wholly withdrawn from no man."
Lib. 2, cap. 1, "Because, albeit salvation is'far from din
ners, yet there is nothing void of the presence and virtue
of hissalvation." Cap. 2, " But seeing none of that people
over, whom was set both the doctrines, were justified but
through grace by the spirit of faith, who can question but
that they, who of whatsoever nation, in whatsoever times,
could please God, were ordered by the Spirit of the grace
of God, which although in fore-time it was more sparing
and hid, yet denied itself to no ages, being in virtue one,
in quantity different, in counsel unchangeable, in operation
multifarious."
Prop III. § XXIV. The third proposition which ought to be
rove ' proved is, That it is by this light, seed, or grace that God
vation works the salvation of all men, and many come to partake
the°u|ht m of the benefit of Christ's death, and' salvation purchased by
all. him. By the inward and effectual operations of which, as

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 169
many heathen have come to be partakers of the promises
who were not of the seed of Abraham after the flesh, so
may some now, to whom God hath rendered the know
ledge of the history impossible, come to be saved hy
Christ. Having already proved that Christ hath died for
all, that there is a day of visitation given to all, during
which salvation is possible to them, and that God hath
actually given a measure of saving grace and light unto all,
preached the gospel to and in them, and "placed the word
of faith in their hearts, the matter of this proposition may
seem to be proved. Yet shall I a little, for the farther satis
faction of all who desire to know the truth, and hold it as
it is in Jesus, prove this from two or three clear scripture
testimonies, and remove the most common as well as the
more strong objections usually brought against it.
Our theme then hath two parts ; First, That those that 1 Part.
have the gospel and Christ outwardly preached unto them,
are not saved but by the working of the grace and light in
their hearts.
Secondly, That by the working and operation of this, 2 Part.
many have been, and some may be saved, to whom the
gospel hath never been outwardly preached, and who are
utterly ignorant of the outward history of Christ.
As to the first, though it be granted by most, yet because 1 Part
it is more in words than deeds, the more full discussing of prove '
which will occur in the next proposition concerning justi
fication, I shall prove it in few words. And first from the
words bf Christ to Nicodemus; John iii. 3, " Verily, verily
I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot
see the kingdom of God." Now this birth cometh not by The new
the outward preaching of the gospel, or knowledge of generation
Christ, or historical faith in him; seeing many have that, cometh not
,_',,,. . , , j rm bytheout-
and firmly beheve it, who are never thus renewed. Ihe ward know-
apostle Paul also goes so far, while he commends the ne- c{jf£t°f
cessity and excellency of this new creation, as in a certain
respect to lay aside the outward knowledge of Christ, or
the knowledge of him after the flesh, in these words, 2 Cor.
v. 16, 17, "Wherefore henceforth know we no man after
15 w

170 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
the flesh; yea, though we have known Christ -after the
flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. There
fore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old
things are passed away, behold all things- are become
new." Whence it manifestly appears, that he makes the
knowledge of Christ after the flesh but as it were the rudi
ments which young children learn, which after they are
become better "scholars, are of less use to them, because
they have and possess the very substance of thoso first; pre
cepts in their minds. As all comparisons halt in some
part, so shall I not affirm this to hold in every respect ; yet
so far will this hold, that as those that- go no farther than
the rudiments are never to be accounted learned, and as
they grow beyond these things, so they have less use of
them, even so such as go no farther than the outward
knowledge of Christ shall never inherit the kingdom of
heaven. But such as come to know. this new birth, to be
in Christ indeed, to be a new creature, to have " old things
passed away, and all things become new," may safely say
with the apostle, " Though we have known Christ after the
but by the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more." Now
light and this new creature proceeds from the work of this light and
grace in the grace in the heart : it is that word which we speak of, that
is sharp and piercing, that implanted word, able to save
the soul, by which this birth is begotten ; and therefore
Christ has purchased unto us this holy seed, that thereby
this birth might be brought forth in us, which is therefore
also called "the manifestation ofthe Spirit, given to every
one to profit withal ;" for it is written, that " by one Spirit
we are all baptized into one body." And the apostle Peter
also ascribeth this birth to the seed and word of Gad,
which we have so much declared of, saying, 1 Pet. i. 23,
"Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incor
ruptible, by the word of God, which, liveth and abideth for
ever." Though then this seed be small in its appearance,
so that Ghrist compares it to a " grain of mustard-seed,
which is the least of all, seeds," Matth.. xiii. 31, 32, and
that it be hid in the earthly part of man's heart ; yet therein

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 171
is life and salvation towards the sons of men wrapped up,
which comes to be revealed as they give way to it. And
in this seed in the hearts of all men is the kingdom of God, The king-
as in a capacity to be produced, or rather exhibited, ac- ;s in the
cording as it receives depth, is nourished, and not choked : ng^tm0*n
hence Christ saith, that the kingdom of God was in' the men.
very Pharisees, Luke xvii. 20, 21, who did oppose and
resist him, and were justly accounted as serpents, and a
generation of vipers. Now the kingdom of God could be
no otherways in them than in a seed, even as the thirty-
fold and the hundred-fold is wrapt up in a small seed, lying
in a barren ground, which springs not forth because it
wants nourishment : and as the whole body of a great tree
is wrapped up potentially in the seed of the tree, and so is
brought-forth in due season; and as the capacity of a man
or woman is riot only in a child, but even in the very em
bryo, even so the kingdom of Jesus Christ, yea Jesus
Christ himself, Christ within, who is the hope of glory, and
becometh wisdom, righteousness, sanctification arid re
demption, is in every man's and woman's heart, in that
little incorruptible seed, ready to be brought forth, as it is
cherished and received in the love of it. For there can be
no men worse than, those rebellious and unbelieving Pha
risees were ; and yet this kingdom was thus within them,
and they were directed to look for it there : so' it is neither
lo here, nor lo there, in this or the other observation, that
this is known, but as this seed -of God in the heart is
minded and entertained. And certainly hence it is, even
because this light, seed, and grace that appears in the heart
of man is so -little regarded, and so much overlooked, that
so few know Christ brought forth in them. The1 one sort^ Calvinists,
to wit, the Calvinists, they look upon grace as an irresist- Armenians
ible power, and therefore neglect and despise this eternal and, Soam-
r ) o r ana' errors
seed of the kirigdom in their hearts, as a low, insufficient, denying the
useless thing as to their salvation. On the other hand, the s!fvjng°
Papists, Arminians, and Socinians, they go about to set
up their natural power and will with one consent, denying
that this little seed, this small appearance of the light, is

172 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
that supernatural saving grace of God given to every man
to save him. And so upon them is verified that saying of
- the Lord Jesus Christ, " This is the condemnation of the
world, that light is come into the world, but men love
darkness rather than light ;" the reason is added, " because
their deeds are evil." All confess they feel this; but they
will not have it to be of that virtue. Some will have it to
be reason ; some a natural conscience ; some, certain relics
of God's image that remained in Adam. So that Christ,
as he met with opposition from all kinds of professors in
his outward appearance, doth now also in his inward. It
The mean- was the meanness of his outward man that made many
ChS-°t' . despise hinij saying, " Is not this the son of the carpenter?
pearance in Are not his brethren, and sisters among us ? Is not this a
Galilean ? And came there ever a prophet out of Galilee?"
And such like reasonings. For they expected an outward
deliverer, who as a prince, should deliver them with great
ease from their enemies, and not such a Messiah as should
be crucified shamefully, and, as it were lead them into
many sorrows, troubles, and afflictions. So the meanness
of this appearance makes the crafty Jesuits, the pretended
rational Socinians, and the learned Arminians overlook it;
desiring rather something that they might exercise their
subtilty, reason, and learning about, and use the liberty of
their own wills. And the secure Calvinists, they would
have a Christ to save them without any trouble ; to destroy
all their enemies for them without them, and nothing or
little within, and in the mean while to be at ease-to live in
their sins secure. Whence, when all is well examined, the
The nature cause is plain ; it is " because their deeds are evil," that
e lg with one consent they reject this light: for it checks the
wisest of them all, and the learnedest of them all in secret ;
it reproves them ; neither can all their logic silence it, nor
can the securest among them stop its voice from crying,
and reproving them within, for all their confidence in the
outward knowledge of Christ, or of what he hath suffered
outwardly for them. For, as hath been often said, " in a
day it strives with all, wrestles with all ;" and it is theun-

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 173
mortified nature, the first nature, the old Adam, yet alive
in the wisest, in the learnedest, in the most zealous for the
outward knowledge of Christ, that denies this, that despises
it^ that shuts it out, to their own condemnation. They
come all under this description, " Every one that doth evil,
hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds
should be reproved," John iii. 20. So that it may be said
now, and we can say from a true and certain experience,
as it was of old, Psalm cxviii. 22; Mat. xxi. 42; Mark
xii. 10; Luke xx. 17; Acts iv. 11, The stone which
the builders of all kinds have rejected, the1 same is become
unto us the head of the corner. Glory to God for ever!
who hath chosen, us as first fruits to himself in this day,
wherein he is arisen to plead with the nations ; and there
fore hath sent us forth to preach this everlasting gospel unto
all, Christ nigh to all, the light in all, the seed sown in the
hearts of all, that men may come and apply their minds to
it. And we rejoice that we have been made to lay down
our wisdom and learning, such of us as have had some of
it, and our carnal reasoning, to learn of Jesus ; and sit
down at the feet of Jesus "in our hearts, and hear him, who
there makes all things manifest, and reproves all things by
his light, Eph. v. 13. For many are wise and learned in The wise
the notion, in the letter of the scripture, as the Pharisees fnthe*™
were, and can speak much,. of Christ, and plead strongly J.lon> c™cl"
against Infidels, Turks, and Jews, and it may be also Christ.
against some heresies, who, in the mean time; are cruci
fying Christ in the small appearance of his seed in their
hearts. Oh ! better were it to be stripped and naked of
all, to account it as dross and dung, and become a fool
for Christ's sake, thus knowing him- to teach thee in thy
heart, so as thou- mayest witness him raised there, feel the
virtue ofhis cross there, and say with the apostle, "I glory
in nothing, save in the cross of Christ, whereby I am cru
cified to the worid, and the world unto me." This is bet
ter than to write thousands of commentaries, and to preach
many sermons. And it is thus to preach Christ, and direct
people to his pure light in the heart, that God hath raised
15*

174 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
None are us up, and' for which the wise men of this world account
the know- us fools ,; because by the operation of this cross of Christ
ledge ofthe m our hearts, we have denied our own wisdom and wills
history, but.. \ '
by the in many things, and have forsaken the vain worships,
ofthe Hght fashions, and customs of this world. For these divers cen-
of Christ in tunes the world hath been full of a dry, fruitless, ahd
the mys- - .
tery. barren knowledge of Christ, feeding upon the husk, and
neglecting the kernel ; following after the shadow, but
strangers to the -substance. Hence the devil matters not
how much of that knowledge abounds, provided he can
but possess the heart, and rule in the will, crucify the ap
pearance of Christ there, and so keep the seed ofthe king-
Conten- dom from taking root. For he has led them abroad, lo
outward here, and lo there, and has made them wrestle in a false
observa- Zeal so much one against another, contending for this out
turns and ° - .
Loheres. ward observation, and for the other outward observation,
seeking Christ in this and the other external thing, as in
bread and wine ; contending one with another how he is
there, while some will have him to be present therein this
way, and some the other way ; and some, in scriptures, in
books, in societies, and pilgrimages, and merits,. But
some, confiding in- an external barren faith, think all is
well, if they do but firmly believe that he died -for their
sins past, present, and to come ; while in the mean time
Christ lies crucified and slain, and is daily resisted and
The call of gainsayed in his appearance in their hearts. Thus, from a
blinded sense of this blindness and ignorance that is come over
Christen- Christendom, it is that we are led and moved of the Lord
dom. so constantly and frequently to call all, invite all, request
all, to turn to the light in them, to mind the light in them,
to believe in Christ, . as he is in them : and that in the
name, power, and authority of the Lord, not in school-
arguments and distinctions, for which many of the wise
men of this world account us fools and mad men, we do
charge and command them to lay aside their wisdom, to
come down out bf that proud, airy, brain-knowledge, and
to rstop that mouth, how eloquent soever to the worldly
ear it may appear, and to be silent, and sit down as in the

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 175
dust, and to mind the light of Christ in their own con
sciences ; which, if minded, they would find as a sharp
two-edged sword in their hearts, and as a fire and a hammer,
that would knock against and burn up all that carnal,
gathered, natural stuff, and make the stoutest of them all
tremble, and become Quakers indeed ; which those that
come not to feel now, and kiss not the Son while the day
lasteth, but harden their" hearts, will feel to be a certain
truth when it is too late. To conclude, as saith the apostle,
All ought to examine themselves, whether they be in the
faith indeed ; and try their ownselves : for except Jesus
Christ be in them, they are certainly reprobates. 2 Cor.
xiii. 5.
§ XXV. Secondly, That which remains now to be proved 2 Part
is, That by the operation of this Jight and seed some have That many
been and may yet be saved, to whom the gospel is not out- byth« i4£ht
J J ' . • o 1 may be
wardly preached, nor the history of Christ outwardly known, saved, that
To make this the easier, we have already shown how that the out-
Christ hath died for all men; and consequently these arey™rd, ,
enlightened by Christ, and have a measure of saving light of Christ.
and grace ; yea, that the gospel, though not in, any out
ward dispensation, is preached to them, and in them: so
that thereby thoy are stated in a possibility of salvation.
From which I may thus argue :
To whom the gospel, the power of God unto salvation, Aro.
is manifest, they may be saved, whatever outward know
ledge they want :
But this gospel is preached in every creature ; in which
is certainly comprehended many that have not the outward
knowledge :
Therefore of those many may be saved.
But to those arguments, by which it hath been proved,
That all men have a measure of saving grace, I shall add
one, and that very observable, not yet mentioned, viz., that
excellent saying ofthe apostle Paul to Titus, chap, ii., ver.
1 1, " The grace of God, that brings salvation, hath appear
ed to all men ; teaching us, that denying ungodliness and
worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and

176 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
godly, in this present world:" than which there can be no
thing more clear, it comprehending both the parts of the
controversy. First, It testifies that it is no natural principle
or light, but saith plainly, It brings salvation. Secondly,
It says not, that it hath appeared to a few, but unto all
men. The fruit of it declares also how efficacious it is,
The saving seeing it comprehends the whole duty of man : it both
SoTtesxh- teacheth us, first, to forsake evil, to deny ungodliness and
eth the worldly lusts ; and then it teacheth us our whole duty.
whole duty —,..,, , , ,
of man. First, to live soberly ; that comprehends temperance", chas
tity, meekness, and those things that relate unto a man's
self. Secondly, righteously ; "that comprehends equity,
justice, and honesty, and those things which relate to our
neighbours. And lastly, godly ; which comprehends piety,
faithfulness, and devotion, which are the duties relating to
God. So then there is nothing required of man, or is need
ful to man, which this grace teacheth not. Yet I have heard
a public preacher (one of those that are accounted zealous
men) to evite the strength of this text, deny this grace to*
be saving, and say, It was only intended of common favours
and graces, such as is the heat of the fire, and outward light
of the sun. Such is the darkness and ignorance of those
that oppose the truth ; whereas the text saith expressly, that
The absur- it is saving. Others, that cannot deny but it is saving, allege,
adversa-Ur This all comprehends not every individual, but only all
nes' com- kinds : but is a bare negation sufficient to overturn the
ment upon . , ° ,
the word strength of a positive assertion ? If the scriptures may be
graceToTf so abused, what so absurd, as may not be pleaded for from
m-vi"g'„ , , them ? or what so manifest, as may not be denied ? But
Tit. u. 2,11. i
we have no reason to be staggered by their denying, so
long as our faith is found in express terms of the scripture ;
they may as well seek to persuade us, that we dd not intend
that which we affirm, though we know the contrary, as
make us believe, that when the apostle speaks forth our
doctrine in plain words, yet he intends theirs, which is
quite the contrary. And indeed, can there be any thing
more absurd, than to say, where the word is plainly all,
few is only intended ? For they will not have all taken

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 177
heie for the greater number. Indeed, as the case may be'
sometimes, by a figure all may be taken, of two numbers,
for the greater number; but let them show us, if they can,
either in scripture, or profane or ecclesiastical writings,
that any man that wrote sense did ever use the word all
to express, of two numbers, the lesser. Whereas they
affirm, that the far lesser number' have received saving
grace ; and yet will they have the apostle, by all, to have
signified so. Though this might suffice, yet, to put it fur
ther beyond all question, I shall instance another saying of
the same apostle, that we may use him as his own com
mentator, Rom. v. 18: "Therefore as by the offence of
one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even
so by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all
men unto justification of life." Here no man of reasqn,
except he will be obstinately ignorant, will deny, but this
similitive particle as makes the all which goes before,
and comes after, to be of one and the same extent ; or else
let them show one example, either in scripture or else
where, among men that speak proper language, where it is
otherwise. We must then either affirm that this loss, which
leads to condemnation, hath not come upon all; or say,
that jtfiis free gift is come upon all by Christ. Whence I
thus argue :
If all men. have received a loss from Adam, which leads Al"»-
to condemnation ; then all men have received a gift from
Christ, which leads to justification :
But the first is true ; therefore also the last.
From all which it naturally follows, that all men, even Even the
the heathen, may be saved : for Christ was given as a may be
" light to enlighten the Gentiles," Isai. xlix. 6. Now, to say thriight7.
that though they might have been saved, yet none were, is
to judge too uncharitably. I see not what reason can be
alleged for it ; yea, though it were granted, which never
can be, that none of the heathen were saved ; it will not
from thence follow, that they could not have been saved ;
or that none now in, their condition can be saved. For,
A non esse ad non passe non datur sequela, i. e., That Con-
x

178 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
sequence is false, that concludes a "thing cannot be, because
it is not.
Object. But if it be objected, which is the great objection, That
there is no name under heaven, by which salvation is
known, but by the name Jesus :
Therefore they (not knowing this) cannot be saved :
Answ. I answer; Though they know it not outwardly, yet if
they know it inwardly, by feeling the virtue and power of
The literal it, the name Jesus indeed^ which signifies a" Saviour,. to
of Christu ^ree t^iem from sm anc^ iniquity in their hearts, they are
not saving, saVed by it : I confess there is no other name to be saved
but the real J . - .
experimen- by : but salvation heth not in the literal, but in the experi
mental knowdedge ; albeit, those that- have the literal know
ledge are not saved by- it, without this, real experimental
knowledge : yet those that have the real knowledge may
be saved without the external ; as by the arguments here
after brought will more appear. For if the outward distinct
knowledge of him, by whose means I receive benefit, were
necessary for me before I could reap any fruit of it ; then^
by the rule of contraries, it would follow, that I could re
ceive no hurt, without I had also the distinct knowledge
of him that occasioned it ; whereas experience proves the
contrary. How many are injured by Adam's fall, that
know nothing of there ever being such a man in the world,
or of his eating the forbidden fruit?. Why may they not
then be saved by the gift and grace of Christ in them,
making them righteous and holy, though they know not
distinctly how that was purchased unto them by the death
and sufferings of Jesus that was crucified at Jerusalem ;
especially seeing God hath made that knowledge simply
impossible to them? As many men are killed by poison
infused into their meat, though they neither know what the
poison was, nor who infused it ; so also on the other hand,
how many are cured of their diseases by good remedies,
who know not how the medicine is prepared, what the
ingredients are, nor oftentimes who made it ? The like
may also hold in spiritual things, as we shall hereafter
prove.

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 179
§ XXVI. First, If there were such an absolute necessity The out-
for this outward -knowledge, that it were even of the es- ^dgenotW"
sentials of salvation, then none could be saved without it; essential to
whereas our adversaries deny not, but readily confess, that instance in
many infants and deaf persons are saved without it: so d"af per-
that here they break that general rule, and make salvation sons-
possible without it. Neither can they allege, that it is be
cause such are free from sin ; seeing-they also affirm, that"
all infants, because of Adam's sin, -deserve eternal condem
nation, as being really guilty in the sight of God; and of
deaf people, it is not to be doubted, and experience shows
us, that they are subject te many common iniquities, as well
as other men. i
If it be said, That these children are the children of be- Obj. 1.
lieving parents :
What then ? They will not say that they transmit grace Answ.
to their children. Do they not affirm, that the children of
believing parents are guilty of original sin, and deserve
death as well as others ? How prove they that that makes
up the loss of all, explicit knowledge ?
If they say, Deaf people may be made sensible of the Obj. 2.
gospel by signs :
All the signs cannot give them any explicit knowledge Answ.
of the history of the death, sufferings, and resurrection of
Christ. For what sjgns can, inform a deaf man, That -the.
Son of God took on him man's nature, was born of a vir
gin, and suffered under Pontius Pilate ?
And if they should further allege, That they are within Obj. 3.
the bosom of the visible church, and partakers of the sa
craments :
"All that gives no certainty of salvation ; for, as the Pro- Answ.
testants confess, they confer not grace ex opere operato.
Arid will they not acknowledge, that many are in the bosom
of the church, who are visibly no members of it ? But if
this charity be extended towards such who are where the
gospel is preached, so that they may be judged capable of
salvation, because they are under a simple impossibility of
distinctly knowing the means of salvation; what reason

180 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
can be alleged whyihe like charity may not be had to such,
as though they can hear, yet are under a simple impossibi
lity of hearing, because it is not spoken unto them ? Is not
A Chinese a man in China, or in India, as much to be excused for
excusabte. not knowing a thing which he never heard of, as a deaf
for not man here, who cannot hear ? For as the deaf man is not
knowing- the history to be blamed, because God hath been pleased to suffer him
of Christ)' to ^e under this infirmity ; so is the Chinese or the Indian
&c- as excusable, because God hath withheld from him the op
portunity of hearing. He that cannot hear a thing, as being
necessarily absent, and he that cannot hear it, as being na
turally deaf, are to be placed in the same category.
Ans. 2. Secondly, This manifestly appears by that saying of
Peter, Acts x. 34 : " Of a truth I perceive that God is no
respecter of persons ; but in every nation, he that feareth
him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted of him." Peter
was before liable to that mistake that the rest' of the Jews
were in ; judging that all were unclean, except themselves,1
and that no man could be saved, except they were prose
lyted to their religion and circumcised. But God showet
Peter otherways in a vision, and taught him to call nothing
God re- common or unclean; and therefore, seeing that God re-
prayers'of garded the prayers of Cornelius, who was a stranger to the
Cornelius, law and to Jesus Christ as to the outward, yet Peter saw
the law. that God had accepted him ; and he is said to fear God
before he had this outward knowledge: therefore Peter
concludes that, every one in every nation, without respect
of persons, that feareth God and worketh righteousness, is
accepted of him. So he makes the fear of God and the
working of righteousness, and not an outward historical
knowledge, the qualification: they then that have this,
wherever they be, they are saved. Now we have already
proved, that to every man that grace is given, whereby he
may live godly and righteously ; arid we see, that by this
grace Cornelius-did so and was accepted, and his prayers
came up for a memorial before God, before he had this out
ward knowledge. Also, Was not Job a perfect and up
right man, that feared God, and eschewed evil ? Who

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 181
taught Job this ? How knew Job Adam's fall ? And from
what scripture learned he that excellent knowledge he had, From what
and that faith, by which he knew his Redeemer lived ? ^ jo"6
For many make him as old as Moses. Was not this by learn his
-~J excellent
an inward grace in the heart ? Was it not that inward knowledge?
grace that taught Job to eschew evil, and to fear God?
And was it not by the workings thereof that he became a
just and upright man ? How. doth he reprove the wicked
ness of men, chap. xxiv. ? And after he hath numbered
up their wickedness, doth he not condemn them, verse 13,
for rebelling against this light, for not knowing the way
thereof, nor abiding in the paths thereof ? It appears then
Job believed that men had a light, and that because they
rebelled against it, therefore they knew not its ways, and
abode not in its paths ; even as the Pharisees, who had the
scriptures, are said to err, not knowing the scriptures. And
also Job's, friends, though in some things wrong; yet who Job's
taught them all -those excellent sayings and knowledge t™£ eicel-
which they had ? Did not God give it them, in order to !ent sav-
save them? or was it merely to condemn them? Who
taught Elihu, That " the inspiration of the Almighty giveth
understanding ; that the Spirit of God made him, anfl the
breath of the Alrhighty gave him life ?" And did not the
Lord aGcept a sacrifice for them ? And who dare say that
they are damned ? But further, the apostle puts this con
troversy out of doubt ; for," if we may believe his plain
assertions, he tells us, Rom. ii., "That the heathen did
the things contained in the law." From whence I thus
argue : -
In every nation, he that feareth^Gbd, and worketh right- Arg.
eousness, is accepted :
But many of the heathen feared God, and wrought
righteousness : ,
Therefore they were accepted.
The minor is proved from the example of Cornelius ; but
I shall further prove it thus ;
He that doth the things contained in the law, feareth
God, and worketh righteousness :
16

182 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
But the heathen did the things contained in the law:
Therefore they feared God, and wrought righteousness.
Can there be any thing more clear? For if to do-the.
things contained in the law, be not to fear God, and work
righteousness, then what can be said to do so, seeing the
apostle calls the law, spiritual, holy, just, and good? But
this appears nianifestly by another medium, taken out of
the same chapter, verse 13 ; so that nothing can be more
clear : the words are, " The doers of the law shall be jus
tified." From which I thus argue, without adding, any
word of my own ;
Ana. The doers of the; law shall be justified :
But the Gentiles do the things contained in the law :
The Gen- All, that know but a conclusion, do easily see what fol-
fiVd doing lows from these express words of the apostle. And indeed,
the law. ne through that whole chapter labours, as if he were con
tending now with our adversaries, toconfirm this doctrine,
verses 9, 10, 1,1, "Tribulation and anguish upon every
soul of man that doth evil, to the Jew first, and also to the
Gentile : for there is no respect of persons with God."
Where the apostle clearly homologates, or confesses to the
sentence of Peter before mentioned ; and shows that Jew
and Gentile, or as he himself explains in the following
verses, both they that haye an outward law and they that
have none, when they do good shall be justified. And to
put us out of all -doubt, in the very following verses he tells,
That " the doers of the law are justified ;" and that the
" Gentiles did the law." So that except we think he spake
not what he intended, we may safely conclude, that such
Gentiles were justified, and did partake of that honour,
glory, and peace, which comes upon every one that doth
good ; even the Gentiles, that are without the law, when
they work good ; seeing with God there is no respect of
persons. So as we see, that it is not the having the out
ward knowledge that doth save, without the inward;' so
neither doth the want of it, to such to whom God hath
made it impossible, who have the inward, bring oondem-
nation. Arid many that have wanted the outward, have

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 183
had a knowledge of this inwardly, by virtue of that inward
grace and light given to every man, working in them, by
which they forsook iniquity, and became just and holy, as
is above proved ; who, though they knew not the history
of Adam's fall, yet were sensible in themselves of the loss Many
that came by it, feeling their inclinations to sin, and the rastoryf the
body of sin in them : and though they knew not the coming w,erefse£si"
of Christ, yet were sensible of that inward power and sal- loss by
vation which came by him, even before as well as since saivSion
his appearance in the flesh. For I question whether these «>me by
¦ i o Christ in
men can prove, that all the patriarchs and fathers before them-
Moses had-- a distinct knowledge either of the one or the selves-
other, or that they knew the history of the tree of know
ledge of good and evil, and of Adam's eating the forbidden
fruit ; far less that Christ should be born of a virgin, should
be crucified, and treated in the manner he was. For.it is
justly to be believed, that what Moses wrote of Adam, and
of the first times, was not by tradition, but by revelation ;
yea, we see that not only after the writing of Moses, but
even of David and all the prophets, who prophesied so
much of Christ, how little the Jews, that were expecting How little
and wishing for the Messiah, could thereby discern him ^,eewews
when he came, that they crucified him as a blasphemer, Christ,
¦ «¦-,, ' • i • i i • • mistaking
not as a Messiah, by mistaking the prophecies concerning the pro-
him ; for Peter saith expressly, Acts iii. 17, to the Jews, phelSl
That both they and their" rulers did it through ignorance.
And Paul saith, 1 Cor. ii. 8, " That had they known it,
they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory." Yea,
Mary herself, to whom the angel had spoken, and who had
laid up all the miraculous things'accompanying his birth
in her heart, she did not understand how, when he dis
puted with the doctors in the temple, thathe was about his
father's business. And the apostles that had believed him,
conversed daily with him, and saw 'his miracles, could not
understand, neither believe those things which related to
his death, sufferings, and resurrection, but were in a certain
respect stumbled at them.
§ XXVII. So we see how that it is the inward work,

184 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
and not the outward history and scripture, that -gives the
true knowledge; and by this inward light many of the
The hea- heathen philosophers were sensible of the loss received by
sensibhTof Adam, though they knew not the outward history :, hence
the loss re- Plato " asserted, That ('man's soul was fallen into a dark
Adam. ? cave, where it only conversed with shadows." Pythagoras
saith", " Man wandereth in this world as a stranger,.banished
Heathen from the presence of God." And Plotinus compareth
phe"^;- " man's soul, fallen from God, to a cinder, o; dead coal,
vine know- out 0f which the fire is extinguished.!' Sqme of them said,
Plato'. That '.' the wings of the soul were clipped or fallen off, so
pfo'tinf' that they could not flee unto God." All which, and many
more such expressions, that might be gathered out of their
writings, show, that they were not without a sense of this
loss. Also they had a knowledge and discovery of Jesus
Christ inwardly, as a remedy in them, to deliver them from
that evil seed, and the evil inclinations of their own hearts,
though not under that particular denomination.
Some called him a Holy Spirit, as Seneca, Epist. 41,
who said, " There is a Holy Spirit in us, that treateth us
Cicero calls as we treat him." Cicero calleth it an " innate light," in
light. '"" his book De Republica, cited by Lactantius, 6 Inst., where
Sect3*1' "* ne calls this "right reason, given unto all, oonstant and
eternal, calling unto duty by commanding, and deterring
from deceit by forbidding." Adding, "That it cannot be
abrogated, neither can any be freed from it, neither by
senate nor people ; that it is one eternal, and the same al
ways to all nations ; so that there is not one at Rome, and
another at Athens : Whoso obeys it not, must flee from
himself, and in this is greatly tormented, although he should
escape all other punishments." Plotinus also calls him
light, saying, That " as the sun cannot be known but by
its own light, so God cannot be known but with his own
light : and as the eye cannot see the sun but by receiving
its image, so man cannot know God but by receiving his
image; and that it behoveth man to come to purity of
heart before he could know God;" calling him also Wis
dom, a name frequently given him in scripture ; see Prov.

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 185
i. 20, to the end; and Prov. viii. 9, 34, where Wisdom is
said to cry, entreat, and invite all to come unto her, and
learn of her : and what is this Wisdom but Christ ? Hence
such as came among the heathen, to forsake evil, and
cleave to righteousness, were called philosophers, that is, Philoso-
lovers of wisdom. They knew this wisdom was nigh unto whence so
them, and that "the best knowledge of God, and divine called*
mysteries, was by the inspiration of the wisdom of God."
Phocylides affirmed, that " the word of the wisdom of Phocylides.
God was best." His words in the Greek are, T5js is
©EoirysiJfrjg ffoipi'aj Xdyoj Jg"iv a.ffS'os.
And much more of this kind might be instanced, by
which it appears they knew Christ ; and by his working in
them were brought from unrighteousness to righteousness,
and to love that power by which they felt themselves re
deemed ; so that, as saith the ¦ apostle, " They show the
work of the law written in their hearts, and did the things
contained in the law ;" and therefore, as all doers of the
law are, were no doubt justified, and saved thus by the
power of Christ in them. And as this was the judgment
of the apostle, so was it of the primitive Christians. Hence
Justin Martyr stuck not to call Socrates a Christian, saying, Socrates a
that " all such as lived according to the divine word in &c. '
them, which was in all men, were Christians, such as So
crates and He'raclitus, and others among the Greeks," &c.
" That such as live with the word, are Christians without
fear or anxiety."
Clemens Alexandrinus saith, Apol. ii., Strom, lib. i., Clem.Alex.
That "this wisdom or philosophy was necessary to the
Gentiles, and was- their schoolmaster to lead them unto
Christ, by which of old the Greeks were justified."
" Nor do I think," saith Augustine, in his book of the Augustin.
City of God, lib. xviii., cap. 47, " that the Jews dare affirm
that none belonged unto God but the Israelites." Upon
which place Ludovicus Vives saith, That " thus the Gen- Lud.Vives.
tiles, not havinga law, were a law unto themselves ;. and
the light of so living is the gift of God, and proceeds from
16* Y

186 PROPOSITIONS V. AND VI.
the' Son ; of whom it is written, that he < enlighteneth every
man that cometh into the world.' "
The Plato- Augustine also testifies in his confessions,- lib. i., cap. 9,
the'wo'd in That " he had read in the writings ofthe Platonists, though
the begin- no(. 1Q^ tne very same words, yet that which by many and
mng; which . . J ; ' • ,..,.. J
was light, multiplied- reasons did persuade, that ' in the beginning was
the word, and the word, was with God ; this was in the
beginning with God, by whieh all things were made, and
without which nothing was made that was made : in him
was life, and the life was the light of men : and the light
shined in the darkness, and the darkness did not compre
hend, it.' And, albeit the soul gives testimony concerning
the light, yet it is not the light, but the word of God ; for
' God is the true Light, which enlighteneth every man that
cometh into the world ;' " and so repeats to verse 14, of
John i., adding, " These things have I there read."
Yea, there is a book translated out of the Arabic, which
§ai?ben gives an account of one Hai Eben Yokdan; who living in
an island alone, without. converse of man, attained to such
a profound knowledge of God, as to have immediate con
verse with him, and to affirm, " That the best and most
certain knowledge of God is not that which is attained by
Thesu- premises premised, and conclusions deduced; but that
teflecten"- which is enjoyed by conjunction of the mind of man with
mind o7'he ^e suPreme intellect, after the mind is purified from its
man. corruptions, and is separated from all bodily images, and
is gathered into a profound stillness."
§ XXVIII. Seeing then it is by this inward-gift, grace,
and light, that both those that have the gospel preached
unto them, come to have Jesus brought forth in them, and
to have the saving and sanctified use of all outward, helps
and advantages ; and also by this same light, that all may
come to be saved; and that God calls, invites, and strives
with all, in a day, and saveth, many, to whom he hath not
TheLdav, of seen meet to convey this outward knowledge ; therefore
proclaimed, we, having the experience of the inward and powerful
work of this light in our hearts, even Jesus revealed in us,
cannot cease to proclaim the day of the Lord that is arisen

OF UNIVERSAL AND SAVING LIGHT. 187
in it, crying out with the woman of Samaria ; " Come and
see one that hath told me all that ever I have done ; Is not
this the Christ ?" That others may come and feel the same
in themselves, and may know, that that little small thing
that reproves them in their hearts,, however they have
despised and neglected it, is nothing less than the gospel
preached in them ; Christ, the wisdom and power of God,
being in and by that seed seeking to save their souls.
Of' this light therefore Augustine speaks in his confes
sions, lib. xi., cap. 9: "In this beginning, 0 God! thou
madest the heavens and the earth, in thy word, in thy Son, Augustine
in .thy virtue, in thy wisdom, wonderfully saying, and {jj^^shiri!
wonderfully doing. Who shall comprehend it ? Who ipgs of the
shall declare it ? What is that which shineth in unto me, him, and
and smites my heart without hurt, at which I both' tremble, why?
and am inflamed ? I tremble, in so far as I am unlike unto
it ; and I am inflamed in so far as I am like unto it : it is
wisdom, wisdom which shineth in unto me, and dispelleth
my cloud, which had again covered me, after I was de
parted from it, with darkness and the heap of my punish
ments." And again he saith, lib. x., cap. 27, "It is too
late that I have loVed thee, 0 thou beautifulnessj so ancient
and so new ! late have I loved thee, and behold thou wast
within, and I was without, and there was seeking thee !
thou didst call, thou didst cry, thou didst break my deaf
ness, thou glancedst, thou didst shine, thou chasedst away
my darkness."
Of this also our countryman George Buchanan speaketh Buchanan
thus in his book, De Jure regni apud Scotos: " Truly I flight?'0
understand no other thing at present than that, light which
is divinely infused into pur souls: for when God formed
man, he not only gave him eyes to his body, by which he
might shun those things that are hurtful to him, and follow
those things that are profitable ; but also hath set before
his mind as it were a certain light, by which he may dis
cern things that are vile from things that are honest.
Some call this power < nature,' others the < law of nature ;'
I truly judge it to be divine, and am persuaded that nature

188

Jew and
Gentile,Scythiaii
and Barba
rian par
takers of
the salva
tion of
Christ.

PROPOSITION VII.
and wisdom never say different things. "Moreover, God
hath given us a compend orf the law, which in few words
comprehends the whole; to wit, that we should love him
from our hearts,, and our neighbours as ourselves. And of
this law all the books of the holy scriptyires, which pertain
to the forming of manners, contain no other but an expli
cation." This is that universal evangelical principle, in and by
which this salvation of Christ is exhibited to all men, both
Jew and Gentile, Scythian and Barbarian, of whatsoever
country or kindred he be -. and therefore God hath raised
up unto himself, in this our age,- faithful witnesses and
evangelists to preach again his everlasting gospel, and to
direct all, as well the high professors, who boast of the
law and the scriptures, and the outward knowledge of
Christ, as the infidels and heathen that knpwhot him that
way, that they may all come to mind the light in them,
and know Christ in them, "the just one,, tou Aixaioy, whom
they have so long killed, and made merry over, arid he
hath not resisted," James v. 6, and give.up-their sins, ini
quities, false faith, professions, and outside, righteousness,
to be crucified by the power of his cross in them, so as
they may know Christ within. to be the hope of glory, and
may come to walk in his light and be saved, who is that
" true light that, enlighteneth every man that cometh into
the world."

PROPOSITION VII.
Concerning Justification.
As many as resist not this light, but receive the same, it
becomes in them a holy, pure, and spiritual birth,
bringing forth holiness, righteousness, purity, and all
those other blessed fruits which are acceptable to God:
by which holy birth, to wit, Jesus Christ formed within
us, and working his works in us, as we are sanctified,
so are we justified in the sight of God, according to. the
apostle's words ; " But ye are washed, but ye are sane-

OF JUSTIFICATION. 189
tified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus,
and by the Spirit of our God," 1 Cor. vi. 11. There
fore it is not by our works wrought in our will, nor yet
by good works considered as of themselves; but by
Christ, who is both the gift and the giver, and the cause
producing the effects in us ; who, as he hath reconciled
us while we were enemies, doth also in his wisdom save
us and justify us after this manner, as saith the same
apostle elsewhere ; " According to his mercy he saved
us, by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing
of the Holy Ghost," Tit. iii. 5.
§ I. The doctrine of justification comes well in order
after the discussing of the extent of Christ's death, and of
the grace thereby communicated, some ofthe sharpest con
tests concerning this having from thence their rise. Many
are the disputes among those called Christians concerning
this point; and indeed, if all were truly minding that
whieh justifieth, there would be less noise about the no
tions. of justification. I shall briefly review this controversy
as it .stands among, others, and as I have often seriously
observed it ; then in short state the controversy as to us,
and open our sense and judgment of it ; and lastly prove
it, if the Lord, will, by some scripture testimonies, and the
certain experience of all that ever were truly justified.
§ II. That this doctrine of justification, hath been and Observat.
is greatly vitiated in the church of Rome, is not by us tlloj m® jua.
questioned ; though our adversaries, who for want of better tification
arguments do often make lies their refuge, have not spared the church
in thisyespect to stigmatize us with popery, but how un- ° ome¦
truly will hereafter appear. For to speak little of their
meritum ex condigno, which was no doubt a very common
doctrine of the Romish church, especially before Luther,
though most of their modern writers, especially in their
controversies with Protestants, do partly deny it, partly
qualify it, and seem to state the matter only as if they were
propagators and pleaders for good works by the others
denied; yet if we look to the effects of this doctrine among

190 PROPOSITION VII.
them, as they appeal* in the generality of their church mem
bers, not in things disapproved, but highly approved and
The pope's commended by their father the pope and all his clients,
merits, the as the most beneficial casualty of all his revenue,1 we shall
fitial of dl" nnc* tnat Luther did not without great ground oppose him-
his re- self to them-in this matter : and if he had not- run himself
into another extreme, of which hereafter, his work would
have stood the better. For in" this,' as in most other things,
he is more to be commended for what he pulled down of
Babylon, than for what he built of his own. Whatever
then the Papists may pretend, or even some good men
among them may have thought, experience showeth, and
it is more than manifest by the universal and approved
practice of their people, that they place not their justifica
tion so much in works that are truly and morally good,
and in the being truly renewed and sanctified in the mind,
as in such things as are either nor good nor evil, or may
truly be called evil, and can no otherwayS be reckoned
Papists' good than because the pope pleases to call them so. So
jjepe^s'10" that if the matter be well sifted, it will be found, that the
upon the greatest part of their justification depends upon the authority
bulls. of his bulls, and not upon the power, virtue, and grace of
Christ revealed in the heart, and renewing of it, as will ap-
Pkoof I. pear, First, From their principle concerning their sacra-
craments. ments, which they say confer grace ex opere operato. So
that if a man partake but of them, he thereby- obtains
remission of sin, though he remains as he was ; the virtue
of the sacraments making up the want that is in the man.
So that this act pf submission and faith to the laws of the
church, and riot any real inward change, is that which
justifieth him. As for example ; if a man make use ofthe
Papists' sacrament, as they call it, of penance, so as to tell over
his sins to a priest, though he have not true contrition,
which the Lord hath made absolutely necessary for peni
tent sinners, but only attrition, a figment of their own, that
is, if he be sorry he hath sinned, not out of any love to
God, or his law which he hath transgressed, but for fear
of punishment, yet doth the virtue of the sacrament, as

OF JUSTIFICATION. 191
they affirm, procure to him remission of sins ; so that being
absolved by the priest, he stands accepted and justified in
the sight of God. This, man's justification, then proceedeth
not from his being truly penitent, and in any measure in
wardly changed and renewed by the working of God's
grace in his heart, but merely from the virtue ofthe sacra
ment, and authority of the priest, who hath pronounced
him absolved; so that his justification is from somewhat
without him, and not within him.
Secondly, This will yet more appear -in the matter of Pkoof II.
indulgences, where remission of all sins, not only past but p
for years to come, is annexed to the visiting such and such dulgences.
churches arid relics, saying such and such prayers ; so
that the person that so doth is presently cleared from the
guilt of his sin, and justified and accepted in the sight of
God. As for example : he that in the great jubilee will
go to Rome, and present himself before the gate of Peter
and Paul, and there receive the pope's blessing ; or he that
will go a pilgrimage to James's sepulchre in Spain, or to
Mary of Loretto, is upon the performance of those things
promised forgiveness of sins. Now if we ask them the
reason how such things as are not morally good in them
selves come to have virtue, they have no other answer
but " because of the church and pope's authority," who
being the great treasurer of the magazine of Christ's
merits, lets them out upon such and such conditions. ¦- Thus
also the invention of saying mass is made a chief instru- Papist
ment of justification ; for in it they pretend to offer Christ what 'it is.
daily to the Father a propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of
the living and dead : so that a man for money can procure
Christ thus to be offered for him when he pleases ; by which
offering he is said to obtain remission of sins, and to stand
justified in the ..sight of God. From all which, and much
more ' of this nature, which might be mentioned, it doth
appear, that the Papists place their justification, not so
much in any work of holiness really brought forth in them,
and real forsaking of iniquity, as in the mere performance
of some ceremonies, and a blind belief which their teachers

192 PROPOSITION VII.
have begotten in them, that the church and the pope
having the absolute dispensation of the merits of Christ,
have power to make these merits effectual for the remission
of sins, and justification of such as will perform these cere
monies. This is the true and real method of justification
taken by the generality of the church of Rome, and highly
commended by their public preachers, especially the monks,
in their sermons to the people, of which I myself have been
an ear and an eye-witness ; however some of their modern
writers have laboured to qualify it in their controversies.
Luther and This doctrine Luther and the Protestants then had good
testants'op- reason to deny and oppose ; though many of them ran into
posing the another extreme, so as to deny good works to be necessary
pope s doc- ...... , ^ .
trine of to justification, and to preach up not only remission of
Into the6 sins> Dut justification by faith alone, without all works,
other ex- however good. So that men do not obtain, their justifica-
tremeofno . ° ., . .... , , J ¦ ,
good works tion according as theyare'inwardly sanctified and renewed,
tojustifica- Dut are justified merely by believing that Christ died for
tion- them ; and so some may be perfectly justified, though they
be lying in gross wickedness ; as appears by the example
of David, who they say was fully and perfectly justified
while he was lying in the gross sins of murder and adult
ery. As then the Protestants have sufficient ground to
quarrel and confute the Papists concerning those many
abuses in the matter of justification, showing how the doc
trine of Christ is thereby vitiated and overturned, and the
word of God made void by many and useless traditions,
the law of God neglected, while foolish.and needless cere
monies are prized and followed, through a false opinion of
being justified by the performance of them; and the merits
and sufferings of Christ, which is the only sacrifice ap-
I pointed of God for remission of sins, derogated from, by
Papists' de- the setting up of a daily sacrifice never appointed by God,
money. get an^ cnieny devised out of covetousness to get money by;
so the Protestants on the other hand, by not rightly estab-
. lishing and holding forth the doctrine of justification ac
cording as it is delivered in the holy scriptures, have opened
a door for the Papists to accuse them, as if they were

OF JUSTIFICATION. 193
neglecters of good works, enemies to mortification and holi
ness, such as esteem themselves justified while lying in
great sins : by which kind of accusations, for which too
great ground hath been given out of the writings of some
rigid Protestants, the reformation hath been greatly defamed
and hindered, and the souls of many ensnared. Whereas,
whoever will narrowly look into the matter, may observe
these debates to he more in specie than in genere, seeing
both do upon the matter land in one ; and like two men in
a circle, who though they go sundry ways, yet meet at last
in the same centre.
For the Papists say, "They obtain remission of sins, Papists' be-
and are justified by the merits of Christ, as the same are fioadon"8'1"
applied unto them in the use of the sacraments of the meets in the
t , ,. . /. 1 1 samecentre
church, and are dispensed in the performance of such and with the—
such ceremonies, pilgrimages, -prayers, and performances,
though there be not any inward renewing ofthe mind, nor
knowing of Christ inwardly formed ; yet they are remitted
and made righteous ex opere operato, "because of the power
and authority accompanying the sacraments and the dis
pensers of them."
The Protestants say, " That they obtain remission of — Protest-
sins, and stand justified in the sight of God by virtue of ants' bellef-
the merits and sufferings of Christ, not by infusing right- So saith the
eousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by minster
accounting and accepting their persons as righteous, they ^0jS^J?lon,
resting on him "and his righteousness by faith ; which faith, chap. xi.
the act of believing, is not imputed unto them for right
eousness." So the justification of neither here is placed in any in
ward renewing of the mind, or by virtue of any spiritual
birth," or formation of Christ in them ; but only by a bare
application of the death and sufferings of Christ outwardly
performed for them : whereof the one lays hold on a faith
resting upon them, and hoping to be justified by them
alone ; the other by the saying of some outward prayers
and ceremonies, which they judge, makes the death of
Christ effectual unto them. I except here, being unwill-
17 z

194 PROPOSITION VII.
ing to- wrong any,' what things have been said as to the ne
cessity of inward holiness, either by some modern PapistSj
or some modern Protestants, who in so far as they have
laboured after a midst betwixt these two extremes have
come near to the truth," as by Some citations out- of them
hereafter to be mentioned will appear : though this doctrine
hath not since the apostasy, so far as ever I could observe,
been so distinctly and evidently held forth according to
the scripture's testimony, as it hath pleased God to reveal
it and preach it forth in this day, by the witnesses of his
truth whom he hath raised to that end ; -which doctrine,
though it be briefly held forth and comprehended in the
State of the thesis itself, yet I shall a little more fully explain, and show.
versy." the state'of the controversy as it stands betwixt us and those
that now oppose us. v
Exrc,. 1. § III. First then, as by the explanation of the former
thesis appears, we renounce all natural power and ability
in ourselves, in order to bring us out of our lost and fallen
condition and first nature ; and confess, that as of our
selves we are able to do nothing that is good, so neither
can we procure remission of sins or justification by any
act of our own, so as to merit it, or draw it as a debt from
Justifica- God due unto us ; but we acknowledge all to be of and
of0andfrom from his love, which is the original and fundamental cause
God10Ve °f °f our acceptance.
Expl. 2. Secondly,. God manifested this love towards us, in the
sending of his beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into the
Christ giv- world, who gave himself for us an offering and a sacrifice
mfacrifice to God, for a " sweet-smelling savour ;" and having made
for us. peace through the blood of his cross, that he might recon
cile us unto himself, and by the Eternal Spirit offered him
self without spot unto God, and suffered for our sins, the
just for the unjust, that he might bring us unto God.
Eipl. 3. Thirdly then, Forasmuch as all men who have come to
man's estate (the man Jesus only excepted) have sinned,
therefore all have need of this Saviour, to remove the. wrath
of God from them due to their offences' ; in this respect he
is truly said to have borne the iniquities of us all in his

OF JUSTIFICATION. 195
body on the tree, and therefore is the only Mediator, hav
ing qualified the wrath of God towards us ; so that our
former sins stand not in our way, being by virtue of his
most satisfactory sacrifice removed and pardoned. Neither
do we think that remission of sins is to be expected, sought, To remis-
or obtained any other way, or by any works or sacrifice slono sms-
whatsoever; though, as has been said formerly, they may
come to partake of this remission that are ignorant of the
history. So then Christ by his death and sufferings hath The only
reconciled us to God, even while we are enemies ; that is, betwixt
he offers reconciliation unto us ; we are put into a capacity God an(*
. . . ' . . man.
of being reconciled ; God is willing to forgive us our ini
quities;, and to accept us, as is well expressed by the apos
tle, 2 Cor. v. 19 : " God was in Christ, teconciling the
world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them,
and hath put in us the word of reconciliation." And
therefore the apostle, in the next verses, entreats them in
" Christ's stead to be reconciled to God ;" intimating that
the wrath of God being removed by the obedience of Christ
Jesus, he is willing to be reconciled unto them, and ready
to remit the sins that are past, if they repent.
We consider then our redemption in a two-fold respect A two-fold
or state, both which in -their own nature are perfect, though Jfon3mp"
in their application to us the one is not, nor cannot be,
without respect to the other.
The first is the redemption performed and accomplished I.
by Christ for us in his crucified body without us : the other demption
is the redemption wrought by Christ in us, which no less ^j,^™^
properly is called and accounted a redemption than the
former. The first then is that whereby man, as he stands
in the fall, is put into a capacity of ^salvation, and hath con
veyed unto him a measure of that power,, virtue, spirit,
life, and grace that was in Christ Jesus, which,' as the free
gift of God, is able to counterbalance, overcome, and root
out the evil seed, wherewith wTe are naturally, as in the fall,
leavened.' The second is that whereby we witness. and know this
pure and perfect redemption in ourselves^ purifying, cleans-

196 PROPOSITION VII.
II. ing, and redeeming us from the power of corruption, and
dempdon bringing us into unity, favour, and friendship with God.
wrought by By the first of these two, we that were lost in Adam,
Christ in , , . , , ¦ / j i 1 c '
us. plunged into the bitter and corrupt seed, unable of our
selves to do any good thing,' but naturally joined and
united to evil, forward and propense to all iniquity, ser
vants and slaves to the power and spirit of darkness, are,
notwithstanding all this, so far reconciled to God by the
death of his Son, while enemies, that we are put into a
capacity of salvation, having the glad tidings of the gospel
of peace offered unto us, and God is reconciled unto us
in Christ, calls and invites us to himself, in which respect
*Eph. ii. 15. we understand these scriptures ; * He slew the enmity in
10 °E^ek. himself. He loved us first ; seeing us in our blood, he
2Lvi- 6;. * said unto us, Live ; he who did not sin his own self, bare
Pet. u. 22, '• ' ' -
24, & iii. our sins in his own body on the tree ; and he died for our
sins, the just for the unjust.
By the second, we witness this capacity brought into
act, whereby receiving and not resisting the purchase of
his death, to wit, the_ light, spirit, and grace of Christ re
vealed in us, we witness and possess a real, true, and in
ward-redemption from the power and prevalency of sin,
and so come to be truly and really redeemed, justified, and
made righteous, and to "a sensible union and friendship
with God. Thus he died "for us, that he might redeem
Tit. ii. 14. us from all iniquity ;" and thus " We know him and the
1 - m" ' power- of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his suffer
ings, being made conformable to his death." This last
follows the first in order, and is a consequence of it, pro
ceeding from it, as an effect from its cause : so as none
could haye enjoyed, the last, without the first had been,
such being the will of God ; so also can none now partake
of the first, but as he witnesseth the last. Wherefore as
to us, they are both causes of our justification ; the first the
procuring efficient, the other the formal cause.
Expl. 4. Fourthly, We understand not by this justification by
Christ, barely the good works even wrought by the Spirit
of Christ ; for they, as Protestants truly affirm, are rather

OF JUSTIFICATION. 197
an effect of justification than the cause of it ; but weunder-
stand the formation of Christ in us, Christ born and „. L.
.1 he forma-
brqught forth in us, from which good works as naturally tion of
proceed as fruit from a fruitful tree. It is this inward begets good
birth in us, bringing forth righteousness and holiness in us, works-
that doth justify- us ; which having removed and done
away the contrary nature and spirit that did bear rule and
bring condemnation, now is in dominion over all in our
hearts. Those then that come to know Christ thus formed
in them, do enjoy him wholly and undivided, who is " the
LORD our RIGHTEOUSNESS," Jer. xxiii. 6. This is .
to be clothed with Christ, and to have put him on, whom
God therefore truly accounteth righteous and just. This
is So far from being the doctrine of Papists, that as the ge
nerality, of them do not understand it, so the learned among
them oppose it, and dispute against it, and particularly
Bellarmine. Thus then, as I may say, the formal cause of
justification is not the works, to speak properly, they being
but an effect of it ; but this inward birth, this Jesus brought
forth in the heart, who is the well-beloved, whom the
Father cannot but accept, and all those who thus are
sprinkled with the blood of Jesus, and washed with it. By
this also comes that communication of the goods of Christ
unto us, " by which we come to be made partakers of the
divine nature," as saith Peter, 2 Pet. i. 4, and are made
one with him, as the branches with the vine, and have a -
title and right to -what he hath done and suffered for us ; so Christ's
that his obedience becomes ours, his righteousness ours, °^lgnce'

teous-

his death and sufferings ours. And by this nearness we ness, death
come to havea sense of his sufferings, and to suffer with ings are
his seed, that yet lies pressed and crucified in the hearts of ours-
the ungodly, and so- travail with it, and for its redemption,
and for the repentance of those souls that in it are cruci
fying as yet the "Lord of Glory." Even as the apostle
Paul, who by his sufferings is said to "fill up that which
is behind of the afflictions of Christ for his body, which is
the church." Though this be a mystery sealed up from
all the wise men that are yet ignorant of this seed in them-
17*

198 PROPOSITION VII.
selves, and oppose it, nevertheless some Protestants , speak
of this justification by Christ inwardly put on, as shall here
after be recited in its place.
Eipl. 5. Lastly, Though we place remission of sins iri the- right
eousness and obedience of Christ performed by him. in the
flesh, as to what pertains to the remote procuring cause,
and that we hold ourselves formally justified by Christ
Jesus formed and brought forth in us, yet can we not, as
Good some Protestants have unwarily done, exclude works from
noTexchid- justification. For though properly we be not justified for
ed justifica- them, yet are we justified in them ; and they are necessary, .
even as causa sine qud-non, i. e., the cause, without which.
none are justified. For the denying of this, as it is con
trary to the scripture's testimony, so it hath brought a great
scandal to the Protestant religion, opened the mouths of
Papists, and made many too. secure, while they have
believed to be justified without good works. Moreover,
though it be not so safe to say they are meritorious, yet .
seeing they are rewarded, many of those called-the Fathers
have not spared to use the word merit, which some of us
have perhaps also done in a qualified sense, but no ways
to infer the Popish abuses above mentioned. And lastly,
if we had that notion of good works which most Protest
ants have, we could freely agree to make them .not only
riot necessary, but reject them as hurtful, viz. : That the,
best works even of the saints are defiled and polluted.
For though we judge so of the best works performed by
man, endeavouring a conformity to the outward law by
his own strength, and in his own will, yet we believe that
such works as naturally proceed from this spiritual birth
and formation of Christ in us are pure and holy, even as
the root from which they come ; and therefore God accepts
them, justifies us in them, and rewards us for them of his
own free grace. The state of the controversy being thus
laid down, these following positions do from hence arise in
the next place to be proved.
Posit. I. § IV. First, That the obedience, sufferings, and death
of Christ is that by which the soul obtains remission of

OF JUSTIFICATION. 199
sins, and is the procuring cause of that grace, by whose
inward workings Christ comes to be formed inwardly, and
the soul to be made conformable unto him, and so just and
justified. And that therefore, in respect of this capacity
and offer of grace, God is said to be reconciled ; not as
if he were actually reconciled, or did actually justify, of
account any just, so long as they remain in their sins really
impure and unjust.
Secondly, That it is by this inward birth of Christ in Posit. II.
man that man is made just, and therefore so accounted by
God : wherefore, to be plain, we are thereby, and not till
that be brought forth in us formally, if we must use that
w ord, justified in the sight of God; because justification
is both more properly and frequently in scripture taken in
its proper signification for making one just, and not reput
ing one merely such, and is all one with sanctification.
Thirdly,. That since good Works as naturally follow from Posit. III.
this birth as heat from fire, therefore are they of absolute
necessity to justification, as causa sine qua non, i. e. though Good
not as the cause for which, yet as that in which we are, worka are
J . . ? causa sine
and without which we cannot be justified. And though qua] non—
they be not meritorious, and draw no debt upon God, yet tion.
he cannot but accept - and reward them : for it is contrary
to his nature to deny his own, since they may be perfect in
their kind, as proceeding from a pure holy birth and root.
Wherefore their judgment is false and against the truth
that say ; that the holiest works of the saints are defiled
and sinful in the sight of God : for these good works are
not the works of the law, excluded by the apostle from
justification. § V. As to the first, I prove it from Rom. iii. 25 : Posit. I.
"Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through Pkoop t,
faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the The effi-
remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of c'hns't's
God." Here the apostle holds forth the extent and efficacy 4eath t0 re'
of Christ's death, showing that thereby, and by faith out of evil.
therein, remission of sins that are past is obtained, as being
that wherein the forbearance of God is exercised towards

200 PROPOSITION VII.
mankind. So that though men for the sins they daily
commit deserve eternal death, and that the wrath of God
should lay hold upon them ; yet, by virtue of that most
satisfactory sacrifice of Christ Jesus, the grace and seed
of God moves in love towards them, during the day
of their visitatiori ; yet not so as not to strike against the
evil, for that must be burnt. up and destroyed, but to redeem
man out of the evil.
Proof II. - Secondly, If God were perfectly reconciled with men,
and did esteem them just while they are actually unjust,
and do continue in their sins, then should God have no
controversy with them ;* how cpmes he then so often to
complain, and to expostulate so much throughout the
whole seripture with such as our adversaries confess to be
justified, telling them " that their sins separate betwixt him
and them ?" Isai. lix. 2. For where there is a perfect and
full reconciliation, there is no separation. Yea, from this
doctrine it necessarily follows, either that such for whom
Christ died, and whom he hath thus reconciled, never sin,
or that when they do so, they are still reconciled, and their
sins make not the least separation from God ; yea, that
they are justified in their sins. From whence also would
follow this abominable consequence, that the good works
and greatest sins of such are alike in the sight of God,
seeing neither the one serves to justify them, nor the other
to break their reconciliation, which occasions great security,
and opens .a door to every lewd practice.
Proof III. Thirdly, This would make void the whole practical doc
trine of the gospel, and make faith itself needless. For
if faith and repentance, and the other conditions called for
throughout the gospel, be a qualification upon our part
necessary to be performed, then, before this be performed
* I do not only speak concerning men before conversion", who after
wards are converted, whom yet some of our antagonists, called Anti-
nomians, do aver were justified from'' the beginning; but also touching
those who, according to the common opinion of Protestants, have been
converted ; whom albeit they confess they persist always in sorne
misdeeds, and sometimes in heinous sins, as is manifest in David's
adultery and murder, yet they assert to be perfectly and wholly justi
fied.

OF JUSTIFICATION. 201
by us, we are either fully reconciled to God, or but in a
capacity of being reconciled to God, he being ready to
reconcile and justify us as these conditions are performed ;
which latter, if granted, is according to the truth we pro
fess. And if we are alreridy perfectly reconciled and justi
fied before these conditions are performed, (which con
ditions are of_that nature, that they cannot be performed at
one time, but are to be done all one's lifetime,) then can
they not be. said to be absolutely needful ; which is con
trary to the very express testimony of scripture, which is
acknowledged by all Christians : " For without faith it is Heb. xi. 6.
impossible to please God." « They that believe not are l^""1;;^;
condemned already, because they believe not in the only Rom- viii-
begotten Son of God." Except ye repent, ye cannot be
saved : " for if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die." And
of those that were converted; I will remove your can- Apoc. ii. 5.
dlestick from you, unless ye repent. Should I mention
all the scriptures that positively and evidently prove this, I
might transcribe much of all the doctrinal part of the Bible.
For since Christ said, " It is finished," and did finish
his work sixteen hundred years ago and upwards ; if he
so fully perfected redemption then, and did actually recon
cile every one that is to be saved, not simply opening a A door of
door of mercy for them, offering the sacrifice of his body, opened -by
by which they may obtain remission of their sins when Christ upon
J i • • repentance.
they repent, and communicating unto them a measure of
his grace, by which they may see their "sins, and be able to
repent; but really making them to be reputed as just,
either before they believe, as say the Antinomians, or after The Anti-
they have assented to the truth of the history of Christ, or ophioTof
are sprinkled with the baptism of water, while nevertheless reconcilia-
they are actually unjust, so that no part of their redemp- justifica
tion is to be wrought by him now, as to their reconciliation lon"
and justification ; then the whole doctrinal part of the bible
is useless, and of no profit : in vain were the apostles sent
forth to preach repentance and remission of sins ; and in
vain do all the preachers bestow their labour, spend their
breath, and give forth writings ; yea, much more in vain
2a

202 PROPOSITION VII.
do the people spend their money which they give them for
preaching ; seeing if is all but actum agere,. but a vain and
ineffectual essay, to do that which is alreadyperfectly done
without them.
Proof IV. But lastly, To pass by their human labours, as not worth
the disputing whether they be needful or not, sirice, as we
shall hereafter show, themselves confess the best of them is
sinful; this also makes void the present intercession of
Christ for men. What will become of that great article of
Christ's faith, by which we affirm, " That he sits at, the right hand
ingmter-" of God, daily making intercession for us; and for which
cession for en(j (-ne Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groan-
ings which cannot be uttered ?" For Christ maketh not
intercession for those that are not in a possibility of salva
tion ; that is absurd. Our adversaries will not admit that
he prayed for the world at all ; and to pray for those that
are already reconciled, and perfectly justified, is to no pur
pose : to pray for remission of sins is yet more needless,
if all be remitted, -past, present, and to come. Indeed
there is not any solid solving of this, but by acknowledg
ing according to the truth, That Christ by his death
removed the wrath of God, so far as to obtain remission
of sins for as many as receive that grace and light that he
communicates unto them, and hath purchased for them by
his blood ; which, as they believe in, they come to know
remission of sins past, and power to save them from sin,
and to wipe it away, so often as they may fall into it by
unwatchfulness or weakness, if, applying themselves to this
grace, they truly repent ; for " to as many as receive hirn,
he gives power to become the sons of God :" so none are
sons, none are justified, none reconciled, until they thus
receive him in that little seed in their hearts : And life
eternal is offered to those, who by patient continuance in
well-doing, seek for glory, honour, and immortality : 'raT
if the righteous man depart from his righteousness, his
righteousness shall be remembered no more. And there
fore on the other part, none are longer sons of God, and
justified, than they patiently continue in righteousness and

OF JUSTIFICATION. 203
well-doing. And therefore Christ lives always making
intercession, during the day of every man's visitation, that
they may be converted : and when men are in some mea
sure converted, he makes intercession that they may con
tinue and go on, and not faint,: nor go back again. Much
more might be said to confirm this truth ; but I go on to'
take notice of the common objections against it, which are
the arguments made use of to propagate the errors con
trary to it. ,
§ VI. The first and chief is drawn from that saying of
the apostle before mentioned, 2 Cor. v. 18, 19, " God
hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ : God was in
Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing
their trespasses unto them."
From hence they seek to infer, That Christ fully per- Obj. l.
fected the work of reconciliation, while he Was on earth.
J answer; If by reconciliation be understood the re- Answ.
moving of wrath, and the purchase of that grace by which
we may come to be reconciled, we agree to it ; but that
that place speaks no more, appears from the place itself:
for wheri the apostle speaks in the perfect time, saying,
"He hath reconciled us," he speaks of himself and the
saints ; who having received the grace of God purchased The differ-
by Christ, were through faith in him actually reconciled. tween r^.
But as to the world, he saith reconciling not reconciled ; Q?cfetd l° d
which reconciling, though it denotes a time somewhat past, reconciling.
yet it is by the imperfect time, denoting that the thing be
gun was not perfected. For this work Christ began towards
all in the days of his flesh, yea, and long before ; for He
was the mediator from the beginning, and the lamb slain
from the foundation of ihe world : but in his flesh, after
he had perfectly fulfilled the law, and the righteousness
thereof, had rent the veil, and made way for the more clear
and universal revelation of the gospel to all, both Jew and
Gentile ; he gave up himself a most satisfactory sacrifice
for sin; which becomes effectual to, as many as receive
him in his inward appearance, in his light in the heart.
Again, this very place showeth that no other reconciliation

204 PROPOSITION VII.
is intended, but the opening of a door of mercy upon
God's part, and a removing of wrath for sins that are past;
so as men, notwithstanding their sins, are stated in a capa
city of salvation : for the apostle, in the following verse,
saith, " Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though
God did beseech you by us ; we pray you in Christ's stead
be ye reconciled to God." For if their reconciliation had
already been perfectly accomplished, what need any en
treating then to he reconciled ? Ambassadors are not sent
after a peace already perfected,- and reconciliation made,
to entreat for a reconciliation ; for that implies a manifest
, contradiction.
Obj. 2. Secondly, They object, verse 21st of the same chapter,
" For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no
sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in
him.'? From whence they argue, That as our sin is im
puted to Christ, who had no sin ; so Christ's righteousness
is imputed to us, without our being righteous.
Answ. But this interpretation is easily rejected; for though
"Christ bare our sins," and "suffered for us," and was
among men " accounted a sinner," and « numbered among
transgressors ;" yet that God reputed him a sinner, is no-
Heb.vii.26. where proved. For it is said, He was found before him
' holy, harmless, and undefiled, neither was there found any
guile in his mouth. That we deserved these things, and
much more for our sins, which he endured in obedience to
the Father, and according to his counsel, is true ; but that
Men's im- ever God reputed him a sinner, is denied : neither did he
teousness " ever die that we should be reputed righteous^ though no
fated.7 re' more reauv suc'h than he was a sinner, as hereafter appears.
For indeed, if this argument hold, it might be stretched to
that length, as to become very pleasing to wicked men that
love to abide in their sins : for if we be made righteous,
as Christ was made a sinner, merely by imputation ; then
as there was no sin, not in the least in Christ, so it would
follow, that there needed no more righteousness, no more
holiness, no more inward sanctification in us, than there
was sin in him. So then, by his "being made sin for us"

OF JUSTIFICATION. 205
•must be understood his suffering for our sins, that we
might be made partakers of the grace purchased by him ;
by the workings whereof we are inade the righteousness
of God in him. For that the apostle understood here a
being made really righteous, and not merely a being de
puted such, appears by what follows, seeing in vers. 14,
15, 16, of the following chapter, he argues largely against
any supposed agreement of light and darkness, righteous^
ness and unrighteousness ; which must needs be admitted,
if men are to be reckoned engrafted in Christ, and real
members of him, merely by an imputative righteousness,
wholly without them, while they themselves are actually
unrighteous. And indeed it may be thought strange, how
some men have made this so fundamental an article of
their faith, which is so contrary to the whole strain of the
gospeh a thing which Christ in none of all his sermons
and. gracious speeches ever willed any to rely upon ; al
ways recommending to us works, as instrumental in Our
justification. And the more it is to be admired at, because
that sentence or term, so frequently in their mouths, and
so often pressed by them, as the very basis of their hope
and' confidence, to wit, The imputed righteousness of Christ's
Christ, is not to be found in all the bible, at least as tb my righteous-
observation. Thus have I passed through, the first part, "ess not „
,•„, - , , ¦ found ln aU
ahd that the more briefly, because many, who assert this the bible.
justification by bare imputation, do nevertheless confess,
that even the elect are not justified until they be converted;
that is, not until this imputative justification be applied to
them by the- Spirit.
§ VII. I come then to the second thing proposed by Posit. II.
me, which is ; That it is by this inward birth, or Christ By Christ
formed within, that we are, so to speak, formally justified within we
in the sight of God. I suppose I have said enough already g^usti"
to demonstrate how much we ascribe to the death and
sufferings of Christ, as that whereby satisfaction is made
to the justice of God, remission of sins obtained, and this
grace and seed purchased, by and from which this birth
proceeds. The thing now to be proved is, That by Christ
18

206 PROPOSITION VII.
Jesiis -formed in us, we are justified, or made just. , Let it
be marked, I use justification in this sense upon this oc
casion.
Proof I. First then, I prove this by that of the apostle Paul, 1
Cor. vi. 11, "And such were some of you; but ye are
Justified, washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the
made jus! name of the Lord Jesus> and bv the SPirit" of 0Ur God-"
really, not First, This justified here understood, must needs be a be-
by imputa- . ¦,," , . , i ¦- ' i • ,'
tion. ing really made just, and not a being merely imputed
such ; else sanctified and washed might be reputed a being
esteemed so, and not a being really so ; and then it quite
overturns the whole intent ofthe context. For the apostle
showing them in the preceding verses, how the "un
righteous cannot inherit the kingdom of God," and des-r
cending to the several species of wickedness, subsumes,
That they were sometimes such, but now are not any
more such. Wherefore, as they are now washed - and
sanctified, so are they justified: for if this justification
were not real,- then it might be alleged that the Corinthians
had not forsaken these evils ; but, though they still con
tinued in them, were notwithstanding justified : which as
in itself it is most absurd, so it very clearly overturneth the
very import and intent of the place ; as if the Corinthians
turning Christians had not wrought any real change in
them, but had only been a belief of some barren notions,
which had wrought no alteration in their affections, will,
or manner of life. For my own part, I neither see any
thing, nor could ever yet hear or read any thing, that with
any colour of reason did evince justified in this place to be
understood any other ways than in its own proper and
The deri-' genuine interpretation of being made just. And for the
the'word more c'ear understanding hereof, let it be considered, that
justified this Word justify is derived either from the substantive
considered, . ,. ,.,....,,,., , . ,
&c. justice, or the adjective just: both which words import the
substantive, that true and real virtue in the soul, as it is in
itself; to wit, it signifies really, and not suppositivrely, that
excellent quality expressed and understood among men by
the word justice ; and the adjective just as applied, signi-

OF JUSTIFICATION. 207
fies a man or woman who is just, that is, in whom this
quality of justice is stated-: for it would not only be great
impropriety, but also manifest falsity, to call a man just,
merely by supposition ; especially if he were really unjust.
Now this word justify formed from justice, or just, doth
beyond all question signify a making just; it being nothing
else but a composition ofthe verb facio, and the adjective
Justus, which is nothing else than thus, justifico, i. e., jus-
turn facio, I make just ; and justified of Justus and fio, as
Justus fio, I become just, and justificatus, i. e. Justus fqc-
tus, I am made just. Thus also is it with, verbs of this
kind, as sanctifico, from sanctus, holy, and facio ; honori-
fico, -from honor and facio ; sacrifico, from sacer and facio:
all which are still understood of the subject really and truly
endued with that virtue and quality from which the verb is
derived. Therefore, as none are said to be. sanctified that Justified
are really unholy, while they are such ; so neither can any whiLThey
be truly said to be justified, while they actually remain un- actually re-
just.- Only this verb justify hath, in a metaphorical and just.
figurative sense, been otherwise taken, to, wit, in a law
sense ; as when a man really guilty of a crime is freed from
the punishment of his sin, he is said to be justified ; that
is, put in. the place as if he were just. For this use of the
word hath prooeeded from that true supposition, That none
ought to be .acquitted, but the innocent. Hence also that
manner of speaking, I will justify such a man, or I will
justify this or that, is used from the supposition that the
person and thing is really justifiable : and where there is
an error and abuse in the matter, so far there is also in the
expression. This is so manifest and apparent, that Parseus, a chief Paraus de
Protestant, and a Calvinist also in his opinion, acknow- g"y; [C°" '
ledges this ; " We never at any time said," saith he, " nor c.yn.p.469.
thought, that the righteousness of Christ was imputed to
us, that by him we should be named formally just, and not
be so, as we have divers times already showed ; for that
would no less soundly fight with right, reason, than if a
guilty man absolved in judgment should say, that he him-

208 PROPOSITION VII.
self was formally just by the. clemency of the judge grant
ing him his life." Now is it not strange, that men should
be so facile in a matter of so great concernment, as' to
build the stress of their acceptance with God upon a mere
borrowed and metaphorical signification, to the excluding,
Holiness or at least esteeming that not necessary, without which the
therefore scripture saith expressly, "No man shall ever see God?"
good works For if holiness be requisite and necessary, of which this is
said, then must good works also ; unless our adversaries
can show us a holy man without good works. But, more
over, justified in this figurative sense is used for approved;
and indeed for the most- part, if not always in scripture,
when the word justify is used, it is taken in the worst part ;
that is, that as the use of the word that way is a jisurpa-
tiori, so it is spoken of such as usurp the thing to them
selves, while it properly doth not belong unto them; as
will appear to those that will be at the pains to examine
these places : Exod. xxiii. 7 ; Job. ix. 20, and xxvii. 5 ;
Prov. xvii. 15 ; Isai. v. 23; Jer. iii. 11; Ezek. xvi. 51,
52 ; Luke x. 29, and xvi. 15, which are all spoken of men
"justifying the wicked," or of "wicked men justifying
themselves ;" that is, approving themselves in their wicked
ness. If it be at any time in this signification taken in good
part, it is very seldom, and that so obvious and plain by
the context, as leaves no scruple. But the question is not
so much _of the use of the word, where it is passingly or
occasionally used, as where the very doctrine of justifica
tion is handled. Where indeed to mistake it, viz. in its
proper place, so as to content ourselves with an imaginary
justification, while God requires a real, is of most danger
ous consequence. For the disquisition of which, let it be
considered, that in all these places to the Romans, Co
rinthians, Galatians, and elsewhere, where the apostle
handles this theme, the word may be takentin its own pro
per signification without any absurdity. As, where -it is
often asserted in the above-mentioned, epistles to the Ro
mans and Galatians, That " a man cannot be justified by
the law of Moses, nor by the works of the law ;" there is

OF JUSTIFICATION. 209
no absurdity nor danger- in understanding it according to justified,
its own proper signification, to wit, that a man cannot be g"gnSi|ca-Per
made just by the law of Moses ; seeing this so well agrees tion-
with that saying of the same apostle, That "the law makes
nothing perfect." And also where it is said, "We are
justified by faith," it may be very well understood of be
ing made just ; seeing it is also said, That " faith purifies
the heart ;" and no doubt the pure in heart are just ; and
" the just live by faith." Again, where it is said, We are
justified by grace, we are justified by Christ, we are justi
fied by the Spirit ; it is no ways absurd to understand it
of being made just, seeing by his Spirit and grace he doth
make men just. But to understand it universally the other
way, merely for acceptance and imputation, would infer
great absurdities, as may be proved at large ; but because
I judged it would be acknowledged, I forbear at present
for brevity's sake. But further, in the most weighty places
where this word justify is used in scripture, with an im
mediate relation to the doctrine of justification, our adver- Justifica-
saries must needs acknowledge it to be understood of fie"amak-
making just, and not barely in the legal acceptation: as mgiust-
first, in that of 1 Cor. vi. 11, "But ye are washed, but
ye are sarietified, but ye are justified," as I before have
proved ; which also many protestants are forced to acknow
ledge. '.< Neither diffide we," saith Thysius, " because of Thysius
the most great and strict connexion, that justification doth just. Thes.
sometimes seem also to comprehend sanctification as a 3-
consequence, as in Rom. viii. 30 ; Tit. iii.i.7 ; 1 Cor. vi.
11 j ' And such sometimes 'were ye, but ye are washed,' "
&c. Zanchius, having spoken concerning this sense of Zanchiusin
justification, adds, saying : "There is another signification %^ v a4
of the word, viz : for a man from unjust to be made just, loc- de Just.
even as sanctified signifies from unholy to be made holy :
in which signification the apostle said, in the place above
cited, 'And such were some of you,' &c, that is, of un
clean ye are made holy, and of unjust ye are made just by
the Holy Spirit, for Christ's sake, in whom ye have be
lieved. Of this signification is that, Rev. xxii. 11, 'Let
18* 2b

210

H. Bulling.

Pkoof II.

Righteous
ness the
only me
dium by
which from
our calling
we pass to
glorifica tion.

D. Cham.
Tom. iii. de
Sanct. 1. x.
c. 1.

Beza in c.
iii. ad Tit.
ver. 7.

PROPOSITION VII.
him that is just, be just still ;' that is, really from just be
come more just, even as from unjust he became just. And
according to this signification the Fathers, and especially
Augustine, have interpreted this word." Thus far he.
H. Bullinger, on the same place, 1 Cor. vi., speaketh thus,
" By divers words," saith he, " the apostle signifies the
same thing, when .he saith, < Ye are washed, ye are sancti
fied, ye are justified.' "
Secondly, In that excellent saying of the apostle, so
much observed, Rom. viii. 30, « Whom he called, them
he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glori
fied:" this is commonly called the golden chain, as being
acknowledged to comprehend the method and order of
salvation. And therefore, if justified were not understood
here in its proper signification of being made just, sancti
fication would be excluded out of this chain. And truly
it is very worthy of observation, that the aposffoj in this
succinct and compendious account, makes the word justi
fied to comprehend, all betwixt calling and glorifying;
thereby clearly insinuating, that the being really righteous
is that only medium by which from our calling we pass to
glorification. Almost all dp acknowledge the word to be
so taken in this place ; and not only so, but most of those
who oppose are forced to acknowledge, that as this is the
most proper, so the most common signification of it : thus
divers famous Protestants acknowledge. " We are not,"
saith D. Chamierus, " such impertinent esteemers of words,
as tb be ignorant, nor yet such importunate sophists, as to
deny that the words justification and sanctification do infer
one another; yea, we know that the saints are chiefly for
this reason so called, because that in Christ they have re
ceived remission of sins : and we read in the revelations,
' Let him that is just, be just still ;' which cannot be under
stood, except of the fruit of inherent righteousness. Nor
do we deny, but perhaps in other places they may be pro
miscuously taken,, especially by the Fathers." " I take,"
saith Beza, " the name of justification largely, so as it com
prehends whatsoever we acquire from Christ, as well by

OF JUSTIFICATION. 211
imputation, as by the efficacy of the Spirit ' in sanctifying
us. So likewise is the word justification taken, Rom. viii.
30." Melancthon saith, " That to be justified by faith, Melanct. in
signifies in scripture not only to be pronounced just, but Aug.' ° '
also of unrighteous to be made righteous." Also some
chief Protestants, though not so clearly, yet in part, hinted
at our doctrine, whereby we ascribe unto the death of '
Christ remission of sins, and the work of justification unto
the grace of the Spirit acquired by his death. Martinus
Boraeus, explaining that place ofthe apostle, Rom. iv. 25 : Borseus, in
" Who was given for our sins, and rose again for our justi- Cr"diditXV'
fication," saith : " There are two things beheld in Christ, jj£jahaJg1
which are necessary to our justification ; the one is his
death, the other is his arising from the dead. By his death,
the sins of this world behoved1 to be expiated : by his rising
from the dead, it pleased the same goodness of God to give
the Holy Spirit, whereby both the gospel is believed, and
the righteousness, lost by the fault ofthe first Adam, is re
stored." And afterwards he saith : " The apostle express-
eth both parts in these words, ' Who was given for our
sins,' &c. In his death is beheld the satisfaction for sin ;
in his resurrection, the gift of the Holy Spirit, by which our
justification is perfected." And again, the same man saith
elsewhere : " Both these kinds of righteousness are there- Idem, lib.
fore contained in justification, neither can the one be cap. ix6^.
separate from the other. So that in the definition oi justi- 4' P- 681-
fication, the merit of the blood of Christ is included, both
with the remission of sins, and with the gift of the Holy
Spirit of justification arid regeneration." Martinus Bucerus Bucerus, in
saith: " Seeing by one sin of Adam the world was lost, ve°mi6.V' ad
the grace of Christ hath not only abolished that one sin,
and death which came by it ; but hath together taken away
those infinite sins, and also led into full justification as
many as are of Christ ; so that God how not only remits Righteous-
unto them Adam's, sin, and their own, but also gives them f0ersmjtyCto"
therewith the Spirit of a solid and perfect righteousness, lfethlmgget
which renders us conform unto the image of the first- begotten.
begotten." And upon these words, by Jesus Christ, he

212 PROPOSITION VII.
saith : " We always judge that the whole benefit of .Christ
tends to this, that we might .be strong through the gift of
righteousness, being rightly and orderly adorned with all
virtue, that is, restored to the image of God." And lastly,
W. Forbes William Forbes, pur countryman,-hishop of Edinburgh,
MoS^e saith : " Whensoever the scripture makes mention of the
Just.,lib.ii. justification before God, as speaketh Paul, and from him
(besides others) Augustine, it appears that the word justify
necessarily signifies not' only to pronounce just in a law
sense, but also really and inherently to make just; because
that God doth justify a wicked- man -otherwise than earthly.
How God judges. For he, when he justifies a wicked or unjust man,
wfcked! e doth indeed pronounce him as these also do ; but by pro
nouncing him just, because, his judgment is according to
truth, he also makes him really of unjust to become just."
And again, the same man, upon the same occasion, an?
swering the more rigid Protestants, who say, That God first
justifies, and then makes just;. he adds: "But let them
have a care, lest by too great and empty subtilty, unknown
both to the scriptures and the fathers, they .lessen and
. diminish the weight arid dignity of so groat and divine a
benefit, so much celebrated in the scripture, to wit, justi
fication of the wicked. For if to the formal reason of
- justification of the ungodly doth not at all belong his justi
fication (so to speak), i. e.,his being made righteous, then
in the justification of a sinner, although he be justified,-yet
the stain of sin is not taken away, but remains the same in
his soul as before justification ; and so, notwithstanding the
benefit of justification, he remains as before, unjust and "a
sinner ; and nothing is taken away, but the guilt and obli
gation to pain, and the offence and enmity of God through
non-imputation. But both the scriptures and fathers do
affirm, that in the justification of a sinner, their sins are not
only remitted, forgiven, covered, not imputed, but also
taken away, blotted out, cleansed, washed, purged, arid
very far removed from us, as appears from many places of
the holy scriptures." The same Forbes shows us at
length,, in the following chapter, That this was the con-

OF JUSTIFICATION. 213
fessed judgment of the fathers, out of the writings of those^
who hold the contrary opinion ; some whereof, out of him,
I shall note. As, first, Calvin saith : " That the judgment Calv. Inst.
of Augustine, or at least his manner of speaking, is not sect! 'is."'
throughout to be received ; who although he took from
man all praise of righteousness, and ascribed all to the
grace of God, yet he refers grace to sanctification,. by which
we are regenerate through the Spirit unto newness of life."
Chemnitius saith: That they " do not deny, but that the Chemnit.
fathers-take the word justify for renewing, by which works Conc^Trid.
of righteousness are wrought in us by the Spirit." And d| Just., p.
p. 130 : "I am not ignorant, that the fathers indeed often
use the word justify in this signification, to wit, of makings
just." Zanchius saith : " That the fathers, and chiefly Zanchius
Augustine, interpret the word justify according to this £„%"',. 4
signification, to wit, of makirig just; so that, according to If!?- <ie JH?*-
them, to be justified was no other than of unjust to be made
just, through the grace of God for Christ." He men-
tioneth more, but this may suffice to our purpose.
§ VIII. Having thus sufficiently proved, that by justifi- Asser. I.
cation is to be understood a really being made righteous,
I do boldly affirm, and that not only from a notional know
ledge, but from a real, inward experimental feeling of the
thing, That the immediate, nearest, or formal cause (if we Christ re-
must in condescendence to some use this word) of a man's formed hi
justification in the sight of God, is;- the revelation of Jesus the soul of
J . ° ~ 3 ? a man, is
Christ in the soul, changing, altering, and renewing the the formal
mind, by whom (even the author of this inward work) thus man's justi.
formed and revealed, we are truly justified and accepted fication.
in the sight of God. For it is as we are thus covered and Proof I.
clothed with him, in whom the Father is always well
pleased, that we may draw near to God, and stand with
confidence before his throne, being purged by the blood
of Jesus inwardly poured into our souls, and clothed with
his life and righteousness therein revealed. And this is
that order and method of salvation held forth by the apostle
in that divine saying, Rom. v. 10 : " For if when we were
enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his

214 PROPOSITION VII.
Son ; much more,, being reconeiled, we shall be saved by
his life." For the apostle first holding forth the reconci
liation wrought by the death of 'Christ, wherein God is
near to receive and redeem man, holds forth bis salvation
arid justification to be by the life of Jesus. Now, that this
life is an inward, spiritual thing revealed in the soul,
whereby it is renewed and brought forth out of death,
where it naturally has been by the fall, and so quickened
and made alive unto God, the same apostle shows, Eph.
ii. 5 : " Even whop we were dead in sins, he hath quick
ened us together with Christ (by whose grace ye are saved)
and hath raised us up together." Now this none will
deny -to be the inward work of renovation, and therefore
the apostle gives that reason of their being saved by g ¦;
which is, the inward virtue and power of Christ in the soul:
but of this place more hereafter. Of the revelation of this
inward life the apostle also speaketh, 2 Cor. iv. 10 : " That
the life alsoof Jesus might be made manifest in our body ;"
and ver. 11 : " That the life also of Jesus might be, made
manifest in our mortal flesh." Now this inward life of
Jesus is that whereby, as is before observed, he said, '" we
are saved."
Pkoof II. Secondly, That it is by this revelation of Jesus Christ,
and the new creation in us, that we are justified, doth evi
dently appear from that excellent saying of the apostle
included in the proposition itself,- Tit. iii, 5 : "According
to his mercy he hath saved us, by the washing of regene
ration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost," &c. Now that
whereby we are saved, that we are also no doubt justified
by; which words are in this respect synonymous. Here
The imme- the apostle clearly ascribes the immediate cause of justifi-
of justifica- cation to this inward work of regeneration, which is Jesus
tion is the Christ revealcdin the soul, as being that which formally
work of re- states us in a capacity of being reconciled-with God'; the
genera ion. wasnjng 0f regeneration being that inward power and vir
tue, whereby the soul is cleansed, and clothed with the
righteousness of Christ, so as to be made fit to appear
before God.

OF JUSTIFICATION. 215
Thirdly, This doctrine is manifest from 2 Cor. xiii. 5 : Pk. III.
" Examine your ownselves, whether ye be in the faith ;
prove your ownselves: know ye not your ownselves, how
that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?"
First, It appears here how. earnest the apostle was that, they
should know Christ in them ; so that he presses this exhort
ation upon them, and inculcates it three times. Secondly, The cause
He makes the cause of reprobation,' or not-justification, the °fonepsroba"
want of Christ thus revealed and known in the soul : Christ not
whereby it necessarily follows, by the rule of contraries, inward re-
where the parity is alike (as in this case it is evident), that velatlon-
where Christ is inwardly known, there the persons sub
jected to him are. approved and justified. For there can
be nothing more plain than this, That if we must know
Christ in us, except we be reprobates, or unjustified per
sons ; if we know him in us, we are not reprobates, and
consequently justified ones. Like unto this is that other
saying of the same apostle, Gal. iv. 19: " My little chil-
dren; of whom I travail in birth again, until Christ be formed
in you ;" and therefore the apostle terms this, " Christ
within, the hope of glory," Col. i. 27, 28. Now that
which is the hope of glory, can be no other than that which
we immediately and mdst nearly rely upon for our justifi
cation, and that whereby we are really and truly made just.
And as we do not hereby deny, but the original and fun
damental cause of our justification is the love of God mani
fested in the appearance of Jesus Christ in the flesh, who Christ by
by his life, death, sufferings, and obedience, made' a way ^d suffer-
for our reconciliation, and became a sacrifice for the remis- ln§s nas
. . opened a
sion of sins that are past, and purchased unto us this seed way for our
and grace, from which this birth arises, and in which Jesus tfon™01 1&*
Christ is inwardly received, formed, and brought forth in
us; in his own pure and holy image of righteousness, by
which our souls live unto God, and are clothe,d with him,
and have put him on, even as the scripture speaks, Eph.
iv. 23, 24 ; Gal. iii. 27, we stand justified and saved in
and by him, and by" his Spirit and grace ; Rom. iii. 24 ; 1
Cor. vi. 11; Tit. iii. 7. So again, reciprocally, we are

216 PROPOSITION VII.
hereby made partakers of the fulness ofhis merits, and his
cleansing blood is near, to Wash away every sin and infir
mity,, and krheal all our backslidings, as often as we turn
towards him by unfeigned repentance, and become renewed
by his Spirit. Those then that find him thus raised, and
ruling in them, have a true ground of -hope to believe that
they are justified by his blood. „ But let not any deceive
themselves, so as to foster themselves in a vain hope and
confidence, that by the death arid sufferings of Christ they
are justified, so long as "sin lies at their door," Gen.' iv.
7, iniquity prevails, ahd they remain yet unrenewed and
unregenerate ; lest it be saidunto them, -" I kno\y y§u not"
Let that saying of Christ be remembered, " Not every one
that saith Lord, Lord, shall enter, but he that doth the will
of my father," Matt. vii. 21. To which let these excellent
sayings of the beloved disciple be added ; " Littie chil
dren, let no man deceive you ; he that doth righteousness
is righteous, even as he is righteous. He" that committeth
sin is of the devil ; fortif our heart condemn us, God is
greater than our heart and knoweth all things," 1 John iii.
7 and 20.
Many famous Protestants bear witness to this inward
justification by Christ inwardly revealed and formed in
Boraus in man. As M. Boraus: "In the imputation," saith he,
Gen-P-161- "wherein Christ is ascribed and imputed to believers for
righteousness, the merit of his blood, and the Holy Ghost
given unto us by virtue of his merits, are equally included.
And so it shall be corifessed, ' that Christ is our righteous-
The testi- ness ' as wen from his merit, satisfaction, and remission of
monies ot . ' . ' 7
famous sins obtained by him, as from the gifts of the Spirit of
ofinward13 righteousness. And if we do this, we" shall consider the
justifica- whole Christ proposed to us for our salvation, and not any
single part of him." The same man, p. 169, "In our
justification then Christ is considered, who breathes and
lives in us, to wit, by his Spirit put on by us ; concerning
which putting on theapostle saith, ' Ye have put on Christ.'"
And again, p. 171, " We endeavour to treat in justification,
not of part of Christ, but him wholly, in so far as he is our

OF JUSTIFICATION. 217
righteousness every way." And a little after : " As then
blessed Paul, in our justification, when he saith, : Whom he
justified, them he glorified,' comprehends all things which
pertain to our being reconciled to God the Father, and our
renewing, which fits us for attaining unto glory, such as
faith, righteousness, Christ, and the gift of righteousness
exhibited by him, whereby we are regenerated, to the ful
filling of the justification which the law requires ; so we
also, will have all things comprehended in this cause, which
are contained in the recovery of righteousness and inno
cency.'' And p. 181 : " The form," saith he, " of our justi
fication is the divine righteousness itself, by which we are
formed just and good. This is Jesus Christ, who -is
esteemed our righteousness, partly from the forgiveness of
sins, and partly from the renewing and the restoring of
that integrity, which was lost by the fault of the first Adam :
so that this new and heavenly Adam being put on by us,
of which the apostle saith, 'Ye have put on Christ,' ye have
put him on, I say, as the form, so the righteousness, wis
dom, apd life of God." So also affirmeth Claudius Albe-
rius Tnuncunanus, see his Orat. Apodict. Lausanice Inuncunan.
Excus., 1587. Orat. ii., p. 86, 87. Zuinglius also, in Zuinglius.
his epistle to the princes of Germany, as cited by Himelius,
c. vii., p. 60, saith, "That the sanctification of the Spirit
is true justification, which alone suffices to justify." Estius, Estina.
upon 1 Cor. vi. 11, saith, " Lest Christian righteousness
should be thought to consist in the washing alone, that is,
in the remission qf sins, he addeth the other degree or
part, 'but ye are sanctified;' that is, ye have attained to
purity, so that ye are now truly holy before God. Lastly,
expressing the sum of the benefit received in one word,
which includes both the parts, ' But ye are justified,' the
apostle adds, ' in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,' that
is, by his merits, and in the Spirit of our God, that is, the
Holy Spirit, proceeding from God, and communicated to
us by Christ." And lastly, Richard Baxter, a famous R Baxter.
English preacher, in his book called Aphorisms of Justi
fication, p. 80, saith, " That some ignorant wretches gnash
19 2c

218 PROPOSITION VII.
their teeth at this doctrine, as if it were flat Popery, not
understanding the nature of the righteousness of the new
coyenant ; which is all out >f Christ in ourselves, though
wrought by the power Of the Spirit of Christ in us."
Pos. III. § IX. The third thing proposed to be considered is,
concerning the necessity of good works to justification. I
suppose there is enough said before to clear us from any
imputation of being popish in this matter.
Object. But if it be queried, Whether we have not said, or will
not affirm, that a man isjustifiedby works?
Answ. T answer; I hope none need, neither ought to take
offence, if in this matter we use the plain language of the
holy scripture,, which saith expressly in answer hereunto,
That works James ii. 24, " Ye see then how that by works a man is
BaryntoCjus- justified, and not by faith only." I shall not offer to prove
tification. the truth of this saying, since what is said in this chapter
by the apostle is sufficient to convince any man that will
read and believe it ; I shall only from this derive this one
argument :
Aes. If no man can be justified -without faith, and no faith be
living, nor yet available to justification without works,- then
works are necessary to justification.
But the first is true ; therefore the last.
For' this truth is so apparent and evident in the scrip
tures, that for the proof of it we might- transcribe most of
the precepts of the gospel. "T shall instance a few, which
of themselves do so clearly assert the thing in question,
that they need no commentary, nor farther demonstration.
And then I shall answer the objections made against this,
which indeed are the arguments used for the contrary opi
nion, Heb. xii. 14, "Without holiness no man shall see
Not the God." Mat. vii. 21, " Not every one that saith unto me,
the^oers"1 Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but
are blessed, he that doth the will of my Father which is in heaven."
John xiii. 17, " If ye know these things, happy are ye if
ye do them." 1 Cor. vii. 19, " Circumcision is nothing,
and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the
commandments of God." Rev. xxii. 14, " Blessed are

OF JUSTIFICATION. 219
they that do his commandments, that they may have right
to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into
the city :" and many more that might be instanced. From
all which I thus argue :
If those only can enter into the kingdom that do the Aho.
will of the Father ; if those be accounted only the wise
builders and happy that do the sayings of Christ ; if no
observation avail, but only the keeping of the command
ments; and if they be~blessed that do the commandments,
and thereby have right to the tree of life, and entrance
through the gates into the city ; then works are absolutely
necessary to salvation and justification :
But the first is true ; and therefore also the last.
The consequence of the antecedent is so clear and evi
dent, that I think no man of sound reason will call for a
proof of it.
§ X. But they object, That works are not necessary -to Obj. 1.
justification : First, because of that saying of Christ, Luke
xvii. 10, " When ye shall have done all these things Unprofit-
that are commanded you, say, we are unprofitable ser- vants5.6'"
vants," &c.
Answer ; As to God we are indeed unprofitable, for he A»sw.
needeth nothing, neither can we add any -thing unto him : ethnothinc
but as to ourselves, we are not unprofitable ; else it might"
be said, that it is not profitable for a man to keep God's
commandments ; which is most absurd, and would, con
tradict Christ's doctrine throughout. Doth not Christ,
Mat.- v., through all those beatitudes, . pronounce men
blessed for their purity, for their meekness, for their
peaceableness, &c. ? Ahd is not then that for which Christ
pronounceth men blessed, profitable unto them ? More- Those that
over, Mat. xxv. 21, 23, Doth not Christ pronounce the J^'Ja"
men " good and faithful servants" that improved their ta- !heir ta'
. r tents, were
lents? Was not their doing of that then profitable unto called good
them ? And ver. 30, it is said of him that hid his talent, servants. "
and did not improve it, " Cast ye the unprofitable servant
into utter darkness." If then not improving of the talent
made the man unprofitable, and he was therefore east into

220 PROPOSITION VII.
utter darkness, it will follow by the rule of contraries, so
far at least that the improving made the other profitable ;
seeing, if our adversaries will allow us to believe Christ's
words, this is made a reason, and so at least a cause in
strumental of their, acceptance ; "Well done, good and
faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things,
I will make thee ruler over many things ; enter thou into
the joy of thy Lord." , -' ,
Obj. 2. Secondjy, They object those sayings of -the- apostle,
where-he excludes the deeds of the law from justification ;
as first, Rom. iii. 20, " Therefore" by the deeds of the law
there shall no -flesh be justified in his sight." And verse
28, " Therefore we conclude, that a man is justified by
faith, without the deeds ofthe Jaw."
Ans. 1. Answer : We have shown already what place we give to
works, even to the best of works, in justification ; and how
we ascribe its immediate and formal cause to the worker
brought forth in us, but not to the works. But in answer
to this objectipn, I say, there is a great difference betwixt
The works the works of the law, and those cf grace, or of the gospel.
pel'orfrace ^ne nrst are exc'uded, the second not, but are necessary.
distinguish- The first are those which are performed in man's own will,
those ofthe and by his strength, in a conformity to the outward law
law- and4etter;. and therefore are man's own imperfect works,
or works of the law, which makes nothing perfect : and to
this belong all the ceremonies, purifications, washings, and
traditions of the Jews. The second are the works of the
Spirit of grace in the heart, wrought in conformity to the
inward and spiritual law ; which works are not wrought in
man's will, nor by his power and ability, but in and by the
power and Spirit of Christ in us, and therefore are pure
and perfect in their kind, as shall hereafter be proved, and
may be called Christ's works, for that he is the immediate
author and worker of them : such works we affirm abso
lutely necessary to justification, so that a man cannot be
justified without thetn ; and all faith without them is dead
and useless, as the apostle James saith. Now, that such
a distinction is to be admitted, and that the works excluded

OF JUSTIFICATION. 221
by the apostle in the matter of justification are of the first
kind, will appear, if we consider the occasion of the
apostle's mentioning this, as well here, as throughout his
epistle to the Galatians, where he speaks of this matter and
to this purpose at large : which was this, That whereas
many of the Gentiles, that were not of the race or seed of
Abraham, as concerning the flesh, were come to be con
verted to the Christian faith, and to believe in him, some
of those, that were of the Jewish proselytes, thought to
Subject the faithful and believing Gentiles to the legal
ceremonies and observations, as necessary to1 their justifi
cation: this gave the apostle Paul occasion at length, in The occa-
his epistle to the Romans, Galatians, and elsewhere, to apostle's *
show the use and tendency of the law, and of its works, speaking of
....... . „. the works
and to contra-distinguish them from the faith of Christ, and ofthe law,
the righteousness thereof; showing' how the former was excluded?
ceased and become ineffectual, the other remaining, and
yet necessary. And that the works excluded by the apostle
are of this kind of works of the law, appears by the whole
strain of his epistle to the Galatians, chap, i., ii., iii., and
iv. For after, in chap, iv., he upbraideth them for their
returning unto the observation of days and times, and that,
in the beginning of chap, v., he showeth them their folly,
and the evil consequence of adhering to the ceremonies of
circumcision, then he adds, ver. 6, " For in Christ Jesus
neither circumcision nor uncircumcision availeth, but faith,
which worketh by love ;" and thus he concludes again,
chap. vi. ver. 15, " For in Christ Jesus neither circumci
sion availeth, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature."
From which places appeareth that, distinction of works be
fore mentioned, whereof the one is excluded, the other
necessary to justification. For the apostle showeth here,
that circumcision, which word is Often used to compre
hend the whole ceremonies and legal performances of the
Jews, is not necessary, nor doth avail. Here then are the
works which are excluded, by which no man is justified;
but* faith, whieh worketh by love,-but the new creature,
this is that which availeth, which is absolutely necessary :
19*

222

The useful
ness and
necessity
of good
works.

Ans. 2.

Justifiednot by our
legal per
formances,but the
fruit of the
Spirit.

PROPOSITION VII.
for faith, that worketh- by love, cannot be without works ;
for, as it is said in the same 5th chapter, ver. 22, love
is a work of the Spirit ; also the new creature, if it avail
and be necessary, cannot be without works ; seeing it is
natural for it to bring forth works of righteousness. Again,
that the apostle no ways intends to' exclude such good
works appears, in that in the same epistle he exhorts the
Galatians to them, and holds forth .the usefulness and ne
cessity of them, and. that Very- plainly, chap._vi. ver. 7, 8,
9: "Be not deceived," saith he, " God is not mocked ;
for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap : for
he that soweth to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corrup
tion ; but he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit
reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well
doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. "
Doth it not hereby appear, how necessary the apostle would
have the Galatians know that he esteemed good works to
be? To wit, not the outward ceremonies and traditions
of the law, but the fruits of the Spirit, mentioned a little
before ; by which Spirit he would have them to be led, and
walk in those good works : as also, how much he ascribed
to these good works, by which he affirms hfe everlasting is
reaped. Now, that cannot be useless to man's justifica
tion, which capacitates him to reap so rich a harvest.
But lastly ; For a full answer to this objection, and for
the establishing of this doctrine of good- works, I shall
instance another saying of the same apostle Paul, which
our adversaries also in the blindness of their minds make
use of against us; to wit, Tit. iii. 5: "Not by works of
righteousness which we" have done, but according to his
mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and
renewing of -the Holy Ghost." It is generally granted by
all, that saved is here all one as if it had. been said justi
fied. Now there are two kinds of works here mentioned:
one by which we are not saved, that is, not justified ; and
another by which we are saved, or justified. The first, the
works of righteousness which we have wrought, that-is,
which we in our first fallen nature, by our own strength,

OF JUSTIFICATION. 223
have wrought, our own legal performances, and therefore
may truly and properly be called ours, whatever specious
appearances they may have. And that it must needs and
ought to be so understood, doth appear from the other
part: "By the washing of regeneration, and renewing of
the Holy Ghost ;" seeing regeneration is a work, compre
hensive of- many good works, even of all those which are
called the fruits of the Spirit.
Now in case it should be objected, That these may also Object.
be called ours,' because wrought in us, and also by us
many times as instruments ;
I answer ; It is far otherwise than the former : for in the Answ.
first we are yet alive in our own natural state, unrenewed,
working of ourselves, seeking to save ourselves, by imi
tating and endeavouring a conformity to the outward letter
of the law ; and so wrestling and striving in the carnal
mind; that is enmity to God, and in the cursed will not yet
subdued. But in this second we are " crucified with
Christ," we are become "dead with him," have "par-
taken.of the fellowship ofhis sufferings," are made " con
formable to his death;" and our first man, our "old man
with all his deeds," as well the openly wicked as the seem
ingly righteous, our legal endeavours and foolish wrestlings,
are all buried and nailed to the cross of "Christ; and so
it is no more we, but Christ alive in us, the worker in Notwe.but
us. So that though it be we in a sense, yet it is accprd- is the work
ing to that of the apostle to the same Galatians,. ch. ii., ver. erof rlght"
o ... . eousness.
20 : " I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not
I, but Christ liveth in me ;" not I, but the grace of Christ in
me. These works are especially to be ascribed to the Spirit
of Christ, and the grace of God in us, as being immediately
thereby acted and led in them, and ^enabled to perform
them. And this manner of speech is not strained, but
familiar to the apostles, as appears, Gal. ii. 8: "For he
that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the
circumcision, the same was mighty in me," &c. Phil. ii.
13 : " For it is God which worketh in you, both to will
and to do," &c. So that it appears by this place, that

224 proposition vii.
since the washing of regeneration is necessary to justifi
cation, and that regeneration comprehends works, works
are necessary ; and that these works of the law that are
excluded, are different from these that are , necessary and
admitted.
Obj. 3. § XI. Thirdly, They object that no works, yea, not the
works' of Christ in us, can have place in justification, be
cause nothing that is impure can be useful in it ; and all
the works wrought in us are impure. For this they allege
that saying of the prophet Isaiah, Ixiv. 6 : " All our
righteousnesses are. as filthy rags ;" adding -this reason,
" That seeing we are impure, so must our works be ; which
though good in themselves, yet as performed by us, they
receive a tincture of impurity, even as clean water passing
through an unclean pipe is defiled."
Ams. 1. That no impure works are useful to justification is con
fessed ; but that all the works wrought in the saints are
such is denied. And for answer to this, the former dis
tinction will serve. We confess, that the first sort of works
above mentioned are impure ; but not the second: because
the first are wrought in the unrenewed state, but not the
other. And as'for that of Isaiah, it must relate to the .first
What sort kind ; for though he saith, " All our righteousnesses are as
eousness is filthy rags," yet that will not comprehend the righteousness
as filthy 0f Christ in us, but only that which we work of and by
rags. , J J
ourselves. For should we so conclude, then it would fol
low, that we should throw away all holiness arid righteous
ness ; since that which is as filthy rags, and as a menstru-
ous garment, ought to be thrown away ; yea, it would fol
low, that all the fruits of the Spirit, mentioned Gal. v.,
were as filthy rags: whereas, on the contrary, some ofthe
works of the saints are said to have a " sweet savour in
the nostrils of the Lord ;" are said to be an " ornament of
great price in the sight of God ;" are said to " prevail with
him," and to be " acceptable to him ;" which filthy rags,
and a menstruous garment cannot be. Yea, many famous
Protestants have acknowledged, that this place is not there
fore so to be understood. Calvin upon this place saith,

OF JUSTIFICATION. 225
" That it is used to be cited by some, that they may prove Calvin and
there is so little merit in our works, that they are before sense'con-11
God filthy and defiled; but this seeins to me to be differ- cemingisa.
" . . . Ixiv. 6, of
ent from the prophet's mind," saith he, " seeing he speaks our right-
not here of all mankind." Musculus upon this place saith, eousness-
" That it was usual for this people to presume much of Musculus
their legal righteousness, as if thereby they were made
clean; nevertheless, they had no more cleanness than the
unclean garment of a man. Others expound this place
concerning all the righteousness of our flesh ; that opinion
indeed is true ; yet I think that the prophet did rather ac
commodate these sayings to the impurity of that people in
legal terms." The author (commonly supposed Bertius), Bertius,
speaking concerning the true sense of the 7th chapter of p^xse*
the epistle to the Romans, hath a digression touching this dissert.
of Isaiah, saying ; " This place is commonly corrupted by
a pernicious /wresting : for it is still alleged, as if the
meaning thereof inferred the most excellent works pf the
best Christians," &c- James Coret, a French minister in Jas. Coret,
the church of Basil, in his Apology concerning Justification press. m"
against Alescales, saith : "Nevertheless, according to the J>ar'a> ani|j
counsel of certain good men, I must admonish the reader,
that -it never came into our minds to abuse that saying of
Isaiah, lxiVi 6, against good works, in which it is said,
that ' all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags,' as if we
would have that which is good in our good works, and
proceedeth from the Holy Spirit, to be esteemed as a filthy
and unclean thing."
§ XII. As to the other part, That seeing the best of
men are still impure and iiriperfect, therefore their wprks
must be so ; it is to beg the question, and depends upon
a proposition denied; and which is to be discussed at
farther length sin the next proposition. But though we
should suppose a man not thoroughly perfect in all respects,
yet will not that hinder,, but good and perfect works in
their kind may be brought forth in him by the, Spirit of
Christ : neither doth the example of water going through
an unclean pipe hit the matter ; because though water may
2d

226 PROPOSITION VII.
be Capable to be tinctured with uncleanness, yet the Spirit
of God cannot, whom we assert, to be the immediate author
of those works that avail in justification : and therefore
Jesus Christ's works in his children are pure and perfect,
and he worketh in arid through that pure thing of his own
forming and creating in them. Moreover, if this did hold,
according to our adversaries' supposition, That no man ever
was or can be perfect, it would follow, that the very mira-
Were the cles and works of the apostles, which Christ wrought in
m"-acles, them, and they wrought in and by the power, Spirit- and
ofthe grace of Christ, were also impure and imperfect 5 such as
wrought by their converting of the nations to the - Christian faith; their
t^ P°*er. gathering of the churches, their writing of the holy scrip-
them, im- tures ; yea, and their offering up and sacrificing of their
Fmperfect? lives for the testimony of Jesus. What may our adver
saries think of. this argument, whereby it will follow, that
the holy scriptures, whose perfection and excellency they
seem, so much to. magnify, are proved to be impure and
imperfect, because they came through impure and imper
fect vessels ? It appears by the confessions of Protestants,
. that the Fathers did frequently attribute unto works of- this
kind that instrumental work, which we have spoken of in
justification, albeit some ignorant persons cry Out it is
Popery, and also divers, and that famous Protestants, do
A. Polan. of themselves confess it. Amandus Polanus, in his Sym-
phonia Catholica, cap. 27, de Remissione Peccatorum, p.
Our doc- 651, places this thesis as the common opinion of Protest-
tification118" ants> raost agreeable to the doctrine of the Fathers : " We
and works obtain the remission of sins by repentance, confession,
is not Po- * r ' .
pery. prayers, and tears, proceeding from faith, but do not merit,
to speak properly ; and therefore we obtain remission of
sins, not by the merit' of our repentance and prayers, but
Gentiletus by the mercy and goodness of God." Inhocehtius Gen-
G^nTsiT' tiletus, a lawyer of great fame among Protestants, in his
Examen of the Council of Trent, p. 66, 67, of justifica
tion, having before spoken of faith and works, adds these
words : " But seeing the one cannot be without the other,
we call them both conjunctly instrumental causes." Zan-

OF JUSTIFICATION. 227
chius, in his, fifth book, De JYaturd Dei, saith; "We do Zanchius.
not simply deny, that good works are the cause of salva
tion, to wit, the instrumental, rather than the efficient cause,
which they call sine qua non.''' And afterwards, " Good
works, are the instrumental cause of the possession of life
eternal ; for by these, as by a means and a lawful way,
God leads unto the possession of life eternal." G. Ame- g. Ames.
sius saith, « That our obedience, albeit it be not the prin- g Theolo*
cipal and meritorious cause of life eternal, is nevertheless g'88'*-,"-
.... c. 1 Thes.
a cause in some respect, administering, helping, and advan- xxx.
cing towards the possession of the life." Also Richard R. Baxter.
Baxter, in his book above cited, p. 155, saith, " That we
are justified by works in the same kind of causality as by
faith, to wit, as being both causes sine qua non, or con
ditions of the new covenant on our part requisite to justi
fication." And p. 195, he saith, " It is needless to teach
any scholar, who -hath read the writings of Papists, how
this doctrine differs from them."
But -lastly, Because it is fit here to say something ofthe Ofthe me-
merit and reward of works, I shall add something in this ^'^ dJe~
place of our sense and belief concerning that matter. We works.
are far from thinking or believing, that man merits any thing
by his works from' God, all being of free grace; and there
fore do we, and always have denied that Popish notion of
meritum ex condigno. Nevertheless we cannot deny, but
that God, out of his infinite goodness wherewith he hath
loved mankind, after he communicates to him his holy
Grace and Spirit, doth, aocordingto his own will, recom- Godre-
pense and reward the good works of his children ; and good works
therefore this merit of congruity or reward, in so far as the °f hls cml"
scripture is plain and positive for it, we. may not deny;
neither .wholly reject the word, in so far as the scripture
makes use of it. For the same Greek aj-iov, which signifies
merit, is also in those places where the translators express
it worth, or worthy, as Mat. iii. 8 ; 1 Thess. ii. 12 ; 2 Thess.
i.5, 11. Concerning which R. Baxter saith, in the book
above cited, p. 8, "But in a larger sense, as promise is an
obligation, and the thing promised is said to be debt, so

228 PROPOSITION VII.
the performers of the conditions are called worthy, andthat
which "they perform merit ; although properly all be of
grace, and not of debt." Also those, who are called the
Fathers of the church, frequently used this word of merit,
whose sayings concerning this matter I think not needful
to insert, because itis not doubted, but evident, that rirahy
Protestants are npt averse from this word, in the sense that
we use it. The apology for the Augustan confession, art.
20, hath these words ; " We agree that works are truly
meritorious, riot of remission of sins, or justification; but
they are meritorious of other rewards corporal and spiritual,
which are indeed as well in this life, as after this life."
And further, " Seeing works are a certain fulfilling of the
law, they are rightly said to be meritorious ; it is rightly
said, that a reward is due to them."
Conference In the acts of the conference of Oldenburgh, the electoral
burgh.6"' divines, p. 110 and 265, say, " In this sense our churches
also are not averse from the word merit used by the Fathers ;
neither therefore do they defend the Popish doctrine of
merit."
G. Vossius, G. Vossius, in his theological thesis concerning the
merit, merits of good works, saith ; " We have not adventured to
condemn the word merit wholly, as beirig that which both
many of the ancients use, and also the reformed churches
have used in their confessions. Now that God judgeth and
accepteth men according to their works, is beyond doubt
to those that seriously will read and consider these scrip
tures," Mat. xvi. 27; Rom. ii. 6, 7, 10; 2 Cor. v. 10;
James i. 25 ; Heb. x. 35 ; 1 Pet. i. 17 ; Rev. xxii. 12.
§ XIII. And to conclude this proposition, let none be
so bold as to mock God, supposing themselves justified
and accepted in the sight of God, by virtue of Christ's
death and sufferings,. while they remain unsanctified and
Job. viii. unjustified in their own hearts, and polluted in their sins,
lest their hope prove that of the hypocrite, which perisheth.
Neither let any foolishly imagine, that they, can by their
own works, or by the performance of any ceremonies or
traditions, or by the giving of gold or money, or by afflict-

13.

OF PERFECTION. 229
ing their bodies in will-worship and voluntary humility, or The hope
foolishly striving to conform their way to the outward letter p0crhe Y'
of the law, flatter themselves that they merit before God, or sha.u, ,
- , J 7 perish, but
draw a debt upon him, or that any man or men have power grace is to
to make such kind Of things effectual to their justification, l e um "•
lest they be found foolish boasters and strangers to Christ
and his righteousness indeed. But blessed for ever are
they, that having truly had a sense of their own unworthi
ness and sinfulness, and having seen all their own endea
vours and performances fruitless and vain, and beheld their
own emptiness, and the vanity of their vain hopes, faith,
and confidence, while they remained inwardly pricked,
pursued^ arid condemned by God's holy witness in their
hearts, and so having applied themselves thereto, and suf
fered his grace to work in them, are become changed and
renewed in the spirit of their minds, passed from death to
life, and know Jesus arisen in them, working both the will
and the deed ; and so having " put on the Lord Jesus
Christ," in effect are clothed with him, and partake of his
righteousness and nature ; such can draw near to the Lord
with boldness, and know their acceptance in and by him ;
in whom, and in as many as are found in him, the Father
is well pleased.

PROPOSITION VIII.
Concerning Perfection.
In whom this pure arid holy birth is fully brought forth,
the body of death and sin comes to be crucified and
removed, and their hearts united and subjected to the
truth ; so as not to obey any suggestions or temptations
of the evil one, but to be free from actual sinning and
transgressing ofthe law of God, and in that respect per
fect : yet doth this perfection still admit of a growth ;
and there remaineth always in some part a possibility of
sinning, where the mind doth not most diligently and
watchfully attend unto the Lord.
20

230 PROPOSITION VIII.
§ I. Since we have placed justification in the revelation
of Jesus .Christ formed and brought forth in the heart,
there Working his works of righteousness, and bringing
forth the fruits of the Spirit, the question is, How far he
may prevail in us while we are in this life, or we over our
souls, enemies, in and by his strength? Those that plead
for justification wholly without them, merely by imputative
righteousness, denying the necessity of being clothed with
real and inward righteousness, 'do consequently affirm,
These are " That it is impossible for a man, even the best of men, to
oftheWest- ^e ^e °^ sm m tn's n^e» which, they say, no man ever
minster was ; but on the contrary, that none can, neither of him-
chism. self, nor by any grace received in this life, [O.wicked say
ing against the power of God's grace,] keep the command-:
ments of God perfectly ; but that every man. doth break
the commandments in thought, word and deed;" whence
Whether it they also affirm, as was a little before observed, "That
to keep the *ne verv ^es^- actions ofthe saints, their prayers, their wor-
command- ships are impure and polluted." We on the contrary,
God? though" we freely acknowledge this of the natural fallen
man, in his first state, whatever his profession or pretence
may be, so long as he is unconverted and unregenerate,
yet we do believe, that to those in whom Christ comes to
Part I. be formed, and the new man brought forth, and born of
the incorruptible seed, as that birth, and man in union
therewith, naturally doth the will of God, it is possible so
far to keep to it, as not to be found daily transgressors of
Controver- the law of God. And for the more clear stating of the
sy state . controversy, let it be considered :
Notional § II. First, That we place not this possibility in man's
now e ge. oWn wjn gn(j capa(.jtV) as ne js a man} the son of fallen
Adam, or as he is in his natural state, however wise or
knowing, or however much endued with a notional and
literal knowledge of Christ, thereby endeavouring a con
formity to the letter of the law, as it is outward.
The new ( Secondly, That we attribute it wholly to man, as he is
born again, renewed in his mind, raised by Christ, know
ing Christ alive, reigning and ruling in him, and guiding

OF PERFECTION. 231
and leading him by his Spirit, and revealing in him the
law of the Spirit of life ; which not only manifests and re
proves sin, but also gives power to come out of it. _
Thirdly, That by this we understand not such a perfec- Growth in
tion as may not daily admit of a growth, and consequently
mean not as if we were to be as pure, holy, and perfect as
God in his divine attributes of wisdom, knowledge, and
purity ; but only a perfection proportionable and answer
able to man's . measure, whereby we are kept from trans
gressing the law of God, and enabled to answer what he
requires of us ; even as he that improved his two talents He that im-
so as to make four of them, perfected his work, and was tw^talents
so accepted ofhis Lord as to be called a " good and faith- wasnothmg
47 ' ° less accept-
ful servant," nothing less than he that made his five ten. able than
Even as a little gold is perfect gold in its kind, as well as fiveT" °
a great mass, and a child hath a perfect body as well as a
man, though it daily grow more and more. Thus Christ
is said, Luke ii. 52, to have "increased in wisdom and
stature, and in favour with God and man ;" though before
that time -he had never sinned, and was no doubt perfect,
in a true and prop-er sense.
Fourthly, Though a man may witness this for a season,
and - therefore all ought to press after it; yet we do not
affirm but those that have attained it in a measure may, by
the wiles and temptations of the enemy, fall into iniquity, Wiles of
and lose it sometimes, if they be not watchful, and do not l e enemy-
diligently attend to that of God in the heart. And we
doubt not but many good and holy men, who have arrived Every sin
to everlasting life, have had divers ebbings and flowings man hThis
of -this kind; for though every sin weakens a man in his sp1™'".31
. . . . . condition,
spiritual condition, yet it doth not so as to destroy him but doth
altogether, or render him incapable of rising again. , n°m aito.0y
Lastly, Though I affirm, that after a man hath arrived at gether.
such a state, in which he may be able not to sin, yet he Righteous-
may sin : nevertheless, I will not affirm that a state is not "ome na-
attainable in this life, in which to do righteousness may be tural-
so natural to the regenerate soul, that in the stability of
that condition he cannot sin. Others may speak more

232 PROPOSITION VIII.
certainly of this state, if they have arrived at it. With
respect to myself, I speak modestly, because I ingenuously
confess that I have not yet attained it ; but I cannot deny
that there is. such a state, as it seems to be so clearly as
serted by the apostle, 1 John iii. 9, " Whosoever is born
of God doth not commit sin ; for his seed remaineth in
him : and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."
Part II. The controversy being thus stated, which will serve to
Sect. l. obviate objections, I shall proceed, First, to show the ab
surdity of that doctrine that pleads for sin for term of life,
even in the saints.
Sect. 2. Secondly, To prove this doctrine of perfection from
many pregnant testimonies of the holy scripture. „
Sect. 3. And, Lastly, To answer the arguments and objections
of our opposers.
Sect. I. § III. First then, This doctrine, viz. : That the saints nor
Proof 1. can nor ever will be free of sinning in this life, is incon-
trine of°" sistent with the wisdom of God,, and with his glorious
pleadingfor p0Wer and majesty, " who is of purer eyes than to behold
of life ab- iniquity;"* who having purposed in himself to gather to
•Hab.i. 13. him that should worship him, and be witnesses for him on
earth, a chosen people, doth also no doubt sanctify and
purify them. For God hath no delight in iniquity, but
abhors transgression ; and though he regard man in trans
gression so far as to pity him, and afford him means to
come out of it ; yet he loves him not, neither delights in
him, as he is joined thereunto. Wherefore if man must be
always joined to sin, then God would always be at a
distance with him ; as it is written, Isa. lix. 2, " Your ini
quities have separated -between you and your God, and
your sins have hid his face from you ;" whereas on the
contrary, the- saints are said to partake, even while here,
" of the divine nature," 2 Pet. i. 4, and to be one spirit
with the Lord, 1 Cor. vi. 17. Now no unclean thing
can be so. It is expressly written, that there is no com
munion betwixt light and darkness, 2 Cor. vi, 14 ; but
God is light, and every sin is darkness in a measure.
What greater stain then can there be than this upon God's

OF PERFECTION. 233
wisdom, as if he had been wanting to prepare a means Hath God's
whereby his children might perfectly serve and worship be'eVwant-
him, or had not provided a way whereby they might serve mg t0 Pre"
him in any thing; but that they must withal still serve the means to
devil no less, yea more than himself? For " he that sinneth worship
is the servant of sin," Rom. vi. 16, and every sin is an act him per-
of service and obedience to the devil. So then if the saints
sin daily in thought, word, and deed, yea, if the very.service
they offer to God be sin, surely they serve the devil. more
than they do God : for besides that they give the devil
many entire services, without mixture of the least grain to
God, they give God not the least service in which the
devil hath not a large share ; and if their prayers and all
their spiritual performances be sinful, the devil is as much
served by them in these as God, and in most of them much
more, since they confess that many of them are performed
without the leadings and influence of God's Spirit. Now
who would not account him a foolish master among men,
who being able to do it, and also desirous- it might be so,
yet would not provide a way whereby his children and
servants might serve him more entirely than his avowed
enemy; or would not guard against their serving of him,
but be so imprudent and unadvised in hisoontrivance, that
whatever way his servants and children served him, they
should no less, yea, often much more, serve his enemy ?
What may we then think of that doctrine that would infer
this folly upon the Omnipotent and Only Wise God ?
§ IV. Secondly, It is inconsistent with the justice of Proof II.
Gpd. For since he requires purity from his children,^ and its incon-
commands them to abstain from every iniquity, so fre- wiJh"^
quently and precisely as shall hereafter appear, and since justice of
his wrath is revealed against all ungoaliness and unright
eousness of men, it must needs follow, that he hath capa
citated man tp answer his will, or else that he requires more
than he has given power to perform ; which is to declare
him openly unjust, and with the slothful servant to be a
hard master. We have elsewhere spoken of the injustice
these men ascribe to God, in making him to damn the
20* 2e

234

PROPOSITION VIII.

Who shall
give their
children a
stone in
stead of
bread?

Proof III.

wicked, to whom they allege he never afforded any means
of being tgOod ; but this is yet an aggravation more irra
tional and inconsistent, to say that God will not afford tb
those, whom he hath chosen to be his own, whom they
confess he loveth, the means to please him. What can
follow then from so strange a doctrine ?
This imperfection in the saints either proceeds from God
or from themselves : If it prqceeds from them, it must be
because they are short in improving or making use of the
power given' them, whereby they are capable to obey ; and
so it is a thing possible to them, as indeed it is by the help
of that power: but this our adversaries deny: they are
then not to be blamed for their imperfection and con
tinuing in sin, since it is not possible for them to do other
wise. If it be not of themselves, it must.be of God, who
hath not seen meet to allow them grace in that degree to
produce that effect: and what is this but to attribute to
God the height of injustice, to make him require his chil
dren to forsake sin, and yet not to afford them sufficient
means for so doing? Surely this makes God more un_
righteous than wicked men, who if, as Christ saith,
their children require bread of them, will not give them
a stone; or instead. of a fish a serpent. But these men
confess we ought to seek of God power to redeem us from
sin, and yet believe they are never to receive such a power ;
such prayers then cannot be in faith, but are all vain. Is
not this to make God as unjust to his children as Pharoah
was to the Israelites, in requiring brick and not giving them-
straw ? But blessed be God, he deals not so with those
that truly trust in him, and wait upon him^ as these men
vainly imagine ; for such faithful ones find of a truth that
his grace is sufficient for them, and know how by his power
and spirit to overcome the evil one.
§ V. Thirdly, This evil doctrine is highly injurious tb
Jesus Christ, and greatly derogates from the power and
virtue of his sacrifice, and renders his coming and ministry,
as to the great end of it, ineffectual. For Christ, as for
other ends, so principally he appeared for the removing of

OF PERFECTION. 235
sin, foi1 the gathering a righteous generation, that might The great
serve the Lord in purity of mind, and walk before him in £"[ ^"of"
fear, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and that Christ's
" cominsr und
evangelical perfection which the law could not do. Hence appearance
he is said, Tit. ii. 14, " to have given himself for us, that removingof
he might redeem -us from all iniquity, and purify unto him- sin> and t0
° ,.,,,,, mi • • redeem us
self a peculiar people, zealous of good works." This is from all
certainly spoken of the saints while upon, earth ; but, con- lmiulty-
trary thereunto, these men affirm, that we never arere^
deemed from all iniquity, arid so make Christ's giving of
himself for us, void and ineffectual, and give the apostle
Paul the he plainly, by denying that " Christ purifieth to
himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." How
are they zealous of good works, who are ever committing
evil ones ? How are they a purified people, that are still
in impurity, as they are that daily sin, unless sin be ac
counted no impurity? Moreover, it is said expressly,
1 John iii. 5, 8, That " for this purpose the Son of God
was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the
devil ; and ye know that he was manifested to take away
our sins." But these men make this purpose of none
effect; for they will not have the Son' of God to. destroy
the works ofthe devil in his children in this world, neither
will they at all believe that he was manifest to take away
our sins, seeing they plead a necessity of always living in
them. And lest any should wrest this place of the apostle,
as if it were spoken only of taking away the guilt of sin,
as if it related not to this life, the apostle, as if of pur
pose to obviate such an objection, adds in the following
verses, "Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not," &c.
I hope then they sin not daily in thought, word, and deed.
" Let no man deceive you ; he that doth righteousness is
righteous ; even as he is righteous ; he that committeth
sin is of the devil ;"* but he that sinneth daily in thought, * l John iii.
word, and deed, committeth sin ; how comes such a one '
then to be the child of God? And if Christ was manifest
to take away sin, how strangely do they overturn the doc
trine of Christ that deny that it is ever taken away here ?

236 PROPOSITION VIII.
And how injurious are they to the efficacy and power- of
Christ's appearance ? Came not Christ to gather a people
out of sin into righteousness ; from the kingdom of Satan
into the kingdom of the dear Son of God? And, are not
they that are thus gathered by him his servants, his chil
dren, his brethren, his friends? who as he was, so are they
i to be in this world, holy, pure, and undefiled. And 'doth
not Christ still watch over them, stand by them, pray for
them, and preserve them by his power and Spirit, walk in
The devil them, and dwell among them; even as the devil on the
among the other hand doth among the reprobate ones ? How comes
reprobates: it then that the servants of Christ are' less his servants than
the devil's are his? Or is Christ unwilling to have his ser
vants thoroughly pure ? Which were gross blasphemy to
assert, contrary to many scriptures. Or is he not able by
his power to preserve and enable his children to serve him?
Which were no less. blasphemous to affirm of him, con
cerning whom the scriptures declare, That he has over
come sin, death, hell, and the grave, and triumphed over
them openly, and that all power in heaven and earth is
given to him. But certainly if the saints sin daily in
thought, word and deed, as these men assert, they serve
the devil daily, and are subject to his power ; and so he
prevails more than Christ doth, and holds the servants of
Christ in bondage/ whether Christ will or not.- But how
greatly then doth it contradict the end of .Christ's coming?
as it is expressed by the apostle, Eph. v. 25, 26, 27,
" Even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself
for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the wash
ing of water by the word : that he might present it to him
self a glorious church, not. having spot or wrinkle, or any
such thing, but that it should be holy, and without blem
ish." Now if Christ hath really thus answered the thing
he came for, then the members of his church are not al
ways sinning in thought, word, and deed, or there is no
difference betwixt being sanctified and unsanctified, clean
and unclean, holy and unholy, being daily blemished with
sin, and being without blemish.

OF PERFECTION. 237
§ VI. Fourthly, This doctrine renders the work of the Proof IV.
ministry, the preaching. of the word, the writing of the
scripture, and the prayers of holy men altogether useless
and ineffectual. As to the first, Eph. iv. 11, 12, 13, Pas- Pastors,
tors and teachers are said to be " given for the perfection and'scrfp-
of the saints," &c, " until we all come in the unity of the "?res a/e
ffiV6n ior
faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfecting
perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of tho fulness gamts.
of Christ." Now if there be a necessity of sinning daily,
and in all things, then there can be no perfection ; for such
as do so cannot be esteemed perfect. And if for effec
tuating this perfection in the saints the ministry be appointed
and disposed of God, do not such as deny the possibility
hereof render the ministry useless, and of no profit?
Seeing there can be no other true use assigned, but to lead
people out of sin into righteousness. If so be these min
isters assure us that we need never expect to be delivered
from it, do not they render their own work needless?
What needs preaching against sin, for the reproving of
which all preaching is, if it can never.be forsaken? Our
adversaries are exalters of the scriptures in words, much
crying up their usefulness and perfection : now the apostle
tells us, 2 Tim. iii. 17, That the " scriptures are for making
the man of God perfect ;" and if this be denied to be
attainable in this life, then the scriptures are of no profit ;
for in the other life we shall not have use for them. , It
¦renders the prayers of the saints altogether useless, seeing
themselves do confess they ought to pray daily that God
would deliver them from evil, and free them from sin, by
the help of his Spirit and grace, while in this world. But
though we might suppose .this absurdity, to follow, that
their prayers are without faith, yet were not that so much,
if it did not infer the like upon the holy apostles, who
prayed earnestly for this end, and therefore no doubt
believed it attainable, Col. iv. 12, "Labouring fervently
for you in prayers, that, ye may stand perfect," &c,
1 'Fhess. iii. 13 ; and v. 23, &c. '
§ VII. But Fifthly, This doctrine is contrary to common Proof V.

238

PROPOSITION VIII.

Darknessand light,
sin and
righteous ness incon
sistent to
gether. Prov. xvii.
15.

If all daily
sin, where
is the
righteous man then
spoken of
in scrip
ture?

reason and sense. For the two opposite principles,
whereof the one rules in the children of darkness, the other
in the childreo-of light, are sin and righteousness; and as
they are respectively- leavened and -actuated by them, so
they are accounted either as reprobated or justified, seeing
it is abomination in the sight of God, either to justify
the wicked, or condemn the just. Now to say that men
cannot be so leavened by the one as to be delivered from
the other, is in plain words to affirm, that sin arid right
eousness are consistent ; and that a man may be truly
termed righteous, though he be, daily sinningin everything
he doth ; and then what difference betwixt good and evil ?
Is not this to fall into that great abomination of putting
light for darkness, and calling good evil, and evil good?
Since they say the very best actions of- God's children are
defiled and polluted, and that those that sin daily in
thought, word, and deed are good men and women, the
saints and holy servants of the holy pure God. Can there
be any thing more repugnant than this to common Teason?
Since the subject is still denominated from that accident
that doth most influence it ; as a wall is called white when
there is much whiteness, and black when there" is much
blackness, and such like; but when there is more unright
eousness in a man than righteousness, that man ought
rather to be denominated unrighteous than righteous.
Then surely if every man sin daily in thought, word, and
deed, and that in his sins there is no righteousness at all,
and that all his righteous actions are polluted and mixed
with sin, then there is in every man more unrighteousness
than righteousness; and so no man ought' to be called
righteous, no man can be said to be sanctified or washed'.
Where are then the children of God ? Where are the
purified ones? Where are they who were sometimes un
holy, but now holy ; that sometimes were darkness, but
now are light in the Lord ? There can none. such be found
then at this rate, except that unrighteousness be esteemed
so : and is not this to fall into that abomination above
mentioned of justifying the ungodly ? This certainly

OF PERFECTION. 239
lands in that horrid blasphemy of the Ranters, that affirm The bias-
there is no difference, betwixt good -and evil, and that all the Ranters
is one in the sight of God. I could show many more °.r Llber-
gross absurdities, evil consequences, and manifest contra
dictions implied in this sinful doctrine ; but this may suffice
at- present, by which also in a gopd measure the proof of
the. truth we affirm is advanced. Yet nevertheless, for the
further evidencing of it,. I shall proceed to the second
thing proposed by me, to wit, to prove this from several
testimonies of the holy scriptures.
§ VIII. And first, I prove it from the peremptory posi- Sect. II.
tive command of Christ and his apostles, . seeing this is a Proof I.
maxim engraven in every man's heart naturally, that no
man is bound to do that which is impossible : since then Be ye per-
Christ and his apostles have commanded us to keep all the Keep my
commandments, and to be perfect in this respect, it is pos- command-
sible for us so to do. Now that this is thus commanded
without any commentary or consequence, is evidently ap
parent from these plain testimonies, Matt. v. 48, and vii.
21 ; John xiii. 17 ; 1 Cor. vii. 19 ; 2 Cor. xiii.. 11 ; 1 John
ii. 3, 4, 5, 6, and iii. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. These
scriptures intimate a positive command for it ; they declare
the absolute necessity of it ; and therefore, as if they had
purposely, been written to answer the objections of our
opposers, they show the folly of those that will esteem
themselves children or friends of God, while they do other
wise. Secondly, It is possible, because we receive the gospel Proof II.
and law thereof for that effect; and it is expressly promised biUtvofit"
to us, as we are under grace, as appears by these scrip
tures, Rom. vi. 14: "Sin shall not have dominion over
you ; for ye are not under the law, but under grace :" and
Rom. viii. 3 : " For what the law could not do, in that it
was weak through the -flesh, God sending his own Son,"
&c, "that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled
in us," &c. For if this were not a condition both re- The differ-
quisite, necessary, and attainable under the gospel, there fan^eBnj e
were no difference betwixt the bringing in of a better hope, gospel.

240 proposition viii.
arid the law which made nothing perfect ; neither betwixt
those which are under the gospel, or who under the law
enjoyed and walked in the life of the gospel and mere
' legalists. Whereas the apostle, throughout the Whole sixth
to the Romans, argues not only the possibility but the
necessity of being free from sin, from their being under the
gospel, and under grace, and not under the law ; and there
fore states himself and those to whom he wrote in that
condition in these verses, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 ; and therefore
in the 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18 verses he argues both the
possibility and necessity of this freedom from sin almost
in the same manner we did a little before ; and in the 22d
he declares them in measure to have attained this condition
in these words, "But, now being made free from sin, and
become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness,
Perfection and the end everlasting life." And as this perfection or
dom from freedom from sin is attained and made possible where the
sm,attamed gospel and inward law ofthe Spirit is received and known,
possible by so the ignorance hereof has been and is an occasion of
e gospe ' opposing this truth. For man, not minding the hght or
law within his heart, which not only discovers sin but leads
out of it, and so being, a stranger to the new life and birth
that is born of God, which naturally does his. will, and
cannot of its own nature transgress the commandments of
God, doth, I say, in his natural state look at the command-
The letter ments as they are without him in the letter ; and finding
maketh1 not himself reproved and convicted, is by the letter killed, but
alive. not made alive. So man, finding himself wounded, and
not applying himself inwardly to that, which can heal,
labours in his own will after a conformity tp the law as it
is without him, which he can never obtain, but findsJhe
more he wrestles, the more he faileth short. So this is the
Jew still in effect, with his carnal commandment, with the
law without, in the first covenant" state, Which " makes not
the comers thereunto perfect, as pertaining to the con
science," Heb. ix. 9 : though they may have here a notion
of Christianity, and an external faith in Christ. This hath
made them strain and wrest the scriptures for an imputative

OF PERFECTION. 241
righteousness wholly without them, to cover their im
purities ; and tins hath made them imagine an acceptance
with God possible, though they, suppose it impossible ever
to obey Christ's commands. But alas ! 0 deceived souls !
that will not avail in the day wherein God will judge every
man according to his work, whether good or bad. It will
not save thee to say, it was necessary for thee to sin daily
in thought, word and deed ; for such as do so have cer
tainly obeyed unrighteousness ; and what is provided for
such but tribulation and anguish, indignation and wrath ;
even as glory, honour, and peace,- immortality and eternal
life, to such as have done good, and patiently continued in
well-doing. So then, if thou desirest to know this perfec
tion and freedom from sin possible for thee, turn thy mind
to the light and spiritual law of Christ in the heart, and
suffer the reproofs thereof; bear the judgment and indig
nation of God upon the unrighteous part in thee as therein it
is revealed, which Christ hath made tolerable for thee, and
so suffer judgment in thee to be brought forth into victory, How we
and thus come to partake of the feljowship of Christ's suf- Christ's
ferings, and be made conformable unto his death, that thou sufferings, find 3T6
mayest feel thyself crucified with him to the world by the made con-
power ofhis cross in thee ; so that that life that sometimes ummanue
was alive in thee to this world, and the love and lusts death.
thereof, may die, and a new life be raised, by which thou
mayest live henceforward to God, and not to or for thy
self; and with the apostle thou mayest say, Gal. ii. 20 :
It is no more I, "but Christ liveth. in me;" and then thou
wilt be a Christian indeed, and not in name only, as too
many are ; then thou wilt know what it is to have " put
off the old man with his deeds," who indeed sins daily in
thought, word, and deed ; and to have put on the new
man, that is renewed in holiness, after the image of him
that hath created him, Eph. iv. 24 : and thou wilt witness
thyself to be God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
unto good works, and so not to sin always. And to this
new man " Christ's yoke is easy, and his burden is light ;" Matt, xi.30.
though it be heavy to the old Adam ; yea, the command- * ° n v- 3-
21 2f

242 proposition vin.
ments of God are not unto this man grievous ; for it is his
meat and drink to be found fulfilling the Will of God. ,
Proof 3. Lastly, This perfection or freedom from sin- is possible,
attained*™ because many have attained it, according to the express
perfection, testimony of the scripture ; some before the law, and some
under the law, through witnessing and partaking of the
benefit and effect of the gospel, arid much more many un-
Enoch der the gospel. As first, it is written of Enoch, Gen. v. 22,
with God 24, that he walked with God, which no man while. sinning
and was can ¦ nor doth the scripture record -any failing of his. It
is said of Noah, Gen. vi. 9, arid of Job. i. 8, and of -Zacha
rias and Elizabeth, Luke i. 6, that they were perfect; but
under the gospel, besides that of Hhe Romans above men
tioned, see what the apostle saith of many saints in gene
ral, _Eph. ii. 4, 5, 6, "But God, who is rich in mercy, for
his great love wherewith .he hath loved us, even when we
were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ,
by grace ye are saved ; and hath raised us up together,
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus," &c. I judge while. they were sitting iii these
heavenly places, they could not be daily sinning in thought,
word and deed ; neither were all their works which they
did there as filthy rags, or as a menstruous garment. See
what is further said to the Hebrews, xii. 22, 23, " Spirits
of just men made perfect." And-to conclude, let that of
the Revelations, xiv. 1, 2, 3,4, 5, be considered, where-
though their being found without fault be spoken in the
present time, yet it is not without respect to their innocency
while upon earth ; and their being "redeemed from among
men, and no guile found in their mouth," is expressly
Sec. III. mentioned, in the time past. But I shall proceed now, im
the third place, to answer the objections, whieh indeed are
the arguments of our opposers. -
Obj. 1. § IX. I shall begin with their chief and great argument,
which is the words ofthe apostle, 1 John i. 8, "If we say
that we have no sin, -we deceive ourselves, and the truth
is not in us." This they think invincible.
Ans. l. But is it not strange to see men so blinded with partial'

OF PERFECTION. 243
ity?;How many scriptures tenfold more plain do they
reject, and yet stick so tenaciously to this, that can receive
so many answers ? As first, " If we say we have no sin," If we say
&c, will not import the apostle himself to be included. ^ ^ob-
Sometimes the scripture useth this manner of expression Jected-
when the person speaking cannot be included ; which
manner of speech the grammarians call metaschematismus.
Thus James iii. 9, 10, speaking of the tongue, saith,
" Therewith bless we God, and therewith curse we men ;"
adding, " These things ought not so tp be." Who from
this will conclude that the apostle was one of those cursers?
But Secondly, This objection hitteth not the matter ; he Aus. 2.
saith not, We sin daily in thought, word, and deed ;
far less that the very good works which God works in us
by his Spirit are sin : yea the very next verse clearly
shows, that upon confession and repentance We are not
only forgiven, but also cleansed ; " He is faithful to forgive
us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."* *Uohni.9.
Here is both a forgiveness and removing of the guilt, and
a cleansing or removing of the filth ; for to make forgive
ness and cleansing to belong both to the removing of the
guilt, as there is no reason for it froni the text, so it were
a most violent forcing of the words, and would imply a
needless tautology. The apostle having shown how that
not the guilt only, but even the filth also of sin is removed,
subsumes his words in the time past in the 10th verse, "If
we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar." Thirdly, Ans. 3.
As Augustine well observed, in his exposition upon the
epistle to the Galatians, It is one thing not tb sin, and an- it is one
other thing not to have sin. The apostle's words are not ^'"^"and
If we say- we sin not, or commit not sin daily, but "if we another
, .'_,.. , • thing not to
say we have no sin:' and betwixt these two there is a have sin.
manifest difference ; for in respect all have sinned, as we
freely acknowledge, all may be said in a sense to have sin.
Again, sin may be taken for the seed of sin, which may be
in those that are redeemed from actual sinning ; but as to
the temptations and provocations proceeding-from it being
resisted by tlie servants of God, and not yielded to, they

244 PROPOSITION VIII.
are the devil's sin that tempteth, not the man's that is pre-
Aus. 4. served. Fourthly, This being considered, as also how
positive and plain once and again the same apostle is m
that very epistle, as. in divers places above cited, is it equal
or rational to strain this one place, presently after so quali
fied and subsumed in the time past, to contradict not only
other positive expressions of his, but "the whole tendency
of his epistle, and of the rest of the holy commands and
precepts of the scripture ?
Obj. 2. Secondly, Their second objection is from two places of
scripture, much of one signification : the one is, 1 Kings
viii. 46, " For there" is no man that sinneth not." The
other is, Eccles. vii. 20, "For there is. not a just man
upon earth, that doth good, and sinneth not."
Awsw. I answer, First, These affirm nothing of a daily and con
tinual sinning, so as never to be redeemed from it ; but
only that all have sinned, or that there is none that doth
not sin, though not always, so as never to cease to sin ;
and in this lies the question. Yea, in that place of the
Kings he speaks within two verses of the returning of such
" with all their souls and hearts ;" which implies a possi-
Diversity bility of leaving off sin. Secondly, There is a respect to
and'afspen- be had to the seasons and dispensations ; for if it should be
sations re- granted that in Solomon's time there was none that sinned
not, it will not follow that there are none such now, or
that it is a thing not now attainable by the grace of God
under the gospel : For a non esse ad non posse non valet
sequela. And lastly, This whole objection- hangs upon a
false interpretation ; for the Hebrew word xtani may be
read in the potential^ mood, thus, There is ho man who
may not sip, as well as in -the indicative : so both the old
Latin, Junius and Tremellius, and Vatablus have it; and
the same word is so used, Psalm cxix. 11, "I have hid
thy word in my heart," : -f, xtanx *h urn1? that is to say, That
I may not sin against thee, in the potential mood, and not
in the indicative; which being more answerable to the
universal scope of the scriptures, the testimony ofthe truth,
and the sense almost of all interpreters, doubtless ought to

OF PERFECTION. 245
He sq understood, and the" other interpretation rejected as
spurious. Thirdly, They object some expressions ofthe apostle Obj. 3.
Paul, Rom. vii. 19, " For the good that I would, I do
not ; but the evil which I would not, that I do." And
verse 24, " 0 wretched man that I am! who shall deliver
me from the body of this death?"
I answer, This place infers nothing, unless it were ap- Answ.
parent that the apostle here were speaking of his own con
dition, and not rather in the person of others, or what he
himself had sometimes borne ; which is frequent in scrip
ture, as in the case of cursing, in James before mentioned.
But there is nothing in the text that doth clearly signify
the apostle to be speaking of himself, or of a condition he
was then under, or was always to be under ; yea, on the
contrary, in the former .chapter, as afore is at large shown,
he declares, they were dead to sin ; demanding how such
should yet live any longer therein? Secondly, It appears Paul per-
that the apostle personated one not yet come to a spiritual wrTtched16
condition, in that he saith, verse 14, "But. I am Carnal,, man to
sold under sin." Now is it to be imagined that the apostle ihe Re-
Paul, as to his own proper condition, when he wrote that deemer'
epistle, was a carnal man, who in chap. i. testifies of him
self, That he was separated to be an apostle, capable tP
impart to the Romans spiritual gifts; and chap. viii. 2,
That " the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus" had
" made him free from the law of sin and death ?" So then
he was not carnal. And seeing there are spiritual men in
this life, as our adversaries will not deny, and is intimated
through the whole 8th chapter to the Romans, it will not
be denied but the apostle was one of them : so then as his
calling himself carnal in chap. vii. cannot be understood
of his own proper state, neither can the rest of what he
speaks there of that kind be so understood : yea, after,
verse 24, where he makes that exclamation, he adds ih the
next verse, " I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord ;"
signifying that by him he witnessed deliverarice ; and so
goeth on, showing how he had obtained it in the next
21 *

246

PROPOSITION VIII.

Whom sin
has con
quered, he
is no con
queror. Obj. 4.

Answ.

Can they
that sin be
never freed
from sin ?

Object.

Answ.

chapter,- viz. viii. ver. 35, "Who shall separate us from
the love ofChrist?" And ver. 37, " But in all these things
we are more than ^conquerors:" and in the last verse,
"Nothing shall be able to separate us," &c. But wher
ever there is a continuing in sin, there is a separation in
some degree, seeing every sin is contrary to God, Rnd
dvofwa, i. e. " a transgression of the law," 1 John iii. 4,, and
whoever committeth the least sin,, is overcome of it, and
so in that respect is hot a conqueror, but conquered. This
condition then, which the apostle plainly testified he with
some others had obtained, could not consist with continual
remaining and,abiding in sin.
Fourthly, They object the faults and sins of several
eminent saints, as Noah, David, &c.
I answer,. That doth not at all prove the case : for the
question is not whether good men may not fall into sin,
which is not denied ; but whether it be not possible for
them not to sin ? It will not follow because these men sin
ned, that therefore they were never free of sin, but always
sinned : for at this rate of arguing, it might be urged, ac
cording to this rule, Cont.rariorum par ratio, i. e., The
reason of contraries is alike, that if, because a good man
hath sinned once or twice, he can never be free from sin,
but must always be daily and continually a sinner all his
life long ; then by the rule of contraries, if a wicked man
have done good once or twice, he can never be free from
righteousness*; but must always be a righteous man all his
life-time :. which as it is most absurd in itself, so it is con
trary to the plain testimony of the scripture, Ezek. xxxiii.
12 to 18.
Lastly, They object, That if perfection or freedom from
sin be attainable, this will render mortification of sin use
less, and make the blood of Christ of no service to us,
neither need we any more pray for forgiveness of sins.
I answer, I had almost omitted this objection^ because
of the "manifest absurdity of it : for can mortification of sin
be useless, where the end of it is obtained ? seeing there
is no attaining of this perfection but by mortification. Doth

OF PERFECTION. 247
the hope and belief of overcoming render the fight unne- Who fights
cessary ? Let rational men judge which hath most sense in hopes°tom
it, to say as our adversaries do, It is necessary that we overcome
fight and w7restle, but we must never think of overcoming,
we must resolve still to be overcome ; or to say, Let us
fight, because we may overcome ? Whether do such as
believe they may be cleansed by it, or those that believe
they can never be cleansed by it, render the blood of
Christ most effectual? If two men were both grievously
diseased, and applied themselves to a physician for remedy,
which of those do most commend the physician and his
cure, he that believeth he may be cured by him, and as he
feels himself cured, confesseth that he is so, and so can say
this is a skilful physician, this is a good medicine, behold
I am' made whole by it, or he that never is cured, nor ever
believes that he can so long as, he lives? As for praying
for forgiveness, we deny it not ; for that all have sinned, Praying for
and therefore all need to pray that their sins past may be tfffo?neBa
blotted out, and that they may be daily preserved from
sinning. And if hoping or believing to be made free from
sin hinders praying for forgiveness of sin, it would follow
by the same inference that men ought hot to forsake mur
der, adultery, or any of these gross evils, seeing the more
men are sinful, the more plentiful occasion there would be
of asking, forgiveness of sin, and the more work for
mortification. But the apostle hath sufficiently refuted
such sin-pleasing cavils in these words, Rom, vi. 1, 2,
" Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound ? God
forbid.". But lastly, It may be easily answered, by a retortion to
those that press this from the words of the Lord's Prayer,
" forgive us our debts," that this militates no less against
perfect justification than against perfect sanctification : for
if all the Saints, the least as well as the greatest, be per
fectly justified in that very hour wherein they are con
verted, as our adversaries will have it, then they have
remission of sins long before they die. May it not then
be said to them, What need have ye to pray for remission

248

PROPOSITION VIII.

Testimo
nies of the
fathers concerningperfectionor freedom
from sin.

Jerome.

Augustine.

Gelasius.

That by
the gift of
God all
things are
possible.

Conclusion.

of sin, who are already justified, whose sins are long" ago
forgiven, both past and to come ?
§ X. But this may suffice: concerning this possibility
Jerome speaks clearly enough, lib. iii., adver. Pelagium,
" This we-also say, that a man may not sin, if he will, for
a time and place, according to his bodily weakness, so
long as his mind is intept, so long as the cords of the
Cithara relax not by any vice ;" and again in Jhe same
book, "Which is that that I said, that it is put in our
power, to' wit, being helped by the grace of God, either to
sin or not to sin." For this was the error of Pelagius,
which we indeed reject and abhor, and which the Fathers
deservedly withstood, "That man by his natural strength,
without the help' of God's grace, could attain to that state
so as not to sin." And Augustine himself, a great ppposer
of the Pelagian heresy, did not deny this possibility as
attainable by the help of God's grace, as in his book de
Spiritu §• literd, cap. iu, and his book de Naturd fy Gratia
against Pelagius, cap. xiii., 1., Ix., and lxiii., de Gestis
Concilii Palcestini, cap. vii., and ii., and de Peccato Origi-
nali, lib. ii., cap. ii. Gelasius also, in his disputation
against Pelagius, saith, " But if any affirm that this may be
given to some saints in this life, not by the power of man's
strength, but by the grace of God, he doth well to think
so confidently, and hope it faithfully ; for by this" gift of
God all things are possible." That thiswas the common
opinion of the Fathers, appears from the words of the
Aszansic Council, canon the last, " We believe also this
according to the Catholic faith, that all who are baptized,
through grace by baptism received, and ^Christ helping
them, and co-working, may and ought to do whatsoever
belongs to salvation, if they will faithfully labour."
§ XI. Blessed then are they that believe in him, who is
both able and willing to deliver as many as come tb him
through true repentance from all sin, and do not resolve,
as these men do, to be the -devil's servants all their life
time, but daily go on forsaking unrighteousness, and for
getting those things that are behind, " press forward toward

OF PERSEVERANCE, &C. 249
the mark, for the prize ofthe high calling of God in Christ Phil. iii. 14.
Jesus ;" such shall not find their faith and confidence to watd'to'the
be in vain, but in due time shall be made conquerors mark, for
. . ¦ the prize
through him in whom they have believed ; and so over- and over
coming, shall be established as pillars in the house of comins-
God, so as they shall go no more out, Rev. iii. 12.

PROPOSITION IX.
Concerning Perseverance, and the Possibility of Falling
i from Grace.
Although this gift and inward grace of God be sufficient
to work out salvation, yet in those in whom it is resisted
it both may and doth become their condemnation.
Moreover they in whose hearts it hath wrought in part
to purify and sanctify them in order to their further per
fection, may, by disobedience, fall from it, turn it to
wantonness, Jude 4, make shipwreck of faith, 1 Tim. i.
19, and after having tasted the heavenly gift, and been
made partakers of the Holy Ghost, again fall away, Heb.
vi. 4, 5, 6, yet such an increase and stability in the truth
may in this life be attained, from which there can be no
total apostasy.
§ I. The first sentence of this, proposition hath already
been treated of in the fifth and sixth propositions, where
it hath been shown that that light which is given for life
and salvation, becomes the condemnation of those that
refuse it,' and therefore is already proved in those places,
where I did demonstrate the possibility of man's resisting
the grace and Spirit of God ; and indeed it is so apparent
in the scriptures, that it. cannot be denied by such as will
but seriously consider these testimonies, Prov. i. 24, 25,
26; John iii. 18, 19; 2 Thess. ii. 11, 12; Acts vii. 51,
and xiii. 46 ; Rom. i. 18. As for the other part of it, that
they in whom this grace may have wrought in a good

250

PROPOSITION IX.

I.
A falling
from grace
by disobe
dienceevinced. Asa. 1.

Ana. 2.

Aks. 3.

II.
The doc
trine of
electionand repro
bationis incon
sistent with
preachingand daily
exhorta tion.

measure in order to ^purify and sanctify them,- tending to
their further "perfection, may afterwards, through disobe
dience, fall away, &c, the testimonies of the scripture in
cluded in the proposition itself are sufficient to prove it to
men of unbiassed judgment ; but because as to this ,part
our cause is common with many other Protestants, I shall
be the more brief in it : for it is not my design to do that
which is done already, neither do I covet to appear know
ing by writing much ; but simply purpose to present to the
world a faithful account of our principles, and briefly to let
them understand what we have to say for ourselves.
§ II. From these scriptures then included in the propo
sition, not to mention many more which might be urged, I
argue thus :
If men may turn the grace of God intp wantonness, then
they must once have had it :
But the first is, true, therefore also the second.
If men may make shipwreck of faith, they must once
have had it; neither could they ever have had true faith
without the grace of God :
But the first is true, therefore also the last.
If men may have tasted of the. heavenly gift, and been
made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and afterwards fall
away, they must needs have known in measure the opera
tion of God's saving grace and Spirit, without which no
man could taste the- heavenly gift, nor yet partake of the
Holy Spirit :
But the first is true, therefore also the last.
Secondly, Seeing the contrary doctrine, is built upon
this false hypothesis, That grace is not given for salvation
to any, but to a certain elect number, which cannot lose it,
and that all the rest Pf mankind, by an absolute decree,
are debarred from grace and salvation ; that being destroyed,
this falls to the ground. Now as that doctrine of theirs is
wholly inconsistent with the daily practice . of those that
preach it, in that they exhort people to believe and be saved
while in the mean time, if they belong to the decree of
reprobation, it is simply impossible for them so to do ; and

OF perseverance, &c. 251
if to the decree of election, it is needless, seeing it is as
impossible to them to miss of it, as hath been before de
monstrated. So also in this matter of perseverance, their
practice and principle are no less inconsistent and contra
dictory. For while they daily exhort people to be faithful
to the end, showing them if they continue not they shall
be cut off, and fall short of the reward ; which is very true,
but no less inconsistent with that doctrine that affirms there
is no hazard, because no possibility of departing from the
least measure of true grace ; which if true, it is to no
purpose to beseech them to stand, to whom God hath made
it impossible to fall. I shall not longer insist upon the
probation of this, seeing what is said may suffice to answer
my design ; and that the thing is also abundantly proved
by many of the same judgment. That this was the doc
trine of the primitive Protestants thence appears, that the
Augustine Confession condemns it as an error of the Ana
baptists to say, That they who once are justified, cannot
lose the Holy Spirit. Many such like sayings are to be
found in the common places of Philip Melancthon. Vos
sius, in his Pelagian History, lib. vi. testifies, that this was Theopin-
the common opinion of the Fathers. Iri the confirmation fathers
of the twelfth thesis, page 587, he hath these words : fa,1"m3rning
"That this which^we have said was the common sentiment from grace.
of antiquity, those at present can only deny, who other-
ways perhaps are men not unlearned, but nevertheless, in
antiquity altogether strangers," &c. These things thus
observed, I come to the objections of our opppsers.
§ III. First, They allege, That those places mentioned Obj. l.
of making shipwreck of faith, are only to be understood of
seeming faith, and not of a real true faith.
This objection is very weak, and apparently contrary to Answ.
the text, 1 Tim. i. 19, where the apostle addeth to faith a
good conscience, by way of complaint; whereas if their A good and
faith had been only seeming and hypocritical, the men had science.
been better without it than with it; neither had they been
worthy of blame for losing that which in itself was evil.
But the apostle expressly adds "and of a good conscience,"

252 PROPOSITION IX.
which shows it was real ; neither can it be supposed that
men could truly attain a good conscience without the ope
ration pf God's saving grace ; far less that a good con
science doth consist with a seeming false and hypocritical
faith. Again, these places of the apostle being spoken
by way of regret, clearly import that these attainments they
had fallen from were good and real, not false and- deceit
ful, else he would not have regretted their falling from
them; and so he saith positively, " They tasted of the
heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,"
&c, not that they seemed to be so, which showeth this
objection is very frivolous.
Obj. 2. Secondly, They allege, Phil. i. 6, " Being confident of
this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in
you will perform ft until the day of Jesus Christ," &c, and
1 Pet. i. 5 : " Who are kept by the power of God through
faith unto salvation."
Answ. These scriptures, as they do not affirm any thing posi
tively contrary to us, so they cannot be understood other
wise than as the condition is performed upon our partj
Salvation is seeing salvation is no otherways proposed there but upon
upcmcer- certain necessary conditions to be performed by us, as hath
tainxondi- been above proved, and as our adversaries also acknow-
to be per- ledge, as Rom. viii. 13 : " For if ye live after the flesh, ye
formed. ^jj ^ . ^uj. jf ye through the spirit do mortify the deeds
of the body, ye shall live." And Heb. iii. 14: " We are
made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our
confidence steadfast unto the end." For if these places of
the scripture upon which they build their objection were
to be admitted without these conditions, it would mani
festly overturn the whole tenor of their exhortations through
out all their writings. Some other objections there are of
the same nature, which are solved by the same answers,
which also, because largely treated of by others, I omit, to
come to that testimony of the truth which is more espe
cially ours in this matter, and is contained in the latter part
of the proposition in these words : Yet such an increase

OF PERSEVERANCE, &C. 253
and stability in the truth may in this life be attained, from
which there cannot be a total apostasy.
§ IV. As in the explanation of the fifth and sixth prQ-
positions I observed, that some that had denied the errors
of others concerning reprobation, and affirmed the uni
versality of Christ's death, did notwithstanding fall short
in sufficiently holding forth the truth, and so gave the con
trary party occasion by their defects to be strengthened in
their errors, so it may be said in this case. As upon the The two
one hand they err who affirm that the least degree of true Bome run
and saving; grace cannot be fallen from, so do they err ™to_by as-
° D . • ... sertinga
upon the other hand that deny any such stability to be final falling
attained from which there cannot be a total and final apos- ing frol^
tasy. And betwixt these "two extremes lieth the truth ap- grace im-
J . ¦ r possible.
parent in the scriptures, which God hath revealed unto us
by the testimony of his Spirit, and which also we are made
sensible of by our own experience. And even as in the
former controversy was observed, so also in this, the de
fence of truth will readily appear to such - as - seriously
weigh the matter ; for the arguments upon both hands,
rightly applied, will as to this hold good ; and the objec
tions, which are. strong as they are respectively urged
against the two opposite false opinions, are here easily
solved, by the establishing of this truth. For all the argu
ments which these allege that affirm there can be no falling'
away, may well be received upon the one part, as of those
who have attained to this stability and establishment, and
their objections solved by this confession ; so upon the
other hand, the arguments alleged from scripture testi
monies by those that affirm the possibility of falling away,
may well be received of such as are_ not come to this
establishment, though having attained a measure of true
grace. Thus then the contrary batterings of our adver
saries, who miss the truth, do concur the more strongly to
establish it, while they are destroying each other. But
lest this may not seem to suffice to satisfy such as judge it
always possible for the best of men before they die to fall
22

254 PROPOSITION IX.
away, I- shall add, for the proof of it, some brief con
siderations from some few testimonies of the scripture.
I. _ § V. And first, I freely acknowledge that it is good for
nes^and " all to be humble, and in this respect not over confident, so
diligence is as to lean to this, to foster themselves in iniquity, or lie
ol in dis pen- ' . .-,,.,.
sable ne- down in security, as if they had attained this condition,
cessi y to seemg watchfulness and diligence is of indispensable neces
sity to all mortal men, so long as they breathe in this
world; for God will have this to be the constant practice
of a Christian, that thereby he may be the more fit to serve
him, and better armed against all the temptations of the
enemy. For since the wages of sin is death, there is no
man, while he sinneth, and is subject thereunto, but may
lawfully suppose himself capable of perishing. Hence the
apostle Paul himself saith, 1 Cor. ix. 27 : " But I keep
under my body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by
any means, when I have preached to others, I myself
should be a cast-away." Here the apostle supposes it
possible for him to be a cast-away, ahd yet it may be
judged he was far more advanced in the inward work of
regeneration, when he wrote that epistle, than many who
now-a-days too presumptuously suppose they- cannot fall
away, because they feel themselves to have attained some
small degree of true grace. But the apostle makes use of
this supposition or possibility of his being a cast-away, as
I before observed, as an inducement to him to be watch
ful ; " I keep under my body, lest," &c. Nevertheless
the same apostle, at another time, in the sense and feeling
of God's holy power, and in the dominion thereof, finding
himself a conqueror there-through over sin and his soul's
enemies, N maketh no difficulty to affirm, Rom. viii. 38 :
"Fori am persuaded that neither death nOr life," &c,
which clearly showeth that he had attained a condition
from which he knew he could not fall away.
II. But secondly, It appears such a condition is attainable,
because we are exhorted to it ; and, as hath been proved
before, the scripture never proposeth to us things impos
sible. Such an exhortation we have from the apostle,

OF PERSEVERANCE, &C. 255
2 Pet. i. 10 : " Wherefore the rather, brethren, give dili- A condition
gence to make your calling and election sure, for if ye do an u^life,
these things ye shall never fall." And though there be a f[om ™hicn
° J ° there is no
condition here proposed, yet since we have already proved falling
that it is possible to fulfil this condition, then also the pro- away"
mise annexed thereunto may be attained. And since,
where assurance is wanting, there is still a place left for
doubtings and despairs, if we should affirm it never attain
able, then should there never be a place known by the ;
saints in this world, wherein they might be free of doubt
ing and despair ; which as it is most absurd in itself, so it
is contrary to the manifest experience of thousands.
Thirdly, God hath given to many of his saints and chil- III.
dren, and is ready to give unto all a full and certain wmnnce
assurance that fhev are his, and that no power shall be able ?.nd estab-
r- i • t. • lishment
to pluck them out of his hand. But this assurance would given of
be no assurance, if those who are so assured were notm°ny°fms
established and confirmed beyond all doubt and hesita- saints and
.- -. . ....... children.
tion : it so, then surely there is no possibility for such to
miss of that which God hath assured them of. And that
there is such assurance attainable in this life, the scripture
abundantly declareth, both in general and as to particular
persons. As first, Rev. iii. 12 : " Him that overcometh
will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall
go no more out," &c, which containeth a general promise
unto all. Hence the apostle speaks of some that are sealed,
2 Cor. i. 22 : -" Who hath also sealed us, and given the
earnest of the Spirit in our hearts :" wherefore the Spirit
so sealing is called the earnest or " pledge of our in
heritance," Eph. i. 13, " In whom ye were sealed with
that Holy Spirit pf promise." And therefore the apostle
Paul, not only in that of the Romans above noted, de
clareth himself to have attained that condition, but 2 Tim.
iv. 7, he affirmeth in these words, *'I have fought a good
fight," &c, which also many gPod men have and do wit
ness. And therefore, as there can be nothing more evident
than that which the manifest experience of this time show
eth,. and therein is found agreeable to the experience of

256 proposition x.
former times, so we see there have been both of old and
of late that have turned the grace of God into wantonness,
and have fallen from their faith and integrity ; thence we
may safely conclude suchr a falling away possible. We
also see that some of old and of late have attained a cer
tain assurance, some time before they departed, that they
should inherit eternal life, and have accordingly died in
that good hope, of and concerning whom "the Spirit of God
testified that they are saved. Wherefore we also see such a
state is attainable in this life, from which there is^not a fall
ing away: for seeing the Spirit of God did so testify, it
was not possible that they should perish, concerning whom
he who cannot lie thus bare witness.

PROPOSITION X.
Concerning the Ministry.
As by the light or gift of God all true knowledge in things
spiritual is received and revealed, so by the same, as it
is manifested and received in the heart, by the strength
and power thereof, every true minister of the gospel is
ordained, prepared,, and supplied in the work bf the
ministry; and by the leaaing, moving, and drawing
hereof, ought every evangelist and Christian pastor to he
led and ordered in his labour and work of the gospel,
both as to the place where, as to the persons to whom,
and as to the time wherein he is to minister. Moreover,
they who have this authority may and ought to preach
the gospel, though without human commission orditera-
ture ; as on the other hand, they who want the authority
of this divine gift, however learned, or authorized by the
commission of men and churches, are to be esteemed but
The gospel as deceivers, and not true ministers of the gospel. Also
preached tnev wno nave received this holy and unspotted gift, as
freely. they have freely received it, so are they1 freely to give it,
without hire or bargaining, far less to use it as a trade to

OF THE MINISTRY. 257
get money by : yet if God hath called any one from their
employment or trades, by which they acquire their live
lihood, it may be lawful for such, according to the liberty
which they feel given them in the Lord, to receive such
temporals (to wit, what maybe needful for them for meat
and clothing) as are given^them freely and cordially by
those, to whom they have communicated spirituals.
§ I. Hitherto I have treated of those things which re
late to the Christian faith and Christians, as they stand each
in his private and particular condition, and how and by
what means every man may be a Christian indeed, and so
abide. Now I come in order to speak of those things that
relate to Christians, as they are stated in a joint fellowship
and communion, and come under a visible and outward
society, which society is called the church of God, and in The church
scripture compared to a body, and therefore named the °he °;ri™
hody of Christ. As then in the natural body there be ™* tody of
v ¦ i n • ' i n Christ.
divers members, all concurring to the common end of pre
serving and confirming the whole body, so in this spiritual
and mystical body there are also divers members, accord
ing to the different measures of grace and of the Spirit
diversely administered unto each member ; and from this
diversity ariseth that distinction of persons in the visible
-society of Christians, as of apostles, pastors, evangelists,
ministers,., &c. That which in this proposition is proposed,
is, What makes or constitutes any a minister of the church,
what his qualifications ought to be, and how he ought tq
behave himself. But because it may seem somewhat pre
posterous to speak ofthe distinct offices of the church, until
something be said of the church in general, though nothing
positively be said of it in the proposition ; yet, as here im
plied, I shall briefly premise something thereof, and then
proceed to the particular members of it.
§ II. It is not in the least my design, to meddle with
those tedious and many controversies, wherewith the Papists
and Protestants do tear one another concerning this thing ;
but only according to the truth manifested to me, and re-.
22* 2h

258

PROPOSITION X.

The ety
mology of
the word
the church,
and signifi
cation of it.

No salva
tion with
out the
church.

What the
church is.

vealed in me by the testimony of the Spirit, according to
that proportion of wisdom given me, briefly to hold forth
as a necessary introduction both to this matter of the
ministryand of worship which followeth, those things which
I, together with my brethren, do believe concerning the
church. The church then, according to the grammatical signifi
cation of the word, as it is used in the holy scripture,
signifies an assembly or gathering of many into one place ;
for the substantive ExxXrjrfia comes from the word Imtukeu, I
call out of, and originally from xaXiu, I call ; and indeed,
as this is the grammatical sense of the word, so also it is
the real and proper signification of the thing, the church
being no other thing but the society, gathering, or company
of such as God hath called out of the world, and worldly
spirit, to walk in his Light and Life. The church then so
defined is to be considered,-as it comprehends all that are
thus called . and gathered truly by God, both such as are
yet in this inferior world, and such as haying already laid
down the earthly tabernacle, are passed into their heavenly
mansions, which together do make up the one catholic
church, concerning which there is so much controversy.
Out of which church we freely acknowledge there can be
no salvation ; because under this church and its denomina
tion are comprehended all, and as many, of whatsoever
nation, kindred, tongue, or people they be, though out
wardly strangers, and remote from those who profess Christ
and Christianity in words, and have the benefit of the
scriptures, as become obedient to the holy light and testi
mony of God in their hearts, so as to become sanctified by
it, and cleansed from the evils of their ways. For this is
the universal or catholic spirit, by which many are called
from all- the four corners of the earth, and shall sit down
with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob : by this the secret life
and virtue of Jesus is conveyed into many that are afar off,
even as by the blood that runs into the veins and arteries
of the natural body, the life is conveyed from the head and
heart unto the extreme parts. There may be members

OF THE MINISTRY. 259
therefore of this catholic church both among heathen, Turks and
Turks, Jews, and all the several sorts of Christians, men blcomeay
and women of integrity and simplicity of heart, who though members
blinded in some things in their understanding, and perhaps church.
burdened with the" superstitions and formality of the several
sects in which they are engrossed, yet being upright in their
hearts before the Lord, chiefly aiming and labouring to be
delivered from iniquity, and loving to follow righteousness,
are by the secret touches of this holy light in their souls
enlivened and quickened, thereby secretly united to God,
and there-through become true members of this catholic
church. Now the church in this respect hath been in being
in all generations; for God never wanted some such wit
nesses for him, though many times slighted, and not much
observed by this world ; and therefore this church, though
still in being, hath been oftentimes as ft were invisible, in
that it hath not come under the observation of the men of
this world, being, as saith the scripture, Jer. iii, 14, " one
of a city, and two of a family." And yet though the church
thus considered may be as it were hid from wicked men,
as hot then gathered into a visible fellowship, yea and not
observed -even by some that are members of it, yet may
there notwithstanding many belong to it ; as when Elias
complained -he was left alone, 1 Kings xix.- 18, God an
swered unto him, "I have reserved to myself seven thou
sand men, who have not bowed their knees to the image
of Baal ;." whence the apostle argues, Rom. xi., the being
pf a remnant in his day.
& III. Secondly, The church is to be considered as it „,, I}- .
¦ -n ¦ i r ," i , /-i n Thedefim-
signifies a certain number of persons gathered by Lrod's tion ofthe
Spirit, and by the testimony of some of his servants raised GodTasV-
up for that end, unto the belief of the true principles and thered into
i i i i i • i a ylslD'e
doctrines of the Christian faith, who through their hearts fellowship.
being united by the same love, and their understandings
informed in the same truths, gather, meet,, and assemble
together to wait upon God, to worship him, and to bear a
joint testimony for the truth against error, suffering for the
same, and so becoming through this fellowship as one

260

PROPOSITION X.

How to be
come a
member of that
church.

The out
ward pro
fession of
the mem
bers of
the true
church.

family and, household in certain respects, do each of -them
watch over, teach, instruct, and care for orie another", ac
cording to their several . measures and attainments : such
were the churches of the primitive times gathered by the
apostles; whereof we have divers mentioned in the holy
scriptures. And as to the visibility of the church in this
respect-, there, hath been a great interruption since the
apostles' days, by reason of the apostasy, as will hereafter
appear.. § IV. To be a -member then of the Catholic church,
there is need of the inward calling of God by his light in
the heart,; and a being leavened into, the nature and spirit
of it, so as to forsake unrighteousness, and be turned to
righteousness, and in the inwardness of the mind, to be
cut out of the wild olive tree of our own first fallen
nature, and ingrafted into Christ by his Word and Spirit
in the heart. And this may be done in those who are
strangers to the history, God not having pleased to make
them partakers thereof, as in the fifth and sixth propositions
hath already been proved.
To be a member of a particular church of Christ, as this
inward work is indispensably necessary, so is also the out
ward profession of,' and belief in Jesus Christ, and those
holy truths delivered by his Spirit in the seriptures ; seeing
the testimony of the Spirit recorded in the scriptures, doth
answer the testimony of the same Spirit in the heart, even
as face answereth face in a glass. Hence it follows, that
the inward work of holiness, and -forsaking iniquity, is
necessary in every respect to the being a member in the
church of Christ ; and that the outward profession is neces
sary to be a member of a particular gathered church, but
not to the being a member of the Catholic church ; yet it
is absolutely necessary, where God affords the opportunity
of knowing it : and the outward testimony is to be believed;
where it is presented and revealed ; the sum whereof hath
upon other occasions been already proved.
§ V. But contrary hereunto, the devil, that worketh and
hath wrought in the mystery of iniquity, hath taught his

OF THE MINISTRY. 261
followers to affirm, That no man, however holy, is a mem- The mem
ber of the church of Christ without the outward profession ; Antichris-
and unless he be initiated thereinto by some outward cere- !ia" cnureh
. J in the apos-
monies. And again, That men who have this outward tasy, their
profession, though inwardly unholy, may be members of fe^£on.Pr0*
the true church of Christ, yea, and ought to be so esteemed.
This is plainly to put light for darkness, and darkness for
light ; as if God had a greater regard to words than
actions,- and were more pleased with vain professions than
with real holiness ; but these things. I have sufficiently
refuted heretofore. Only from hence let it be observed,
that upon this false and rotten foundation Antichrist hath
built his Babylonish structure, and the Antichristian church
in the apostasy hath hereby reared herself up to that height
and grandeur she hath attained ; so as to exalt herself
above all that is called God, and sit in the temple of God
as God.
For the particular churches of Christ, gathered in the The decay-
apostles' days, soon after beginning to decay as to the church.
inward life, came to be overgrown with several errors, and
the hearts of the professors of Christianity to be leavened
with the old spirit and conversation of the world. Yet it
pleased God for some centuries to preserve that life in
many, whom he emboldened with zeal to stand and suffer When men
for his name through the ten persecutions : but these being christians
over, the meekness, gentleness, love, long-suffering, good- byribirth'b
ness, and temperance of Christianity began to be lost, conversion,
For after that the princes of the earth came to take upon them ty camelo
that profession, and^that it ceased to be a reproach to be a be lost-
Christian, but rather became a means to preferment; men
became such by birth and education, and not by conver
sion and renovation of spirit: then there was none so vile,
none so wicked, none so profane, who became not a mem
ber of the church. And the teachers and pastors thereof
becoming the companions of princes, and so being en
riched by their benevolence, and getting vast treasures and
estates, became puffed up, and as it were drunken with the
vain "pomp and glory of this world: and so marshalled

262

PROPOSITION X.

In the
church of
Rome are
no less su
perstitionsand cere
monies in
troduced,than were
eitheramong Jews or
heathen.

Whether,
and what
differencethere is be
twixt the
Protestants
and Papists
in supersti
tions ?

themselves in manifold orders and degrees; not without
innumerable contests and altercations who should have the
precedency.-* So the virtue, life, substance, and kernel of
the Christian religion came to be lost, and nothing remained
but a shadow aud- image ; which dead image, or carcase
of Christianity, to make it take the better with the "super
stitious multitude of heathen that were engrossed in if,
not by any inward conversion of their hearts, or by becom
ing less wicked, or superstitious, but by a little change in
the object of their superstition, not having the inward
ornariient and life of the Spirit, became decked with many
outward and visible orders, and beautified with the gold;
silver, precious stones, and the other splendid ornaments
of this perishing world ; so that this was no more to be
accounted the Christian religion, and Christian church,
notwithstanding the outward profession, than the dead
body of a man is to be accounted a living man ; which,
however cunningly embalmed, and adorned with ever so
much g°ld or silver, or most precious stones, or sweet
ointments, is but a dead body still, without sense, life, or
motion. For that apostate church of Rome has introduced
no fewer ceremonies and superstitions into the Christian
profession, than were either among Jews or heathen ;
and that there is and hath been as much, yea, and more
pride, covetousness, uncleanness, luxury, fornication,
profaneriess and atheism among her teachers and chief
bishops, than ever was among any sort of people, none
need doubt, that have read their own authors, to wit, Platina
and others.
Now, though Protestants have reformed from her in some
of the most gross points and absurd doctrines relating to
the church and ministry, yet, which is to be regretted, they
have only lopped the branches, but retain and plead ear
nestly for the same root, from which these abuses have
sprung. So that even among them, though all that mass
of superstition, ceremonies, and orders be not again estab-

* "As was betwixt the bishop of Rome, and the bishop of Constantinople.

OF THE MINISTRY. 263
lished, yet the same pride, covetousness and sensuality
is found to have overspread and leavened their churches
and ministry, and the life, power and virtue of true religion
is lost among them ; and the very same death, barrenness,
dryness and emptiness, is found in their ministry* So
that in effect they differ from Papists, but in form and some
ceremonies ; being with them apostatised from the life and
power the true primitive church and her pastors were in :
so that of both it may be said truly, without breach of
charity, that having only a form of godliness, and many of
them not so much as that, they are deniers of, yea, enemies
to, the power of it. And this proceeds not simply from
their not walking answerably to their own principles, and
so degenerating that way, which also is true ; but, which
is worse, their laying down to themselves, and adhering to
certain principles, which naturally, as a cursed root, bring
forth these bitter fruits :- these therefore shall afterwards be
examined and refuted, as the contrary positions of truth in
the propqsition are explained and proved.
For as to the nature and constitution of a church,* * i. e. na-
abstract from their disputes concerning its constant visi- ThePro-
bility, infallibility, and the primacy ofthe church of Rome, 'estant
the Protestants, as in practice, so in principles, differ not how they
from Papists ; for they engross within the compass of their members
church, whole nations, making their infants members of thereof.
it, by sprinkling a little water upon them ; sp that there is
none so wicked or profane who is pot a fellow-member;
no evidence of holiness being required to constitute a
member of the church. Nay, look through the Protestant
nations, arid there will no difference appear in the lives of
the generality of the one, more than of the other ; he,
who ruleth in the children of disobedience, reigning in Christiani-
. ty chiefly
both: so that the reformation, through this defect, is only consisteth
in holding some less gross errors in the notion, but not in "^fJ^of
having the heart reformed and renewed, in which mainly the heart.
the life of Christianity consisteth.
§ VI. But the Popish errors concerning the ministry,
which they have retained, are most of all to be regretted,

264 PROPOSITION X.
A Popish by which chiefly the life and power of Christiapity is bar-
nistry'aU-' T^ out among them, and they kept in death, barrenness
evils fol- ancj dryness: there being nothing more hurtful than an
error in this respect. For where a false and corrupt
ministry entereth, all manner of other evils follow upon it,
Likepeo- according - to that scripture, adage, "Like people, like
priest.16 priest:" for by their influence, instead of ministering life
Hosea iv. 9. ancj righteousness, they minister death and iniquity. The
whole backslidings of the Jewish congregation of old are
hereto ascribed: "The leaders of my^ people have caused
them to err." The whole writings of the prophets are full
of such complaints ; and for this cause, under the New
Testament, we are so often warned and guarded to" "be
ware of false prophets, and false teachers," &c. What
may be thought then, where all, as to this, is out of order;
where both the foundation, call, qualifications, maintenance',
and whole discipline are different from and opposite vto the
ministry ofthe primitive church ; yea, and. necessarily tend
to the shutting out, of a spiritual ministry, and the bring
ing in and establishing of a carnal ? This shall appear by
parts.
Ques. I. § VII. -That- then which comes first to be questioned in
this matter, is concerning the call of a minister; to wit,
What maketh, or how cometh a man to be, a minister,
pastor, or teacher in the church of Christ?
Answ. We answer; By the inward power and virtue of the
Spirit of God. For, as saith our proposition, Having re-
The call of ceived the true knowledge of things spiritual by the Spirit
and where- of God, without which they cannot be known, and being
dsteth"" ky the same in measure purified and sanctified, he comes
thereby to be called and moved to minister to others ; be
ing able to speak, from a living experience, of what he
himself is a witness ; and therefore knowing the terror of
the Lord, he is fit to persuade men, &c, 2 Cor. v. 11,
and his words and ministry, proceeding from the iriward
power and virtue, reach to the heart of his hearers, and
make them approve of him, and be subject unto him. Our
Object. adversaries are" forced to confess, that this were indeed

OF THE MINISTRY. 265
desirable and best ; but this they will not have to be abso
lutely necessary. I shall first prove the necessity of it, and
then show how much they err in that which they make
more necessary than this divine and heavenly call.
First ; That which is necessary to make a man a Chris- Aug.
tian, so as without it he cannot be truly one, must be much Jessrty of"
more necessary to make a man a minister of Christianity ; an inward
seeing the one is a degree above the other, and has it in- make a
eluded in it ; nothing less than he that supposeth a master, christian.
supposeth him first to have attained the knowledge and
capacity of a scholar. They that are not Christians, can
not be teachers and ministers among Christians.
But this inward call, power and virtue of the Spirit of
God, is necessary to make a man a Christian; as we have
abundantly proved before in the second proposition, ac
cording to these scriptures, "He that hath not the Spirit
of Christ, is none of his." " As many as are led by the
Spirit of God, are the Sons of God :"
Therefore this call, moving and drawing of the Spirit,
must be much more necessary to make a minister.
Secondly ; All ministers of the New Testament ought 2. The mi-
to be ministers of the Spirit, and not of the letter, accord- J^e spirit
ing to that of 2 Cor. iii. 6, and as the old Latin hath .it, requires the
D , operation
"Not by the letter, but by the Spirit." But how can aandtesti-
man be a minister of the Spirit, who is not inwardly called the^phit.
by it, and who looks not upon the operation and testimony
of the Spirit as essential to his call ? As he could not be a
minister" pf the letter who had thence no ground for his
call, yea, who was altogether a stranger to and unac
quainted with it, so neither can he be a minister of the
Spirit Who is a stranger to it, and unacquainted with the
motions thereof, and knows it not to draw, act, and move
him, and go before him in the work of the ministry. I
would willingly know, how those that take upon them to
be ministers, as they suppose, of the gospel, merely from
an outward vocation, without so much as being any ways
sensible ofthe work of the Spirit, or any inward call there
from, can either satisfy themselves or others that they are
23 2 1

266 PROPOSITION X.
ministers of the Spirit, or wherein they differ from the
ministers of the letter ? For,
3. Under Thirdly ; If this inward call, or testimony of the Spirit,
peoplsT 6 were not essential . and necessary to ,a minister, then the
neede"a not ministry of the New Testament would not only be no ways
who should preferable to, but in divers respects far worse than that of
andPminis- the law. For under the law there' was a certain tribe
ters. - allotted for the ministry; and of that tribe certain families
. set apart for the priesthood and other offices, by the im
mediate command of God to Moses; so that the. people
needed not be in any doubt who should be priests and
ministers of the holy things : yea, and besides this, God
called forth, by the immediate testimony of his Spirit,
several at divers times tb teach, instruct, and reprove his
people, as Samuel, Nathan, Elias, Elisha, Jeremiah, Amos,
and many more of the prophets: but now under the hew
covenant, where the ministry ought to be more spiritual,
the way more certain, and the access more easy unto the
Lord, our adversaries, by denying the necessity of this in
ward and spiritual vocation, make it quite otherways. For
there being now no certain family or tribe to which the
ministry is limited, we are left in uncertainty, to choose
and have ¦ pastors at a venture, without any certain assent
of the will of God ; having neither an outward rule nor
certainty in this affair to walk by : for that the scripture
cannot give any certain rule in this matter, hath in the
third proposition concerning it'been already shown.
4. Christ Fourthly; Christ proclaims them all thieves and rob
bers, that enter not by him the door into the sheepfold,
John x. 1. but climb up some other way ; whom the sheep ought not
to hear : but such as come in without the call, movings,
and leadings of the Spirit of Christ, wherewith he leads
his children into all truth, come in certainly not by Christ,
who is the door, but some other way, and therefore are not
true shepherds.
§ VIII. To all this they object the succession of the
church ; alleging, That since Christ gave a call to his
apostles and disciples, they have conveyed that call to

OF THE MINISTRY. 267
their successors, having power to ordain pastors and Succession
teachers ; by whiph power the authority of ordaining and theValse ¥
making ministers and pastors is successively conveyed to ?hurc£h ¦
us ; so that such, who are ordained and called by the and his
pastors of the church, are therefore true and lawful minis- apos
ters ; and others, who are not so called, are to be accounted
but intruders. Hereunto also some Protestants add a ne
cessity, though they make it not a thing essential ; That
besides this calling of the church, every one, being called,
ought to have the inward call of the Spirit, inclining him
so chosen to his work : but this they say is subjective, and
not objective ; of which before.
As to what is subjoined of the inward call of the Spirit, Answ.
in that they make it not essential to a true call, but a su
pererogation as it were, it showeth how little they set by
it : since those they admit to the ministry are not so much
as questioned in their trials, whether they have this or not.
Yet, in that it hath been often mentioned, especially by the The call of
primitive Protestants in their treatises on this subject, it preferred to
showeth how much they were secretly convinced in their any other
minds, that this inward call of the Spirit was most excel- tive Pro-
lent, and preferable to any other ; and therefore in the most testants-
noble and heroic acts of the reformation, they laid claim
unto it ; so that many of the primitive Protestants did not
scruple both to despise and disown this outward* call, * Succes-
when urged by the Papists against them. But now Pro- Modern
testants, having gone from the testimony of the Spirit, plead Protestants
for the same succession ; and being pressed (by those whom call ofthe
God now raiseth up by his Spirit to reform those abuses pult'
that are among them) with the example of their forefathers'
practice against Rome, they are not at. all ashamed utterly
to deny that their fathers were called to their work by the
inward and immediate vocation of the Spirit; clothing
themselves with that call, which they say their forefathers
had, as pastors of the Roman church. For thus (not to go
further) affirmeth Nicolaus Arnoldus,f in a pamphlet written
¦j- Who gives himself out Doctor and Professor of Sacred Theology
at Franequer.

268 proposition x.
against the same propositions, called, A Theological Exer-
citation, sect, xl., averring, That they pretended not to an
immediate act of the Holy Spirit; but reformed by the
virtue of the ordinary vocation which they had in the
church, as it then was, to wit, that of Rome, &c.
§ IX/Many absurdities do Protestants fall into,' by de
riving, their ministry thus through the church of Rome.
Absurdi- As, first, They must acknowledge her to be a true church
testants "fall 0|f Christ, though only erroneous in somethings; which
into, byde- contradicts their forefathers so frequently, and yet- truly,
ministry calling her Antichrist. Secondly, They must needs ac-
chu°rcnhofhe knowledge, that the priests and bishops of the Romish
Rome. church are true ministers and pastors of the church of
Christ, as to the essential part ; else they could not be fit
subjects "for that power and authority to have resided in ;
neither could they have been vessels capable to receive
that power, and again transmit it to their successors.
Thirdly, It would follow from this, that the. priests and
bishops of the Romish church are yet really true pastors
and teachers : for if Protestant ministers have no authority
but what they ^received from them, and since the church
of Rome is the same she was at that time of the reforma
tion in doctrine and manners, and she has the same power^
now she had then, and if the power lie in the succession,
then these priests of the Romish church now, which derive
their ordination from those bishops that ordained the first
reformers, have the same authority which the successors
of the reformed have, and consequently are no less minis
ters of the church than they are. But how will this agree
with that opinion which the primitive Protestants had of
the Romish priests and clergy, to whom Luther did not
only deny any power or authority, but contrary-wise amrm-
Luther af- ed, That it was wickedly done of them, to assume to them-
»'**' selves only this authority to teach, and- be priests and
might be a ministers, &c. For he himself affirmed, That every good
Christian (not only men, but even women also) is a
preacher. § X. But against this vain succession, as asserted- either

OF THE MINISTRY. 269
by the Papists or Protestants as a necessary thing to the The pre-
call of a minister, I answer ; That such as plead for it, as eessfonoT
a sufficient or necessary thing to the call of a minister, do Papists and
Protestants
thereby sufficiently declare their ignorance of the nature of explained.
Christianity, and how much they are strangers to the life
and' power of a Christian ministry, which is not entailed to
succession, as an outward inheritance ; and herein, as hath
been often before observed, they not only make the gospel
not better than the law, but even far short of it. For Jesus
Christ, as he regardeth not any distinct particular family or
nation in the gathering of his children ; but only such as
are joined to and leavened with his own pure and righteous
seed, so neither regards he a bare outward succession,
where his pure, immaculate, and righteous life is wanting ;
for that were all one. He took not the nations into the new
covenant, that he might suffer them to fall into the old errors
of the Jews, or to approve them in their errors, but that he
might gather unto himself a pure people out of the earth.
Now this was the great error of the Jews, to think they The Jews'
were the church and people of God-, because they could Abraham's
derive their outward succession from Abraham ; whereby outward
they reckoned themselves the children of God, as being
the offspring of Abraham, who was" the Father ofthe Faith
ful. But how severely doth the scripture rebuke this vain
and frivolous pretence ! Telling them, That God is able
ofthe stones to raise children unto Abraham ; and that not
the outward seed, but those that were found in the faith of
Abraham, are the true children of faithful Abraham. Far
less then can this pretence hold among Christians, seeing
Christ rejects all outward affinity of that kind: These, Mat.xii. 48,
saith he, are my mother, brethren and sisters, who doM3ri[ii;33
the will of my Father which is in heaven: And again ; &c-
he looked round about him, and said, Who shall do the
will of God, these, saith he, are my brethren. So then,
such as do not the commands of Christ, as are not found
clothed with his righteousness, are not his disciples ; and
that which a man hath not, he cannot give to another : and
it is clear, that no man nor church, though truly called of
23*

270 PROPOSITION X.
God, and as such having the authority of a church and
minister, can any longer retain that authority, than they
retain the power, life, and righteousness of Christianity;
The form for the form is entailed to the power and- substance,- and
is emailed8 not tne substance to the form. So that when a man ceaseth
tothepow- inwardly in his heart to be a Christian ( where his Cruis
er and sub- ' . . v . . ? -
stance, and tianity must he) by turning to Satan, and becoming a repro
duce6 tob" Date> ne *s no more a Christian, though he retain the name
the form. anc[ form, than a dead man is a man, though he hath the
image and representation of one, or than the picture or
statue of a man is a man: and though a dead man may
serve to a painter to retain some imperfect representation
of the man, that once was alive, and so one picture may
serve to make another by, yet none of those can serve to
make a true living man again,, neither can they convey the
life and spirit of the man ; it must be God, that made the
Succession man at first, that alone can revive him. As death then
interrupt- rhakes such interruption of an outward natural succession,
that no art nor outward form can uphold, and as a dead
man, after he is dead, can have no issue, neither can dead
images of men make living men: so that ft is the living
that are only capable to succeed one another ; and such as
die, so soon as they die pease to succeed, or to transmit
succession. So it is in spiritual things ; it is the life of
Christianity, taking place in the heart, that makes a Chris-
The living tian : and so it is a number of such, being alive, joined
make the together in the life of Christianity, that make a church of
ltfefosVthe Christ ; and it is all those that are thus alive and quickened,
church is considered together, that make the Catholic church of
Christ: therefore when this life ceaseth in one, then that
one ceaseth to be a Christian ; and all power, virtue^ and
authority, which Tie had as a Christian, ceaseth with it; so
that if he hath been a minister or teacher, he ceaseth to be
so any more : and though he retain the form, and hold to
the authority in words, yet that signifies np more, nor is it
of any more real virtue and authority, than the mere image
of a dead man. And as this is most agreeable to reason,
so it is to the scripture's testimony ; for it is said of Judas,

OF THE MINISTRY. 271
Acts. i. 25, That Judas fell from his ministry and apostle- Judas fell
ship by transgression ; so his transgression caused him to m°™stry by
cease to be an apostle any more : whereas, had the apostle- transgres-
ship been entailed to his person, so that transgression could
not cause him to lose ft^ until he had been formally degraded
by the church (which Judas never was so long as he lived)
Judas had been as really an apostle, after he betrayed Christ,
as before. And as it is of one, so of many, yea, of a whole
church : for seeing nothing makes a man truly a Christian,
but the life of Christianity inwardly ruling in his heart ; so
nothing makes a church, but the gathering of several true
Christians into one body. Now where all these members
lose this life, there the church ceaseth to be, though they
still uphold the form, and retain the name: for when that
which made them a church, and for which they were a
church, ceaseth, then they cease also to be a church : and
therefore the Spirit, speaking to the church of Laodicea,
because of her lukewarmness, Rev. iii. 16, threateneth to
spue her out of his mouth. Now, suppose, the church The luke-
of Laodicea had continued in that lukewarmness, and had of™11688
come under that condemnation and judgment, though she church of
had retained the name and form of a church, and had had
her pastors and ministers, as no doubt she had at that time,
yet surely she had been no true church of Christ, nor had
the authority of her pastors and teachers been to be re
garded, because of an outward succession, though perhaps
some of them had it immediately from the apostles. From
all which I infer, That since the authority of the Christian
church and her pastors is always united, and never sepa
rated from the inward power, virtue, and righteous life of
Christianity; where this ceaseth, that ceaseth also. But our
adversaries acknowledge, That many, if not most of those,
by and through whom they derive this authority, were alto
gether destitute of this life and virtue of Christianity : there
fore they could neither receive, have, nor transmit any
Christian authority. .
But if it be objected, That though the generality of the Object.
bishops' and priests ofthe church of Rome, during the

272 PROPOSITION X.
apostasy, were such wicked men ; yet Protestants affirm,
and thou thyself seemest to acknowledge, that there were
some good men among them, whom the Lord regarded,
and who were true members of the Catholic church of
Christ; might not -they then have transmitted this au
thority ?
Answ. I answer ; This saith nothing, in respect Protestants do
not at all lay claim to their ministry as transmitted to them
by a direct line of good men ; which they can never show,
The Pro- nor yet preterid to ; but generally place this succession as
pkadfora inherent in- the whole pastors of the apostate church.
succession Neither do they plead their call ta be good and valid,
because they, can " derive it through a line of good men,
separate and observably distinguishable from the rest of
the bishops and clergy of the Romish church ; but they
derive it as an -authority residing in the whole : for they
think it heresy, to judge that the quality or condition of
the administrator doth any ways invalidate or prejudice
his work.
This vain and pretended succession not only militates
against, and fights with the very manifest purpose and in
tent of Christ in the gathering and calling of his church,
but makes him-(so to speak) more blind and less prudent
than natural men are in conveying and establishing their
An estate outward inheritances. For where an estate is entailed to
heirship de- a certain name and family, when that family weareth out,
volves to and there is no lawful successor found of it, that can make
the Drinc6
none claims a just title appear, as being really of blood and affinity to
whom he W tne famuy : it is not lawful for any one of another race or
sees meet blood, because he assumes the name or arms of that family,
to give it • , ,, i , • , ... ,
so the heir- to possess the estate, and claim the superiorities and
LhePnjofyede privileges, of the family; but by the law of nations the in-
from Christ heritance devolves into the prince, as being Ultimus Hceres ;
the true , , . ^ .. . r . ' ,. , °
heir. and so he giveth it again immediately to whom he sees
meet, and makes them bear the name and arms of the
family, who then are entitled to the privileges and revenues
thereof. So in like manner, the true name and title of a
Christian, by which he hath right to the -heavenly in-

OF THE MINISTRY. 273
heritance, and is a member of Jesus Christ, is inward
righteousness and holiness, and the mind redeemed from
the vanities, lusts, and iniquities of this world; and a
gathering or company, made up of such members, makes
a church. Where this is lost, the title is lost ; and so the
true seed, to which the promise is, and to which the in
heritance is due, becomes extinguished in them, and they
become dead as to it ; and so it retires, and devolves itself
again into Christ, who is the righteous heir of life ; and he
gives the title and true right again immediately to whom it
pleaseth him, even to as many as being turned to his pure
light in their consciences, come again to walk in his right
eous and innocent life, and so become true members of his
body, which is the church. So the authority, power and
heirship are not annexed to persons, as they bear the mere
name^, or retain a form, holding the mere shell or shadow
of Christianity ; but the promise is to Christ, and to the
seed, in whom the authority is inherent, and in as many as
are one with him, and united unto him by purity and holi
ness, and by the inward renovation and regeneration of
their minds.
Moreover, this pretended succession is' contrary to scrip
ture definitions, and the nature of the church of Christ,
and of the true members. For, first, The church is the
house of God, the pillar and ground of truth, 1 Tim. iii. T
15. But according to this doctrine, the house of God is The house
a polluted nest of all sort of wickedness and abominations,. no policed
made up of the most ugly, defiled, and perverse stones ne,st.; no
r , , ., . v„ atheist nor
that are in the earth ; where the devil rules in all manner pretender
of unrighteousness. For so our adversaries confess, and there6"
history informs, the church of Rome to have been, as some
of their historians acknowledge ; arid if that be truly the
house of God, what may we call the house of Satan ? Or
may we call it therefore the house of God, notwithstanding
all this impiety, because they had a bare form, and that
vitiated many ways also ; and because they pretended to
the name of Christianity, though they were antichristian,
devilish, and atheistical in their whole practice and spirit,
2k

274

PROPOSITION X.

and also in many of their principles ? Would not this infer
yet a greater absurdity, as if they had been something to
be accounted of, because of their hypocrisy and deceit,
and false pretences ? Whereas the scripture looks upon
that as an aggravation of guilt, and calls it blasphemy,
Rev. ii. 9. Of two wicked men, he is most to be abhor
red, who covereth his wickedness with a vain pretence of
God and righteousness ; even so these abominable beasts,
and fearful monsters, who looked upon themselves to be
bishops in the apostate church, were -riever. a whit the
better, that they falsely pretended to be the successors of
the holy apostles ; unless to lie be commendable, and that
hypocrisy be the way to heaven. Yea, were not this to
fall into that evil condemned among the Jews, Jer. vii. 4 :
"Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the
Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are
these ; thoroughly amend your ways," &c, as if such out
ward names and things were the thing the Lord regarded,
and not inward holiness? Or can that then he the pillar
and ground of truth, which is the very sink and pit of
wickedness, from which so much error, superstition, idola
try, and all abomination spring ? Can there be any thing
more contrary both to scripture and reason ?
Secondly, The church is defined to-be the kingdom of
the dear Son of God, into which the saints are translated,
being delivered from the power of darkness. It is called
the body of Christ, which from him by joints and bands
having nourishment ministered and knit together, in
creaseth with the increase of God, Col. ii. 19. But can
such members, such a gathering as we have demonstrated
that church and members to be, among whom they allege
their pretended authority to have been preserved, and
through which they derive their call ; can such, I say, be
the body of Christ, or members thereof? Or is Christ the
head of such a corrupt, dead, dark, abominable stinking
Whatfel- carcase? If so, then might we not as well affirm against
haThChrist the aPostle> 2 Cor- vi- 14: " Th_at righteousness hath fel-
with Belial? lowship with unrighteousness, that light hath communion

II.
Christ is
the head,
_his body
undefiled.

OF THE MINISTRY. 275
with darkness, that Christ hath concord with Belial, that a
believer hath part with an infidel; and that the temple of
God hath agreement with idols?" Moreover no man is
called the temple, of God, nor of the Holy Ghost, but as
his vessel is purified, and so he fitted and prepared for
God to dwell in ; and many thus fitted by Christ becorite
his body, in and among whom he dwells and walks, ac
cording as it is written, " I will dwell in them, and walk
in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my
people." It is therefore that we may become the temple
of Christ, and people of God, that the apostle in the fol
lowing verse exhorts, saying out of the prophet, " Where- 2 Cor. vi.
fore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith '
the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will re
ceive you ; and I will be a father unto you, and ye shall
be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." But
to what purpose is all this exhortation ? And why should
we separate from the unclean, if a mere outward profes
sion and name be enough, to make the true church; and if
the unclean and polluted were both the church and lawful
successors of the apostles, inheriting their authority, and-
transmitting it to others ? Yea, how can the church be the
kingdom of the Son of God, as contra-distinguished from
the; kingdom and power of darkness ? And what need,
yea, what possibility, of being translated out of the one
intp the other, if those that make up the kingdom and
power of darkness be rea] members of the true church of
Christ, and not simply members only, but the very pastors
and teachers of it ? But how do they increase in the in
crease of God, and receive spiritual nourishment from
Christ the head, that are enemies of him in their hearts by
wicked works, and openly go into perdition ? Verily as
no metaphysical and nice distinctions, that though they VolousSdis-"
were practically as to their own private states enemies to tinctl?n °/
tr . J . r- enemies to
God and Christ, and so servants of Satan ; yet they were, God by
by virtue of their office, members and ministers of the and^mem-
church, and so able to transmit the succession ; I say, as J^rs ofhis
such invented and frivolous distinctions will not please the office.

276 PROPOSITION X.
Lord God, neither will he be deluded by such, nor make
up the glorious body ofhis church with such mere outside
hypocritical shows, nor be beholden to such painted se
pulchres to be members of his body, which is sound, pure
and undefiled, and therefore he needs, not such false and
corrupt members to make up the defects' of it ;N so neither
will such distinctions satisfy truly tender and Christian
consciences ; especially considering the apostle is so far
from desiring us to regard this, that we are expressly com
manded to turn away from such as have a form of godli
ness, but deny the power of it. For we may well object
against these, as the poor man did against the proud pre
late, that went about to cover his vain and unchristian-like
sumptuousness, by distinguishing that it was not as bishop
Theanswer but as. prince he had all that splendor. To which the poor
rusdc°tora rustic wisely is said to have answered, When the prince
proud pre- goeth to hell, what shall become of the prelate ? And
indeed this were to suppose the body of Christ to be de
fective, and that to fill up these defective places, he puts
' counterfeit and dead stuff instead of real living members ;
like such as lo.se their eyes, arms, or legs, who make coun
terfeit ones of wood or glass . instead of them. But we
cannot think so of Christ, neither can we believe, for the
reasons above adduced, that either we are to account, or
that Christ doth account, any man or men a whit the more
members of his body, because though they be really
wicked, they hypocritically ahd deceitfully clothe them
selves with his name, and pretend to it; for this is con
trary to his own doctrine, where he saith expressly, John
xv. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, &c, That he is the vine, and his
disciples are the branches ; that except theyH abide in him,
they cannot bear fruit ; and if they be unfruitful, they shall
A withered be cast forth as a branch, and wither. Now I suppose
draw no these cut and withered branches are no more true branches
ment8Bo nor memDers °f the vine ; they can no more draw sap nor
hath no life nourishment from it, after that they are cut off, and so
have no more virtue, sap, nor life : What have they then
to boast or glory of any authority, seeing they want that

OF THK MINISTRY. 277
life, virtue, and nourishment from Which all authority
comes ? So such members of Christ as are become dead
to him through unrighteousness, arid so derive no more
virtue nor life from him, are cut off by their sins, ahd
wither, and have no longer any true or real authority, and
their boasting of any is but an aggravation of their iniquity
by hypocrisy -and deceit. But further, would not this
make Christ's body a mere shadow and phantasm? Yea,
would it not make him the head of a lifeless, rotten, stink
ing carcase, having only some little outward false show,
while inwardly full of rottenness and dirt ? And what a A living
monster would these men make of Christ's.body by assign- a lifeless"
ing it a realj pure, living, quick head,, full of virtue and bo^' ™hat
life, and yet tied to such a dead 'lifeless body as we have would that
already described these members to be, which they allege e
to have been the church of Christ ? Again, the members
of the church of Christ are specified by this definition, to
wit, as being the sanctified in Christ Jesus, 1 Cor. i. 2.
But this notion of succession supposeth not only some un-
sanctified members to be of the church of Christ, but even
the whole to consist of unsanctified members ; yea, that
such as were professed necromancers and open servants
of Satan were the true successors of the apostles, and in
whom the apostolic authority resided, these being the ves
sels through whom this succession is transmitted ; though
many of them, as all Protestants and also some Papists
confess, attained these offices in the, so called, church not
only by such means as Simon Magus sought it, but by
much worse, even by witchcraft, traditions, money,
treachery, and murder, which Platina himself confesseth*
of divers bishops of Rome.
§ XI. But such as object not this succession of the
church, which yet most Protestants- begin now to do, dis
tinguish in this matter, affirming, that in a great apostasy,
such as was that of the church of Rome, God may raise up
* In the Life of Benedict IV., of John XVI., of Sylvester III., of Boni
face VIII., of Steph. VI., of Joan VIII. Also Onuphrius's Annotations
upon this Papess, or Popess, towards the end.
24

278 proposition x.
some singularly by his Spirit, who from the testimony of
the scriptures perceiving the errors into which such as bear
the name of Christians are fallep, may instruct and teach
them, and then become authorized by the people?s jojning
with and accepting of their ministry only. Most of them
also will affirm, That the Spirit herein is. subjective, and
not objective.
Object. But they say, That where a church is reformed, such as
they pretend the Protestant churches are, there an ordinary
orderly call is necessary ; and that of the .Spirit^ as extra
ordinary, is not to be sought after : alleging, that res aliter
se habet in ecclesia constituendd, quam in ecclesia constitutd;
that is, There is a difference in the constituting of a church,
and after it is constituted. ,
Answ. I answer, This objection as to us saith nothing, seeing
we accuse, and are ready from the scriptures to prove the
A differ- Protestants guilty of gross errors, and needing reformation,
edCbe°tweeri as weH as they did and do the Papists ; and therefore we
constituting may justly lay claim, if we would, to the same extraordi-
and one as nary call, having the same reason for it, and as good
constitute . evj^ence to prove ours as tnev had for theirs. As for that
maxim, viz.: That the case is different in constituting a
church, and a church constituted, I do not deny it ; and
therefore there may be a greater measure of power required
to the one than to the other, and God in his wisdom dis
tributes the same as he sees meet; but that the same
immediate assistance of the Spirit is not necessary for
ministers in a gathered church as well as in gathering one,
I see no solid reason alleged for it : for surely Christ's
promise was to be with his children to the end of the
world, and they need him no less to preserve and guide
his church and children than to gather and beget them.
Nature taught the Gentiles this maxim, Non minor est vir
tus, quam qumrere, parta tueri, ' To defend what we attain,
requires no less strength than what is necessary to acquire
it.' For it is by this inward and immediate operation of
the Spirit, which Christ hath promised to lead his children
with into all truth, and to teach them all things, that

OF THE MINISTRY. 279
Christians are to be led in all steps, all well last as first,
which relate to God's glory and their own salvation, as
we have heretofore sufficiently proved, and therefore need
not now repeat it. And truly this device of Satan, where- It is ade-
by he has got people to put the immediate guidings and tarTfor men
leadings of God's Spirit as an extraordinary thing afar off, '° Pf ' the
which their forefathers had, but which they now are neither leadings far
to wait for nor expect, is a great cause of the growing mer°times.
apostasy upon the many gathered churches, and is one
great reason why a dry, dead, barren, lifeless, spiritless
ministry, which leavens the people into the same death,
doth so much abound, and is so much overspreading even
the Protestant nations, that their preaching and worships,
as well as their whole conversation, is not to be discerned
from Popish by any fresh living zeal, or lively power of
the Spirit accompanying it, but merely by the difference of
some notions and opinions. .
§ XII. Some unwise and unwary Protestants do some- Object.
times object- to us,' That if we have such an immediate
call as we lay claim to, we ought to confirm it by mi
racles. But this being an objection once and again urged against Answ.
the primitive Protestants by the Papists, we need but in
short return the answer to it that they did to the Papists,
to wit, That we need not miracles, because we preach no Whether
new gospel, but that which is already confirmed by all the Jjo'^neces*
miracles of Christ and his apostles; and that we offer sary to con-
nothing, but that which we are ready and able to confirm gospel?
by the testimony of the scriptures, which both already
acknowledge tp be true: and "that John the Baptist and John Bap-
divers of the prophets did none that we hear of, and yet yersapro. '"
were both immediately and extraordinarily sent. This is Phets did
the common Protestant answer, therefore may suffice in
this place ; though, if need were, I could say more to this
purpose, but that I study brevity.
§ XIII. There is also another sort of Protestants, to wit,
the English Independents, who differing from the Calvin-
istical Presbyterians, and denying the necessity of this sue-

280

PROPOSITION X.

The consti
tution of
the. inde
pendent
church.

Gifted bre
thren.

Their loss
and decay.

The scrip
tures give
no callrto
persons in
dividual.

cession, or the authority of any national church, take another
way; affirming,. That such as^have the benefit of the scrip
tures, any company of people agreeing in the .principles pf
truth as they find them there declared, may constitute among
themselves- a church, without the authority of any other^
and may choose to themselves a pastor, who by the church
thus constituted and cpnsenting, is authorized, requiring
only the assistance and concurrence of the pastors of the
neighbouring churches, if any such there be; not so much
as absolutely necessary to authorize, as, decent for order's
sake. Also they go so far as to affirm, That in a church so
constituted, any gifted brother, as they call. them, if he find
himself qualified thereto, may instruct, exhort, and preach
in the church ; though, as not having the pastoral office,
he cannot administer those which they call -their sacra
ments. ,
To this I answer, That this was a. good step out of the
Babylonish darkness, and no doubt did proceed from a
real discovery of the truth, and from the sense of a great
abuse of the promiscuous national gatherings. , Also this
preaching of the gifted brethren, as they called them, did
proceed at first from certain lively touches and movings
of the Spirit of God upon many ; but alas ! because they
went not forward, that is much decayed among them.; and
the motions of God's Spirit begin to be denied and reject
ed among them now, as much as by others.
But as to their pretended call from the scripture, I an
swer, The scripture gives a mere declaration of true things,
but no call to particular persons ; so that though I believe
the things there written to be true, and deny the errors
which I find there testified against, yet as to those things
which may be my particular duty, I am still to seek ; and
therefore I can never be resolved in the scripture whether
I (such a one by name) ought to be a minister ? And for
the resolving this doubt I must needs recur to the inward
and immediate testimony of the Spirit, as in the proposition
concerning the scriptures, is shown more at large.
§ XIV. From all this then we do firmly conclude, that

OF THE MINISTRY. 281
not only in a general apostasy it is needful men be extra
ordinarily called, and i raised up by the Spirit of God, but
that even when several assemblies or churches are gathered
by the power of God, not only into the belief of the prin
ciples of truth, so as to deny errors and heresies, but also
into the life, spirit, and power of Christianity, so as to be
the body and house of Christ indeed, and a fit spouse for
him, that he who gathers them doth alsp, for the preserving
them' in a lively, fresh, and powerful condition, raise up True min-
and move among them by the inward immediate operation iffjcSions*"
of his own Spirit, ministers and teachers, to instruct and C?U> and
teach, and watch over them, who being thus called, are
manifest in the hearts of their brethren, and their call is
thus verified in them", who by the feeling of that life and
power that passeth through them, being- inwardly builded
up by them daily in the most holy faith, become, the seals
of their apostleship. And this is answerable to another
saying of the same apostle Paul, 2 Cor. xiii. 3 : " Since
ye seek a proof of Christ's speaking in me, which to ypu-
wards is not weak, but is mighty in you." So this is that Their lay-
which gives a true substantial call and title to a minister, handsa
whereby he is a real successor of the virtue, life, and power mo<;k to.
that was m the apostles, and not of the bare' name : and to man; a
such ministers we think the outward ceremony of brdina- shadow5
tion or laying on of hands not necessary, neither can we whilst the
?. . • i • i substance
see the use of it, seeing our adversaries who use it acknow- is wanting.
ledge that the virtue and power of communicating the Holy
Ghost by it is ceased among them. And is it not then
foolish ahd ridiculous for them, by an apish imitation, to
keep up.the shadow, where the substance is wanting ? And
may not they by the same rule, where they see blind and
lame men, in imitation, of Christ and his apostles, bid them
see and walk ? Yea, is it not in them a mocking of God
and men, to put on their hands, and bid men receive the
Holy Ghost, while they believe the thing impossible, and
confess that that ceremony hath no real effect ? Having
thus far spoken of the call; I shall proceed next to treat of
the qualifications and work of a true minister.
24* 2l

282 PROPOSITION X.
Ques. 2. § XV, As I have placed the; true call of a minister in
Sion of' the motion of this Holy Spirit, so is the'power, life, and
a minister, virtue thereof, and the pure grace of God that comes there
from, the chief- and most necessary qualification, without
which he can no ways perform his duty, neither acceptably
Philoso- to God nor beneficially to men. Our, adversaries in this
school divi- case amrm5 tnat tnree things go to the making up of -a mi-
nity will nister, viz. 1. Natural parts, that he be not a fool. 2. Ac-'
a^gospef e quired parts, that he be learned in the languages, iri philo-
minister. SOphy and school divinity. 3. The grace of God.
The two first they reckon necessary to the being of a
minister, so as a man cannot be one without them; the
third they say goeth to the well-being of one, but not to
the being ; so that a man may truly be a lawful minister
without it, and ought to be heard and received as such.
But we, supposing a natural capacity, that one be not an
idiot, judge the grace of God indispensably necessary to
the very being of a minister, as that without which any can
neither be a true, nor lawful, nor good minister. As for
letter-learning, we judge it not so much necessary to the
well-being of one, though accidentally sometimes in certain
respects it may concur, but more frequently it is hurtful than
A poor helpful, as appeared in the example of Taulerus, who being
structed a learned man, and who could make an eloquent preaching,
the learned needed nevertheless to be instructed in the way of the Lord
by a poor laic. I shall first speak of the necessity of grace,
and then proceed to say something of that literature which
they judge so needful.
Proof I. First then, as we said in the call, so may we much more
here, if the grace of God be a necessary qualification to
make one a true Christian, it must be a qualification much
more necessary to constitute a true minister of Christianity.
That grace is necessary to make one a true Christian I
God's think will not be questioned, since it is "by grace we are
lotions"?- saved," Eph. ii. 8. It is the grace of God that teacheth
tute a true Us to deny ungodliness, and the lusts of this world, and to
and lawful ,. „ , . , , _,. '
teacher. live godly and righteously, Tit. n. 11. Yea, Christ saith
expressly, That without him we can do nothing, John

OF THE MINISTRY. 283
xv. 5 ; and the way whereby Christ helpeth, assisteth, and
worketh with us is by his grace : hence he saith to Paul,
" My grace is sufficient for thee." A Christian without
grace istindeed no Christian, but an hypocrite, and a false
pretender. Then I say, If grace be necessary to a private
Christian, far more to a teacher among Christians, who must
be as a father and instructor of others, seeing this dignity
is bestowed upon such as have attained a greater measure
than their brethren. Even nature itself may teach us that
there is more required in a teacher than in those. that are
taught, and that the master must be above and before the
scholar in that art or science which he teacheth others.
Since then Christianity cannot be truly enjoyed, neither
any man denominated a Christian without the true -grace
of God, therefore 'neither can any man be a true and lawful Proof II.
teacher of Christianity without it. Who first
Secondly, No man can", be a minister of the church of must be a
. . . member ot
Christ, which is his body, unless he be a member of the the body,
body, and receive ofthe virtue and life ofthe head. Ufeisre-
But he that hath not true grace, can neither be a mem- ceived, and
..,,", . ., virtue from
ber of the body, neither receive of that life and nourish- the head.
ment which comes from the head :
Therefore far less can he be a minister to edify the
body. That he cannot be a minister who is not a member is
evident; because he who is not a member is shut out and
cut off, and hath no place in the body ; whereas, the minis
ters are counted among the most eminent members of the
body. But no man can be a member unless he receive of
the virtue, life, and nourishment ofthe head ; for the mem
bers that receive not this life and nourishment decay and
wither, and then are cut off. And that every true member
doth thus receive nourishment and life from the head, the
apostle expressly affirmeth, Eph. iv. 16: "From whoiri
the whole body being fitly joined together, and compacted
by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effec
tual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase
of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." Now this

284 proposition x.
that thus is communicated, and which thus uniteth the
whole, is no other than the grace of God ; and therefore
the apostle in the same chapter, ver. 7, saith, " But unto
every one of us is given grace according to the measure of
the gift of Christ;" and ver. 11, he showeth how that by
this grace and gift both apostles, prophets, evangelists,'
p jstors, and teachers are given for the work of the ministry,
and edifying of the body of Christ. And certainly then
no man destitute of grace is fit for this work,- seeing that
all that Christ gives are so qualified ; and these that are not
so qualified, are not given- nor sent of Christ, are not to be
heard, nor received, nor acknowledged as ministers of the
The sheep gospel, because his sheep- neither ought nor will hear the
neither'3' voice of a stranger. This is also clear from 1 Cor. xii.
°U'Nhh "°r throughout; for the apostle in that chapter, treating ofthe
the stran- diversity of gifts and members of the body, showeth how
ger's voice, by .the workings of the same Spirit in different manifesta
tions or measures in the several members of the body the
whole body is edified, saying, ver. 13, That "we are all
baptized by the one Spirit into one body;" and then, ver.
28, he numbers up the several dispensations thereof, which
by God are set in the church through the-various workings
of his Spirit for the edification of the whole. Then if there
be no true member of the body which is not thus baptized
by the Spirit, neither any thing that worketh to the edify
ing of it, but according to a measure of grace received
from the Spirit, surely without grace none ought to be ad
mitted to work or labour in the body, because their labour'
and work, without this grace and Spirit, would be but in
effectual.
Proof II. ^ XVI. Thirdly, That this grace and gift is a necessary
qualification to a minister, is clear from that of the apostle
Peter, 1 Pet. iv. 10, 11, "As every man hath received the
gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good
stewards ofthe manifold grace of God. If any man speak,
let him speak as the oracles of God : if any man minister,
let him do it as of the ability which God giveth ; that God
in all things may be glorified ¦ through Jesus Christ; to

OF THE MINISTRY. 285
whom be praise and dominion for ever, Amen." From
which it appears, that those that minister must minister ac- The minis-
cording to the gift and grace received ; but they that have bTbv the8'
not such a gift, cannot minister according thereunto. Se- gift and
condly, As good stewards of. the manifold grace of God: ceived. "
but how can a man be a good steward" of that which he Good stew-
hath not? Can ungodly men, that are not gracious them- what ?P Of
selves, be good stewards of the manifold grace of God ? G_od's ..-
.,-,.- . . abounding
And therefore in the1 following verses he makes an exclusive grace,
limitation of such that are. not thus furnished, saying, "If lability
any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God ; and and Mew_
if any man minister, let him do it as ofthe ability that God ceived.
giveth :" which is as much as if he had said, they that can
not thus speak, and thus minister, .ought not to do it : for
this if denotes a necessary condition. Now what this ability
is, is manifest by the former words, to wit, the gift received,
and the grace whereof they are stewards, as by the imme
diate context and dependency of the words doth appear.
Neither can it be understood of a mere natural ability, be
cause man in this condition is said " not to know the things
of God," and so he cannot minister them to others. And
the following words show this also, in that he immediately
subjoineth, " that God in all things may be glorified;"
but surely God is not glorified, but greatly dishonoured,
when natural men, from their mere natural ability, meddle
in spiritual things, which they neither know nor .under
stand. Fourthly, That grace is a most necessary qualification Proof IV.
for a minister, appears by those qualifications which the
apostle expressly requires, 1 Tim. iii. 2 ; Tit. i., &c, where
he saith, " A bishop must be blameless, vigilant, sober, of
good behaviour, apt to teach, patient, a lover of good
men, just, holy, temperate, as the-steward of God, hold- .
ing fast the faithful word as he hath been taught." Upon
the other hand, He must neither be given to wine, nor a
striker, nor covetous, nor proud, nor self-willed, nor soon
angry. Now I ask if it be not impossible that a man can
have alh these above-named virtues, and be free of all

286 PROPOSITION X.
How can a these evils, without the grace of God ? If. then these vir-
thesePvira-Ve tues' f°r the producing of which in a man grace is abso-
tues with- lutely necessary, be necessary- to make a true minister of
grace of ' the church of" Christ according tothe apostle's judgment,
- surely grace must be necessary also.
Concerning this thing a learned man, and well skilled
in antiquity, about the time of the reformation, writeth
Whatso- thus: " Whatsoever is done in the church, either for orna-
in^he3 d°"e ment or edification of religion, whether in choosing magis-
church trates or instituting ministers of the church, except it be
ministry of done by the ministry of God's Spirit, which is as it were the
(Spirit* sou' °f tne °hurch, it is vain and wicked. For whoever
is vain and hath not been called by the Spirit of God to the great
office of God. and dignity of apostleship, as Aarori was,
and hath not entered in by the door, which is Christ, but
hath otherways risen in the church by the window; by the
favours of men, &c, truly such a one is not the vicar of
Christ and his apostles, but a thief and robber, and the
Who is Ju- vicar of Judas Iscariot and Simon the Samaritan. Hence
o?s Wear'? ^ was so ^"ctly appointed concerning the election of pre
lates, which holy Dionysius calls the sacrament of nomi
nation, that the bishops and apostles who should oversee
the service of the church should be men of most entire
manners and life, powerful in sound doctrine, to give a
reason for all things." So also another,* about the same
time, writeth thus : "Therefore it can never be, that by
the tongues or learning any can give a sound judgment
concerning the holy scriptures, and the truth of God.
Lastly," saith he, " the sheep of Christ seeks nothing but
the voice of Christ, which he knoweth by the Holy Spirit,
wherewith he is filled: he regards not learning,. tongues,
or any outward thing, so as therefore to believe this or that
to be the voice of Christ, his true shepherd ; he knoweth
that there is need of no other thing but the testimony of the
Spirit of God."
* Franciscus Lambertus Avenionensis, in his book concerning Pro
phecy, Learning, Tongues, and the Spirit of Prophecy. Argent, excus.
anno 1516, de prov. cap. xxiv.

OF THE MINISTRY. 287
§ XVII. Against this absolute necessity of grace they Obj. 1.
object, That if all ministers had the saving grace of God,
then all ministers should be saved, seeing none can fall
away from or lose saving grace.
But this objection is. built upon a false hypothesis, Answ.
purely denied by us ; and we have in the former propo
sition concerning' perseverance already refuted it.
Secondly, It may be objected to -us, That since we affirm Obj. 2.
that every man hath a measure of true and saving grace,
there needs no singular qualification either to a Christian or
minister ; for seeing every man hath this grace, then no man
needs forbear to be a minister for want Of grace.-
I answer, We have above shown that there is necessary Answ.
to the making a minister a- special and particular call from
the Spirit of God, which is something besides the universal
dispensation of grace to all, accordingto that of the apostle,
" No" man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is Heb. v. 4.
called of God,, as was Aaron." ..Moreover, we understand All have
by grace as a qualification to a minister, not the mere mea- ^hich calls-
sure of light, as it is given to reprove and call him to right- to right -
. , , .... . eousness,
eousness; but we "Understand grace as it hath converted but all are
the soul, and operateth powerfully in it, as hereafter, con- "e0a\,|°e(j
cerning the work of ministers, will further appear. So we into its na,.
understand not men simply as having grace in them as a- bring forth
seed, which we indeed affirm all have in a measure ; *but blameless
we understand men that are gracious, leavened by it ifito holy life.
the nature thereof, so as thereby to bring forth those good
fruits of a blameless conversation, and of justice, holiness,
patience, and temperance, which the apostle requires as
necessary in a true Christian bishop and minister.
Thirdly, They* object the example of the false prophets, Obj. 3.
of the Pharisees, and of Judas.
But First, As to the false prophets, there can nothing be Answ.
more foolish and ridiculous ; as if because there * were
false prophets, really false, without the grace of God, there
fore grace is not necessary to a true Christian minister.
* So Nic. Arnoldns, sect, xxxii. upon Thesis iv.

288 PROPOSITION X.
The false Indeed if they had proved that true prophets wanted this
prophets grace, they" had said something; but what have false pro-
want the phets common with- true ministers, but that they pretend
grace ot r ' . J r
God. falsely that which they have not ? And because false pro
phets want true grace, will it therefore follow, that true
prophets ought not to have it, that they may be true and
not false? The example < of the Pharisees and priests
under the law will hot answer to the gospel times, because
The service God set. apart a particular tribe for that service, and'par-
lawwasnot ticular families, to whom it belonged by a lineal succession ;
purely spi- and also their service and work was not purely spiritual,
figurative, but only the performance of some outward "and carnal ob-
formMTOof servations and ceremonies, which were but a shadow of
which, as the substance that was to come ; and therefore their work
hoved to be made not the comers thereunto perfect, as appertaining to
fVonftheir ^e conscience, seeing they were appointed only according
outward to the law of a carnal commandment, and not according
so the min- to the power of an endless life. Notwithstanding as in
gospel°muhst the figure they were to be without blemish as to their out-
be inwardly ward man, and in the performance of their work they were
blemish, to be washed and purified from their outward pollutions,
so now, under the gospeHimes, the ministers in the anti
type must, be inwardly without blemish in their souls and
spirits, being, as the apostle -requires, blameless-, and in
theft work and service must be pure and undefiled from
their inward pollutions, and so clean and holy, that they may
" offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus
The minis- Christ," 1 Pet. ii. 5. As to Judas, the season of his minis-
aisciplesof trv was not wholly evangelical, as being before the work
Christ be- was finished, and while Christ himself and his1 disciples
work was were yet subject to the Jewish observances and constitu-
was more" tions, and therefore his commission, as well as that which
legal than the rest received with him at that time, was " only to the
evan^e- * *
lical. house of Israel," Mat. x. 5, 6 ; by virtue of that commis
sion the rest of the apostles were not empowered to go
forth and preach after the resurrection until they had
waited at Jerusalem for the pouring forth of the. Spirit; so
that it appears Judas's ministry was more legal than evan-

OF THE MINISTRY. 289
gelical. Secondly, Judas's case, as all will acknowledge,
was singular and extraordinary, . he being immediately Judas was
called, by Christ himself, and accordingly furnished and j^f^j
empowered by him to preach, and do miracles; which Christ, and
immediate commission our adversaries do not so much as freely,
pretend to, and so fall short of Judas, who trusted in Adversaries
Christ's words, and therefore went forth and preached, will not do;
without gold or silver, or scrip for his journey ; giving freely they
as he had freely received ; which our adversaries will not m"~®e'j™f
do, as hereafter shall be observed: also that Judas at that their grace-
time had not the least measure of God's grace, I have not try, say-
as yet heard proved. But is it not sad, that even Pro- n"0f'thehad
testants should lay aside the eleven good and faithful least
apostles, and all the rest ofthe holy disciples and ministers God'sgrace
of Christ,- and betake them < to that one, of whom it wasattnat
' , ' time.
testified that he was a devil, for a pattern and example to
their ministry? Alas ! it is to be regretted, that too many
of them resemble this pattern over much.
Another objection is usually made against the necessity Qbject.
of grace,* That in case it were necessary, then such as Arnoldus0'
wanted it could not truly administer the sacraments ; and
consequently the people would be left in doubts and in
finite scruples, as not knowing certainly whether they had
truly received them, because not knowing infallibly
whether the administrators were truly gracious men.
But this objection hitteth not us at all, because the na- Answ.
ture of that Spiritual and Christian worship, which we
according to the truth plead for, is such as is not neces
sarily attended with these carnal and outward institutions,
from the administering of which the objection ariseth ; and
so hath not any such absurdity following upon it, as will
afterwards more clearly appear.
§ XVIII. Though then we make not human learning what true
necessary, yet we are far from excluding true learning ; to learnms iB-
wit, that learning which proceedeth from the inward
teachings and instructions of the Spirit, whereby the soul
learneth the secret ways of the Lord, becomes acquainted
with many inward- travails and exercises ofthe mind; and
25 2 m

290

PROPOSITION X.

The good
learningwhich is
necessaryto a true
minister.

Literature
is first the
knowledgeof Latin,
Greek, and
Hebrew.

learneth by a living experience how to overcome evilj and
the temptations of it, by following the Lord, and walking
in his light, and waiting daily for wisdom and. knowledge
immediately from the revelation thereof; and so layeth up
these heavenly and divine lessons in the good treasure of
the heart, as honest Mary did the sayings which she heard,
and things which she observed : and also out of this trea
sure of the soul, as the good scribe, brings forth- things
new and old, according as the same Spirit moves, and
gives true liberty, and as the glory of God requires, for
whose glory the soul, which is the temple of God, learneth
to do all things. This is that good learning which we
think necessary to a true minister ; by and through which
learning a man can well instruct, teach, and admonish in
due season,- and testify for God from a certain experience;
as did David, Solomon, and the holy prophets of old, and
the blessed apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who testi
fied of what they had seen, heard, felt, and handled of
the word of life, 1 John i. 1, Ministering the gift according
as they had received the same, as good stewards of the
manifold grace of God ; and preached not the uncertain
rumors of men by hearsay, which they had gathered merely
in the comprehension, while they were strangers to the
thing in their own experience in themselves : as to teach
people how. to believe, while themselves were unbelieving ;
or how to overcome sin, while themselves are slaves tp it,
as all ungracious men are ; or to believe and hope for an
eternal reward', which themselves have not as yet -arrived
at, &c.
§ XIX. But let us examine this literature, which they
make so necessary to the being of a minister ; as in the
first place, the knowledge of the tongues, at least the Latin,
Greek, and Hebrew. The reason of this is, That they may
read the scripture, which is their only rule, in the original
languages, and thereby be the more capable to comment
upon it, and interpret it, &c. That also which made this
knowledge be the more prized by the primitive Protestants,
was indeed the dark barbarity that was over the world in

OF THE MINISTRY. 291
the centuries immediately preceding the reformation ; the
knowledge of the tongues being about that time, until it
was even then restored by Erasmus and some others, al
most Jost. and extinct. And this barbarity was so much Before the
the more abominable, that the whole worship and prayers tj,e prayers
of the people were in the Latin tongue ; and among that °* the Pe9"
r r~ o.j a pie were in
vast number of priests, monks and friars, scarce one of a the Latin
thousand understood his breviary, or' that mass which he ongue
daily read and repeated: the scripture being, not only to
the people, but to the greater part ofthe clergy, even as to
the literal knowledge of it, as a sealed book, I shall not The zeal
at all discommeftd the zeal that the first reformers had vours ofthe
against this Babylonish darkness, nor their pious endea- ^J8r^™'_
vours to translate the holy scriptures : I do truly believe, mended.
according to their knowledge^ that they did it candidly :
and therefore to answer the just desires of those that desire The know-
~~ to read them, and for other very good reasons, as main- languages
taining a commerce and Understanding among divers na- ^™ra™i"
tions by these common languages, and others of that kind, schools ne-
we judge it necessary and commendable that there be
public schools for the teaching and instructing such youth,
as are inclinable thereunto, in the languages. And al
though that papal ignorance deserved justly to be abhorred
and abominated, we see nevertheless, that the true reforma
tion consists not in that knowledge ; because although since ThePapists'
that time the Papists, stirred up through emulation" of the anj know-
Protestants, have more applied themselves to literature, and ^y'tehs£e"
it now more flourisheth in their universities and cloisters, Jesuits.
than before, especially in the Ignatian or Jesuitic sect, they
are as far now as ever from a true reformation, and more
hardened in their pernicious doctrines. But -all this will
not make it a necessary qualification to a minister, far. less a
more necessary qualification than the grace of God and his
Spirit; .because the Spirit and grace of God can make up
this want in the most rustic and ignorant ; but this ^know
ledge can no ways make up the want of the Spirit in the
most learned and eloquent. For all that which man by his
own industry, learning and knowledge in the languages,

292 proposition x.
The Spirit can interpret of the scriptures, or find out, is nothing with-
interpreter out the Spirit ; he cannot be certain, but may still miss of
ofthe scrip- the "sense of it: whereas a poor man, that knoweth not a
tures, whe- , • i 1 ,
ther from letter, when > he heareth the scriptures read, by the same
languages* Spirit he can say, This is true ; and by the same Spirit he
or without can understand, open; and interpret it, if need be : yea^
finding his condition to answer the condition and ex
perience of the saints of old, he knoweth arid possesseth
the truths there delivered, because they are sealed and wit
nessed in his own heart by the same Spirit. And this We
have plentiful experience of in many of those illiterate men,
whom God hath raised up to be ministers in his church in
this day ; so that some such, by his Spirit, have corrected
some of the errors of the translators, as in the third pro
position concerning the scriptures I before observed. -Yea,
A poor I know myself a poor shoemaker, that cannot read a word,
fhafcoul?' WB0 heing assaulted with a false citation of scripture, from
not read, a public professor of divinity, before the magistrate of a
professor of city, when he had been taken up for preaching to some
foise asser- ^ew tnat came to near mm > I sav> ^ knowsuch a one, arid
tions from he is yet alive, who though the professor, who also is
scripture. J , " , . ° ,r ,,.
esteemed a learned man, constantly asserted his saying to
be a scripture sentence, yet affirmed, not through any certain
letter-knowledge he had of it, but from the most certain
evidence of the Spirit iri himself, that the professor was
mistaken ; and that the Spirit of God never said any such
thing as the other affirmed ; and the bible being brought,
it was found as the poor shoemaker had said.
2. Logic § XX. The second part of their literature is logic and
sophy not philosophy, an art so little needful to a true minister, that
needful to jf one ^hat comes to be a true minister hath had it, it is
a preacher. • '
safest for 'him to forget and lose it; for it is the root and
ground of all contention and debate, and the way to make
a thing a great deal darker, than dearer. For under the
pretence of regulating man's reason into a certain order
and rules, that he may find out', as they pretend, the truth,
it leads into such a labyrinth of contention, as is far more
fit to make a sceptic than a Christian, far less a minister

OF THE MINISTRY. 293
of Christ: yea, it often hinders man from a clear under
standing of things that his own reason would give him ;
and" therefore through its manifold rules and divers inven
tions, it often gives occasion for a man, that hath little
reason, foolishly to Speak much to no purpose ; seeing a
man, that is not very wise, may notwithstanding be a per
fect logician. And then, if ye would make a man a fool
to purpose that is not very wise, do but teach him logic
and philosophy ; and whereas before he might have been
fit for something, he shall then be good for nothing, but to
speak nonsense ; for these notions will so swim in his head,
that they will make him extremely busy about nothing.
The use that wise and solid men make of it, is, to see the The use of
emptiness thereof; therefore saith one, It is an art of con- B°f Us%mp.
tention and darkness, by which all other sciences are' ren- tmess.
dered more obscure, and harder tp be understood.
If it be urged, That thereby the truth may be maintained
arid confirmed, and heretics confuted ;
I answer, The truth, in men truly rational, needeth not Answ.
the help thereof; and such as are obstinate, this will not
convince; for by this they may learn twenty tricks and
distinctions, how to shut out the truth : and the truth pro
ceeding from an honest heart, and spoken forth from the
virtue and Spirit of God, will have more influence, and
take sooner and more effectually, than by a thousand de
monstrations of logic ; as that heathen philosopher* acknow- a heathen
ledged, who, disputing with the Christian bishops in' the j-11'0™™61
council of Nice, was so subtile, that he could not be over- with the
come by them ; but yet by a few words spoken by a simple the council
old. rustic, was presently convinced by him, and converted ofNlce'
to the -Christian faith; and being enquired how he came verted to
to yield to that ignorant old man, and not tothe bishops ; tian faith'
he said, That they contended with him in his own way, hy an igno
and he could still give words for words ; but there came man, wher
from the old man that virtue, which he was not ab!e_Jo not.y c"
resist. This secret virtue and power ought to be the logic and
*Luca Osiandri Epit. Hist. Eccles., lib. ii., cap. 5., cent. 4.
25*

294 proposition x.
philosophy wherewith a true Christian minister should be
furnished; and for which they need not be beholden tp
Naturallo- Aristotle. , As to natural logic, by which rational men,
gic useful. wjthout-tnat art and rules, or sophistical learning, deduce
a certain conclusion out of true propositions, which scarce
any man of reason wants, we deny pot the use of it ; and
I have sometimes used it in this treatise ; which also may
3. Ethics, serve without that dialectic art. As for the other part of
ner-ralMto philosophy, which is called moral, or .ethics, it is not ,so
Christians necessary to Christians, who have the rules of the holy
scriptures, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, by which they
4. Physics can be much better instructed, The physical and meta-
tephyslcsf' physical part may be reduced to the arts of medicine and
make no the iriathematics, which have nothing to do~with the essence
ofthe truth, of a Christian minister. And therefore the apostle Paul,
who well understood what was good for Christian minis
ters, and what hurtful, thus exhorted the Colossians^Col.
ii. 8, " Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy
and vain deceit.". And to his beloved disciple Timothy
he writes also thus, 1 Tim. vi. 20, " O Timothy, keep that
which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain
babblings, and oppositions of science, falsely so called."
III. The § XXI. The third and main part of their literature is
school-di- school-divinity, a monster, made up of soine scriptural no-
vinityob- tions of truth, and the heathenish terms and maxims;
noxious; a .' ..... . ....„,
monster; being, as it were, the heathenish philosophy christianized,
knowledge or rather, the literal external knowledge of Christ heathen-
heathen- ized. It is man in his first, fallen, natural state, with his
devilish wisdom, pleasing himself with some notions of
truth, and adorning them with his own sensual and carnal ,
wisdom, because he thinks the simplicity ofthe truth too low
and mean a thing for him ; ahd so despiseth that simplicity,
wheresoever it is found, that he may set up and exalt him
self, puffed up with this his monstrous birth. It is the devil,
darkening, obscuring, and veiling the knowledge of God,
with his serpentine and Worldly wisdom ; that so he may
the more securely deceive the hearts of the simple, and
make the truth, as it is in itself, despicable and hard to be

OF THE MINISTRY. 295
*
known and understood, by multiplying a thousand difficult
and needless questions, and endless contentions and de
bates. All which, he who perfectly knoweth, is not a whit
less the servant of sin than he was ; but ten times more so,
in that he is exalted, and proud of" iniquity, and so much
the farther from receiving, understanding; or learning the
truth, as it is in its own naked simplicity ; because he is
full, learned^ rich, and wise in his own conceit : and so
those that are most skilled in it, wear out their day, and
spend their precious time about the infinite and innumer
able questions they have feigned and invented concerning
it. A certain learned man called it, A twofold discipline,
like the race of the Centaurs, partly proceeding from divine
sayings, partly from philosophical reasons. A thousand of Its needless
their questions they confess themselves to be no-ways ne- a^endiess
cessary to salvation ; and yet many more of them they janglings.
could never agree upon, but are, and still will be, in end
less janglings about them. The volumes that have been
written about it, a man in his whole age could scarce read,
though he lived to be very old; and when he has read
them, all, he has but wrought himself a great deal more
vexation and trouble of spirit than he had before. These
certainly are the words multiplied without knowledge;
by which counsel hath been darkened, Job xxxviii. 2.
They make the scripture the text of all this mass ; and it is
concerning the sense of it that their voluminous debates
arise. But a man of a good upright heart may learn more
in half an hour, and be more certain of it, by waiting upon
God, and his Spirit in the heart, than by reading a thou
sand of their volumes ; which by filling his head with many
needless imaginations, may well stagger his faith, but never
confirm it : and indeed those that give themselves most to
it, are most capable to fall into error, as appeareth by the
example of Origen, who, by his learning, was one of the
first, that falling into this way of interpreting the scriptures,
wrote so many volumes, and in them so many errors, as
very much troubled the church. Also Arius, led by this
curiosity and human scrutiny, despising the simplicity of

296 PROPOSITION X.

Whereby the gospel, fell into his. error, which was the cause of that
rniTerror horrible heresy which so much troubled the church. Me-
and schism, thinks the simplicity, plainness, and brevity of the scrip
tures themselves, should be a sufficient reproof for such a
science ; and the apostles, being honest, plain, illiterate
men, maybe better understood by such kind of men now,
than with all that mass of scholastic stuff, which neither
Peter, nor Paul, nor John, ever thought of.
The apos- § XXII. But this invention of Satan, wherewith he be-
dan^erous8 gan the apostasy, hath been of dangerous consequence;
conse- for thereby he at first spoiled the simplicity of truth, by
quence. J r .
keeping up the heathenish learning, which occasioned such
Many 0f uncertainty, even among those called Fathers, and such
do^ofonly debate, that there are few of them to be found, who, by
contradict reason of this mixture, do not only frequently contradict
each other, " j, -i j
but them- one another, but themselves also. And therefore when the
and whyS°' apostasy grew greater, he, as it were, buried the truth with
this veil of darkness, wholly shutting out people from true
knowledge, and making the learned (so accounted) busy
themselves with idle and needless questions ; while the
weighty truths of God were neglected, and went, as it were,
into disuse.-
Now, though the grossest of these abuses be swept away
by Protestants ; yet the evil root still remains, and is nou
rished and upheld ; and the science kept up, as being
deemed necessary for a minister : for, while the pure learn
ing of the Spirit of truth is despised and neglected, and
made ineffectual, man's fallen earthly wisdom is upheld ;
and so in that he labours and works with the scriptures,
being out of the Life and Spirit which those that Wrote
them were in, by which only they are rightly understood,
Merchan- and made use of. And so he that is to be a minister, must
tne^cnp- leam tms art or trade of merchandizing with the scriptures,
tures, what and be that which the apostle would not be, to wit, a trader
See also with them, 2 Cor. ii. 17. That he may acquire a knack
from a verse of scripture, by adding his own barren notions
and conceptions to it, and his uncertain conjectures, and
what he hath stolen out of books ; for which end he must

OF THE MINISTRY. 297
have of necessity a good many by him, and may each
Sabbath-day, us they call it, or ofterier, make a discourse
for an hour long ; and this is called the preaching of the And this
word : whereas the gift, grace, and Spirit of God, to teach, thepreach-
open, and instruct, and to preach a word in season, is ne- ing ofthe
glected ; and so man's arts and parts, and knowledge, and
wisdom, which- is from below, are set up and established Thus Anti-
in the temple of God, yea, and above the httle seed ; which established
in effect is Antichrist, working in the mystery. And so the above the
devil may be as, good and able a minister as the best of kingdom.
them ; for he has better skill in languages, and more logic, How the
philosophy and school-divinity, than any of, them ; and ^"mmis-
knows the truth in the notion better than they all, and can ter ofthe
, * DTlGStS
talk more eloquently than all those preachers. But what gospel.
availeth all this ? Is it not all but as death, as a painted
sepulchre, and dead carcase, without the power, life and
spirit of Christianity, which is the marrow and substance
of a Christian ministry? And he that hath this, and can
speak from it, thpugh he be a poor shepherd, or a fisher
man, and ignorant of all that learning, and of all those
questions and notions ; yet speaking from the Spirit, his
ministry will have more influence towards the converting
of a sinner unto God, than all of them who. are learned
after the flesh ; as in that example of the old man at the
council of Nice did appear.
§ XXIII. And if in any age, since the apostles' days, The power
God hath purposed to show his power by weak instruments, weak in-
for the battering down of that carnal and heathenish wis- restoring8
dom, and restoring again the ancient simplicity of truth, the simpli.
this is it. For in our day, God hath raised up witnesses truth.
for himself, as he did fishermen of old; many, yea, most
of whom, are labouring and mechanic men, who, altoge
ther without that learning, have, by the power and Spirit
of God, struck at the very root and ground of Babylon;
and in the strength and might of this power, have gathered
thousands, by reaching their consciences, intb the same
power and life, who, as to the outward part, have been far-
more knowing than they, yet not able to resist the virtue
2n

298

PROPOSITION X.

The power
ful ministry
of illiterate

The time
of the au
thor's first
convince-ttient. Job xxviii.
28.

Ques. 3.

The work
of a minis
ter.

that proceeded from them. - Of which I myself am a true
witness ; and can declare from certain experience, because
my heart hath been- often greatly broken and tendered by
that virtuous life that proceeded from the powerful ministry
of those illiterate men : so that by their very countenance,
as well as words, I have felt the evil in me often chained
down, and the good reached to and raised. What shall I
then say to you, who are lovers of- learning, and admirers
of ^knowledge ? Was not I also a lover and admirer of it,
who also sought after it, according to my age and capacity ?
But it pleased God, in his . unutterable love, early to with
stand my vain endeavours, while I was yet but eighteen
years of age ; and made me seriously to consider (which I
wish also may befal others) That without holiness and
regeneration, no man can see God ; and that the fear
of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and to depart from
iniquity, a good understanding; and how much knowledge
puffeth up, and leadeth away from that inward quietness,
stillness, and humility of mind, where the Lord appears,
and his heavenly wisdom is revealed. If ye consider these
things, then will ye say with me, that all this learning, wis
dom and knowledge, gathered in this fallen nature, is but
as dross and dung, in comparison of the cross of -Christ;
especially being destitute of that power, life and virtue,
which I perceived these excellent (though despised, be
cause illiterate) witnesses of God to be filled with: and
therefore seeing, that in and among them, I, with many
others, have found the heavenly food that gives content
ment, let my soul seek after this learning, and wait for it
for ever.
§ XXIV. Having thus spoken of the call and qualifica
tions, of a gospel-minister, that which comes next to be
considered, is, What his proper work is, how, and by what
rule, he is to be ordered ? Our adversaries do all along go
upon externals, and therefore have certain prescribed rules
and methods, contrived according to their human and
earthly wisdom : we, on the contrary, walk still upon the
same foundation, and lean always upon the immediate as-

OF THE MINISTRY. 299
sistahce and influence of that Holy Spirit, which God hath The Holy
given his children, to teach them all things, and lead them gpirh'0f
in all things: which Spirit, being the Spirit of order, and order and
not of confusion, leads us, and as many as follow it, into fusion.
such a comely and decent order as becometh the church
of God: But our adversaries, having shut themselves out
from this immediate counsel and influence of the Spirit,
have run themselves into many confusions and disorders,
seeking to establish an order in this matter. For some will Popish or-
have first a chief bishop, or pope; to rule and be a prince offices &c.
over all ; and under him, by degrees, cardinals, patriarchs,
archbishops, priestSj deacons, sub- deacons ; and besides
these, Acoluthi, Tonsorati, Ostiarii, &c. And in their
theology (as they call it) professors, bachelors, doctors, &c.
And others would have every nation independent of an
other, haying its own "metropolitan or patriarch ; and the
rest in order subject to him, as before. Others again are
against all precedency among pastors, and constitute theif
subordination not of persons, but of powers : as first the
consistory, or session ; then the class, or presbytery ; then
the provincial ; and then the national synod or assembly;
Thus they tear one another, and contend among themselves
concerning the ordering, distinguishing, and making their
several orders and offices ; concerning which there hath
been no— less contest, not only by' way of verbal dispute,
but even by fighting, tumults, wars, ' devastations,^ and Wars and
bloodshed, than about the conquering, overturning, and aboutS e
establishing of kingdoms. And the histories of late times churchgo-
11 ir ¦ t n vemment.
are as full of the various tragedies, acted on account of
this spiritual and ecclesiastical monarchy , and common
wealth, as the histories of old times are of the wars and
contests that fell out both in the Assyrian, Persian, Greek
and Roman empires: these last upon this account,. though
among those that are -called, Christians, have been no less
bloody and cruel than the former among heathen, concern
ing their outward empires and governments. Now all this, The ground
both among Papists and Protestants, proceedeth, in that ^freof!86
they seek' in imitation to uphold a form and shadow of

300 PROPOSITION X.
things, though they want the power, virtue and substance ;
while for many of their orders and forms they have not so
much as the name in the scripture. But in opposition to
all this mass of formality, and heap of orders, rules and
governments, we say, the substance is chiefly to be' sought
after, and the power, virtue and spirit, is to be known and
waited for, which is one in all the different names and
offices the scripture makes use of; as appears by 1 Cor. xii.
4, (often before mentioned) " There are diversities of gifts,
but Hie same Spirit." And after the apostle, throughout
the whole chapter, hath shown how one and the selfsame
Spirit worketh in and- quickeneth each member; then in
verse 28, he showeth how thereby God hath set in the
church, first apostles, secondly prophets, teachers, &c. And
likewise to the same purppse, Eph. iv. 11, he showeth, how
by these gifts " he hath given some apostles, some prophets,
some evangelists, some pastors, some teachers," &c. Now
it never was.Christ's purpose, nor the apostles', that Chris
tians should, without this Spirit and heavenly gift, set up a
shadow and form of these orders, and so make several
ranks and degrees, to establish a carnal ministry of men's
making, without the life, power and Spirit of Christ : this
The work is that work of Antichrist, and mystery of iniquity/ that
chris" and hath got up in the dark night of apostasy. But in a true
mystery of church of Christ, gathered together by God, not only into
the belief of the principles of truth, but alsp into the power,
-life and Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of God is the orderer,
ruler and governor; as in each particular, so in the general.
And when they assemble together to wait upon God, and
Such as the to worship and adore him; then such as the Spirit sets
aparftcfthe aPart f°r tne ministry, by its divine power and influence
ministry, opening their mouths, and giving them to exhort, reprove,
thren hear and instruct with virtue and power,; these are thus ordained
11 of God and admitted into the ministry, and their brethren
cannot but hear them, receive, them, and also honour them
for their work's sake. And so this is not monopolized by
The clergy a certain kind of men, as the clergy (who are to that pur-
an aics. p0ge educated and brought up as other carnal artists) and

OF THE MINISTRY. 301
the rest to be despised as laics ; but it is left to the free
gift of God to choose any whom he seeth meet thereunto,
whether rich or poor, servant or master, young or old, yea,
male or female. And such as have this call, verify the Women
gospel,, by preaching not in speech only, but also in p^ach.
power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much fulness, 1
Thess. i. 5, and cannot but be received and heard by the
sheep of Christ.
§ XXV. But if it be objected here, That I seem hereby Object.
to make no distinction at all betwixt ministers and others ;
which is contrary to the apostle's saying, 1 Cor. xii. 29,
"Are all apostles ? Are all prophets ? Are all teachers ?"
&c. From thence they insinuate, That I also contradict
his comparison in that chapter, of the church of Christ with
a human body ; as where he saith, verse 17, " If the whole
body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole
were hearing,: where were the smelling?" &c. Also the
apostle not only distinguisheth the ministers of the church
in general from the rest of the members, but also from them
selves ; as naming them distinctly and separately, apostles,
prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, &c.
As»to the last part of this objection, to which I shall first Ans. 1.
answer ; it is apparent, that this diversity of names is not Diversity
to distinguish separate offices, but to denote -the different' makemno
and various operations of the Spirit ; a manner of speech distinct
frequent with the apostle Paul, wherein he sometimes which may
expatiates to the~ illustrating of the glory and praise of ^'"o^ther
Gpd's grace : as in particular, Rom. xii. 6 : ," Having then in one Per"
gifts differing according to the grace that is given us,
whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the pro
portion, of faith ; or ministry, let us wait on our minister
ing ; or he that teacheth, on teaching ; or he that exhor-
teth, on exhortation." Now none will say from all this,
that these are distinct offices, or do not or may not coin
cide in one person, as may all those other things mentioned
by him in the subsequent verses, viz., Of loving, being
kindly affectioned, fervency of spirit, hospitality, diligence,
blessing, rejoicing, &c, which he yet numbers forth as dif-
26

302 proposition s:.
ferent gifts of the Spirit,- and according to this objection
might be placed as distinct and separate offices, which
were mpst absurd.
Secondly, In these very places mentioned it is clear
that it is no real distinction of separate offices ; because
all acknowledge, that pastors and teachers, whieh the
apostle there no .less separateth and distinguisheth, than
pastors and prophets, or apostles, are one and the same,
and coincide in the same office and person ; and therefore
Prophecy may be said so of the rest. For prophecy as it signifies
sy?ngr°kse' tne foretelling of things to come, is indeed a distinct gift,
twofold sig- but nP distinct office ; and therefore our adversaries do
not place it among their several orders : neither will they
deny, but that it both may be and hath been given of God
to some, that not only have been pastors and teachers, and
that there it hath coincided in one person with these other
offices, but also tb some of the laics : and so it hath' been
found, according to their own confession, without the
To prophe- limits of their clergy. Prophecy in the, other sense,. to wit,
lege of as it signifies a speaking from the Spirit of truth, is not
anTofali on'v Pecuhar to pastors and teachers, who -ought so to
the saints, prophesy; but even a' common privilege to the saints.
For though to instruct, teach and exhprt, be proper to such
as are more particularly called to the work of the ministry ;
yet it is not, so proper to them, as not to be, when the
saints are met together, as any of them are moved by the
Spirit, common to others : for some acts belong to.all in
such a relation ; but not only to those within that relation :
Competunt omni, sed non soli. ' Thus to see and hear are
proper acts of a man ; seeing it inay be properly predi
cated of him, that he heareth and- seeth : yet are they
common to other creatures also. So to prophesy in this
sense, is indeed proper to ministers and teachers ; yet not
so, but that it is common and lawful to other saints, when
moved thereunto, though it be not- proper to them by way
of relation: because, notwithstanding' that motion, they
are not particularly called to the work of the ministry, as
appears by 1 Cor. xiv., where the apostle at large declar-

OF THE MINISTRY. 303
ing the order and ordinary method of the church, saith,
ver. 30, 31 ; " But if any thing be revealed to another that
sitteth by, let the first hold his -peace ; for ye may all pro
phesy one by one, that all may- learn, and all be com
forted :" which showeth that hone here is excluded. But
yet that there is a subordination, according to the various
measures of the gift received, the next verse showeth :
"And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the- pro
phets: for God is not the author of confusion, but of
peace." Now that prophesying, in this sense, may be
common to all saints, appears by verse 39, ofthe same
chapter, where speaking to all in general, he saith, " Where
fore, brethren, covet to prophesy ;" and verse.,1, he exhorts
them, saying, " Desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may
prophesy." ^Secondly, As to evangelists the same .may be said ; for Who are
whoever preacheth the gospel is really an evangelist, and fj™"?6"
so consequently every true minister of the gospel is one ; and whe-
else what proper office can they assign to it, unless they may term
should be so foolish as to affirm that none were evangelists go6^^!8
but Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, who wrote the day.
account of Christ's life and sufferings? and then it were
neither a particular office, seeing John, and Matthew were
apostles, Mark and Luke pastors and teachers, so that there
they coincided in one. And indeed it is absurd to think,
that upon that particular account the apostle used the word
evangelist. Calvin acknowledgeth, that such as preach
the gospel in purity, after some time of apostasy, may be
truly called evangelists, and therefore saith, that there
were apostles in his time ; and hence the. Protestants at
their first coming forth, termed themselves evangelici, or
evangelics. Lastly, an apostle, if we look to the etymology of the Who is an
word, signifies one that is sent ; and in respect every true aP°stle-
minister is sent of God, in so. far he is an apostle ; though
the twelve,- because of their being specially sent of Christ,
were therefore called apostles xuT ^ox^, or per emineniiam,
i. e., by way of excellency. And yet that there was no limi-

304 PROPOSITION x.
They were tation to such a number, as some foolishly imagine,
tosuch'a6 appears, because after that number was filled up, the
number. ap0stle Paul was afterwards so called ; therefore we judge
that these are no distinct separate offices, but only names
used upon occasion to express the more eminent arising
arid shining forth of God's grace. As if any minister of
Christ should now proselyte and turn a whole nation to the
Whether Christian faith, though he.had no distinct office, yet I doubt
called anbe not but botn Papists and Protestants would judge it toler-
apostie at able to call such an one -an apostle, or an evangelist ; for
ay" on this account the Jesuits call some of their- sect apostles
of India and of Japan ; and Calvin testifies that there
were apostles and evangelists in his time, in respect to the
Upon what reformation ; upon which account also we have known
5ohnUKnox John Knox often called the aPostle of Scotland. So that
was called we conclude that ministers, pastors, or teachers do com-
of Scotland, prehend all, and that the office is but one, and therefore in
that respect we judge there ought to be no precedency
among them : to prove which I shall not here insist, seeing
it is shown largely, and treated of by such as have denied
the Diocesan Episcopacy, as they call ft.
Ans. 2. § XXVI. As to the first part bf the objection, viz., That
I seem to make no distinction betwixt the minister and
Liberty to people, I answer, If it be understood of a liberty to speak
all°haveyby or prophesy by the Spirit, I say all may do that, when
the Spirit, moved thereunto, as above is shown ; but we do believe
and affirm that some are more particularly called to the
work of the ministry, and therefore are fitted of the Lord
for that purpose ; whose work is more constantly and par
ticularly to instruct, exhort, admonish, oversee, and watch
over their brethren ; and that as there is something more
incumbent upon them in that respect than upon every
common believer, so also, as in that relation, there is due
to them from the flock such obedience and subjection as is
mentioned in these testimonies of the scripture, Heb. xiii.
17 ; 1 Thess. v. 12, 13; 1 Tim. v. 17; 1 Pet. v. 5. Also
besides these who are thus particularly called to the minis
try, and constant labour in the word and doctrine, there

OF THE MINISTRY. 305
are also the elders, who though they be not moved to a The elders
frequent testimony by way of declaration in words, yet as for thefwi-
such are grown up in the experience of the blessed work dows' tl1?
. . - poor, and
of truth in their hearts, they watch over and privately ad- fatherless.
monish the young, take care-for the widows, the poor, and
fatherless, and look that nothing be wanting, but that
peace, love, unity, concord, and soundness be preserved
in the church of Christ ; and this answers to the deacons
mentioned Acts vi.
That which we oppose, is the distinction of laity and The dis-
clergy, which in the scripture is not to be found, whereby clergy and
norie are admitted- unto the work of the ministry but such laity not, to
. . . , , . be found in
as are educated at schools on .purpose, and instructed in scripture.
logic and philosophy, &c, and so are at their apprentice
ship to learn the art and trade of preaching, even as a man
learns any other art, whereby all other honest mechanic
men, who have not got this heathenish art, are excluded
from having this privilege. And so he that is a scholar
thus bred up must not have any honest trade whereby to
get him a livelihood, if he once intend for the ministry, but
he must see to get him a place, and then he hath his set
hire for a livelihood to him. He must also be distinguished Their garb,
from the rest by the colour of his clothes ; for he must only
wear black, and must be a master of arts : but more pf this
hereafter. § XXVII. As this manner of separating men for the
ministry is nothing like the church in the apostles' days, so
great evils have and do follow upon it. For first, Parents
seeing both the honour and profit that attends the clergy,
do allot their children sometimes from their infancy to it,
and so breed them up on purpose. . And others, come to
age, upon the same .account betake, them to the same trade,
and having these natural and acquired parts that are judged
the necessary qualifications of a minister, are thereby ad
mitted, and so are bred up in idleness and pleasure, think
ing it a disgrace for them to work with their hands ; and
so just study a little out of their books, to make a discourse
once or twice a week during the running of an hour-glass ;
26 * 2 o

306 PROPOSITION Xi _
The der- whereas the gift, grace, and Spirit of God, to call and
futSofttldy qualify for the ministry, is neglected and overlooked. "And
biftkfGhd many covetous, corrupt, earthly, carnal men, having a
neglected, mere show and form, but strangers to, and utterly ignorant
of, the inward work of grace upon their hearts, are
brought in and intrude themselves, and so through them
death, barrenness, and darkness, and by consequence,
superstition, error, and idolatry have entered and leavened
the church. And they that will narrowly observe, shall
find that it was thus the apostasy came to take place ; of
the truth of which I could give many examples, which for
brevity's sake I omit. Thus the office, reverencer and
respect due to it were annexed tothe mere name, so that
when once a man was ordained a bishop or a priest, he was
heard and believed, though he had nothing of the Spirit,
power, and life that the true apostles and ministers were
in. And thus in a short time the succession came to he
of the name and title, ahd the office" was thereto-- annexed;
and not of the nature, virtue, and life ; which in effect
made them to cease to be the ministry and ministers of
Christ, but only a shadow and vain image of it ; which
also decaying, was in some ages so metamorphosed, that
not only the substance was lost, but the very form wholly
The mar- vitiated, altered, and marred ; so that it may be far better
comparedto sa^ °f the pretended Christian church, as was disputed of
Theseus's Theseus's boat, which by the piecing of many new pieces
pieced boat. ~ .. . , „ , , , , . , , . ,
ot timber was wholly altered, whether indeed "it were the
same or another ? But in case that the first had been of
oak, and the pieces last put in but of rotten fir, and that
also the form had been so far changed as to be nothing
like the first, I think it would have suffered no dispute, but
might have easily been concluded to be quite another,
retaining nothing but the name, and that also unjustly.
The abuse Secondly, From this distinction of laity and clergy this
thedTs'tinc- abuse also follows, that good, honest, mechanic men, arid
tion of laity ,0thers who have not learned the art and trade of preach-
and clergy. . r
ing, arid so are not hcentiated according to these rules
they prescribe unto themselves ; such, I say, being pos-

OF THE MINISTRY. 307
sessod with a false opinion that it is not lawful for them to
meddle with the ministry, nor that they are any ways fit
for it, because of the defect of that literature, do thereby
neglect the gift in themselves, and quench many times the
pure breathings of the Spirit of God in their hearts ; which,
if given way to, might prove much more for the edification
of the church than many of the conned sermons of the
learned. And so by this means the apostle's command
and advice is slighted, who exhorteth, 1 Thess. v. 19, 20,
"not to quench the Spirit, nor despise prophesyings."
And all this is done by men pretending to be ChristianSj
who glory that the> first preachers and propagators of their
religion were such kind of plain mechanic men, and illi
terate. And even Protestants do no. less than Papists Both Pro-
exclude such kind .of men from being ministers among Papi"ts?ex-
them, and thus limit the Spirit and gift of God ; though 6'ud(: me"
. -..'_,. chamc men
their Fathers, in opposition to Papists, asserted the con- from
trary; and also their own histories declare how that kind whogreatiy
of illiterate men did, without learning, by the Spirit of contributed
God, greatly contribute in divers places to the Reformation, formation.
By this it may appear, that as in calling and qualifying
so in preaching and praying, and the bther particular steps
ofthe ministry, every true minister is to know theSpirit
of God by its virtue and life to accompany and assist him ;
but because this relates to worship, I shall speak of it
more largely in the next proposition, which is cbncernirig
worship. The last thing to be considered and inquired into is,
concerning the maintenance of a gospel minister ; but be
fore I proceed, I judge it fit to speak something in short
concerning the preaching of women, and to declare what
we hold in that matter.
Seeing male and female are one in Christ Jesus, and that Women's
he-gives his Spirit no less to one than to the other, when preaching
God moveth by his Spirit in a woman, we judge it no and praying
ways unlawful for her to preach in the assemblies of God's
people. Neither think we that of Paul, 1 Cor. xiv. 34, to
reprove the inconsiderate and talkative women among the

PROPOSITION X.

Acts xxi. 9.

Ques. 4.
Ministers'mainte
nance.

The minis
ters' food
and their
maintenance
stated.

I.
Against
constrained mainte
nance.

Corinthians, who troubled the church of Christ with their
unprofitable questions, or that, 1 Tim. ii. 11, 12, that
" women ought to learn in .silence, not usurping authority
over the man," any ways repugnant to this doctrine; be
cause it is clear that women have prophesied and preached
in the church, else had that saying of Joel been ill applied
by Peter, Acts ii. 17. And seeing Paul himself, in the
same epistle to the Corinthians, giveth rules how women
should behave themselves in their public preaching. ahd
praying, it would be a manifest contradiction, if that other
place were taken in a larger sense. And the same Paul
speaks of a woman that laboured with him in the work of
the gospel : and it is written that Philip had four daughters
that prophesied. And lastly, It hath been observed, that
God hath effectually in this day converted many souls by
the ministry of women ; and by. them also frequently com
forted the souls of his children ; which manifest experience
puts the thing beyond all controversy. But now I shall
proceed to speak of the maintenance of ministers.
§ XXVIII. We freely^ acknowledge, as the proposition
holds forth, that there is an obligation upon such to whom
God sends, or among whom he raiseth up a minister, that,
if need be, they minister to his necessities. Secondly,
That it is lawful for him to receive what is necessary and
convenient. To prove this I need not insist, for our ad
versaries will readily grant it to us ; for the thing We affirm
is, that this is all that these scripture testimonies relating
to this thing do grant, Gal. vi. 6 ; 1 Cor. ix. 11, 12, 13,
14 ; I Tim. v. 18. That which we then oppose in this
matter is, First, That it should be constrained and limited. .
Secondly, That it should be superfluous, chargeable, and
sumptuous. And Thirdly, The manifest abuse thereof, of
which I shall also briefly treat.
As to the Firs,t, our adversaries are forced to recur to the
example pf the law ; a refuge they use in defending most
of their errors and superstitions, which are contrary to the
nature and purity of the gospel.
They say, God appointed the Levites the tithes, there-

OF THE MINISTRY. 309
fore they belong also to such as minister in holy things Object.
under the gospel. '
I answer, All that can be gathered from this is, that as Ans.
the priests had a maintenance allowed them under the law,
so also the ministers and preachers under the gospel, which Tithes
is not denied ; but the comparison will not hold that they pointedfor
should have the very same ; since, First, There is-no ex- *tee^e,jot
press gospel command for it, neither by Christ nor his for gospel
apostles. Secondly, The parity doth no ways hold betwixt pre'
the Levites under the law, and the preachers under the
gospel ; because the Levites were one of the tribes of
Israel, and so had a right to a part of the inheritance ofthe
land as well as the -rest of their brethren ; and having none,
had this allotted to them in lieu of it. Next, The tenth of
the tithes was only allowed to the priests that served at the
altar, the rest being for the Levites, and also to be put up
in store-houses, for entertaining of widows and strangers.
But these preachers, notwithstanding they inherit what they
have by their parents, as well as other men, yet claim the
whole tithes, allowing nothing either to widow or stranger.
But as to the tithes I shall not insist, because divers Others
have clearly and learnedly treated of them apart, and also
divers Protestants do confess them not ' to be jure divino ;
and the parity as to the. quota doth not hold, but only in
general as to the obligation of a maintenance ; which main
tenance, though the hearers be obliged to give, and fail of
their duty if they do not, yet that it ought neither to be
stinted, nor yet forced, I prove ; because Christ, when he Reason I.
sent forth his apostles, said, "Freely ye have received, The gospel
freely give," Mat. x. 8, and yet they had liberty to receive ^lltlld^
meat and dripk from such as offered them, to supply their without so
need. Which shows that they were not to seek or require year.
anything by force, or to stint, or make a bargain before
hand, as the preachers as well among Papists as Protestants
do in these days, who will not preach to any until they be
first sure of so much a year ; but on the contrary, these
were to do their duty, and freely to communicate, as the

310

PROPOSITION X.

Nic. Ar-
noldus's
answer to
' Freely ye
have re
ceived,' &c.

Simon Ma
gus.

All things
are set to
sale at
Rome, to
Franequer
applied.

Lord should order them, what they had received, without
seeking or expecting a reward.
The answer given to this by Nicolaus Arnoldus, Exercit.
Theolog. Sect. 42, 43, is not to be forgotten, but indeed
to be kept upon record for a perpetual remembrance of him
and his brethren ; for be frankly answers after this manner,
We have not freely received,' and therefore are not bound
to giye freely.- The answer I -confess is ingenuous and
good ; for if those that receive freely are to give freely, it
would seem to follow by the- rule of contraries, that those
that receive not freely ought not to give freely, and I shall
grant it ; only they must grant me, that they preach not by
and according to the gift and grace of God received, nor
can they be good stewards of the manifold grace of God,
as every true minister ought to be ; or else they have gotten
this gift or grace by money, as Simon Magus would have
beeri compassing it, since they think themselves not bound
to give it without money again. But to be plain, I believe
he intended not that it was from the gift or grace of God
they were to preach, but from their acquired arts and stu
dies, which have cost them much labour and also some
money at the university ; and therefore, as he that puts his
stock into the public bank expects interest again, so these
scholars, having spent some money in learning the art of
preaching, think they may boldly say they have it not
freely ; for it hath cost them both money and pains, and
therefore they expect both money and ease again. And
therefore, as Arnoldus gets money for teaching his young
students the art and trade of preaching, so he intends they
should be repaid before- they give it again to others. It
was of old said, Omnia, venalia Romce, i. e., 'All things
are set to sale at-Rome ;' but now the same proverb may
be applied to Franequer. And therefore Arnoldus's stu
dents, when they go about to preach, may safely seek and
require hereby, telling their hearers their master's maxirn,
JYos gratis non accepimus, ergo neque gratis dare tenemur.
But then they may answer again, That they find them and
their master to be none of his ministers, who when he sent

OF THE MINISTRY. 311
forth his disciples, gave them this command, " Freely ye
have received, freely give," ahd therefore we will have
none of your teaching, because we perceive you to be of
the number of thpse "that look for their gain from their Isai. Ivi. 11.
quarter." § XXIX. Secondly, The scripture testimonies that urge Reason II.
this are in the same nature of those that press charity and Mere vo-
liberality towards. the poor, and command hospitality, Stc.,-^"^^
but these are npt nor can be stinted to a certain quantity, man can
because they are deeds merely voluntary, where the obe
dience to the command lieth in the good will of the giver,
and not in the matter of the thing given, as Christ showeth
in the example of the widow's: mite. So that though there
be an obligation upon Christians to minister of outward
things to their ministers, yet there can be no definition of
the quantity but by the giver's , own consent, and a little
from one may more truly fulfil the obligation than a great
deal from another. And therefore as acts of charity and
hospitality can neither be limited nor forced, so neither Can
this. If it be objected,, That ministers may and ought to ex- Object.
hort, persuade, yea and earnestly press Christians, if they
find them defective therein, to acts of charity and hospi
tality, and so may they do also to the giving of mainte
nance ;
I answer, All this saith nothing for a stinted and forced Answ.
maintenance, for which there cannot so much as the show
of one solid argument be brought from scripture. I con
fess ministers may use exhortation in this as much as in
any other case, even as the apostle did to the Corinthians, Paul's la-
showing them their duty ; but it were fit for ministers that fa^the*
so do (that their testimony might have the more weight, gospel
and be the freer of all suspicion of covetousness and self- without
interest) that they might be able to say truly in the sight of cnaree-
God that which the same apostle subjoins upon the same
occasion, 1 Cor. ix. 15, 16, 17, 18 : " But I have used
none of these things ; neither have I written these things,
that it should be so done unto me : for it were better for

312 PROPOSITION X.
me to die, than that any man should make my glorying
void. For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to
glory of] for necessity is laid upon me, yea woe is unto
me if J preach not the gospel. For if I do this thing wil
lingly, I have a reward ; but if against my will, a dispen
sation of the gospel is committed unto pne What is my
reward then? Verily that when I preach the gospel, Imay
make the gospel of Christ Without charge, that I abuse not
my power in the gospel."
Reason 3. Thirdly, As there is neither precept nor example for this
forced arid stinted maintenance in the scripture, so the
apostle, in his solemn farewell to the pastors and elders of
the church of Ephesus, guards them against it, Acts xx.
33, 34, 35. But if the thing had been either lawful or
practised, he would rather have exhorted them to be con
tent with their stinted hire, and not to covet more ; whereas
he showeth them, first, by his own example, that they were
Paul covet- not to covet or expect any man's silver or gold; secondly,
ed no bo- tjjat tney 0UC;ht to work with their hands for an -honest
dy s silver ¦> b
or gold. livelihood, as he had done ; and lastly, he exhorts them' so
to do from the words of Christ, "because it is a more
blessed thing to give than to receive ;". showing that it is
so far from a thing that a true minister ought to aim at, or
expect,, that it is rather a burden to a true minister, and
cross to him, to be reduced to the necessity of want
ing it.
Reason 4 § XXX. Fourthly, If a forced and stinted maintenance
were to be supposed, it would makethe ministers of Christ
No hireling just one with those hirelings whom the prophets cried out
gospS of6 against. For certainly if a man make a bargain to .preach
Christ. t0 people for so much a year, so as to refuse to preach
, unless he have it, and seek to force the people to give it
by violence, it cannot be denied that such a one preacheth
Mich. iii. 5. for hire, and so "looks for his gain from his quarter," yea
and " prepares war against such as put not into his mouth;"
but this is the particular special mark of a false prophet
and an hireling, and therefore can no ways belong to a
true minister of' Christ.

OF THE MINISTRY. 313
Next, that a superfluous maintenance, that is, more than Moderate
in reason is needful, ought not to be received by Christian and Papists
ministers, will not need much proof, seeing the more exclaim
, £, . , _ against the
moderate and sober, both among Papists and Protestants, excess of
readily confess itj who with one voice exclaim against the ^eveCnu<Si, S
excessive revenues of the clergy; and that it may not
want a proof from scripture, what can be more plain than
that of the apostle to Timothy? 1 Tim. vi. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11,
where he both shows wherewith we ought to be content,
and also the hazard of such as look after more ; and
indeed, since that very obligation of giving maintenance
to a minister is founded upon their need, and such as have
opportunity to work are commended rather in not receiv
ing than in receiving, it can no ways be supposed lawful
for them to receive more than is sufficient. And indeed,
were they truly pious and right, though necessitous, they
would rather incline to take too little, than be gaping after
too much.
§ XXXI. Now that there is great excess and abuse II.
hereof among Christians, the vast revenues which the 0f the
bishops and priests have, both Papists and Protestants, do priests and
r ¦ . *• T . . .' r . . bishops re-
declare ; since I judge it may be said without any hyper- venues.
bole, that some particular persons have more paid them
yearly than Christ and his apostles made use of in their
whole lifetime, who yet wanted not what was needful as to
the outward man, and no doubt deserved it far better than
those that enjoy that fulness. But it is manifest these
bishops and priests love their fat benefices, and the plea
sure and honour that attends them, so well, that they pur-,
pose neither to follow Christ nor his apostles' example or
advice in this matter.
But it is usually objected, That Christians are become Object.
so hard-hearted, and generally so little heed spiritual things,
that if ministers had not a settled and stinted maintenance
secured them by law, they and their families might starve
for want of bread.
I answer, This objection might have some weight as to Answ.
a carnal ministry, made up of natural men, who have no
27 2 p

314

PROPOSITION X.

They want
ed nothing
whom God
sent ; they
laboured
with their
hands.

Object.

Answ.

Mat. x. 14.
If they re
ject thy tes
timony, shake the
dust from
off thy feet

life, power, nor virtue with them, and so may insinuate
some need of such a maintenance for such a ministry ; but
it saith nothing as to s.uch as are called and sent of God;
who sends no man a wayfaring upon his own charges ; and
so go forth in the authority arid power of God, to turn
people from darkhess to light ; for such can trust to him
that sendeth them, and do believe that he will provide for
them, knowing that he requireth nothing of any but what
he giveth power to perform ; and so when they return; if
he inquire, can say they wanted nothing. And such also
when they stay in a place, being immediately furnished by
God, and not . needing to borrow and steal what they
preach from books, and take up their time that way, fall
a working at their lawful employments and labour with
their hands; as Paul did when he gathered the church at
Corinth. And indeed if this objection had any weight,
the apostles, and primitive pastors should never have gone
forth to convert the nations, for fear of want. Doth not
the doctrine of Christ teach us to venture all, and part with
all, to serve God ? Can they then be accounted ministers
of Christ who are afraid to preach him lest they get not
money for it, or will not do it until they be sure of their
payment ? What serves the ministry for but to perfect
the saints, and so to convert them from that hard-hearted-
ness ?
But thou wilt say, I have laboured and preached to
them, and they are hard-hearted still, and will not give me
any thing :
. Then surely thou hast either not been sent to them of
God, and so thy ministry and preaching hath not been
among them in the power, virtue, and life, of Christ, and
so thou deservest nothing ; or else they have rejected thy
testimony, and so are not worthy, and from such thou
oughtest not to expect, yea nor yet receive any thing, if
they would give thee, but thou oughtest to " shake off the
dust from thy feet," and leave them. And how frivolous
this objection is, appears, in that in the darkest and most
superstitious times the priests' revenues increased most, and

OF THE MINISTRY. 315
they were most richly rewarded, though they deserved
least. So that he that is truly sent of God, as he heeds
not, so neither will he be afraid of want, so long as he
serves- so good a master ; neither will he ever forbear to
do his work for that cause. And indeed such as make
this objection show truly that they serve not the LGrd
Christ, but their own belly, and that makes them so anxious
for want pf food to it.
§ XXXII. But lastly, As to the abuses of this kind of The many
maintenance, indeed he that would go through them all, pnelts'
though he did it passingly, might make of it alone a huge rnamte-
volume, they are so great and numerous. For this abuse, brings.
as others, crept in with the apostasy, there being nothing
of this in the- primitive times t then the ministers claimed
no tithes, neither sought they a stinted or forced mainte
nance ; but such as wanted had their necessity supplied by
the church, and others wrought with their hands. But the
persecutions being over, and the emperors and princes
coming under the name of Christians, the zeal of those
great men was quickly abused by the covetousness of the
clergy, who soon learned to change their cottages with the
palaces of princes, and rested not Until by degrees some
of them came to be princes themselves, nothing inferior to
them in splendour, luxury, and magnificence ; a method
of living that honest Peter and John the fishermen, and
Paul the tent-maker, never coveted ; and perhaps as little
imagined that men pretending to be their successors should
have arrived to these things. And so soon as the bishops
were thus seated and constituted, forgetting the life and
work of a Christian, they went usually by fheears together
about the precedency and revenues, each ' coveting the
chiefest and fattest benefice. It is also to be regretted to
think how soon this mischief crept in among Protestants, The Pro-
whcr had scarce well appeared when the clergy among them having for-
began to speak at the old rate, and show that though they sJ^ent^
had forsaken the bishop of Rome, they were not resolved would not
t< iart with their old benefices; and therefore so soon as ^tTpopish
any princes or states shook off the pope's authority, and revenues.

316 PROPOSITION X.
so demolished the abbeys, nunneries, and other monuments
of superstition, the reformed clergy began presently to cry
put to the magistrates to beware of meddling with the
, church's patrimony, severely exclaiming against making a
lawful use of those vast revenues that had been supersti
tiously bestowed upon the church, so called, to the good
and benefit ofthe commonwealth, as no less than -sacrilege.
1. The cler- But by keeping- up of this kind of maintenance for the
ousness6'" ministry an<i clergymen, so called, there is first' a bait laid.
for covetousness, which is idolatry, and of all things most
hurtful ; so that for covetousness' sake, many, being led
by the desire of filthy lucre, do apply themselves to be
ministers, that they may get a livelihood by it. If a man
have several children, he will allot one of them to be a-
minister ; which if he can get him to be, he reckons it as
gobd as a patrimony : so that a fat benefice hath always
many expectants ; and then what bribing, what courting,
what industry, and shameful actions are used tp acquire
these things, is too openly known, and needs- not to be
proved. The scandal that by these means is raised among Chris
tians is so manifest, that it is become a proverb, that the
The greedy kirk is always greedy. Whereby the gift and grace of God
verb'. apr°' being neglected, they have for the most part no other mo
tive or rule in applying themselves to one church more
than another but the greater benefice. For though they
hypocritically pretend, at their accepting of and entering
into their church, that they have nothing before them but
the glory of God and the salvation- of souls ; yet if a richer
benefice offer itself, they presently find it more for God's
glory to remove from the first, and go thither. And thus
they make no difficulty often to change, while notwith
standing they accuse us that we allow ministers to go from
place to place, and not to be tied to one place; but we
allow this not for the gaining of money, but as movedof
God. For if a minister be called to minister in a particular
place, he ought not to leave ft, except God call him from
it, and then he ought to obey : for we make the will of

OF THE MINISTRY. 317
God inwardly revealed, and not the love of money and-
more gain, the ground of removing.
Secondly, From this, abuse hath proceeded that luxury 2. Thecler-
and idleness, that most of the clergy live in, even among f J s uxu'
Protestants as well as Papists, to the great scandal of
Christianity. For not having lawful trades to work with
their hands, and being so superfluously and sumptuously
provided for, they live in idleness and luxury ; and there
doth more pride, vanity, and worldly glory appear in their
wives and children than in most others, which is open and
evident to all.
Thirdly, They become hereby so glued to the love of 3. The cler-
money, that there is none like them in nialice, rage, and fy.a , *
cruelty. If they be denied their hire, they rage like
drunken men, fret, fume, and as it were go mad. A man
may sooner satisfy the severest creditor than them ; the
general voice of the poor doth confirm this. For indeed
they are far more exact in taking up the tithes, of sheep,
geese, swine, and eggs, &c, and look more narrowly to it
than to the members of their flock : they will not miss the
least mite ; and the poorest widow cannot escape their Poor wi-
avaricious hands. Twerity lies they will hear unreproved ; cannot
and as. many oaths a man may swear in their hearing with- p%!ftg<the
out offending them ; and greater evils than all this they greedy
can overlook. But if thou owest them aught, and refusest
to pay it, then nothing but war will they thunder against
thee, and they will stigmatize thee with the horrible title
of sacrilege, and send thee to hell without mercy, as if
thou hadst committed the sin against, the Holy Ghost. Of
all people we can best bear witness to this ; for God hav- The work
1 ¦ ,. — ...... , of Anti-
mg shown us this corrupt and antichnstian ministry, and christ is
called us out from it, and gathered us unto his own power Malice.1""7'
and life, to be a separate people, so that we dare not join
with, nor hear these anti-Christian hirelings, neither yet put
into their mouths or feed them ; oh ! what malice, envy,
and fury hath this raised in their hearts against us ! That
though we get none of their wares, neither will buy them,
as knowing them to be naught, yet will they force us to
27*

318 PROPOSITION X.
give them money : and because we cannot for conscience'
sake do it, our sufferings have upon that account been un
utterable. Yea, to give account of their cruejty, and
several sorts- of inhumanity used against us, would make
no small history. These avaricious hirelings have come to
that degree of malice and rage, that several poor labouring
men have been carried hundreds of miles from their own
dwellings, and shut up in prison, some two, some three,
yea, some seven years together, for the value of one pound
A widow sterling, and less. I know myself a poor widow, that for
rfgeese me tithes of her geese, which amounted not to five shillings,
about four was about four years kept in prison, thirty miles from her
prison. house. Yea, they by violence for this cause have plun
dered of men's goods the hundred-fold, and prejudiced
much more ; yea, hundreds have hereby spilt, their inno
cent blood, by dying in the filthy noisome holes and pri-
Some lost sons. And some of the priests have been so enraged, that
innasty68 goods, thus ravished could not satisfy them, hut they must
holes, some a]s0 satisfy their fury by beating, knocking, and wounding
the priests, with their hands innocent men and women, for refusing,
for conscience' sake, to put into their mouths.
The only way. then soundly to reform and remove all
these abuses, and take away the ground and occasion of
them, is, to take away all stinted and forced maintenance
and stipends. . And seeing those things were anciently
given by the people, that they return again intothe public
treasure ; and thereby the people may be greatly benefited
by them, for that they may supply for those public taxa
tions and impositions, that are put upon them, and may
Whoso ease themselves of them. ' And whoever call or appoint
eratothTm- teachers to themselves, let them accordingly entertain
selves, let them.: and for such as are called and moved to the minis-:
them pro- . . _. . . _ „. . , .
vide their try by the Spirit Of God, those that receive them, and taste
stipend. 0f tnie g00(j 0f tnejr ministry, will no doubt provide things
needful for them, ahd there will be no need of a law fo
force a hire for them : for he that sends them, will take
care for them; and they also, having food and raiment,
will therewith be content.

OF THE MINISTRY. 319
§ XXXIII. The sum then of what is said is, That the The difTer-
ministry that we have pleaded for, and which also. the Lord tweenAe
hath raised up among us is, in all its parts, like the true I?iniQtr5r of
ministry of the apostles and primitive church. Whereas kers and
the ministry our adversaries seek to uphold and plead for,, saries* V6r"
as it doth in all its parts differ from them, so, on the other
hand, it is very like the false prophets and teachers testified
against and condemned in the scripture, as may be thus
briefly illustrated :
I. The ministry and ministers we plead for, are such as The true
are immediately called and sent forth by Christ and his ^\"lsters'
Spirit unto the work of the ministry: so were the holy
apostles and prophets, as appears by these places, Mat. x.
1, 5;. Eph. iv. 11; Heb. v. 4..
1. But the ministry and ministers our opposers plead
for, are such as have no immediate call from Christ, to
whom the leading and motion of the Spirit is not reckoned
necessary ; but who are called, sent forth, and ordained
by wicked and ungodly men :. such were of old the false
prophets and teachers, as appears by these places, Jer. xiv.
14, 15; item, chap, xxiii. 21, and xxvii. 15.
II. The ministers we plead for, are such as are actuated Truemin-
and led by God's Spirit, and by the power and operation gUf,je.
of his grace in their hearts, are in some measure converted
and regenerate, and sp are good, holy, and gracious men :
such were the holy prophets and apostles, as appears from
1 Tim. iii. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 ; Tit. i. 7, 8, 9.
2. But the ministers our adversaries plead for, are such
to whom the grace of God is no needful qualification ; and
so may be true ministers, according to them, though they
be ungodly, unholy, and profligate men : -such were the
false prophets and apostles, , as appears from Mic. iii. 5,
11 ; 1 Tim. vi. 5, 6, 7, 8, &c. ; 2 Tim. iii. 2; 2 Pet. ii.
1,2,3. III. The ministers we plead for, are such as act, move, Truemin-
and labour in the work. of the ministry, not from their own work.
mere natural strength and ability, but as they are actuated,
moved, supported, assisted and influenced by the Spirit of

320 ' PROPOSITION .X.
God-, and minister according to the gift received, as good
stewards of the manifold grace of God : such were the holy
prophets and apostles, 1 Pet. iv. 10, 11 ; 1 Cor. i. 17, ii..
a, 4, 5, 13; Acts ii. 4; Mat. x. 20; Mark xiii. 11 ; Luke
. xii. 12 ; 1 Cor. xiii. 2. J
3. But the ministers our adversaries plead for, are such
as wait not for, nor expect, nor need the Spirit of God to
actuate and move them in the work of the ministry ; but
what they do they do from their own mere natural strength
and ability, and what they have gathered- and stolen from
the letter of the scripture, and other hooks, and so speak
it forth in the strength of their own wisdom and eloquence,
and not in the evidence and demonstration of the Spirit
and power : such were the false prophets and apostles, as
appears, Jer. xxiii. 30, 31, 32, 34, &c. ; 1 Cfir. iv. 18 ;
Jude 16.
Truemin- IV. The" ministers we plead for, are such as, being holy
mility. U" an<^ numDle> contend not for precedency and priority, but
- rather strive to prefer one another, and serve one another
in love ; neither desire to be distinguished from- the rest by
their garments and large phylacteries, nor seek the greet
ings in the market-places, nor uppermost rooms at feasts,
nor the chief seats in the1 synagogues ; nor yet to be called
of men master, &c, such were the holy prophets and apos
tles, as appears from Mat- xxiii. 8, 9, 10, and'xx. 25,
26,27. 4. But the ministers our adversaries plead for, are such
as strive and contend for superiority, and claim precedency
over one another ; affecting and ambitiously seeking after
the forementioned things : such were the false prophets and
apostles in time past, Mat. xxiii. 5, 6, 7.
Truemin- V. The ministers we plead for, are such as having freely
gift.rS ree received, freely give ; who covet no man's silver, gold, or
garments ; who seek no man's goods, but seek them, and
the salvation of their souls : whose hands supply their own
necessities, working honestly for bread to themselves and
their families. And if at any time they be called of God,
so as the work of the Lord hinder them from the use of

OF WORSHIP. 321
their trades, take what is freely given them by such to
whom they have communicated spirituals ; and having
food and raiment, are therewith content : such were the
holy prophets and apostles, as appears from Mat. x. 8';
Acts xx. 33, 34, 35 ; 1 Tim. vi. 8.
5. But the ministers our adversaries plead for, are such
as not having freely received, will not freely give ; but are
covetous, doing that which they ought not, for filthy lucre's
sake ; as to preach for hire, and divine for money, and look
for their gain from their quarter, and prepare war against
such as put not into their mouths, &c. Greedy dogs, which
can never have enough. Shepherds who feed themselves,
and not the flock ; eating the fat, and clothing themselves
with the wool ; making merchandize of souls ; and follow
ing the way of Balaam, that loved the wages of unrighteous
ness : such were the false prophets and apostles, Isai. Ivi.
11 ; Ezek. xxxiv, 2, 3, 8 ; Mic. iii. 5, 11 ; Tit. i. 10, 11 ;
2 Pet ii. 1, 2, 3, 14, 15.
And in a word, We are for a holy, spiritual, pure and Truemin-
living ministry, where the ministers are both called,- quali- and quali
fied and ordered, actuated and influenced in all the steps fication-
of their, ministry by the Spirit of God ; which being want
ing, we judge they cease to be the ministers of Christ.
But they, judging this life, grace, and Spirit no essential
part of their ministry, are therefore for the upholding of a
human, carnal, dry, barren, fruitless and dead ministry;
of which, alas ! we have seen the fruits in the most part of
their churches : of whom that saying of the Lord is cer
tainly verified, Jer. xxiii. 32 — " I sent them not, nor com
manded them, therefore they shall not profit this people at
all, saith the Lord."

PROPOSITION XI.
Concerning Worship.
All true and acceptable worship to God is offered in the
inward and immediate moving and drawing of his own
2q

322

PROPOSITION XI.

What the
true wor
ship is, that
is accepta
ble to G'qd.
How to be
performed.

Supersti
tion and
will-wor ship, idola
try.

Spirit, which is neither limited tb places, times; nor per
sons. For though we are to worship him always, and
continually to fear before him ; yet as to the outward
signification thereof, in prayers, praises or preachings,
we ought not to do it in our bwn will, where and when
we will; but where and when we are moved thereunto
by the stirring and secret inspiration of the Spirit of God
in our hearts; which God heareth and accepteth of, and
is never wanting to move us thereunto, when need is ;
of which he himself is the alone proper judge. All other
worship then, both praises, prayers or preachings, which
man sets about in his own will, and at his own appoint
ment, which he can both begin and end at his pleasure,
do or leave undone as himself seeth meet, whether they
be a prescribed form, as a liturgy, &c, or prayers con
ceived extempore by the natural strength and faculty of
the mind, they are all but superstition, will-worship, and
abominable idolatry in the sight of God, which are how
to be denied and rejected, and separated from, in this
day of his spiritual arising : however it might have pleased
him ("who winked at the times of ignorance, with a re
spect- to the simplicity and integrity of some, and of his
own innocent seed, which lay as it were buried in the
hearts of men under that mass of superstition) to blow
upon the dead and dry bones, and to raise some breathings
of his own, and answer them ; and that until the day
should more clearly dawn and break forth.

§ I. The duty of man towards God lieth chiefly in these
two generals: 1. In an holy conformity to the pure law
and light of God, so as both to forsake the evil, and be
found in the practice of those perpetual and moral precepts
of righteousness and equity. And, 2. In rendering that
reverence, honour and adoration to God, that he requires
and- demands of us ; which is comprehended under wor
ship. Of the former we have already spoken, as also of
the different relations of Christians, as they are distinguish
ed by the several measures of grace received, and given to

OF WORSHIP. 323
every one ; and in that respect have their several offices in
the body of, Christ, which is the church. Now I come to
speak of worship, or of those acts, whether private or public,
general or particular, whereby man renders to God that
part of his duty which relates immediately to him : and as
obedience is better than sacrifice, so neither is any sacrifice
acceptable, but that which is done according to the will of
him to whom it is offered. But men, finding it easier to
sacrifice in their. own wills, than obey God's will, have
heaped up sacrifices without obedience ; and thinking to True wor-
deceive God, as they do one another, give him -a show of |^ip *nd
reverence, honour and worship, while they are both inwardly God-wards
estranged and alienated from his holy and righteous life, ccrrup el
and wholly strangers to the pure breathings of his Spirit,
in which the acceptable sacrifice and worship is onlyoffered
up. Hence it is, that there is not anything relating to man's
duty towards God, which among all sorts of people hath
been more vitiated, and in which the devil-hath more pre
vailed, than jn abusing man's mind concerning this thing :
and as among many others, so. among those called Chris
tians, nothing, hath been more out of order, and more
corrupted, as some Papists, and all Protestants, do acknow
ledge.. As I freely, approve whatsoever the Protestants
have reformed from Papists in this respect ; so I meddle
not at this time with their controversies about it : only it The Popish
suffices, me with them to deny, as no part of the true wor- m^ £d_o1"
ship of God, that abominable superstition and idolatry the nhsd, with
Popish mass, the adoration of saints and angels, the vene- trumpery.
ration of relics, the visitation, of sepulchres, and all those
other superstitious ceremonies, confraternities, and endless
pilgrimages of the Romish synagogue. Which all may
suffice to evince to Protestants, that Antichrist hath wrought
more in this than in any other part of the Christian religion ;
and so. ft concerns them narrowly to consider, whether if Protest-
herein they have made a clear and perfect reformation ; as™*|e *p®r_
to which stands the controversy betwixt them and us. For feet refor-
we find many of the branches lopped off by them , but the root
yet remaining; to wit, a worshijTacted in and from man's

324 PROPOSITION XI.
will and spirit, and not by and from the Spirit of God : for
the true Christian and spiritual worship of God hath been
so early lost, and man's wisdom and will hath so quickly
and thoroughly mixed itself herein, that both the apostasy
in this respect hath been greatest, and the reformation here
from, as to tlie evil root, most difficult. Therefore let not
the reader' suddenly stumble at the account of our propo
sition in this matter, but patiently hear us explain ourselves
in this respect, and I hope (by the assistance of God) to
make it appear, that though our manner of speaking and
doctrine seem most singular and different from all other
sorts of Christians ; -yet it is most according to the purest
Christian religion, and. indeed most needful to be observed
and followed. And that there be no ground of mistake,
(for that I was necessitated to speak in few words, and
therefore more obscurely and dubiously in the proposition
ftself) it is fit in the first place to declare and explain our
sense, and clear the state of the controversy.
I. § II. And first, let it be considered, that what is here
Whatwor- affirmed, is spoken of the worship of God in these gospel-
spoken of.13 times, and not of the worship that was under or before the
law : for the particular commands of God to men then, are
not sufficient to authorize us now to do the same things;
else we might be supposed at present acceptably to offer
sacrifice as they did, which all acknowledge to be ceased.
So that what might have been both. commendable and ac
ceptable under the law, may justly now be charged with
superstition, yea, and idolatry. So that impertinently, in
this respect, doth Arnoldus rage against this proposition,
[Exercit. Theolog. sect. 44,] saying ; That I deny all public
worship, and that according to me, such as in Enoch's
time publicly began to call upon the name of the Lord ;
and such as at the command of God went thrice up to
Jerusalem to worship ; and that Anna, Simeon, Mary, &c,
were idolaters, because they used the public worship of
those times ; such a consequence is most impertinent, and
no less foolish and absurd, than if I should -infer from Paul's
expostulating with the Galatians for their returning to the

OF WORSHIP. 325
Jewish ceremonies, that he therefore condemned Moses
and all the prophets as foolish and ignorant, because they
used those things,: the forward man, not heeding the dif
ferent dispensations of times, ran into this impertinency.
Though a spiritual worship might have been, and no doubt Ceremo-
was practised by many under the law in great simplicity ; "hTlaw W
yet will it not follow, that it were no superstition to use all were I0.1
PSSf^Vll I fl to
those ceremonies that they used, which were by God dis- true wor-
pensed to the Jews, not as being essential to true worship, s lp'
or necessary as of themselves for transmitting and enter
taining a holy fellowship betwixt him and his people ; but
in condescension to them, who were inclinable to idolatry.
Albeit then in this, as in most other things, the substance
was enjoyed under the law by such as were spiritual in
deed; yet was it veiled and surrounded with many rites
ahd ceremonies, which it is no ways lawful for us to use
now under the gospel.
§ III. Secondly ; Albeit I say, that this worship is II.
neither limited to times, places, nor persons ; yet I would shipis^not
not be understood, as if I intended the putting away of all llmlted to
' . . place or
set times and places to worship : God forbid I should think person.
of such an opinion. Nay, we are none of those that for
sake the assembling of ourselves together ; but have even
certain times and places, in which we carefully meet
together, nor can we be driven therefrom by the threats
and persecutions of men, to wait upon God, and worship
him. To meet together we think necessary for the people Necessity ,
of God; because, so long as we are clothed with this mgs.
outward tabernacle, there is a necessity to the entertaining
of a joint and visible fellowship, and bearing of an out
ward testimony for God, and seeing of the faces of one
another, that we concur with our persons as well as spirits :
to be accompanied with that inward love and unity of
spirit, doth greatly tend to encourage and refresh the
saints. But the limitation we condemn, is, that whereas the worsmp"
Spirit of God should be the immediate actor, mover, per- d£*hsjj?!£
suader and influencer of man in the particular acts of wor- of God.
28

326 proposition xi.
ship, when the saints are met together, this Spirit is limited
in its operations, by setting up a particular man or men to
preach and pray in man's will ; and all the rest are ex
cluded from so much as believing that they are to waft for
God's Spirit to move them in such things ; and so they
neglecting that in themselves which should quicken them,
and not waiting to feel the pure breathings of God's Spirit,
so as to obey them, are led merely to depend upon the
preacher, and hear what he will say.
2. True Secondly ; In that these peculiar men come not thither
!nacwmgQ°of to meet w'tn tne Lord, and to wait for the inward motions
God. and operations of his Spirit ; and so to pray as they feel
the Spirit to breathe through them, and in them ; and to
preach, as they find themselves actuated and moved by
God's Spirit, and as he gives utterance, so as to speak a
word in season to refresh weary souls, and as the present
condition and state of the people's hearts require ; suffer
ing God by fiis Spirit both to prepare people's hearts, and
also give the preacher to speak what may be fit and sea
sonable for them ; but he [viz., the preacher] hath ham
mered together in his closet, according to his own will, by .
his human wisdom and literature, and by stealing the words
of truth from" the letter of the scriptures, and patching
together other men's writings and observations, so much
as will hold him speaking an hour, while the glass runs ;
Priests and without waiting or feeling the inward influence of the
Eap^hazard SPirit of God' he declaims that by hap-hazard, whether it
their studi- be fit or seasonable for the people's condition, or not; and
' "rmons' when he has ended his sermon, he saith his prayer also in
his own will; and so -there is -an end of the business.
Which customary worship, as it is no ways acceptable to
God, so how unfruitful it is, and unprofitable to those that
are found in ft, the present condition of the nations doth
sufficiently declare. It appears then, that we are not against
set times for worship, as Arnoldus against this proposition,
Sect. 45, no less impertinently allegeth ; offering need
lessly to ^rove that which is not denied : only these times
being appointed for outward conveniency, we may not

OF WORSHIP. 327
therefore think with the Papists, that these days are holy,
and lead people into a superstitious observation of them ;
being persuaded that all days are alike holy in the sight of Whether
God. And although ft be not my present purpose to make hofy."0
a long digression concerning the debates among Protes
tants about the first day of the week, commonly called the
Lord's day, yet forasmuch as it comes fitly in herer I shall
briefly signify our sense thereof.
§ IV. We, not seeing any ground- in scripture for it, Ofthe first
cannot be so superstitious as to believe, that either the week, com-
Jewish sabbath now continues, or that the first day of the ™$* cal1'
week is the anti-type thereof, or the true Christian sab- Lord's day.
bath ; which with Calvin we believe to have a more
spiritual sense : and therefore we know no moral obliga
tion by the fourth command; or elsewhere, to keep the
first day of the week more than any other, or any holiness
inherent in it. But first, forasmuch as it is necessary that
there be some time set apart for the saints to meet together
to wait upon God ; and that secondly, it is fit at some times
they be freed from their other outward affairs ; and that
thirdly, reason and equity doth allow that servants and
beasts have some time allowed them to be eased from their
continual labour ; and that fourthly, it appears that the
apostles ahd primitive Christians did use the first day of the
week for these purposes ; we find ourselves sufficiently
moved for these causes to do so also, without supersti
tiously straining the scriptures for another reason : which,
that it is not to be there found, many Protestants, yea,.
Calvin himself, upon the fourth command, hath abundantly
evinced. And though we therefore meet, and abstain from
working upon this day, yet doth not that hinder us from
having meetings also for worship at other times.
§ V. Thirdly ; Though according to the knowledge of
God, revealed unto us by the Spirit, through that more
full dispensation of light which we believe the Lord hath
brought about in this day, we judge it our duty to hold
forth that pure and spiritual worship which is acceptable to
God, and answerable to the testimony of Christ and his

328 proposition xi.
apostles, and likewise to testify against and deny not only
manifest superstition and idolatry, but also all formal will-
The wor- worship, which stands not in the power of God ; yet, I say,
apoBtMy!16 we do not denv the whole worship of all those that have
borne the name of Christians even in the apostasy, as if
God had never heard their prayers, nor accepted any of
them : God forbid we should be so void of charity ! The
latter part of the proposition showeth the contrary. And
as we would not be so absurd on the one hand to conclude,
because of the errors and darkness that many were covered
and surrounded with in Babylon, that none of their prayers
were heard or accepted of God, so will we not be so
unwary on the other, as to conclude, that because God
heard and pitied them, so we ought to continue in these
errors and darkness, and not come out of Babylon, when
The Popish it is by God discovered unto us. The Popish mass and
vespers°d vespers I do believe to be, as to the matter of them, abo
minable idolatry and superstition, and so also believe the
Protestants ; yet will neither I or they affirm, that in the
darkness of Popery no upright-hearted men, though zeal
ous in these abominations, have been heard of God, or
Bernard accepted of him. Who can deny, but that both Bernard
venture1*' and Bonaventure, Taulerus, Thomas a Kempis, and divers
Taulerus^ others have both known and tasted of the love of God, and
Kempis, folt the power and virtue of God's Spirit working with them
of the'love*1 ^or tne^r salvation ? And yet ought we not to forsake and
of God. deny those superstitions which they were found in ? The
Calvinistical Presbyterians do much upbraid, and I say not
The i without reason, the formality and deadness of the Episco-
liturgy. palian and Lutheran liturgies; and yet, as they will not
deny but there have been some good men among them, so
neither dare they refuse, but that when that good step was
brought in by them, of turning the public prayers into the
vulgar tongues, though continued in a liturgy, it was
acceptable to God, and sometimes accompanied with his
power and presence : yet will not the Presbyterians have
it from thence concluded, that the common prayers should
still continue ; so likewise, though we should confess, that,

OF WORSHIP. 329
through the mercy and wonderful condescension of God,
there have been upright in heart both among Papists and
Protestants, yet can we not therefore approve of their way
in the general, or not go. on to the upholding of that
Spiritual worship, which the Lord is calling all to, and
so to the testifying against whatsoever stands in the way
of ft.
§ VI. Fourthly ; To come then to the state of the con- Assemblies
troversy, as to the public worship, we judge it the duty of °n public 1P
all to be diligent in the assembling of themselves toge- descn»ed.
ther, and what we have been, and are, in this matter, our
enemies in Great Britain, who have used all means to
hinder our assembling together to worship God, may bear
witness ; and when assembled, the great work of one and
all ought to be to wait upon God ; and returning out of
their own thoughts and imaginations, to feel the Lord's
presence, and know a gathering into his name indeed,
where he is in the midst,, according to his promise. And
as every one is thus gathered, and so met together in
wardly in their spirits, as well as outwardly in their persons,
there the secret power and virtue of life is known to re
fresh the soul, and the pure motions and breathings of
God's Spirit are felt to arise; from which, as words of
declaration, prayers or praises arise, the acceptable worship
is known, which edifies the church, and is well-pleasing
to God. And no man here limits the Spirit of God, nor
bringeth forth his own conned and gathered stuff; but
every one puts that forth which the Lord puts into their
hearts : and it is uttered forth not in man's will and wis- The glori-
dom ; but in the evidence and demonstration of the Spirit, satlon of6""
and of power. Yea, though there be not a word spoken, the Spirit-
yet is the true spiritual worship performed, and the body
of Christ edified ; yea, it may, and hath often fallen out
among us, that divers meetings have past without one word ;
and yet our souls have been greatly edified and refreshed,
and our hearts wonderfully overcome with the secret sense
of God's power and Spirit, which without words hath
been ministered from one vessel to another. This is
28* 2r

330 PROPOSITION XI.
indeed strange and incredible to the mere natural and car
nally-minded man, who will be apt to judge all time lost
where there is not something spoken that is obvious to the
outward senses ; and therefore I shall insist a little upon
this subject, as one that can speak from a certain expe
rience, and not by mere hearsay, of this wonderful arid
glorious dispensation; which hath so much the more of
the wisdom and glory, of God iri it, as it is contrary to the
nature of man's spirit, will, and wisdom.
The silent § VII. As there can be nothing more opposite to the
upon^od natural wiH and wisdom of man than" this silent waiting
obtained, upon God, so neither can it be obtained, nor rightly com
prehended by man, but as he lay eth down his own wisdom
and will, so as to be content to be thoroughly subject to
God. And therefore it was not preached, nor can be so
practised, but by such as find no outward ceremony, no
observations, no words, yea, not the best and purest words,
even the words of scripture, able to- satisfy their weary and
afflicted souls : because where all these may be, the life,
power, and virtue, which make such things effectual, may
be wanting. Such, I say, were necessitated to cease from
all externals, and to be silent before the Lord ; and being
directed to that inwardj principle of life and light in them-
Isa. xxx.20. selves, as the most excellent teacher, which " can never be
removed into a corner," came thereby to be taught to wait
upon God in the measure of life and grace received from
him, ahd to cease from their own forward words and ac-
tihgs, in the natural willing and comprehension, and feel
after thisr inward seed of life ; that, as it moveth, they may
move with it, and be actuated by its power, and influenced,
whether to pray, preach or sing. And so from this prin
ciple of man's being silent, and not acting in the things of
God of himself, until thus actuated by God's light and
grace in the heart, did naturally spring that manner of sit
ting silent together, and waiting together upon the Lord.
For many thus principled, meeting together in the pure
fear of the Lord, did not apply themselves presently to
speak, pray, or sing, &c, being afraid to be found acting

OF WORSHIP. 331
forwardly in their own wills; but each made it their work
tb retire inwardly to the measure of grace in themselves,
not being only silent-as to words, but even abstaining from
all their own thoughts, imaginations and desires ; so watch
ing in a holy dependence upon the Lord, and meeting to
gether not only outwardly in one place, but thus inwardly
in one Spirit, and in one name of Jesus, which is his What it is
power and virtue, they come thereby to enjpy and feel the thJname1
arisings of this life, which, as it prevails in each particular, of Jesus.
becomes as a flood of refreshment, and overspreads the
whole meeting : for man, and man's part and wisdom, be
ing denied and chained down in every individual, and
God exalted, and his grace in dominion in the heart, thus
his name comes' to be one in all, and his glory breaks forth,
and eovers all; and there is such a holy awe and rever
ence upon every soul, that if the natural part should arise
in any, or the wise part, or what is not one with the life,
it would presently be chained down, and judged out. And
when any are, through the breaking forth of this power,
constrained to utter a sentence of exhortation or praise, or
to breathe to the Lord in prayer, then all are sensible of
it; for the same life in them answersto.it, " as in water Prov. xxvh.
, . ... 19
face answereth to face." This is that divine and spiritual
worship, which the world neither knoweth nor under-
standeth, which the vulture's eye seeth not into. Yet
many and great are the advantages,. which my soul, with Advan-
many others, hath tasted of hereby, arid which would be lent meet-"
found of all such as would seriously apply themselves lnSs-
hereunto : for, when people are gathered thus together,
not merely to hear men, nor depend upon them, but all Isa. x. 20,
are inwardly taught to stay their minds upon the Lord,
and wait for his appearance in their hearts ; thereby the
forward working of the spirit of man is stayed and hindered
from niixing itself with the worship of God,' and the form
of this worship is so naked and void of all outward and
worldly splendor, that all occasion for man's wisdom to be
exercised in that superstition and idolatry hath no lodging
here ; and so there being also an inward quietness and

332 PROPOSITION XI.
retiredness of mind, the witness of God ariseth in the heart,
and the light of Christ shineth, whereby the soul cometh
to see its own condition. And there being many joined
together in this same work, there is an inward travail and
wrestling ; and also, as the. measure of grace is abode in,
an overcoming of the power and spirit of darkness ; and
thus we are often greatly strengthened and renewed in the
spirits of our minds without a word, and we enjoy and
Eph. iv. 23. possess the holy fellowship and communion of the body
and blood of Christ, by which our ipward man is nourished.
and fed ; whinh makes us hot to dote upon outward water,
and bread and wine, in our spiritual things. Now as many
thus gathered together grow up in the strength, power, and
virtue of truth, and as truth comes thus to have victory and
dominion in their souls, then they receive an -utterance,
Speakingto and speak steadily to the edification of their brethren, and
e cation. ^ ^m_e j^g natn a ^ree passage through them, and what is
thus spoken edifieth the body indeed. Such is the evident
certainty of that divine strength that is communicated by
thus meeting together, and waiting in silence upon God,
that sometimes when one hath come in that hath been un-
watchful and wandering in his mind, Qr suddenly out of
the hurry of outward business, and so not inwardly gathered
with the rest, so soon as he retires himself inwardly, this
power being in a good measure raised in the whole meet
ing, will suddenly lay hold upon his spirit, and wonder
fully help to raise up the gpod in him, and beget him into
the sense of the same power, to the melting and warming
of his heart ; even as the warmth would take hold upon a
man that is cold coming in to a stove, or as a flame will
lay hold upon some little combustible matter being near
unto it. Yea, if it fall out that several met together be
straying in their minds, though outwardly silent, and so
wandering from the measure of grace in themselves, which-
through the working of the enemy, and negligence of
some, may fall out, if either one come in, or may be in,
who is watchful, and in whom the life is raised in a great
measure, as that one keeps his place, he will feel a secret

OF WORSHIP. 333
travail for the rest in a sympathy with the seed which is
oppressed in the other, and kept from arising by their
thoughts and wanderings ; and as such a. faithful one waits A secret
in the light, and keeps in this divine work, God often- for^nother
times answers the secret travail and breathings of his own ln sll?nt
0 meetings.
seed through such a pne, so that the rest will find them
selves secretly smitten without words, and that one will be
as a midwife through the secret travail of his soul to bring
forth the life in them, just as a little water thrown into a
pump brings up the rest, whereby life will come to be
raised in all, and the vain imaginations brought down ;
arid such a one is felt byNbe rest to minister life unto
them without words. Yea, sometimes, when there is not
a word in the meeting, but all are silently waiting, if one
come in that is rude and wicked, and in whom the power
of darkness prevaileth much, perhaps with an intention to
mock or do mischief, if the whole meeting be gathered into The mock-
the life, and it be raised in a good measure, it will strike witVterror
terror into such a one, and he will feel himself unable to when.n°
' - word is
resist ; but by the secret strength and virtue thereof, the spoken.
power of darkness in him will be chained down : and if
the day ofhis visitation be not expired, it will reach to the
measure of grace in him, and raise it up to the redeeming
of his soul. And this we often bear witness of, so that we
have had frequent occasion in this respect, since God hath
gathered us to be a people, to renew this old saying of
many, " Is Saul also among the prophets ?" For not a few 1 Sam. x.
have come to be convinced of the truth after this manner, 12-
of which I myself, in part, am a true witness, who not by
strength of arguments, or by a particular disquisition of
each doctrine, and convincement of my understanding
thereby, came to receive and bear witness of the truth, but
by being secretly reached by this life; for when I came The true
intothe silent assemblies of God's people, I felt a secret ment.
power among them, which touched my heart, and as I
gave way unto it, I found the evil weakening in me, and
the good raised up, and so I became thus knit and united
unto them, hungering more and more after the increase of

334 PROPOSITION XI.
this power and life, whereby I might feel myself perfectly
redeemed. And indeed this is the surest way to become
a Christian, to whom afterwards the knowledge and under
standing of principles will not be wanting, but will grow
up, so much as is needfid, as the natural fruit of this- good
root, and such a knowledge will not be barren nor unfruit
ful. After this manner we desire therefore all that come
among us to be. proselyted, knowing that though thousands
should be convinced in their understandings of all the
truths we maintain, yet if they were not sensible of this in
ward life, and their souls not changed from unrighteous
ness to righteousness, they could add nothing to us. For
1 Cor.vi.n. this is that cement whereby we are joined " as to the Lord,"
righteous- so to one another, and without this none can Worship with
ness doth us# Yea, if such should come among us, and from that
join us to ' . ip,
theLord.^ understanding and convincement they have ofthe truth,
speak ever so true things, and utter them forth with ever
so much excellency of speech, if this life were wanting, it
would not edify us at all, but be as " sounding brass, or a
tinkling cymbal, "T Cor. xiii. 1.
Our work § VIII. Our work then and worship is, when We meet
fn duvrorsmp together, for every one to watch and wait upon God in
meetings, themselves, and to be gathered from all visibles thereunto.
Arid as every one is thus stated, they come to find the good
arise over the evil, and the pure over the impure, in which
God reveals himself, and draweth near to every individual,
and so he, is in the midst in the general, whereby each riot
only partakes of the particular refreshment and strength
which comes from the good in himself, but is a sharer in
the whole body, as being a living member of the body,
having a joint fellowship and communion with all. And
as this worship is steadfastly preached and kept to, it be
comes easy, though it be very hard at first to the natural
man, whose roving imaginations and running worldly
desires are not so easily brought to silence. And there
fore the Lord ofteri-times, when any turn towards him,
and' have true desires thus to wait upon him, and
find great difficulty through the unstayedness of their

OF WORSHIP. 335
minds, doth in condescension and compassion cause his
power to, break forth iri a more strong and powerful man
ner. And when the mind sinks down, and waits for the
appearance of life, and that the power of darkness in the
spul wrestles and works against it, then the good seed, as it
ariseth, will be found to work as physic in the soul, espe
cially if such a weak one be in the assembly of divers others
in whom the life is arisen in greater dominion, and through
the contrary workings of the power of darkness there' will
be found an inward striving in the soul as really in the Esau and
mystery as ever Esau and Jacob strove in Rebecca's st*o°e in
¦womb. And from this inward travail, while the darkness Rebecca's
womb.
seeks to obscure the light, and the light breaks through the
darkness, which it always will do, if the soul -gives not its
strength to the darkness, there will be such a painful tra
vail found in. the soul, that will even work upon the out
ward man, so that often-times, through the working there
of, the body will be greatly shaken, and many groans, and
sighs, and tears, even as the pangs of a woman in travail, will
lay hold upon it ; yea, and ,this not only as to one, but when
the enemy, who, when the children of God assemble
together, is not wanting to be present, to see if he can let
their comfort, hath prevailed in any measure in a whole
meeting, and strongly worketh against it by spreading and
propagating his dark power, arid by drawing out the minds
of such as are met from the" life in them, as they come to
be sensible of this power of his that wTprks against them,
and to wrestle with it by the armour of light, sometimes
the power of God will break forth into a whole meeting, The travail
and there will be such an inward travail, while each is seek- w;th a vic
ing to overcome the evil in themselves, that by the strong *°"°us
contrary workings of these opposite powers, like the going
of two contrary tides, every individual will be strongly
exercised as in a day of battle, and thereby trembling and
a motion of body will be upon most, if not upon all,
which, as the power bf truth prevails, will from pangs and
groans end with a sweet sound of thanksgiving and praise.
And from this' the name of Quakers, i. e., Tremblers, was

336 PROPOSITION XI.
The name first reproachfully cast upon us; which though it be none
ers^ whence °f our choosing, yet in this respect we are not ashamed of
it sprung, it, but have rather reason to rejoice therefore, even that we
are sensible of this power that hath oftentimes laid hold
of pur adversaries, and made them yield unto us, and join
with us, and confess to the truth, before they had any dis
tinct or discursive knowledge of our doctrines, so that
sometimes many at one meeting have been thus convinced :
and this power would sometimes also reach to and wonder
fully work even in little children, to the admiration and
astonishment of many.
Yet silence § IX. Many are the blessed experiences which I could
bywords relate °f this silence and manner of worship ; yet I do riot
may follow, so much commend and speak of silence as if we had bound
ourselves by any law to exclude praying or preaching, or
tied ourselves thereunto ; not at all : for as our worship
consisteth not in words, so neither in silence, as silence;
but in a holy dependence ofthe mind upon God : from which
dependence silence necessarily follows in the first place,
until words can be brought forth, which are from God's
Spirit. And God is not wanting to move in his children
to bring forth words of exhortation or prayer, when it is
needful ; so that of the many gatherings and meetings of
such as are convinced of the truth, there is scarce any in
whom God raiseth not up some or other to minister to his
brethren ; and there are few meetings that are altogether
silent. For when many are met together in this one life
and name, it doth most naturally and frequently excite
them to pray to and praise God, and stir up one another
by mutual exhortation and instructions ; yet we judge it
needful there be in the first place some time of silence,
during which every one may be gathered inward to the
wordnnd gift of grace, from which he that ministereth may
receive strength to bring forth what he ministereth ; and
that they that hear may have a sense to discern betwixt the
precious and the vile, and not to hurry into the exercise
of these things so soon as the bell rings, as other Chris
tians do. Yea, and we doubt not, but assuredly know,

OF WORSHIP. 337
that the meeting may be'good and refreshful, though from
the sitting down to the rising up thereof there hath not
been a word as outwardly sppken, and yet life may have No abso-
been known to abound in each particular, and an inward ^ forces"
growing up therein and thereby, yea, so as words might words,
have been spoken acceptably, and from the life : yet there from the
being no absolute necessity laid upon any so to do, all W1581'"1168-
might have chosen rather quietly and silently to possess
and enjoy the Lord in themselves, which is very sweet
and comfortable to the soul that hath thus learned to be
gathered out of all its own thoughts and workings, to feel
the Lord to bring forth both the will and the deed, which
many" can declare by a blessed experience : though indeed
it cannot but be hard for the natural man to receive or
believe this doctrine, and therefore it must be rather by a
sensible experience, and by coming to make proof of it,
than by arguments, that such can be convinced of this
thing, seeing it is not enough to believe ft, if they come
not also to enjoy and possess it ; yet in condescension to,
and for the sake of, such as may be the more willing to
apply themselves to the practice and experience hereof, if
they found their understandings convinced of it, and that
it is founded upon scripture and reason, I find a freedom
of mind to add some few considerations of this kind, for
the confirmation hereof, besides what is before mentioned
of our experience.,
§ X. That to wait upon God, and to watch before him, To wait and
is a duty incumbent upon all, I suppose none will deny landed"™"
and that this also is a part of worship will riot be called- in the scrip-
question, since there is scarce any other so frequently com
manded in the holy scriptures, as may appear from Psalm
xxvii. 14, and xxxvii. 7, 34 ; Prov. xx. 22 ; Isai. xxx. 18 ; -.
Hosea xii. 6 ; Zeph. iii. 8 ; Mat. xxiv. 42, and xxv. 13,
and xxvi. 41 ; Mark xiii. 33, 35, 37 ; .Lukexxi. 36 ; Acts
i. 4, and xx. 31 ; 1 Cor. xvi. 13 ; Col. iv. 2 ; 1 Thess. v.
6 ; 2 Tim. iv. 5 ; 1 Pet. iv. 7. Also this duty is often re
commended with very great and precious promises, as
Psalm xxv. 3, and xxxvii. 9, and lxix. 6 ; Isai. xiii. 23 ;
29 2 s

338 PROPOSITION XI.
Lam. iii. 25, 26. They that wait upon the Lord shall
renew their strength,. &c., Isa. xl. 31. Now how is this
waiting upon God, or watching before him, but by this
silence of which we have'spoken? Which as it is init-t
self a great and principal duty, so it necessarily in order
both of nature and time pfecedeth all other. But that.it
may be the better and more perfectly understood, as it is
not only an outward silence of the body, but an inward
silence of the mind from all its own imaginations and self-
cogitations, let it be considered according to truth, and to
the principles and doctrines heretofore affirmed and proved,
- that man is to be considered in a twofold respect, to wit,
in his natural, unregenerate, and fallen state, and in his
spiritual and renewed condition ; from whence ariseth that
distinction of the natural and spiritual man so much used
by the apostle,, and heretofore spoken of. Also these two
births of the mind proceed from the two seeds in man re
spectively; to wit," the good see.d and the evil ; and frofn
the evil seed doth not only proceed all manner bf gross and
abominable wickedness arid profanity, but also hypocrisy,
Whence and those wickednesses which the scripture calls spiritual,
nesse^ arise because it is the serpent working in and by the natural man
that are m things that are spiritual, which having a show and appear
ance of good,, are so much the more hurtful and dangerous,^
as it is Satan transformed and transforming himself into an
angel of light ; and therefore doth the scripture so pressingly
and frequently, as we have heretofore had occasion to ob
serve, shut out and exclude the natural man from med
dling with the things of God, denying his endeavours
therein, ,though acted and performed by the most eminent
of his parts, as of wisdom and utterance.
Also tiiis spiritual wickedness is of two sorts, though
both one in kind, as proceeding from one root, yet differ
ing in their degiees, and in the subjects also sometimes.
The one is, when as the natural man, meddling with and
working in the things of religion, doth from his own con
ceptions and divinations affirm or propose wrong and
erroneous notions and opinions of God and things spiritual,

OF WORSHIP. 339
and invent superstitions, ceremonies, observations, and' rites From
in worship, from whence have sprung all the heresies and heresUs^id
superstitions that are among Christians. The other is, when spring.
as the natural man, from a mere conviction of his under
standing, doth in the forwardness of his own will, and by
his own natural strength, without the influence and leading
of God's Spirit, go about either in his understanding to
imagine, conceive, or think of the things of God, or actually
to perform them by preaching or praying. The first is a
missing both in matter and form ; the second is a retaining TrueChris-
of the form without the life and substance of Christianity ; ^""emit
because Christian religion consisteth not in a mere belief consists
of true doctrines, or a mere performance of acts good in
themselves, or else the bare letter of the scripture, though
spoken by a drunkard, or a devil, might be said to be spirit
and life, which I judge none will be so absurd as to affirm ;
and also it would follow, that where the form of godliness
is, there the power is also, which is contrary to the express
words of the apostle. For the form of godliness cannot be
said to be, where either the notions and opinions believed
are erroneous and ungodly, or the acts performed evil and
wicked; for then it would be the form of ungodliness, and
not of godliness : but of this more hereafter, when we shall
speak particularly of preaching and praying. Now though
this last be not so bad as the former, yet it hath made way
for it ; for riien having first departed from the life and sub
stance of true religion and worship, to wit, from the inward
power and virtue of the Spirit, so as therein to act, and
thereby to have all their actions enlivened, have only re
tained the form and show, to wit, the true words and ap
pearance f and so acting in their own natural and unrenewed
wills in this form, the form could not but quickly decay,
and be vitiated. For the working and active spirit of man
could not contain itself within the simplicity and plainness
of truth, but giving way to his own numerous inventions
and imaginations, began to vary in the form, and adapt it
to his own inventions, until by degrees the form of godli
ness for the most part came to be Jost, as well as the power.

340 PROPOSITION XI.
Idolatry For this kind of idolatry, whereby man loveth, idolizeth,
itsowncon- and embraceth his own conceptions,- inventions, and pro
ceedings, duct of his own brain; isso incident unto him, and- seated
in his fallen nature, that- so long as his natural spirit is the
first author and actor of him, and is that by wliich he only
is guided and moved in his worship towards God, so as
not first to wait for another, guide to direct him, he cah
never perform the pure spiritual worship, nor bring forth
anything but the fruit of the first, fallen, natural, and cor
rupt root. Wherefore the time appointed of God being
come, wherein by Jesus Christ he hath been pleased to re
store the true spiritual worship, and the outward form of
worship, which was appointed by God to the Jews, and
whereof the manner and time of its performance was parti
cularly determined by God himself, being eome to an end,
No form of we find that Jesus Christ, the author of the Christian reli-
th°rSpintUt g'on, prescribes no set form of worship to his children under
prescribed the more pure administration of the new covenant,* save
by Christ. r - , '
that he only tells them, that theworship now to be per
formed is spiritual, and in the Spirit. And it is especially
to be observed, that in the whole New Testament there is
no order nor command given in this thing, but to follow
the revelation of the Spirit, save only that general one of
* If any object here, That the Lord's Prayer is a prescribed form of
prayer, and therefore of worship given by Christ to bis children:
I answer, First, This cannot be objected by any sort of Christians
that I know, because there are none who use not other prayers, or that
limit their worship to this. Secondly, This was commanded to the
disciples, while yet weak, before they had received the dispensation
of the gospel ; not that they should only use it iri praying, but that he
might show them by one example how that their prayers ought to be
short,. and not like the long prayers of the Pharisees. And that this^
was the use of it.appears by all their prayers, Which divers saints
afterwards made use of, whereof the scripture makes mention ; for
none made use of this, neither repeated it, but used otheT words,,ac-
cording as tbe thing required, and as the Spirit gave utterance. Thirdly,
That "this- ought to be so understood, appears from Rom. viii. 26, of
wliich afterwards mention shall be made at greater length, where the
apostle saith, " We know not what, we slrould pray for as we ought, but
the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us," &c. But if this prayer had
been such a prescribed form of prayer to the church, that had not been
true, neither had they been ignorant what to pray for, nor should they
have needed the help ofthe Spirit to teach them.

OF WORSHIP. 341
meeting, together; - a thing dearly owned and diligently
practised by us, as shall hereafter more appear. True it is,
mention is made ofthe duties of praying, preaching, and Pray,
singing; but what order or method should be kept in so sing-inSpi-
doing, or that presently they should be set about so soon nt-
as the saints are gathered, there is not one word to be
found : yea, these duties, as shall afterwards be made ap
pear, are always annexed to the assistance, leadings, and
motions of God's Spirit. Since then man in his natural
state is thus excluded from acting or moving in things
spiritual, how or what way shall he exercise this first and
previous duty of waiting upon God but by silence, and by To wait on
bringing that natural part to silence? Which is no other what it is
ways but by abstaining from his own thoughts and imagi- performed.
nations,1 and from all the self-workings and motions of his
own mind, as well in things materially good as evil ; that
he being silent, God may speak in him, and the good seed
may arise. This, though hard to the natural man, is so
answerable to reason, and even natural experience in other
things, that it cannot be denied. He that cometh to learn A simile of
r -p i ¦ ii- a master
of a master, if he expect to hear his master and be instruct- and his
ed by him, must not continually be speaking of the matter scnolar-
to be taught, and never be quiet, otherwise how shall his
master have time to instruct him? Yea, though the scholar
were never so earnest fo learn the science, yet would the
master have reason to reprove him, as untoward and indo
cile, if he would always be meddling of himself, and still
speaking, and not wait in silence patiently to hear his mas
ter instructing and teaching him, who ought not to open
his mouth until by his master he were Commanded and
allowed so to do. So also if one were about to attend a Of a prince
great prince, he would be thought an impertinent and im- vant.
prudent servant, who, while he ought patiently and readily
to'wait, that he might answer the king when he speaks, and
have his eye upon him to observe the least motions and
inclinations of his will, and to do accordingly, would be
still deafening him with discourse, though it were in praises
of him '¦¦ and running to and fro, without any particular and
29*

342

PROPOSITION XI.

To wait in
silence.

The think
ing busy
soul ex
cludes the
voice of
God.

Religious
speculations.

Sensual re
creations.

immediate order, to do things that perhaps might be good
in themselves, or might have been commanded at other
times to others; would the kings of the earth accept. of
such servants or service ? Since then we are commanded
to wait upon God.dihgently,' and in so doing it is promised
that our strength shall be renewed, this waiting cannot be
performed but by a silence or cessation of the natural part .
on our side, since God manifests himself not to the out
ward man or senses, so much as to the inward, to wit, to
the soul and spirit. If the soul be still thinking and work
ing in her own will, and busily exercised in her own ima
ginations, though the matters as in themselves may be goodi
concerning God, yet thereby she incapacitates herself from
discerning the still, small voiceof the Spirit, and so hurts
herself greatly, in that she neglects her chief business of
waiting upon the Lord : nothing less than if I should busy
myself, crying out and speaking of a business, while in the
mean time I neglect to hear one who is quietly whispering
into my ear, and informing me in those things which are
most needful for me to hear and know concerning that
business. And since it is the chief work of a Christian to
know the natural will in its own proper motions crucified,
that God may both move in the act and in the will, the
Lord chiefly regards this profound subjection and self-de
nial. For some men please themselves as much, and gratify
their own sensual wills and humours in high and curious
speculations of religion, affecting a name and reputation
that way, or because those things by custom or otherways
are become pleasant and habitual to them, though not a
whit more regenerated or inwardly sanctified in their spirits,
as others gratify their lusts in acts of sensuality, and there
fore both are alike hurtful to men, and sinful in the sight
of God, it being nothing but the mere fruit and effect of
man's natural and unrenewed will' and spirit. Yea, should
one, as many no doubt do, from a sense of sin, and fear of
punishment,- seek to terrify themselves from sin, by multi
plying thoughts of death, hell, and judgment, and by pre
senting to their imaginations the happiness and joys of

OF WORSHIP. 343
heaven, and also by multiplying prayers and other religious Thoughts
performances, as these things could never deliver him from andhe'll to
one iniquity, without the .secret and inward power of God's keen out sin
Spirit and grace, so would they signify no more than the leaves.
fig-leaves wherewith Adam thought to cover his naked
ness. And seeing it is only the product of man's own
natural will, proceeding from a self-love, and seeking to
save himself, and not arising purely from that divine seed
of righteousness which is given of God to all for grace and
salvation, ft is rejected of God, and no ways acceptable
unto him ; since the natural man, as natural, while he stands
in that state, is, with all his arts, parts, and actings, repro
bated by him. This great duty then of waiting upon God, '
must needs be exercised in man's denying self, both in- Denial of
wardly and outwardly, in a still and mere dependence upon ones
God, in abstracting from all the workings, imaginations,
and speculations ofhis own jnind, that being emptied as ft
were of himself, and so thoroughly crucified to the natural.
products thereof, he may be fit to receive the Lord, who
will have no co-partner nor co-rival of his glory and power.
And man being thus stated, the little seed of righteousness
which God hath planted in his soul, and Christ hath pur
chased for him, even the measure of grace and life, which
is burdened and crucified by man's natural thoughts and
imaginations, receives a place to arise, and becometh a
holy birth and geniture in man ; and is that divine air in The holy
and by which man's soul and spirit comes to be leavened ; blrt •
and by waiting therein he comes to be accepted in the sight
of God, to stand in his presence, hear his voice, and ob
serve the motions of his holy Spirit. And so man's place
is to wait in this ; and as hereby there are any objects pre
sented to his mind concerning God, or things relating to
religion, his soul may be exercised in them without hurt,
and to the great profit both of himself and others ; because
those things have their rise not from his. own will, but from
God's Spirit; and therefore as ip the arisings and movings
of this his mind is still to be exercised in thinking and
meditating, so also in the more obvious acts of preaching

344 PROPOSITION XI.
No Qua- and praying.' And so it may hence appear we are riot
against^ against meditation, as. some have sought falsely to infer
meditating from our doctrine ; but we are against the thoughts artd
From na- imaginations of the natural man in his own will, from which
thoughts an errors and heresies concerning the Christian religion in
all errors the whole world have proceeded. But if it please God at,
rise. . r . . L
any time, when one or more are waiting upon him, not to
present such objects as give them occasion to exercise their
minds in thoughts and imaginations, but purely to keep
them in this holy dependence, and as they persist therein,
to cause his secret refreshment and the pure incomes of his
holy life to flow in upon them, then they have good reason
to be content, because by this, as we know by good and
blessed experience, the soiil is more strengthened, renew-
The soul ed, and confirmed in the love of God, and armed against
by^wdiat1? *-he Power °f sin, than any way else ; this being a foretaste
The holy of that real and sensible enjoyment of God, which the saints
in heaven daily possess, which God frequently affords to
his children here for their comfort and encouragement,
especially when they are assembled together to wait upon
him.
Whatever § XI. For there are two contrary powers or spirits, to
^"without w^) the power and spirit of this world, in which the prince'
tferP°w.er of darkness bears rule, and over as many as are acted by
not accept- it, and work from it ; and the power or Spirit of God, in
which God worketh and beareth rule, and over as iriany
as act in and from it. So whatever be the things that a
man thinketh of, or acteth in, however spiritual or religious
as to the notion or form of them, so long as he acteth and
moveth in the natural and corrupt spirit and will, and not
from, in, and by the power of God, he sinneth in all, and
Prov.xxi.4. is not accepted of God. For hence both the " ploughing
and praying ofthe wicked is sin ;" as also whatever a man
acts in and from the Spirit and power of God, having his
understanding and will influenced and moved by it,
whether ft be actions religious, civil, or even natural, he
is accepted in so doing in the sight of God, and is
Ja. i. 25. "blessed in them." From what is said, it doth appear

OF WORSHIP. 345
how frivolous and impertinent their objection is, -that say
they wait upon God. in praying and preaching, since wait
ing doth of itself imply a passive dependence, rather than
an acting. And since it is, and shall yet be more shown, To pray
that preaching and praying without the Spirit is an offend- wlthouTthe
ing of God, not a waiting upon him, and that praying and Spirit is of-
preaching by the Spirit pre-supposes necessarily a silent God.
waiting to feel the motions and influence of the Spirit to
lead thereunto ; and lastly, that in several of these places
where praying is commanded, as Mat. xxvi. 41 ; Mark
xiii. 33 ; Luke xxi. 36 ; 1 Peter iv. 7, watching is spe
cially prefixed as a previous preparation thereunto ; we do
well and certainly conclude, that since wafting and watch
ing are so particularly commanded and recommended, and
cannot be truly performed but in this inward silence of the
mind from men's own thoughts and imaginations, this
silence is and must necessarily be a special and principal
part of God's worship. ,
§ XII. But secondly, The excellency of this silent wait- II.
ing upon God doth appear, in that it is impossible for the waitSing ethe
"enemy, viz., the devil, to counterfeit it, so as for any soul devl1 can-
to be deceived or deluded by him in the exercise thereof, terfeit.
Now in all other matters he may mix himself with the na
tural mind of man, and so by transforming himself he may
deceive the soul, by busying it about things perhaps inno
cent in themselves, while yet he keeps them from behold
ing the pure light of Christ, and so from knowing distinctly
their duty, and doing of it. For that envious spirit of
man's eternal happiness knoweth well how to accommodate
himself, and fit his snares for all the several dispositions
and inclinations of men ; if he find one not fit to be en
gaged with gross sins, or worldly lusts, but rather averse
from them, and religiously inclined, he can^fit himself to
beguile such a one, by suffering his thoughts. and imagina
tions to run upon spiritual matters, and so hurry him to
work, act, and meditate in. his own will. For he well
knoweth that so long as self bears rule, and the Spirit of
God is not the principal and chief actor, man is not put
2t

346 PROPOSITION XI.
Altar.pray- out of his. reach ; so therefore he can accompany the priest
study,UcanI *° the altar, the preacher to the pulpit, the zealot 'tg his
not shut the prayers, yea, the doctor and professor of divinity to his
.study, and there he can cheerfully suffer him to labour and
work among his. books, yea, and help him to find out and
invent subtile distinctions and quiddities, by which both
his mind and others through him, may be kept from heed
ing God's Light in the conscience, and waiting upon him.
There is riot any exercise whatsoever, wherein - he cannot
enter and have a chief place, so as the soul many times
cannot discern it, except in this alone : for he can only
work in and by the natural man, and his faculties, by
secretly acting upon his imaginations and desires, &c, and
therefore, when he, to wit, the natural man, is silent, there
he must also stand. And therefore when the soul comes
to this silence, .and as it were is brought to nothingness, as
to her own workings, then the devil is shut but ; for the
, pure presence of God and shining of his Light he cannot
abide, because so long as a man is thinking and meditating
as of himself, he cannot .be sure but the devil is influencing
him therein ; but when he comes wholly to be silent, as*
the pure Light of God shines in upon him, then he is -sure
that the devil is shut out ; for beyond the imaginations he
cannot go, which we often find by sensible experience.
' For he that of old is said to have come to the gathering
together of the children of God, is not wanting to come to
our assemblies. And indeed he can well enter and work
in a meeting, that is silent only as to words, either by keep
ing the minds in various thoughts and imaginations, or by
stupefying them, so as to overwhelm them with a spirit of
heaviness and slothfulness : but when we retire out of all,
and are turned in, both by being diligent and watchful
upon the one hand, and also silent and retired out of all
our thoughts npon the other, as we abide in this sure place,
we feel ourselves out of his reach. Yea, oftentimes the
power and glory of God will break forth and appear, just
as the bright sun through many clouds and mists, to the
dispelling of that power of darkness ; which will also be

OF WORSHIP. 347
sensibly felt, seeking to cloud and darken the mind, and
wholly to keep it from purely waiting upon God.
§ XIII. Thirdly, the excellency, of this worship doth in.
appear, in that it can neither be stopped nor interrupted by ™e wor^
the malice of men or devils, as all others can. Now inter- Quakers
ruptions and stoppings of worship may be understood in a or inter-
twofold respect, either as we are hindered from meeting, m1e3ne01rby
as being • outwardly by violence separated one from an- devils.
other; or when permitted to meet together, as we are
interrupted by the tumult, noise, and confusion which such
as are malicious may use to, molest or distract us. Now
in both these respects, this worship doth greatly overpass
all others : for how far soever people be separate or hin
dered from coming together; yet as every one is inwardly
gathered to the measure of life in himself, there is a secret
unity and fellowship enjoyed, which the devil and all his
instruments can never break or hinder. But, secondly, It
doth as well appear, as to those molestations which occur,
when we are met together, what advantage this true and
spiritual worship gives us beyond all others; seeing in
'despite of a thousand interruptions and abuses, one of
which were sufficient to have stopped all other sorts of Chris
tians, we have been able,1 through the nature of this wor
ship, to keep it uninterrupted as to ,God, and also at the
same time to show/orth an example of our Christian pa
tience towards all, even oftentimes to the reaching and
convincing of our opposers. For there is no sort of wor
ship used by others which can subsist, though they be per
mitted to meet, unless they be either authorized" and .pro?
tected by the magistrate, or defend themselves with the
arm of. flesh: but we at the same time exercise worship
towards God, and also patiently bear the reproaches and
ignominies which Christ prophesied should be so incident
and frequent to Christians. For how can the Papists say
their mass, if there be any there to disturb and interrupt The wor-
thenr ? Do but take away the mass-book, the chalice, the p^pj"^116
host, or the priest's garments, yea, do but spill the wafer, soon inter-
or the wine, Or blow out the candles, a thing quickly done,

348 PROPOSITION XI.
and the whple business is marred, and np sacrifice can be
The Pro- offered. Take from the Lutherans or Episcopalians their
testants the T ., ~ _. . •-. -_, ¦ i
like, and Juturgy or Common-Prayer-Book, and no service can be
ttits!)aP" sa^* Remove from the Calvinists, Arminians, Socinians,
Independents, or Anabaptists, the pulpit, the bible, and
the hour-glass, or make but such a noise as the voice of
the preacher cannot be heard, or'disturb him but so before
he come, or strip him of his bible or his books, and he
must be dumb : for they all think it an heresy to wait to
speak as^ the Spirit of God giveth utterance ; and thus
easily their whole worship may be marred. But when
people meet together, arid their worship consisteth not in
such outward acts, and they depend not upon any one's
speaking, but merely sit down to wait upon God, and to
be gathered out of all visibles, and to1 feel the Lord in
Spirit, none of these things can hinder them, of which we
may say of a truth, we are sensible witnesses. For when
the magistrates, stirred up by the malice and envy of our
opposprs, have used all means possible, and yet in vain, to
deter us from meeting together, and that openly and pub-
The suffer- licly in our own hired houses for that purpose, both death,
Quakersfor banishments, imprisonments, finings, beatings, whippings,
their reli- ancj other such devilish inventions, have proved ineffectual
gious meet- .
rags. to terrify us from our holy assemblies. And we having, I
say, thus oftentimes purchased our liberty to meet, by deep
sufferings, our opposers have then taken another way, by
turning in upon us the worst and wickedest people, yea,
the very off-scOurings of men,, who by all manner of inhu
man, beastly and brutish behaviour, have sought to pro
voke us, weary us, and molest us, but in vain. It would
be almost incredible to declare, and indeed a shame, that
among men pretending to be Christians, it should be men
tioned, what things of this kind men's eyes have seen, and
I myself, with others, have .shared of in suffering ! There
they have often beaten us, and cast water and dirt upon
us ; there they have danced, leaped, sung, and spoken all
manner of profane and ungodly words ; offered violence
ahd shameful behaviour to grave women and virgins;

OF WORSHIP. 349
jeered, mocked and scoffed, asking us, if the Spirit was
not yet come ? And much more, which were tedious here
to relate : and all this while we have been seriously and "
silently sitting together, and waiting upon the Lord. So
that by these things our inward and spiritual fellowship
with God, and one with another, in the pure life of righte
ousness, hath not been hindered. But on the contrary, the
Lord knowing our sufferings and reproaches for his testi
mony's sake, hath caused his power and glory more to
abound among us, and hath mightily refreshed us by the
sense of his love, which hath filled our souls ; and so
much the rather, as we found ourselves gathered into the
" name of the Lord," which is the strong tower of the Prov. xviii.
righteous ; whereby we felt ourselves sheltered from re- "
ceiving any inward hurt through their malice : and also
that he had delivered us from that vain name and profes
sion of Christianity, under which our opposers were not
ashamed to bring forth those', bitter and cursed fruits. Yea,
sometimes in the midst of this tumult and opposition, God
would powerfully move some or other of us by his Spirit,
both to testify of that joy, which notwithstanding their
malice we enjoyed, and powerfully to declare, in the
evidence and demonstration of the Spirit, against their *
folly and wickedness ; so as the power of truth hath
brought them tp some measure of quietness and stillness,
and stopped the impetuous streams of their fury and mad
ness : that even as of" old Moses by his rod divided the The rod of
waves of the Red Sea, that the Israelites might pass; so videTthe
God hath thus by his Spirit made a way for us in the midst 2?a.\ the
.... . • , , 11 • , sPmt
of this raging wickedness, peaceably to enjoy and possess maketh
him, and accomplish our worship to him.: so that some- Jj,foUgn
times upon such -occasions several of our -opposers and tne raging
, iiii • i c i . i i waves.
interrupters have hereby been convinced ot the truth, and
gathered from being persecutors to be sufferers with us.
And let it not be forgotten, but let it be inscribed and
abide for a constant remembrance of the thing, that in
these beastly and brutish pranks, used tp molest us in our
spiritual meetings, none have been more busy than the
30

350

PROPOSITION XI.

What bru
tish pranks
didnot that
young fry .
of the cler
gy commit ?

How the
old cove
nant-worship doth
differ from
the new.

The new
covenant-worship is
inward. John xviii.
36.

young students of the universities, who were learning phi
losophy and divinity, so called, and many of them prepar
ing themselves for the ministry. -Should we commit to
writing all the abominations committed in this respect by
the young fry of the clergy, it would make no small
volume ; as the churches of Christ, gathered into his pure
worship in Oxford and Cambridge in England, and Edin
burgh and Aberdeen in Scotland, where the universities
are, can well bear witness.
§ XIV. Moreover, in this we know, that we are par
takers of the new covenant's dispensation, and disciples
of Christ indeed, sharing with him in that spiritual wor
ship, which is performed in the Spirit and in truth ; because
as he was, so are we in this world. For the old covenant-
worship had an outward glory, temple and ceremonies, and
Was full of outward splendour and majesty, having an out
ward tabernacle and altar, beautified with gold, silver, and
precious, stones ; and their sacrifices were confined to a parr
ticular place, even the outward Mount Sion ; and those
that prayed, were to pray with their faces towards that out
ward temple ; and therefore all this was to be protected by
an outward arm. Nor could the Jews peaceably have
enjoyed it, but when they were secured from the violence
of- their outward enemies; and therefore when at any time
their enemies prevailed oVer them, their glory was darkened,
and their sacrifices stopped, and the face of their worship
marred: hence they complain, lament, and bewail the de
stroying of the temple, as a loss irreparable. But Jesus
Christ, the author and institutor of the new covenant-wor
ship, testifies, that God is neither tp he worshipped in this
nor- that place, but in the Spirit and in Truth ; and foras
much as his kingdom is not of this world, neither doth his
worship consist in, it, or need either the wisdom, glory,
riches or splendour of this world tb beautify or adorn ft:
nor yet the outward power or arm of flesh to maintain, up
hold, or protect it ; but it is and may be performed by
those that are spiritually minded, notwithstanding all the
opposition, violence, and malice of men ; because it being

OF WORSHIP. 351
purely spiritual, it is but of the reach of natural men to in
terrupt or obstruct it. Even as Jesus Christ, the author
thereof, did enjoy and possess his spiritual kingdom, while
oppressed, persecuted, and rejected of men ; and as, in
despite of the malice and rage of the devil, " he spoiled Col. ii. 15.
principalities and powers, triumphing over them, and
through death destroyed him that had the power of death, Heb. ii. 14.
that is, the devil ;" so also all his followers both can and
do worship him, not only without the arm of flesh to pro
tect them, but even when oppressed. For their worship
being spiritual, is by the power of the Spirit defended and
maintained ; but such worships as are carnal, and consist Camalwor-
in carnal and outward ceremonies and observations, need notPstand"
a carnal and outward arm to protect and defend them, else WIth°ut the
iii- arm °'
they cannot stand and subsist. And therefore it appears, flesh.
that the several worships of our opposers, both Papists and
Protestants, are of this kind, and not the true spiritual and
new covenant worship of Christ ; because, as hath been
observed, they cannot stand , without the protection cr
countenance of the outward magistrate, neither can be per
formed, if there be the least opposition : for they are not
in the patience of Jesus, to serve and worship him with
sufferings, ignominies, calumnies, and reproaches. And
from hence have sprung all those wars, fightings, and
bloodshed among Christians, while each by the arm of
flesh endeavoured to defend and protect their own way
and worship ; and from this also sprung up that monstrous
opinion of persecution ; of which we shall speak more at
length hereafter.
§ XV. But fourthly ; The nature of this worship, which IV.
is performed by the operation of the Spirit, the natural ship ;n
man being silent, doth appear" from these words of Christ, fa^ngSd"
John iv. 23, 24 : " But the hour cometh, and now is, when by Christ.
the true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and
in Truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
God is a Spirit, and they that worship him, must worship
him in Spirit and in Truth." This testimony is the more
specially to be observed, for that it is both the first, chiefest,

352 PROPOSITION XI.
and most ample testimony, which Christ gives us of his
Christian worship, as different and .ebntra-distinguished
from that under the law.. For first,. he showeth that the
season is now come, wherein the worship must be in Spirit
and in Truth : for the Father seeketh such to worship him :
so then it is no more a worship consisting in outward ob
servations, to be performed by man at set times or oppor
tunities, which he can do in his own will, and by his own
natural strength : for else it would not differ in matter, but
The reason only in some circuiristances from that under the law. Next,
gives8 for a as f°r a reason of this worship, we need not give any
worship in other, and indeed none can give a better than that which
Christ, giveth, which' I think should be sufficient to satisfy
every Christian, to wit, » GOD IS A SPIRIT, and they
that worship him, must worship him in Spirit and in
Truth." As this ought to be received, because it is the
words of Christ, so also it is founded upon so clear a de
monstration of reason, as sufficiently evidenceth its verity.
For Christ excellently argues from the analogy that ought
to be betwixt the object, and the worship directed there
unto:
Ano. God is a Spirit ;
Therefore he must be worshipped in Spirit.
This is so certain, that ft can suffer no contradiction ;
yea, and this analogy is so necessary to be minded, that
under the law, when God instituted and appointed that
ceremonial worship to the Jews, because that worship was
outward, that there might be an analogy, he saw it neces
sary to condescend to them as in a special manner, to
dwell betwixt the cherubims within the tabernacle, and
afterwards to make the temple of Jerusalem in a sort his
habitation, and cause something of an outward glory and
majesty to appear, by causing fire from heaven to consume
The glory the sacrifices, and filling the temple with a ctoud : through
ward^em- and by which mediums, visible to the outward eye, he
P'6, manifested himself proportionably to that outward worship
which he had commanded them to perform. So now
under the new covenant, he seeing meet in his heavenly

OF WORSHIP. 353
wisdom to lead his children in a path more heavenly and
spiritual, and in a Way more easy and familiar, and also
purposing to disappoint carnal and outward observations,
that his may have an eye more to an inward glory and
kingdom than to an outward, he hath given us for an ex
ample hereof the appearance of his beloved Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ, who (as Moses delivered the Israelites out As Moses
of their outward bondage, and by outwardly destroying out-Ja^d so
their enemies) hath delivered and' doth deliver us by suf- Christ de-
. . . . - livers his
fering, arid dying by the hands of his enemies ; thereby from in-
triumphing over the devil, and his and our inward ene- ™" s ave"
mies, and delivering us therefrom. He hath also insti
tuted an inward and spiritual worship : so that God now
tieth not his people to the temple of Jerusalem, nor yet
unto Outward ceremonies and observations ; but taketh the
heart of every Christian for a temple to dwell in; and there
immediately appeareth, and giveth him directions how to
serve him in any outward acts. Since; as Christ argueth,
•God is a Spirit, he will now be worshipped in the Spirit,
Where he reveals himself, and dwelleth with the contrite in
heart; Now, since it is the heart of man that now is be
come the temple of God, in which he will.be worshipped,
arid no-- more in particular outward temples, since, as
blessed Stephen said, out of the prophet, fo the professing
Jews of old, " The most High dwelleth not in temples
made with hands," as "before the glory of the Lord de
scended to fill the outward temple, it behoved to be puri
fied and cleansed, and all polluted stuff removed out of it ;
yea, and the place for the tabernacle was overlaid' with
gold, the most precious and cleanest of metals; so also
before God be worshipped in the- inward temple of the
heart, it must also be purged of Its own filth, and all its
clwn thoughts and imaginations, that so it may be fit to re
ceive the Spirit of God, and to be actuated by it. And
doth not this directly lead us to that inward silence, of
which we have spoken, arid exactly pointed out? And
further, This worship must be in truth; intimating, that
this spiritual worship; thus acted, is only and properly
30* 2u

354 PROPOSITION XI.
a true worship ; as. being that which, for the reasons above
observed, cannot be counterfeited by the enemy, nor yet
performed by the hypocrite.
§ XVL And though this worship be indeed very dif
ferent from the divers established invented worships among
Christians, and therefore may seem strange to many, yet
hath it been testified of, commended and practised, by the
most pious of all sorts, in all ages, as by many evident tes
timonies might be proved. So that from the professing
and practising thereof the name of Mystics hath arisen, as
A certain of a certain sect, greatly commended by all, whose writ-
tfcst0a-MyS' ™gs are mn Dotn °f tne explanation and of the commen-
mong the dation of this sort of worship ; where they plentifully
Papists, ...-,.- . , , ¦ <• , -i
their in- assert this inward introversion and abstraction of the mind,
cise? 6Iee" as tnev ca" **> from aH images and thoughts, and the
Sancta So- prayer of the will : yea, they look upon this as the height
ed An. of Christian perfection ; so that some of them, though prb-
Dom. 1657. fesse(j papists, do not doubt to affirm, " That such as have
attained this method of worship, or are aiming at it, as in
a book, called Sancta Sophia, put out by the English
The Eng- Benedictines, printed at Doway, Anno, 1657, TractL, sect.
dtctines"6" "•> caP- 5, need not, nor ought to trouble or busy them-
testimony. selves with frequent and unnecessary confessions, with exer-
ritual wor- cising corporal labours and austerities, the using of vocal
against voluntary; prayers, the hearing of a number of masses, or
their , set devotions, or exercises to saints, or prayers for the
masses and ' . .
set devo- dead, or having solicitous and distracting cares to gain in
dulgences, by going to such and such churches, or adjoin
ing one's self to confraternities, or entangling one's, self
with vows and promises ; because such kind of things
hinder the soul from observing the operations of the Divine
Spirit in it, and from -having liberty to follow the Spirit
whither it would draw her." And yet who knows not that
in such kind of observations the , very substance of the
Popish religion consisteth? Yet nevertheless, it appears
by this, and many other passages, which out of their Mystic
writers might be mentioned, how they look upon this wor
ship as excelling all other ; and that such as arrived herb-

OF WORSHIP. 355
Unto, had no absolute need of the others: yea, see the
Life of Balthazar Alvares, in the same Sancta Sophia,
Tract III., sect, i., cap. 7, such as tasted of this, quickly
bonfessed, that the other forms and ceremonies of worship
were useless as to them ; neither did they perform them as
things necessary, but merely for order or example's sake.
And therefore, though some of them were so over-clouded
with the common darkness of their profession, yet cpuld
they affirm that this spiritual worship was still to be re
tained and sought for, even though it should become
necessary to omit their outward ceremonies. Hence Ber-r Bernard
1 • • i • -n • i ttit-11- preferring
nard, as in many other places, so in his Epistle to William, the Spirit
abbot ofthe same order, saith, « Take heed to the rule of ^orders.
God; the kipgdom of God is within you :" and after
wards, saying, That their outward orders and rules should
be observed, he adds: " But otherwise, when ft shall hap
pen that one of these two must be omitted, in such a ease
these are much rather to be omitted than those former : for
by how much the Spirit is more, excellent and noble than
the body, by so much are spiritual exercises more profit
able than corporal." Is not that then the best of wor
ships, which the best of men in all ages, and of all sects,
have commended, and which is most suitable to the doc
trine of Christ ? I say, Is not that worship to be followed
and performed? And so much the rather, as God hath
raised a people to testify for it, and preach it, tp their great
refreshment and strengthening, in the very. face of the
world, and notwithstanding much opposition; who do not, Those
as these Mystics, make of it a mystery, orily to be attained confineSthat
by a few men or women ip a cloister ; or, as their mistake ™ystery t0
wag, after wearying themselves with many outward cere
monies and observations, as if it were the consequence of
such a labour ; but who in the free love of God, who re
spects not persons, -and was near to hear and reveal him
self, as well to Cornelius, a centurion and a Roman, as
to Simeon and Anna; and who discovered his glory tb
Mary, a poor handmaid, and to the poor shepherds, rather
than to the high priests and devout proselytes among the

356 PROPOSITION XI. ,
Jews, in and according to his free love, finding thaqpod
is revealing and establishing this worship; and making
many poor tradesmen, yea, young boys and girls, witnesses
of it, do entreat and beseech all to' lay aside their own
will-worships, and voluntary acts,, performed in their own
wills, and by their own- mere natural strength and power,
without retiring out of their vain imaginations and thoughts,
or feeling the pure Spirit of God to move and stir in them ;
that they may come to practise this acceptable worship,
which is in Spirit and in Truth. But against this worship
they object. .
Obj. l. § XVII. First, it seem to be an unprofitable exercise for
a man to be doing or thinking nothing ; and' that one might
be much better employed, either in meditating upon some
good subject, or otherwise praying to or praising God.
Answ. I answer ; That is not unprofitable, which is of absolute
necessity before any other duty can be acceptably performed,
as we have shown this waiting, to be. Moreover, those
have but -a carnal and gross apprehension of God, and of
the things of- his kingdom, who imagine that- men please
him by their own workings and actings : whereas, as
hath been shown, the first step for a man to fear~God, is
Isa. i. 16, to cease from his own thoughts and imaginations, and
We must suffer God's Spirit to work in him. For we must " cease
cease to do to do evil," ere we " learn to do well ;" and this meddling
ill ere we . . . .
learn to do in things spiritual by' man's own natural understanding, is
one of the greatest and most dangerous evils that~ man is
incident to ; being that which occasioned our first parents'
fall, to wit, a forwardness to desire to know things, and a
meddling with them, both without and contrary to the
Lord's command.
Obj. 2. Secondly, Some object, If your worship merely consist
in inwardly retiring to the Lord, and feeling of his Spirit,
Set times arise in you, and then to do outward acts as ye are led by
fo^meet?8 ^' wnat neec* ve nave PUD''C meetings at set- times and
ings- places, since every, one may enjoy this at home ? Or
should not every One stay at home, until they be particu
larly moved to go to such a place at such a time ; since to

OF WORSHIP.

357

meet at set times and places seems to be an outward ob
servation and ceremony, contrary to what ye at other times
assert ?
I answer, first ; To meet at set times and places is not Answ.
anv religious act, or part of worship in itself; but only an Public
J p .' r . ' . ,u meetings,
outward conveniency, necessary for our seeing one another, tneir use
so long as we are clothed with this outward tabernacle : |"gdeJteea|on
and therefore our meeting at set times and places is hot a
part of our worship, but a preparatory accommodation of
our outward man, in order to a public visible worship ;
since we set not about the visible acts of worship when we
meet together, until we be led thereunto by the Spirit of
God. Secondly, God hath seen meet, so long as his chil
dren are in this world, to make use ofthe outward senses,
not only as a means to convey spiritual life, as by speaking,
praying, praising, &e, which cannot be done to mutual
edification, but when we hear and see, one another ; but
also to entertain an outward, visible testimony for his name
in the- world : he causeth the inward life (which is also
many times not conveyed by the outward senses) the more
to abound, when his children assemble themselves diligently
together to wait upon him; so that "as iron sharpeneth Prov. xxvii.
iron," the seeing of the faces one of another, when both 17-
are inwardly gathered unto the life, giveth occasion for the
life secretly to rise, and pass from vessel to vessel. And
as many candles lighted, and put in one place, do greatly
augment the light, and make it more to shine forth, so
when many are gathered together into the same life, there
is ,more of the glory of God, and his power appears, to the
refreshment of each individual; for that he partakes not
only of the light and life raised in himself, but in all the
rest. And therefore Christ hath particularly promised a
blessing to such as assemble together, in his name, seeing
he will be " in the midst of them," Matth. xviii. 20. And
the author to the Hebrews doth precisely prohibit the ne
glect of this duty, as being of very dangerous and dreadful
consequence, in these words; Heb. x. 24, "And let us
consider one another, to provoke unto love, and to good

358

PROPOSITION XI.

Assem
bling of
ourselves is
not to be
neglected.

Obj. 3.

Answ.
In waiting
for the
Spirit'sguidance,silence is
supposed.

works ; not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together,.
as the manner of some is ;- — Fortif we sin wilfully, after
that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there,
remaineth no more sacrifice for sins." And therefore the
Lord hath shown that he hath a particular respect to such
as thus assemble themselves together, because that thereby
a public testimony for him is upheld in the earth, and his
name is thereby glorified ; and therefore such as are right
in their spirits, are naturally drawn to keep the meetings
of God's people, and never want a spiritual influence to
lead them thereunto : and if any do it in a mere customary
way, they will no doubt suffer condemnation for it. Yet
cannot the appointing of places and times be accounted, a
ceremony and observation, (done in man's will, in the wor
ship of God, seeing none can say that it is an act of wor
ship, but only a mere presenting of our persons in order to
it, as is abovesaid. Which that it was practised by the
primitive church and saints, all our adversaries do acknow*
ledge. Lastly, Some object, That this manner of worship in
silence is not to be found in all the scripture :
I answer ; We make not silence to be the sole matter
of our worship ; since, as I have said above^ there are
many meetings, which are seldom altogether silent ; some
or other are still moved either to preach, pray, or praise :
and so in this our meetings cannot be but like the meetings
of the primitive churches recorded in scripture, since ouf
adversaries confess that they did- preach ; and pray by the
Spirit. And then what absurdity is it to suppose, that at
some times the Spirit did not move them to these outward
acts, and that then they were silent? Since we may well
conclude they did not speak until they were moved ; and
so no doubt had sometimes silence. Acts ii. 1, before the
Spirit came upon them, it, is said, — " They were all with
one accord in one place ;"and then it is said, The Spirit
suddenly eame upon them ; but no mention is made of
any one speaking at that time ; and I would willingly know

OF WORSHIP. 359
what absurdity our adversaries can infer, should we con
clude they were a while silent ?
But if ft be urged, That- a whole silent meeting cannot Inst.
be found in scripture ;
I answer; Supposing^such a thing were not recorded, it Answ.
will not therefore follow that it is not lawful ; since it na
turally .followeth from other scripture precepts, as we have silent
proved this doth. For seeing the scripture commands to ^proved
meet together, and when met, the .scripture prohibits prayers from scrip-
or preachings, but as the Spirit moveth thereunto ; if people reason.
meet together, and the Spirit move not to such acts, it will
necessarily follow that they must be silent. But further,
there might have been many such things among the saints
of old though not recorded in scripture ; and yet we have
enough in scripture, signifying that such things were. For
Job sat silent seven days' with his friends together; here
was a long silent meeting : see also Ezra ix. 4, and Ezekiel
xiv. 1, and xx. 1. Thus having shown, the excellency of
this worship, proving it from scripture and reason, and an
swered the objections which are commonly made against
it, -which, though it may^ suffice to the explanation and
proof of our proposition, yet I shall add something more
particularly of preaching, praying, and singing, and so pro
ceed to the following proposition.
§ XVIII. Preaching, as it is used both among Papists
and Protestants, is for one man to take some place or verse w, 1-
of scripture, and thereon speak for an hour or two, what he preaching
hath studied and premeditated in his closet, and gathered. Protestants
together from his own inventions, or from the writinas and aPd Pa"
observations of others ; and then having got it by heart, as A-studied
a school-boy doth his lesson, he brings it forth, and repeats -'hour*"
it before the people : and how much the more fertile and two-
strong a man's invention is, and the more industrious and
laborious he is in collecting such observations, and can
utter them with the excellency of speech, and human elo
quence, so much the more is he accounted an able and
excellent preacher.

360

PROPOSITION XI.

True
preachingby the Spi
rit.

Object.

Answ.
1. Christ's
and Peter's
speakingwas not by
premeditation.

To this we oppose, that when the saints are met toge
ther, and every one gathered to the gift and grace of God
in themselves, he that ministereth, being actuated thereunto
by the arising of the grace in himself, ought to speak forth
what the Spirit of God fumisheth him with ; not minding
the eloquence and wisdom of words, but the demonstration
of the Spirit and of power : and that either in the interpret
ing some part of scripture, in case the Spirit, which is the
good remembrancer, lead him so to do, or otherwise words
of exhortation, advice,- reproof, and instruction^ or the sense
. of some spiritual experiences : all which will still be agree
able to thescripfure, though perhaps not -relative to,' nor
founded upon any particular chapter or verse, as a text.
Now let us examine and consider which of these two sorts
of preaching is most agreeable to the precepts arid practice
of Qhrist and his apostles, and the primitive church, recorded
in scripture ? For, first, as to their -preaching upon a text, if
it were not merely customary or premeditated, but done by
the immediate motion of the Spirit, we should not blame
it ; but fo do it as they do, there is neither precept nor
practice, that ever I could observe, in the New Testament,
as a part of the instituted worship thereof.
But they allege, That Christ took the book of Isaiah, and
read out of it, and spake thetefrom ; and that Peter preach
ed from a sentence ofthe prophet Joel. "
I answer, That Christ and Peter did it not but as im
mediately actuated and moved thereunto by the Spirit of
God, and that without premeditation, which I suppose-our
adversaries will not deny ; in which case we willingly ap
prove of it. But what is this to 'their customary conned
way, without either waiting for or expecting the movings
or leadings of the Spirit ? Moreover, that neither Christ
nor Peter did it as a settled custom or form, to be con
stantly practised by all the ministers of the church, appears,
in that most of all the sermons recorded of Christ and his
apostles in scripture were without this, as appears from
Christ's sermon upon the mount, Mat. v. 1, &c. ; Mark iv.
1, &c, and Paul's preaching to the Athenians, and to the

OF WORSHIP. 361
Jews, &c. As then it appears that this method of preach
ing is not grounded upon any scripture precept, so the
nature of it is contrary to the preaching of Christ under
the new covenant, as expressed and recommended in scrip
ture ; for Christ, in sending forth his disciples, expressly
mentioneth, that they are not to speak of or from them
selves, or to forecast beforehand, but that which the Spi
rit in the same hour shall teach them, as is particularly
mentioned in the three evangelists, Mat. x. 20 ; Mark xiii.
11 ; Luke xii. 12. Now if Christ gave this order to his
disciples before he departed from them, as that which they
were to practise during his abode outwardly with them,
much more were they to do it after his departure," since
then they were more especially to receive the Spirit, "to
lead them in all things," and to "bring all things. to their
rememhrance,"-John xiv. 26. And if they were to do so
when they appeared befoTe the magistrates and princes of
the earth, much more in the worship of God, when they
stand specially before him ; -seeing, a£ is above shown, his
worship is to be- performed in Spirit; and therefore after
their receiving of the Holy Ghost it is said, Acts ii. 4,
" They spake as the Spirit gave them utterance," not what
they had .studied and gathered from books in their closets
in a premeditated way.
Franciscus Lambertus, before cited, speaketh well and Franciscus
showeth their hypocrisy, Tract, v., of Prophecy, chap. 3, tUgm "~ti.
saying, ." Where are they now that glory in their inven- mony
tions, who say, a fine invention! a fine invention! This priests' stu-
they call invention, which themselves have made up ; but tions'and""
what have the faithful to do with such kind of inventions ? figments.
It is not figments, nor yet inventions, that we will have,
but things that are solid, invincible, eternal, and heavenly;
not which men have invented, but which God hath re
vealed : for if we believe the scriptures, our invention pro
fiteth nothing, but to provoke God to our ruin." And
afterwards, " Beware," saith he, "that thou determine not
precisely to speak what before thou hast meditated, what
soever it be ; for though it be. lawful- to determine the text
31 2v

362 PROPOSITION XI.
which thou art to expound, yet not at all the interpreta
tion ; lest if thou so dost, thou take from the Holy Spirit
that which is his, to wit, to_ direct thy speech, that thou
mayest prpphesy in the name of the Lord, void of all learn
ing, meditation, and experience, and as if thou hadst
studied nothing at all, committing thy heart, thy tongue,
and thyself wholly unto his Spirit, and trusting nothing to ,
thy former studying or meditation ; but saying with thy
self, in great confidence of the divine promise, ' The Lord
will give a word with much power unto those that preach
the gospel.' But above all things be careful thou follow.
not the manner of hypocrites, who have written almost
word for word what, they are to say, as if they were to
repeat some verses upon a theatre, having learned all their
preaching as they do that act tragedies. And afterwards,
when they are in the place of prophesying j pray the Lord
to direct their tongue ; but in the mean time, shutting up-
the way of the Holy Spirit, they determine to say nothing.
but what they have written. 0 unhappy kind of prophets, -
yea and truly cursed, which depend not upon God's Spirit,
but upon their own writings or meditation ! Why. prayest
thou to the Lord, thou false prophet, to give thee his holy
Spirit, by which thou mayest speak things profitable, and
yet thou repellest the Spirit ? Why preferrest thou thy-me-
ditation or study to the Spirit of God? Otherwise why
committest thou not thyself to the Spirit ?"-
2. The § XIX. Secondly, This manner of preaching as used
man's wis- Dv them, considering that they also affirm that it may be
dom brings and often is performed by men who are wicked, or void
faith. of true grace, cannot only not edify the church, beget or
nourish true faith, but is destructive to it, being directly
contrary to the nature of the Christian, and apostolic
ministry mentioned in the scriptures : for the apostle
preached the gospel " not in the wisdom of words, lest the
cross of Christ should be of none effect," 1 Cor. i. 17.
But this . preaching not being done by the actings and
movings of God's Spirit, but by man's invention and elo
quence, in his own will, and through his natural and

OF WORSHIP. 363
acquired parts and learning, is in the wisdom of words,
and therefore the cross of Christ is thereby made of none
effect. The apostle's speech and preaching was not "with
enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of
the Spirit and of power," that the faith of their hearers
" should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power
of God," 1 Cor. ii. 3, 4, 5. But this preaching having
nothing of the Spirit and power in it, both the preachers
and hearers confessing they wait for no such thing, nor yet
are sometimes sensible of it, must needs stand in the en
ticing words of man's wisdom, since it is by the mere wis
dom pf manJit is sought after, and the mere strength of
man's eloquence and enticing words it is uttered; and
therefore no wonder if the faith of such as hear and depend
upon such preachers and preachings- stand in the wisdom
of men, and not in the power of God. The apostles de
clared, That they " spake not in the words which man's
wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth,"
1 Cor. ii. 13. But these preachers confess that they are
strangers to the Holy Ghost, his motions and operations,
neither do they wait to feel them, and therefore they speak
in the words- which their own natural wisdom and learning
teach them, mixing them in, and adding them to, such
words as they steal out of the scripture and other books,
and therefore speak not what the Holy Ghost teacheth.
Thirdly, This is contrary to the method and order ofthe 3. True
primitive church mentioned by the apostle, 1 Cor. xiv. 30, method was
&c, where in preaching every One is to waitfor his revela- to speak by
tion, and to give place one unto another, according as
things are revealed; but here there is no waiting for a
revelation, but the preacher must speak, and not that which
is revealed unto him, but what he hath prepared and pre
meditated before hand.
Lastly, By this kind of preaching the Spirit of God, 4. The Spi-
which should be the chief instructer and teacher of God's "utlsbyhut
people, and whose influence is that only which makes all priests from
preaching effectual and. beneficial for the edifying of souls, teacher.
is shut out, and man's natural wisdom, learning, and parts

364 proposition xi.
set up and exalted ; which no, doubt is a great and chief
reason why the preaching among the generality of Chris
tians is so unfruitful and unsuccessful. Yea, according to
this doctrine, the devil may preach, and ought to be heard
also, seeing he both knoweth the truth, and hath as much
eloquence as any. But what avails excellency of speech,
if the demonstration and power of the Spirit be wanting,
which toucheth the conscience ? We see that when the
devil confessed to the truth, yet Christ would have none
of his testimony. And as these pregnant testimonies of
the scripture do prove this part of preaching to be contrary
to the doctrine of Christ, so do they also prove that of-ours
before affirmed to be comformable thereunto.
Object. § XX. But if any object after this manner, Have not
many been benefited, yea, and both converted and edified
by the ministry of such as have premeditated their preach
ing ? Yea, and hath, not the Spirit often concurred by its
divine influence with preachings thus premeditated, so as
they have been powerfully borne in upon the souls of the
hearers to their advantage ?
Answ. I answer, Though that be granted, which I shall not
deny, it will not infer that the thing was good in itself,
Paul perse- more than because Paul was met with by Christ to the con-
convfrted8 verting of his soul riding to IJamascus to persecute the
is therefore saints, that he did well in so doing. Neither particular
persecuting . . ,
good? " actions, nor yet whole congregations, as we above ob
served, are to be measured by the acts of God's conde
scension in times of ignorance. But besides, it hath often
times fallen out, that God, having a regard to the sim
plicity and integrity either of the preacher or hearers, hath
fallen in upon the heart of a preacher by his power and
holy influence, and thereby hath led him to speak things
that were not in his premeditated discourse, and which
perhaps he never thought on before ; and those passing
ejaculations and unpremeditated but living exhortations,
have proved more beneficial and refreshing both to preacher
and hearers than all their premeditated sermons. But all
that will not allow them to continue in these things which

OF WORSHIP. 365
in themselves are riot approved, but contrary to the prac
tice of the apostles, when God is raising up a people to
serve him, according to the primitive purity and. spiritual
ity ; yea, such acts of God's condescension, in times of
darkness and ignorance, should engage all more and more
to follow him, according as he reveals his most perfect and
spiritual way.
§ XXI. Having hitherto spoken of preaching, now it is n.
fit to speak of praying, concerning which the like contro- Of prayer,
versy ariseth. Our adversaries, whose religion is all for outward is
the most part outside, and such whose, acts are the mere dlstm"d
product of man's natural will and abilities, as they can from the
preach, so can they pray when they please, and therefore
have their set particular prayers. I meddle not with the
controversies among themselves concerning this, some of
them being for set prayers, as a liturgy, others for such as
are conceived extempore : it suffices me that all of them
agree in this, That the motions arid influence of the Spirit
of God are not necessary to be previous thereunto ; and
therefore they have set times in their public worship, as The priests'
before and after preaching, and in their private devotion, preach and
as morning and evening, and before and after meat, and theygme"7
other such occasions, at which they precisely set about the
performing of their prayers, by speaking words to God,
whether they feel any motion or influence of the Spirit or
not ; so that some of the chiefest have confessed that they
have thus prayed without the motions or assistance of
the Spirit, acknowledging that they sinned in so doing ;
yet they said they looked upon it as their duty to do so,
though to pray without the Spirit be sin. We freely con
fess that prayer is both very profitable, and a necessary
duty commanded, and fit to be practised frequently by all
Christians ; but as we can do nothing without Christ, so
neither can we pray without the concurrence and assistance
of his Spirit. But that the state of the controversy may
be the better understood, let it be considered, first, that
prayer is. two-fold, inw'ard and outward. Inward prayer Wn^1 in_
is that secret turning of the mind towards God, whereby, is.
31*

366 proposition xi.
being secretly touched and awakened by the light of Christ
in the conscience, and so bowed down under the sense of
its iniquities, unworthiness, and misery, it looks up. to God,
and joining with the secret shinings of the seed of God, it
breathes towards him, and is -constantly breathing forth
some secret desires and aspirations towards him. It is in
this sense that we are so frequently in scripture com
manded to pray continually, Luke xviii. 1 ; 1 Thess.
v. 17; Eph. vi. 18; Luke xxi; 36, which cannot be un
derstood of outward prayer, because it were impossible that
men should be always upon their knees, expressing words
of prayer ; and this would hinder theiq from the exercise
What out- of those duties no less positively commanded. Outward
wa prayer prayer is, when as the Spirit being thus in the exercise of
inward retirement, and feeling the breathing of the Spirit
of God to arise powerfully in the soul, receives strength
and liberty by a superadded motion and influence of the
spirit to bring forth eitner audible sighs, groans or words,
and that efther in public assemblies, or in private, or at
meat, &c.
Inward As then inward prayer is necessary at all times, so, so
cessar/at 'onS as tne ^av °^ everv man's visitation lasteth, he never
all times, wants some influence less or more, for the practice of it ;
because he no sooner retires his mind, and considers him
self in God's presence, but he finds himself in the practice
of it.
Outward The outward exercise of prayer, as needing a greater
require a and superadded influence and motion of the Spirit, as ft
superadded cannot be continually practised, so neither can it be so
readily, so as to be effectually performed, until his mind
be some time acquainted with the inward ; therefore such
as are diligent and watchful in their minds, and much
retired in the exercise of this inward prayer, are more
capable to be frequent in the use of the outward, beeause
that this holy influence doth more constantly attend them,
and they being better acquainted with, and accustomed to,
the motions of God's -Spirit, can easily perceive and dis
cern them. And indeed, as such who are most diligent

OF WORSHIP. 367
have a near access to God, and he taketh most delight to
draw them by his Spirit to approach and call upon him, so
wheri many are gathered together in this watchful mind,
God doth frequently pour forth the Spirit of prayer among
them and stir them thereunto, to the edifying and building
up of one another in love. But because this outward
prayer depends upon the inward, as that which must follow We cannot
it, and cannot be acceptably performed but as attended t0 speak
with a superadded influence and motion of the Spirit, and Prav-
therefore cannot we prefix set times to pray outwardly, so as
to lay a necessity to speak words at such and such times,
' whether we feel this heavenly influence and -assistance or
no ; for that we judge were a tempting of God, and a
coming before hiin without due preparation. We think it
fit for us to present ourselves before him by this inward
retirement of the mind, and so to proceed further, as his
Spirit shall help us and draw its thereunto ; and we find that
the Lord- accepts of this, yea, and seeth meet sometimes to
exercise us in this silent place for the trial of our patience,
without allowing us to speak further, that, he may teach us
not to rely upon outward performances, or satisfy our
selves, as too many do, with the saying of our prayers ;
and that our dependence upon him may be the more firm
and constant, to wait for the holding out of. his sceptre,
and for his allowance to draw- near unto him, with greater
freedom and enlargement of Spirit upon our hearts towards
him. Yet nevertheless we do not deny but sometimes
God, upon particular occasions, very suddenly, yea, upon
the very first turning in of the mind, may give power and
liberty to bring forth words or acts of outward prayer, so
as the soul can scarce discern any previous motion, but the
influence and bringing forth thereof may be as it were
simul 4r seme/ ; nevertheless that saying of Bernard is true,
that all prayer is lukewarm, which hath not an inspiration
preceding it. Though we affirm that none ought to go
about prayer without this motion, yet we do not deny but
such sin as neglect prayer ; but their sin is in that they ^^,,1™",
come not to that place where they may feel that which ing prayer.

368 PROPOSITION XI.
would lead them thereunto. And therefore we question
not but many, through neglect of this inward watchfulness
and retiredness of mind, miss many precious opportunities
to pray, and thereby are guilty in the , sight of God ; yet
would they sin if they should set about the act until they
A forward first felt the influence. For as he grossly offends his
kss servant master that lieth in his bed and sleeps, and neglects to do
answersnot his master's business; yet if such a one should suddenly
his duty. • i ¦ , i i • i • i
get up, without putting on his clothes, or taking along with
him those necessary tools arid instruments, without which
he could not possibly work, and should forwardly fall a
doing to no purpose, he would be so. far thereby from
repairing his former fault, that he would justly- incur a
new censure : and as one that is careless and otherways
busied may miss to hear one speaking unto him, or even
not hear the bell of a clock, though striking hard by him,
so may many, through negligence, miss to hear God often
times calling upon them, and 'giving them access to pray
unto him ; yet will not that allow them, without his liberty,
in their own wills to fall to work.
And lastly, Though this be the only true and proper
method of prayer, as that which is alone acceptable to God,
In times of yet shall we not deny but he oftentimes answered the pray-
God d1dS ers anc' concurre<i with the desires of some, especially in
often hear times of darkness, who have greatly erred herein ; so that
ers. some that have sat down in formal prayer, though far
wrong in the -matter as well as manner, without the assist
ance or influence of God's Spirit, yet have found him to
take occasion there-through to break iri upon their souls,
and wonderfully tender and refresh them ; yet as in preach
ing and elsewhere hath afore been observed, that will not
prove any such practices, or be a just let to hinder any
from coming to practise that pure, spiritual, and acceptable
prayer, which God is -again restoring and leading his people
into, out of all superstitions and mere empty formalities'.
The state of the controversy, and our sense thereof, being
thus clearly stated, will both obviate many objections, and
make the answer to others more brief and easy. I shall

OF WORSHIP.

369

first -prove this spiritual prayer by some short considera- First.spirit-
tions from scripture, and then answer the objections of our proverdyer
opposers, which will also serve to refute their method and ™™ scnp"
manner thereof.
§ XXII. And first, That there is a necessity of this in- l.
ward retirement of the mind as previous fo prayer, that must bJfeit
the Spirft may be felt to draw thereunto, appears, for that to move the
in most of those. places^where prayer is commanded,, watch- prayer.
ing is prefixed thereunto, as necessary to go before, as
Matt. .xxiv. 42; Mark xiii. 33, and xiv. 38; Luke xxi.
36, from which it is evident that this watching was to go
before prayer. Now to what end is this watching, or what
is it, but a waiting to feel God's Spirit to draw unto prayer,
that so it may be done acceptably ? For since we are to -
pray always in the Spirit, and cannot pray of ourselves Eph. vi. 18.
without it acceptably, this watching must be for this end
recommended to us, as preceding prayer, that we may
watch and wait for the seasonable time to pray, which is
when the Spirit moves thereunto.
Secondly, This necessity of the Spirit's moving and con- II.
currence appears abundantly from that of the apostle Paul, not how to
Rom. viii. 26, 27 :" Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our P][*ygb"ta8
infirmities : for we know not what we should pray for as helps.
we ought ; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us
with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that
searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirft,
because he maketh intercession for the saints according to
the will of God." Which first holds forth the incapacity
of men as of themselves to pray or call upon God in their
own wills, even such as have received the faith of Christ,
and are in measure sanctified by it, as was the church of
Rome, to whom the apostle then wrote. Secondly, It
holds forth thatwhich can only help and assist men to pray,
to wit, the Spirit, as that without which they cannot do ft
acceptably to God, nor beneficially to their own souls,.
Thirdly,' The manner and way of the Spirit's intercession,
with sighs and groans whieh are unutterable. And fourthly,
That God receiveth graciously the prayers of such as are
2w

370 PROPOSITION XI.
presented and offered unto himself by the Spirit, knowing
it to be according to his will. Now it cannot be conceived
but this order of prayer thus asserted by the apostle is most
consistent with those other testimonies of scripture, com
mending and recommending to us the use of prayer. From
which I thus argue,
Ana. If any man know not how to pray, neither . can , do ft
without the'help of the Spirit, then ft is tp no purpose for
him, but altogether unprofitable, to pray without it.
But the first is true, therefore also the last.
III. Thirdly, This necessity of the Spirit to true prayer ap-
ways in the Pears from Eph. vi. 18, and Jude 20, where the apostle
Spirit, and commands "to pray always in the Spirit, and watching
thereunto! thereunto ;" which is as much as if he had said, that we
were never to pray without the Spirit, or watching there
unto. And Jude showeth that such prayers as are in the
Holy Ghost only, tend to the building up of ourselves in
our most holy faith.
IV. Fourthly, The apostle Paul saith expressly, 1 Cor. xii.
not"calin" 3 : " That no man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by
Christ Lord the" Holy Ghost:" if then Jesus cannot be thus rightly
Holy named but by the Holy Ghost, far less can he be accept-
" " l ably called upon. Hence the same apostle declares, 1 Cor.
xiv.„15, that he " will pray with the Spirit," &c. A clear
evidence that ft was none of his method to pray with
out it:
V. But fifthly, AU prayer without the Spirit is abomination,
no°t hear the sucn as are tne prayers of the wicked, Prov. xxviii. 9.
prayers of And the confidence that the saints have that God will hear
the wicked. , .... , , . ,. ,..„,,
them, is, if they " ask any thing- according to his will,"
1 John v. 14. So if the prayer be riot according to his
will, there is no ground of confidence that he willhear.
Now our adversaries will acknowledge that prayers without
the Spirft are not according to the will of God, and there
fore such as pray without it have no ground to expect an
answer: for indeed to bid a man pray without the Spirft is
all one as to bid one see without eyes, work without hatids,
or go without feet. And to desire a man to fall to prayer

OF WORSHIP. 371
ere the Spirit in some measure less or more move him
thereunto, is to desire a man to see before he opens his
eyes, or to walk before he rises up, or to work with his
hands before he moves them..
§ XXIII. But lastly, From this false opinion of praying vi.
without the Spirit, and not judging it necessary to be Jfce f^J^
waited for, as that which may be felt to move us thereunto, not offered
¦ • i-ii ¦ dv tne
hath proceeded all the superstition and idolatry that is Spirit.
among those called Christians, and those many abomi
nations wherewith the Lord is provoked, and his Spirit
grieved; so that many deceive themselves now, as the Jews
did of old, thinking it sufficient if they pay their daily
sacrifices, and offer their customary oblations ; from thence
thinking all is well, and creating a false peace to them
selves, as the whore in the Proverbs, because they have
offered up their sacrifices of morning and evening prayers.
And therefore it is manifest that their constant use of these
things doth not a whit influence their lives and conversa
tions, but they remain for the most part as bad as ever.
Yea, it is frequent both among Papists and Protestants, for
them to leap as it were out of their vain, light, and pro
fane conversations at their set hours and seasons, and fall
to their customary devotion ; and then, when if is scarce
finished, and the words to God scarce outj the former pro
fane talk comes after it ; so that the same wicked profane,
spirit of this world actuates them in both. If there be any
such thing as vain oblations, or prayers that are abomi
nation, which God heareth not, (as is certain there are, and
the scripture testifies, Isa. Ixvi. 3; Jer. xiv. 12,) certainly
such prayers as are acted in man's will, and by his own
strength, without God's Spirit, must be of that number.
§ XXIV. Let this suffice for proof. I shall now proceed
to answer their objections, when I have said something
concerning joining in prayer with others. Those that pray Concerning
together with one accord use not only to concur in their 1°™", ^tj,
spirits, but also in the gesture of their body, which we also others.
willingly approve of. It becometh those who approach

372

PROPOSITION XI.

before Gbd to pray, that they do it with bowed knees^ and
with their heads uncovered, which is our practice.
Obj. i. But here ariseth a controversy, Whether it be lawful to
join with others by those external signs of reverence; albeit
not in heart, who pray formally, not waiting for the motion
•of the Spirit, nor judging it necessary.
Answ. We answer, Not at all; and for pur testimony in this
The reason thing we have suffered not a little. For when it hath' fallen
cannot join °ut, that either accidentally, or to witness against their
m prayer, -worship, we have been present during the same, and have
not found ft lawful for us to bow with them thereunto, they
have often persecuted us, not only with reproaches, but
also with strokes and cruel beatings. For this cause they
used to accuse us of pride, profanity, and madness, as if
we had no respect or reverence to the worship of God, and
as if we judged none could pray, or were heard of God,
but ourselves. Unto all which, and many more reproaches
of this kind, we answer briefly and modestly, That it sufficeth
us that we are found so doing, neither through pride, nor
madness, nor profanity, but merely lest we should hurt our
consciences ; the reason of which is plain and evident : for
since our principle and doctrine oblige us to believe that
the prayers of those who themselves confess they are not
actuated by the Spirit, are abominations, how can we with
a safe conscience join with them ?
Obj. 2. If they urge, That this is the height of uncharitableness
and arrogancy, as if we judged ourselves always to pray
by the Spirit's motion, but they never; as if we were never
deceived by praying without the motions of the Spirit, and
that they were never actuated by it, seeing albeit they judge
not the motion of the Spirit always necessary, they confess
nevertheless, that it is very profitable and comfortable, and
they feel it often influencing them ; which that it sometimes
falls out we cannot deny ;
Aksw. To ajl which I answer distinctly, If it were their known
and avowed doctrine not to pray without the motion of the
Spirit, and that, seriously holding thereunto, they did not
bind themselves to pray at certain prescribed times pre-

OF WORSHIP.

373

cisely, at which times they determine to pray, though with
out the Spirft, then indeed we might be accused of un
charitableness and pride, if we never joined with them ;
and if they so taught and practised, I doubt not but it shall we
would be -lawful for us so to doy unless there should appear n° pyrites8
some manifest and evident hypocrisy and delusion. But when pray-
seeing they confess that they pray without the Spirit, and
seeing God hath persuaded us that such prayers are abomi
nable, how can we with a safe conscience join with an
abomination ? That God sometimes condescends to them,
we do not deny ; although now, when the spiritual worship
is openly proclaimed, and 'all- are invited unto it, the case
is otherwise than in those old times of apostasy and dark
ness ; and therefore, albeit any should begin to pray in our
presence, not expecting the motion of the Spirit *; yet if it
manifestly appear that God in condescension did concur
with such a one, then according to God's will we should
not refuse to join also ; but this is rare, lest thence they
should be confirmed in their false principle. And although
this seems hard in our profession, nevertheless it is -so con
firmed by the authority both of scripture and right reason,
that many convinced thereof have embraced this part be
fore other truths, which were easier, and, as they seemed
to some,~ clearer. Among whom is memorable of late years
Alexander Skein, a magistrate of the city of Aberdeen, a
man very modest, and very averse from giving offence to
others, who nevertheless being overcome by the power of
truth in this matter, behoved for this cause to separate
himself from the public assemblies and players, and join
himself, unto "us ; who also gave the reason of his change,
and likewise succinctly, but yet substantially, comprehend
ed this controversy concerning worship in some short ques
tions, which he offered to the public preachers of the city,
and which I think meet to insert in this place. ,
1. Whether or not should any act of God's worship be tions of A.
gone about without the motions, leadings, and actings of pogedtothe
the Holy Spirit ? preachers
2. If the motions of the Spirit be necessary to every par- deen.
32

374 PROPOSITION XI.
ticular duty, whether should he be waited upon, that all
our acts and words may be according as he gives utterance
and assistance ? • -
3. Whether "every one that bears the name of a Chris-
tiari, or professes to be a Protestant, hatli, such , an uninter
rupted measure thereof, that he may, without waiting, go
immediately about the duty ?
4; If there be an indisposition and unfitness at some times
for such exercises, at least as to the spiritual and lively
performance thereof, whether ought they to be performed
in that case, and at that time ?
5. If any duty be gone about, under pretence that it is
in obedience to the external command, without the spiritual
life and motion necessary, whether such a duty thus per
formed can in faith be expected to be accepted of God,
Lev. xvi. 1. and not rather reckoned as a bringing of strange fire before
the Lord, seeing it is performed at best by the strength of
natural and acquired parts, and not by the strength and
assistance of the Holy Ghost, which was typified by the
fire that came down from heaven, which alone behoved to
consume the sacrifice and no other ?
6. Whether duties gone about in the mere strength of
natural and acquired parts, whether in public or private,
be not as really, upon the matter, an image of man's in
vention as the popish worship, though not so gross in the
outward appearance ? And therefore whether ft be not as
real' superstition to countenance any worship of that nature,
as it is to countenance popish worship, though there be a
difference in the degree ?
7. Whether it be a ground of offence or just scandal to
countenance the worship of those whose professed principle
it is neither to speak for edification, nor to pray, but- as the
Holy Ghost shall be pleased to assist them in some measure
less or more ; without whieh they rather choose to be silent,
than to speak without this influence ?
Unto these they answered but very coldly and faintly,
whose answers likewise long ago he refuted.

OF WORSHIP. 375
Seeing then' God hath called us to his spiritual worship, We must
and to testify against the human arid -voluntary worships witnessing'
of the apostasy, if we did not this way stand immovable to for God-
the truth revealed, but should join with them, both our
testimony for God would be weakened and lost, and it
would be impossible, steadily to propagate this worship in
the world, whose progress we dare neither retard nor hinder
by any act of ours ; though therefore we shall lose not only
worldly honour, but even our lives. Arid truly many -Pro
testants, through their unsteadiness in this thing, for politic
ends complying with the Popish abominations, have greatly
scandalized their profession, and hurt the reformation ; as
appeared in the example of the Elector of Saxony; who, Elector of
in the convention at Augsburg, in the year 1530, being f^*0^'8
commanded by the Emperor Charles the Fifth to be preserit given to
at the mass, that he might carry the sword before him, ac- ants. S
cording to his place ; which when he justly scrupled to
perform, his preachers taking more care for their prince's
honour than for his cbnscience,'persuaded him that it was
lawful to do it against his conscience. Which was both a
very bad example, and great scandal to the reformation,
ahd displeased many ; as the author of the History of the Secondly,
Council of Trent, in his first book, well observes. But g*np!.
now I hasten to the objections of our adversaries against ritual pray-
.v- ,1 j c D er answer-
this method of praying. ed.
§ XXV. First; They object, That if such particular in- Obj. l.
fluences were needful to outward acts Of worship, then
they should also be needfulto inward acts, as to wait, de
sire, and love God. But this is absurd; therefore also
that from whence it follows.
I answer ; That which was said in the state of the cOn- Answ.
troversy cleareth this ; because, as to those' general duties,
there never wants an influence, so long as the day of a
man's visitation lasteth ; during which time God is always
near to him, and wrestling with him by his Spirit, to turn
him to himself ; so that if he do but stand still, and cease
from his evil thoughts, the Lord is near to help him, &c.

376 PROPOSITION XI.
But as to the outward acts of prayer, they need a more
special motion. and influence, as hath been proved.
Obj. 2. Secondly ; They object, That it might be also alleged,
that men ought not to do moral duties., as children to
honour their parents, men to do right to their neighbours,
except the Spirit move them to it.
Answ. I answer ; There is a great difference betwixt these ge
neral duties betwixt man and man, and the particular ex
press acts of worship towards God: the one is merely
spiritual, and. commanded by God to be performed by his
Spirit; the other answer their end, as to- them whom they
are immediately directed to and concern, though done
from a mere - natural principle of self-love ; even as beasts
have natural affections one to another, and therefore may
be thus performed. Though I shall not deny, but that
they are not works accepted of God, or beneficial to the
soul, but as they are done in the fear of God, and in his
blessing, in which his children do all things, and therefore
are accepted and blessed in whatsoever they do.
Obj. 3. Thirdly ; They object, That if a wicked man ought not
to pray without a motion of the Spirit, because his prayer
would be sinful; neither ought he to plough by the same
Prov.xxi.4. reason, because the ploughing of the wicked, as well as
his praying, is sin.
Answ. This objection is of the same nature with the former,
and therefore may be answered the same way; seeing
How acts of there is a great difference betwixt natural acts, such as
fer'from ' eating, drinking, sleeping, and seeking sustenance jbr the
the Spirit's, body, which things man hath common with beasts, and
spiritual acts. And it doth not follow, because man ought
not to go about spiritual acts without the Spirit, that there
fore he may not go about natural acts without it. The
analogy holds better thus, and that for the proof of our
affirmation, That as man for the going about natural acts
needs his natural spirit; so to perform spiritual acts he
needs the Spirit of God. That the natural acts ofthe
wicked and unregenerate are sinful, is not denied ; though

OF WORSHIP. 377
not as in themselves, but in so far as man in that state is
in all things reprobated in the sight of God.
Fourthly ; They object, That wicked men may, accord- Obj. 4.
ing to this doctrine, forbear to pray for years together,
alleging, they want a motion ^o it.
I answer ; The false pretences of wicked men do nothing Answ.
invalidate the truth of this doctrine ; for at that rate there
is no doctrine of Christ, which men might not set aside.
That they ought not to pray without the Spirit, is granted ;
but then they ought to come to that place of watching, That wick-
where they may be capable to feel the Spirit's motion, neglect the
They sin indeed in not praying; but the cause of this sin motions of
is their not watching : so their neglect proceeds not from to pray.
this doctrine, but from their disobedience to it ; seeing if
they did pray without this, it would be a double sin, and
no fulfilling of the command to pray : nor yet would their
prayer, without this Spirit, be useful unto them. And this
our adversaries are forced to acknowledge in another case :
for they say, It is a duty incumbent on Christians' to fre
quent the sacrament of the Lord's supper,. as they call ft;
yet they say,- No man ought to take it unworthily: yea,
they plead, that such as find themselves unprepared^ must
abstain ; and therefore do usually excommunicate them
from the table. Now, though according to them it be ne
cessary to partake of this sacrament ; yet it is also necessary
that those that do it, do. first examine themselves, lest they
eat. and drink their own condemnation ; and though they
reckon it sinful for them to forbear, yet they account it
more sinful for them to do it without this examination.
Fifthly; They object Acts viii. 22, where Peter com- Obj. 5.
manded Simon Magus, that wicked sorcerer, to pray;
from thence inferring; That wicked men may and ought
to pray. ' '
I answer ; That in the citing of this place, as I have Answ.
often observed, they omit the first and chiefest part of the
verse, which is thus, Acts viii. vers. 22, « Repent there- Je^Zy™'
fore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the DraV' .but
, / i /. • i ,, ii not without
thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee : ' so here he repentance.
32* 2x

378 PROPOSITION XI.
bids him first " Repent." Now the least measure of true
repentance eannot be without -somewhat of that inward
retirement of the mind which we speak of: and indeed
where true repentance goeth first, we do not doubt but the
Spirit of God wiH be near to concur with, and influence
such to. pray to and call upon God.
Obj. 6. And lastly ; They object, That many prayers . begun
without the Spirit have proved effectual; and that the
prayers of wicked men have been heard, and found ac
ceptable, as Ahab's.
Answ. This objection was before solved. For the acts of God's
compassion and indulgence at some times, and to some
persons, upon singular extraordinary occasions, are not to
be a rule of our actions. For if we should make that the
measure of our obedience, great- inconveniences would
follow ; as is evident, and will be acknowledged by all.
Next, We do not deny, but wicked men are sensible of
the motions and operations of God's Spirit oftentimes, be
fore their day be expired; from which they may at times
pray acceptably ; not as remaining altogether wicked, but
as entering into piety, from Whence they afterwards fall
away.
III. § XXVI. As to the singing of psalms, there will not be
°salmfinS nee°^ °f any l°n§ discourse ; for that the case is just the
same as in the two former, of preaching and prayer. We
confess this to be a part of God's worship, and very sweet
and refreshing, when it proceeds from a true sense of
God's dove in the heart, and arises from the divine in
fluence of the Spirit, which leads souls to breathe forth
A sweet , either a sweet harmony, or words suitable to the present
scmnd?1110113 condition ; whether they be words fonnerly used by the
saints, and recorded in scripture, such as the Psalms of
David, or other words ; as were the hymns and songs of
But formal Zacharias, Simepn, and the blessed Virgin Mary. But as
""ground3 ^0T t'ie f°rmal customary way of singing, it hath no foun-
inscripture. dation in scripture, nor any ground in true Christianity :
yea, besides all the abuses incident to prayer and preach
ing, it hath this more peculiar, that oftentimes great and

OF WORSHIP. 379
horrid lies are said in the sight of God : for all manner of Profane
wicked profane people take upon them to personate the Bavid^
experiences and conditions of blessed David f which are conditions
, - refuted.
not only false, as to them, but also as to some of more
sobriety, who utter them forth: as where they will sing
sometimes, Psalm xxii. 14, — " My heart is like wax, it is
melted hvfhe midst of my bowels:" and verse 15, "My
strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaveth
to my jaws ; and thou hast brought me into the dust of '
death :" and Psalm vi. 6, "I am weary with my groaning,
all the night make I my bed to swim : I water my couch
with my tears :" and .many more, which those that speak
know to be false, as to them. And sometimes will con
fess just after, in their prayers, that they are guilty of the
vices opposite to those virtues, which but just before they
have asserted themselves endued with. Who can suppose
that God accepts of such juggling? And indeed such
singing doth more please the carnal ears of men, than the
pure ears of the Lord, who abhors all lying and hypocrisy.
That singing then that pleaseth him must proceed from
that which is PURE in the heart, even from the Word of
Life therein, in and by which, richly dwelling in us, spirit
ual songs and hymns are returned to the Lord, according
to that of the apostle, Col. iii. 16.
But as to their artificial music, either by organs, or other Artificial
instruments, or voice, we have neither example nor pre- mu81c'
cept ..for it in the New Testament.
- § XXVII. But lastly ; The great advantage of this true
worship of God, which we profess and. practice, is, that it
consisteth not in man's wisdom, arts or industry ; neither No splen-
needeth the glory, pomp, riches, nor splendour of this woriQ at_
world to beautify it, as being of a spiritual and heavenly tends this
¦' ' o r j inward
nature ; and therefore too simple and contemptible to the worship.
natural mind and will of man, that hath no delight to
abide ip it, because he finds no room there for his imagi
nations and inventions, and hath not the opportunity to
gratify his outward and carnal senses : so that this form
being observed, is not likely to be long kept pure without

380 PROPOSITION XII.,
the power ; for it is of itself so naked without it, that it
hath nothing in it to invite and tempt men to dote upon it,
The carnal further than.it is accompanied with the power. Whereas
pleasesself. the worship of our adversaries, being performed in their
own wills, is self-pleasing, as in which they can largely
exercise their natural parts and invention:- and so, as .Jo
most of them, having "somewhat of an outward and worldly
splendour, delectable to the carnal and worldly senses,
they can .pleasantly continue it, and satisfy themselves,
though without the Spirit and power ; which they make no
ways essential to the performance of their worship, and
therefore neither wait for, nor expect it.
The wor- .~§ XXVIII. So that to conclude, The worship, preach-
Quakers!6 m&> Praying and singing, which we plead for, is such as
proceedeth -from the Spirit of God, and is always accom
panied with its influence, being begun by its motion, and
carried on by the power and strength thereof; and so is a
worship purely spiritual: such as the .scripture holds forth,
John iv. 23, 24; 1 Cor. xiv. 15 ; Eph. vi. 18; &c.
Our adver- But the worship, preaching, praying and singing, which
ship.8 " ouf adversaries plead for, and which we oppose, is a
worship which is both begun, carried on, and concluded
in man's own natural will and strength, without the motion
or influence of God's Spirit, which they judge they need
not wait for ; and therefore may be truly performed, both
as to the matter ahd manner, by the wickedest of men.
Such was the worship and vain oblations which God
always rejected, as appears from Isa. Ixvi. 3 ; Jer. xiv. 12,
&c. ; Isa. i. 13 ; Prov. xv. .29; John ix. 31.

PROPOSITION XII.
Concerning Baptism.

Eph. iv. 5. As there is one Lord, and one faith, so there is one bap-
1 Pet. ui. tjsm . wnich is not the putting away the filth of the flesh,
Rom. vi. 4. but the answer of a good conscience before God, by the

OF BAPTISM. 381
resurrection of Jesus Christ. And this baptism is a Gal. iii. 27.
pure and spiritual thing, to wit, the baptism of the Spirit jo^n'm^o
and fire, -by which we are buried with him, that being ! Cor. u
washed and purged from our sins, we may walk in new
ness of life : of which the baptism of John was a figure,
which was commanded for a time, and not to continue
for ever. As to the baptism of infants, it* is a mere
human tradition, for which neither precept nor practice
is to be found in all the scripture.
§ I. I did sufficiently demonstrate, in the explanation
and proof of the former proposition, how greatly the pro
fessors of Christianity, as well Protestants as Papists, were
degenerated in the matter of worship, and how much
strangers to, and averse from that true and acceptable wor
ship that is performed in the Spirit of Truth, because of
man's natural propensity in his fallen state to exalt his own
inventions, and to intermix his own work and product in
the service of God : and from this "root sprung all the idle From
worships, idolatries, and numerous superstitious inventions hurlerand"
among the heathen. For when God, in condescension to neathen su-
... ... . perstitions
his chosen people the Jews,1 did prescribe to them by his did spring.
servant Moses many ceremonies and observations, as types
and shadows of the substance, which in due time was to
be revealed ; which consisted for the most part in washings,
outward purifications and cleansings, which were to con
tinue until the time of reformation, until the spiritual wor
ship should be set up ; and that God, by the more plentiful
pouring forth of his Spirit, and guiding of that anointing,
should lead his children into all truth, and teach them to
worship him in a way more spiritual and acceptable to
him, though less agreeable to the carnal and outward
senses ; yet notwithstanding God's condescension to the
Jews in such things, we see that that part in man, which
delights to follow its own inventions, could not be re
strained, nor yet satisfied with all these observations, but
that oftentimes they would be either declining to the other
superstitions of the Gentiles, or adding some new obser-

382

PROPOSITION XII.

The Phari
sees the
chiefestamong the
Jews.

Many
things in
Christen
dom are
borrowedfrom the
Jews and
Gentiles.

Of sacra
ments so
many con
troversies.

vations and ceremonies of their own ; to which they were
so devpted, that they were still apt to prefer them before
the commands of God, and that under the notion of zeal
and piety. This we see abundantly in the example of the
- Pharisees, the chiefest sect among the Jews, whom Christ
so frequently reproves for making void the command-
merits of God by their traditions. Mat, xv. 6, 9, &c.
This complaint may at this day be no less justly made as
to many bearing the name of Christians, who have intro
duced many things of this kind, partly borrowed from the
Jews, which they more tenaciously stick to, and more ear
nestly contend for, than for the weightier points of Chris
tianity; because that self, yet alive, and ruling in them,
loves their own inventions better than God's commands.
But if they can by any means stretch any scripture prac
tice, or conditional precept or permission, fitted to the
weakness or capacity of some, or appropriate to some par
ticular dispensation, to give some colour for any of these
their inventions ; they do then so tenaciously stick to them,
and so obstinately and obstreperously plead for them, that
they will not patiently hear the most solid Christian reasons
against them. Which zeal, if they would but seriously
examine, it, they would find to be but the prejudice of edu
cation, and the love of self, more than that pf God, or his
pure worship. This is verified concerning those things
which are called sacraments, about which they are very
ignorant in religious controversies, who understand not
how much debate, contention, jangling, and quarrelling
there has been among those called Christians : so that I
may safely say the controversy about them, to wit, about
their number, nature, virtue, efficacy, administration, and
other things, hath been more than about any other doctrine
of Christ, whether as betwixt Papists and Protestants, or
among Protestants betwixt themselves. And how great
prejudice these controversies have brought to Christians is
very obvious ; whereas the things contended for among
them are for the most part but empty shadows, and mere

OF BAPTISM. 383
outside things :- as I hope hereafter to make appear to the
patient and unprejudicate reader.
§ II. That which comes first under observation, is the The name
name sacrament, which it is strange that Christians should mentC(not
stick to and contend so much for, since it is not to be found in
found in all the scripture ; but was borrowed from the is borrowed
military oaths among the heathen, from whom the Chris- h^Jhen.
tians, when they began to apostatize, did borrow many
superstitious terms and observations, that they might
thereby ingratiate themselves, and the more easily gain the
heathen to their religion ; which practice, though perhaps
intended by them for good, yet, as being the fruit of human
policy, and not according to God's wisdom, has had very
pernicious consequences. I see not how any, whether
Papists or Protestants, especially the latter, can in reason
quarrel with us for denying^ this term, which it seems the
Spirit- of God saw not meet to inspire the penmen of the
scriptures to leave unto us.
But if it be said, That it is not the name, but the thing obj. I.
they contend for ;
I answer ; Let the name then, as not being scriptural, be Answ.
laid aside, and we shall see at first entrance how much
benefit will redound by laying aside this traditional term,
and betaking us to plainness of scripture language. For
presently the great contest about the number of them will
vanish ; seeing there is no term used in scripture that can
be made use of, whether we call them institutions, ordi
nances, precepts, commandments, appointments, or laws,
&c, that would afford ground for such a debate ; since
neither will Papists affirm, that there are only seven, or
Protestants only two, of any of these afore mentioned.
If it be said, That this controversy arises from the defi- Obj. 2.
nition of the thing, as well as from the name ;
It will be found otherwise : for whatever way we take Answ.
their definition of a sacrament,- whether as an outward tfon o/sa"''
visible sign, whereby inward grace is conferred, or only crament
signified, this definition will agree to many things, which many other
neither Papists nor Protestants will acknowledge to be thmgs<

384 PROPOSITION XII.
sacraments. If they be expressed under the name of seal
ing ordinances, as by some they are, I could never see,
either by reason or scripture, how this title could be ap
propriate to them more than to any other Christian, re-
Whatseal- ligious performance : for that must needs properly be a
nance doth sealing ordinance, which makes the persons receiving it
mean. infallibly certain of the promise or thing sealed to them.
Obj. 3l If it be said, It is so to them that are faithful ;
Answ. I answer ; So is praying and preaching, and doing of
¦every good work. Seeing the partaking or performing of
the, one gives not to any a more certain title to heaven,
yea, in some respect, not so much, there is no reason to
call them so, more than the other.
Besides, we find not any thing called the seal and pledge
of our inheritance, but the Spirit of God. It is by that
we are said to be sealed, Eph. i. 14, and iv. 30, which is
also termed the " earnest of our inheritance," 2 Cor. i. 22,
and not by outward water, or eating and drinking ; which
as the wickedest of men may partake of, so many that do,
That out- do, notwithstanding it, go to perdition. For it is not out-
mgdoth war4 washing with water that maketh the heart clean, by
not cleanse which men are fitted for heaven ; and as that which goeth
tlie lit) art ¦ ' -
into the mouth doth not defile a man, because it is put
forth again, and so goeth to the dunghill ; neither doth any
thing which, man eateth purify him, or fit him for heaven.
What is said here in general may serve for an introduction,
not only to this proposition, but also to the other cqncern-
ing the supper. Of these sacraments (so called) baptism
is always first numbered, which is the subject of the pre
sent proposition ; in whose explanation I shall first demon
strate and prove our judgment, and then answer the objec
tions, and refute the sentiments of our opposers. As to
Part I. the first part, these things following, which are briefly com
prehended in the proposition, come to be proposed and
proved.
Prop. I. § III. First : There is but one baptism, as well as but
one Lord, one faith, &c.
Prop. II. Secondly, That this one baptism, which is the baptism

OF BAPTISM. 385
of Christ, is not a washing with, or dipping in water, but
a being baptized by the Spirit.
Thirdly, That the baptism of John was but a figure of Prop. III.
this ; and therefore, as the figure, to give place to the sub
stance ; which though ft be to continue, yet- the other
ceaseth. As for the first, viz., That there is but one baptism, Prop. 1.
there needs no other proof than the words of the text, °™ bap'
Eph. iv. 5 : « One Lord, one faith, one baptism :" where proved.
the apostle positively and plainly affirms, that as there is
but one body, one Spirit, one faith, one God, &c, so
there is but " one baptism."
As to what is commonly alleged by way of explanation Obj. I.
upon the text, That the baptism of water and ofthe Spirit
make up this one baptism, by virtue of the sacramental
union ;
I answer ; This exposition hath taken place, not because Answ.
grounded upon the testimony of the scripture, but because
it wrests the scripture to make it suit to their principle of
water baptism;, and so there needs no other reply, but to
deny it, as being repugnant to the plain words of the text ;
which saith not, that there are two baptisms, to wit, one of Whether
water, the other of the Spirit, which do make up one bap- J^ms make
tism ; but plainly, that there is one baptism, as there is one up the one.
faith, and one God. Now as there go not two faiths, nor
two Gods, nor two Spirits, nor two bodies, whereof the one
is outward and elementary, and the other spiritual and
pure, to the making up the one faith, the one God, the one
body, and the one Spirit ; so neither" ought there to go' two
baptisms to make up the one baptism.
But secondly, if it be said, The baptism is but one, Obj. 2.
whereof water is the one part, to wit, the sign ; and the
Spirit, the thing signified, the other ;
I answer ; This yet more confirmeth our doctrine : for if Answ.
water be only the sign, it is not the matter of the one. bap- the*type,
tism (as shall further hereafter by its definition in scripture the sub-
- v ¦ •> . r , stancemust
appear), and we are to take the one baptism for the matter remain.
of it, not for the sign, or figure and type that went before.
33 2y

386

PROPOSITION XII.

Prop. II.

Proof I.
The differ
ence be
tween John's bap
tism and
Christ's.

Arg. 1.

Arg. 3.

Even as where Christ is called the one offering in scripture,
though he was typified by many sacrifices and offerings
under the law, we understand only by the one offering, his
offering himself upon the cross; whereof though those
many offerings were signs and types, yet we say not that
they go together with that offering of Christ, to make up
the one offering : so neither, though water baptism was a
sign of Christ's, baptism, will it follow, that it goeth now
to make up the baptism of Christ. If any should be so
absurd as to affirm, That this one baptism here was the
baptism of water, and not of the Spirit ; that were foolishly
to contradict the positive testimony of the scripture, which
saith the contrary ; as by what followeth will more amply
appear. Secondly, That this one baptism, which is the baptism
of Christ, is not a washing with water, appears, first, from
the testimony of John, the proper and peculiar administra
tor of water baptism, Mat. iii. 11, "I indeed baptize you
with water unto repentance ; but he that cometh after me
is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear ;
he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire."
Here John mentions two manners of baptizing, and two
different baptisms ; the one with water, and the other with
the Spirit; the one whereof he was the minister of; the
other whereof Christ was the minister of: and such as were
baptized with the first, were not therefore baptized with the
second : I indeed baptize you, but he shall baptize you.
Though in the present time they were baptized with the
baptism bf water ; yet they were not as yet, but were to
be, baptized with the baptism of Christ. From all which
I thus argue :
If those that were baptized with the baptism of water,
were not therefore baptized with the baptism of Christ;
then the baptism of water is not the baptism of Christ :
But the first is true ;
Therefore also the last.
And again,
If he, that truly and really administered the baptism of

OF BAPTISM. 387
water, did notwithstanding declare, that he neither could,
nor did, baptize with the baptism of Christ; then the bap
tism of water is not the baptism of Christ :
But the first is true ;
Therefore, &c.
And indeed to understand it otherwise, would make
John's words void of good sense : for if their baptisms had
been all one, why should he have so precisely contra-dis
tinguished them ? Why should he have said, that those
whom he had already baptized, should yet be baptized
with another baptism ?
If it be urged, That baptism with water was the one Object.
part, and that with the Spirit the other part, or effect only
of the former ;
I answer ; This exposition contradicts the plain words Answ.
of the text. For he saith not, I baptize you with water, one bap-
and he that cometh after me shall produce the effects of tlsm ls no
r part nor
this my baptism in you by the Spirit, &c, or he shall ac- effect of
complish this baptism in you ; but, He shall baptize you.
So then, if we understand the words truly and properly,
when he- saith, I baptize you, as consenting that thereby is
really signified that he did baptize with the baptism of
water ; we must needs, unless we offer violence to the text,
understand the. other part of the sentence the same way ;
viz., where he adds presently, " But he shall baptize you,"
&c, that he understood it of their being truly to be bap
tized with another baptism, than what he did baptize with :
else it'had been nonsense for him thus to have contra-dis
tinguished them.
Secondly, This is further confirmed by the saying of Proof II.
Christ himself, Acts i. 4, 5, " But,wait for the promise of
the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me : for John who were
truly baptized with watery but ye shall be baptized with the J^j ™defj
Holy Ghost not many days hence." There can scarce two still to wait
i r • n i i . • n i • i i for Christ's
places of scripture run more parallel than this doth with the baptism
former, a little before mentioned ; and therefore concludeth gpirit'he
the same way as did the other. For Christ here grants
fully that John completed his baptism, as to the matter and

388

PROPOSITION XII.

Proof III,

The bap
tism with
the Holy
Ghost and
that with
water dif
fer.

Object.

substance of it : " John," saith. he, " truly baptized with
water ;" which is as much as if he had said, John didtruly
and fully administer the baptism, of water; " But ye shall
be baptized with," &c. This showeth that they were to be
baptized with some other baptism than the baptism of water ;
and that .although they were formerly baptized with the
baptism of water, yet not with that of Christ, which they
were to be baptized with.
Thirdly, Peter observes the same distinction, Acts xi.
16, " Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that
he said, John indeed baptized with water ; but ye shall be
baptized with the Holy Ghost." The apostle makes this
application upon the Holy Ghost's falling upon them;
whence he infers, that they were then baptized with the
baptism of the Spirit. As to what is urged from his calling
afterwards for water, it shall be spoken to hereafter. From
all which three sentences, relative one to another, first of
John, secondly of Christ, and thirdly of Peter, it, doth evi
dently follow, that such as were truly -and really baptized
With the baptism of water, were notwithstanding not bap
tized with the baptism of the Spirit, which is that of Christ ;
and such as truly and really did administer the baptism of
water, did, in so doing, not administer the baptism of
Christ. So that, if there be how but one baptism, as we
have already proved, we may safely conclude that it is that
of the Spirit, and not of water ; else it would follow, that
the one baptism, which now continues, were the baptism
of water, i. e., John's baptism, and not the baptism of the
Spirit, i. e., Christ's ; which were most absurd.
If it be said further, That though the baptism of John,
before Christ's was administered, was different from it, as
being the figure only ; yet now, that both it as the figure,
and that of the Spirit as the substance, is necessary to make
Up the one baptism ;
I answer ; This urgeth nothing, unless it be granted also
that both of them belong to the essence of baptism ; so that
baptism is not to be accounted as truly administered, where
both are not ; which none of our adversaries will acknow-

OF BAPTISM. 389
ledge : but on the contrary, account not only all those
truly baptized with the baptism of Christ, who are baptized Water bap-

with water, though they be uncertain whether they be bap- IhTtrue"'
tized with the Spirft, or not ; but they even account such baptism of
truly baptized with the baptism of Christ, because sprinkled,
or baptized with water, though it be manifest and most
certain that they are not baptized with the Spirit, as being
enemies thereunto in their hearts by wicked works. So
here, by their own confession, baptism with water is with
out the Spirit. Wherefore we may far safer conclude, that
the baptism of the Spirit, which is that of Christ, is and
may be without that of water ; as appears in that of Acts
xi. 15, where Peter testifies of these men, that they were
baptized with the Spirit, though then not baptized with
water. And indeed the controversy in this, as in most
other things, stands betwixt us and our opposers, in that
they oftentimes prefer the form and shadow to the power
and substance ; by denominating persons as inheritors and
possessors, of the thing, from their having the form and
shadow, though really wanting the power and substance ;
and not admitting those to be so denominated, who have
the power'and substance, if they want the form and shadow.
This appears evidently, m that they account those truly
baptized with the one baptism of Christ, who are not bap
tized with the Spirit, which iri scripture is particularly called
the baptism of Christ, if they be only baptized with water,
which themselves yet confess to be but the shadow or figure.
And moreover, in that they account not those who are surely The bap-
baptized with the baptism of the Spirit baptized, neither 8™;°^.
will they have them so denominated, unless they be also eth.n°
•iii-i i- i • i i sprinkling
sprinkled with, or dipped in water : but we, on the con- or dipping
trary, do always prefer the power to the form, the substance ln water'
to the shadow ; and where the substance and power is, we
doubt not to denominate the person accordingly, though
the form be wanting. And therefore we always seek first,
and plead for the substance and power, as knowing that to
be indispensably necessary, though the form sometimes may
be dispensed with, and the figure or type may cease, when
33*

390

PROPOSITION XII.

Proof IV.
* Or, as it
Bhould be
translated, ' Whose
model bap
tism does
also now
save us.'
The plain
est defini
tion of the
baptism of
Christ in all
the bible.

Water
baptismshut out
from bap
tism of
Christ.

the substance and anti-type come to be enjoyed, as it doth
in this case, which shall hereafter be made, appear.
§ IV. Fourthly, That the one baptism of Christ is not a
washing with water, appears from 1 Pet. iii. 21: "The
like figure* whereunto, even baptism, doth also now' save
us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the
answer of a good conscience towards God) by the resur
rection of Jesus Christ." So plain a definition of baptism
is not in all the bible ; and therefore, seeing it is so plain,
it may well be preferred to all the coined definitions ofthe
school-men. The apostle tells us first negatively what it is
not, viz.," Not a putting away of the filth of the flesh:"
then surely it is not a washing with water, since that is so.
Secondly, he tells us' affirmatively what it is, viz., " The
answer of a good conscience towards God, by the resur
rection pf Jesus Christ ;" where he affirmatively defines it
to be the "answer (or confession, as the Syriac version
hath it) of a good conscience." Now this answer cannot
be but Where the Spirit of God hath purified the soul, and
the fire of his judgment hath burned up the unrighteous
nature; and those in whom this work is wrought may be
truly said to be baptized with the baptism of Christ, i. e.
ofthe Spirit and of fire. Whatever way then we take this
definition of the apostle of Christ's baptism, it confirmeth
our sentence : for if we take the first Or negative part, vizi,
That it is not a putting away of the filth of the flesh, then
it will follow that water baptism is not it, because that is a
putting away the filth of the flesh. If we take the second
and affirmative definition, to wit, That it is the answer or
confession of a good conscience, &c, then water baptism
is not it ; since, as our adversaries will not deny, water
baptism doth not always imply it, neither is it any neces
sary consequence thereof. Moreover, the apostle in this
place doth seem especially tp guard against, those that
might esteem water baptism the true baptism of Christ ;
because, lest by the comparison induced by him in the
preceding verse, betwixt the souls that were saved in
Noah's ark, and us that are now saved by baptism ; lest, I

OF BAPTISM. 391
say, any should have thence hastily concluded, that be
cause the former were saved by water, this place must
needs be taken to speak of water baptism, to prevent such
a mistake, he plainly affirms, that it is not that, but another
thing.- He "saith not that it is the water, or the putting away
of the filth of the flesh, as accompanied with the answer of
a good conscience, whereof the one, viz., water, is the
sacramental element; administered by the minister ; and the
other, the grace or thing signified conferred by Christ ; but
plainly, That it is not the putting away, &c,, than which
there can be nothing more manifest to men unprejudicate
and judicious. Moreover, Peter calls this here which saves
dvliVuirov, the anti-type or the < thing figured ;' whereas it. is
usually translated, I as if the like figure did now save us ;'
thereby insinuating that as they were saved by water in the
ark, so are we now by water baptism. But this interpreta
tion crosseth his sense, he presently after declaring the
contrary, as hath above been observed ; and likewise it
would contradict the opinion of all our opposers. For
Protestants deny it to be absolutely necessary to salvation ; The Pro-
and though Papists say, none are saved without it, yet in J^g'^a*"
this they admit an exception, as of martyrs, &c, and they ter baptism
will not say that all that have ft are saved by water bap- necessity to
tism ; which they ought to say, if they will understand by "^ fal"
baptism, by which the apostle saith we are saved, water although
baptism. For seeing we are saved by this baptism, as all say none
those that were in the ark were saved by water, it would gaved^ith-
then follow, that all those "that have this baptism are saved out it. yet
by it. Now this consequence would be false, if it were ceptions.
understood of water baptism ; because many, by the con
fession of all, are baptized with water that are not saved ;
but this consequence holds most true, if it be understood
as we dp, of the baptism of the Spirit ; since none can
have this answer of a good conscience, and, abiding in it,
not be saved by ft.
Fifthly, That the one baptism of Christ is not a washing Proof V.
with water, as it hath been proved by the definition of the
one baptism, so it is also manifest from the necessary fruits

392 proposition xii.
The effects and effects of it, which, are three times particularly ex-
the baptism pressed by the apostle Paul ; as first, Rom. vi. 3, 4, where
of Christ, he saith, "That so many of them as were baptized irito
Jesus Christ, were baptized into his death, > buried with
him by baptism into death, that they should walk in new
ness of life." Secondly, to the Galatians, iii. 27, he saith
positively, " For as many of you as have been--baptized
into Christ, have put on Christ." And thirdly, to the
Colossians, ii. 12,- he saith, That they were "buried with
Jiim in baptism," and risen " with him through the faith
of the operation of God." It is to be observed here, that
the apostle speaks generally, without any exclusive term,
but comprehensive of all. He saith not, Some of yOu that
were baptized into Christ, have put on Christ, but "as
many of you ;" which is as much as if he had said, Every
one of you that hath been baptized into Christ, hath put
on Christ. Whereby it is evident that this is hot meant of
Which ef- water baptism, but qf the baptism of the Spirit; because
baptism'1^ e'se ** would follow, that whosoever had been baptized
wants. -with water baptism had put on Christ, and were risen with
him, which all acknowledge to be most absurd. Now
supposing all the visible members pf the churches of Rome,
Galatia, and Colosse had been outwardly baptized with
wafer, (I do not say they were, but our adversaries will not
only readily grant it, but also contend for it,) suppose, I
say, the case so, they will not say they had all put on
Christ, since divers expressions in these epistles to them
show the contrary. So that the apostle cannot mean bap
tism with water ; and yet that he meaneth the baptism of
Christ, i. e., of the Spirit, cannot be denied ;, or that the
baptism wherewith these were baptized, of whom the
dpostle here testifies that they had put. on Christ, was the
one baptism, I think none will call- in question. Now
admit, as our adversaries contend, that many in these
churches who had been baptized with water had not put
on Christ; it will follow, that notwithstanding that water
baptism, they were not baptized into Christ, or with the
baptism of Christ, seeing as many of them as were bap-

OF BAPTISM. 393
tized into Christ had put on Christ, &c. From all which
I thus argue :
If the baptism with water were the one baptism, i. e., Aro. l.
the baptism of Christ, as many as were baptized with wa
ter would have put on Christ :
But the last is false,
Therefore also the first.
And again :
Since as many as are baptized into Christ, i. e., with the Aro. 2.
one baptism, which is the baptism of Christ, have put on
Christ, then water baptism is not the one baptism, viz.^ the
baptism of Christ.
Btit the first is true,
Therefore also the last.
§ V. Thirdly, Since John's baptism was a figure, and Pro. III.
seeing the figure gives way to the substance, although the
thing figured remain, to wit, the one baptism of Christ, yet
the other ceaseth, which was the baptism of John.
That John's baptism was a figure of Christ's baptism, I I.
judge will not readily be denied ; but in case it should, tisirTwas a"
it can easily be proved from the nature of it. John's bap- Q^jt?f
tism was a being baptized with water, , but Christ's is a
baptizing with the Spirit; therefore John's baptism must
have been a figure of Christ's. But further, that water
baptism was John's baptism, will not be denied : that
water baptism is not Christ's baptism,"is already proved.
From which doth arise the confirmation of our proposition
thus: There is no baptism to continue now, but the one bap
tism of Christ.
Therefore water baptism is not to continue now, because
it is not the one baptism of Christ.
That John's baptism is ceased, many of our adversaries II.
confess; but if any should allege it is otherwise, it may be t;°mnjg ap"
easily proved by the express Words of John, not only as ceased our
being insinuated there, where he contra-distinguisheth his confess.
baptism from that of Christ, but particularly where he
John iii. 30, "He [Christ] must increase, but I
2z

394 PROPOSITION XII.
[John] must decrease." From whence it clearly follows,
that the increasing or taking place of Christ's baptism is
the decreasing or abolishing of John's baptism ; so that if
water baptism Was a particular part of John's ministry, and
is no part bf Christ's baptism, as we have already proved,
it will necessarily follow that it is not to continue.
Aro. Secondly, If water baptism had been to continue a per^
petual ordinance of Christ -in his church, he would either
have practised it himself, or commanded his apostles so
to do. '
But that he practised it not, the scripture plainly affirms,
John iv. 2. And that he commanded his disciples to bap
tize with water, I could never yet read. As for what is
alleged, that, Mat. xxviii. 19, &c, where he bids them
baptize, is to be understood of water baptism, that is but
to beg the question, and the grounds for that shall be here
after examined:
Therefore, to baptize with water is no perpetual ordinance
of Christ to his church.
This hath had the more weight with me, because, I find
not any standing ordinance or appointment of Christ ne
cessary to Christians, for which we have not either Christ's
own practice or command, as to obey all the command
ments which comprehend both our duty towards God and
man, &c, and where the gospel requires more than the
law, which is abundantly signified in the 5th and 6th
chapters of Matthew, and elsewhere. Besides, as to the
duties of worship, he exhorts us to meet, promising his
presence; commands to pray, preach, watch, &c, and
gives precepts concerning some temporary things, as the
Washing of one another's feet, the breaking of bread, here
after to be discussed ; only for this one thing of baptizing
with water, though so earnestly contended for, we find not
any precept of Christ.
III. § VI. But to make water baptism a necessary institution
puts suTend of the Christian religion, which is pure and spiritual, and
to carnal ot carnai an(j ceremonial, is to derogate from the new
ordinances. ' o
covenant dispensation, and set up the legal rites and cere-

OF BAPTISM. 395
monies, of which this of baptism, or washing with water,
was one, as appears from Heb. ix. 10, where the apostle
speaking thereof saith,that "it stood only in meats and
drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances,, im
posed until the time of reformation." If then the time of
reformation, or the dispensation of the gospel, which puts
an end to the shadows, be come, then such baptisms and
carnal ordinances are no more to be imposed. For how
baptism with wafer comes now to- be a spiritual ordinance,
more than before in the time of the law,^doth not appear,
seeing it is but water still, and a washing of the outward
man, and a putting away of the filth of the flesh still: and
as before, those that were so washed, were not thereby
made perfect, as pertaining to the conscience, neither are
they at this day, as our adversaries must needs acknow
ledge, and experience abundantly showeth. So that the
matter of it, which is a washing with water, and the effect
of it, which is only an outward cleansing, being still the
same, how comes water baptism to be less a carnal ordi
nance now than before?.
If it be said, That God confers inward grace upon some Obj. 1.
that are now baptized ;
So no doubt he did also upon some that used those bap- Answ.
tisms among the Jews.
Or if it be said, Because it is commanded by Christ Obj. 2.
now, under the new covenant ;
I answer, First, That is to beg the question ; of which Answ.
hereafter. But Secpndly, We find that where the matter of ordi
nances is the same, and the end the same, they are never •
accounted more or less spiritual, because of their different
times.. Now was not God the author of the purifications
and baptisms under the law ? Was not water the matter
of them, which is so now? Was not the end of them to
signify an inward purifying by an outward washing ? And
is not that alleged to be the end still? And are the
necessary effects or consequences of it any better now than
before, since men are now by the virtue of water baptism,

396 PROPOSITION XII.
Men are no as a necessary consequence of it, no more than before
Sarfbefore made inwardly clean ? And if some by God's grace that
by water are baptized with water are inwardly purified, so were
baptism in- , . \ L
wardly some also under the law ; so that this is not any necessary
ceanse . consequence or effect, neither of this nor that baptism. It
is then plainly repugnant to right reason,- as well as to the
scripture testimony, to affirm that to be a spiritual ordi
nance now, which was a carnal ordinance before, if it be
still the same, both as to its author, matter,, and end, how
ever made to vary in some small circumstances. The
spirituality of the new covenant, and of its worship estab
lished by Christ, consisted not in such superficial altera
tions of circumstances, but after another manner. There
fore let our adversaries show us, if they can, without
begging the question, and building upon some one or
other of- their own principles denied by us, where ever
Christ appointed or ordained any institution or observation
under the new covenant, as belonging to the nature of ft,
or such a necessary part of its worship as is perpetually to
continue ; which being one in substance and effects, (I
speak of necessary, not accidental effects,) yet, becausef of
some small difference in form or circumstance, was before
carnal, notwithstanding it was commanded by God under
the law, but now is become spiritual, because commanded
by Christ under the gospel ? And if they cannot do this,
then if water baptism was once a carnal ordinance, as the
apostle positively affirms it to have been, it remains a car
nal ordinance still ; and if a carnal ordinance, then no
necessary part of the gospel or new covenant dispensation ;
and if no necessary part of it, then not needful to continue,
nor to be practised by Such as live and walk under this
dispensation. But in this; as in -most other things, ac
cording as we have often observed, our adversaries judaize,
and renouncing the glorious and spiritual privileges of the
new covenant, are sticking in and cleaving to the rudi- .
ments of the old, both in doctrine ahd worship, as being
more suited and agreeable to their carnal apprehensions
and natural senses. But we, on the contrary, travail above

OF BAPTISM. 397
all to lay hold upon and cleave unto the Light of the glo
rious gospel revealed unto us. And the harmony of the
truth we profess in this may appear, by briefly observing The law
how in all things we follow the spiritual gospel of Christ, ed from'the
as contra-distinguished' from the carnality of the legal dis- gospel.
pensation; while our adversaries, through rejecting this
gospel, are still labouring under the burden of the law,
which neither they nor their fathers were able to bear.
For the law and rule of the old covenant and Jews was The out-
outward, written in tables of stone and parchment ; so tism, wor".
also is that of our adversaries. But the law of the new ^lp la,?r'n.
covenant is inward and perpetual, written in the heart ; so ed from the
inward.
is ours. The worship ofthe Jews was outward and carnal,
limited to set times, places, and persons, and performed
according to set prescribed forms and observations ; so is
that of our adversaries. But the worship of the new cove
nant is neither limited to time, place, nor person, but is
performed in the Spirit and in truth ; and it is not acted
according to set forms and prescriptions, but as the Spirit
of God immediately actuates, moves, and leads, whether
it be to preach, pray, or sing ; and such is also our
worship. So likewise the baptism among the Jews under the law
was an outward washing with outward- water, only to
typify an inward purification of the soul, which did not
necessarily follow upon those that were thus baptized ; but
the baptism of Christ under the gospel is the baptism of
the Spirit and of fire ; not the putting away of the filth of
the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience towards
God ; and such is the baptism that we labour to be bap
tized withal, and contend for.
§ VII. But again, If water baptism had been an ordi- Aro.
nance of the gospel, then the apostle Paul would have
been sent to administer it ; but he declares positively, 1
Cor. i. 17 : " That Christ sent him not to baptize, but to
preach the gospel." f The reason of that consequence is
undeniable," because, the apostle Paul's commission was as
34

498 PROPOSITION XII.
IV. large as that of any of them ; and consequently he being in
ter baptism special manner the apostle of Christ to the Gentiles, if
is no badge water baptism, as. our adversaries contend, be to be
tians, like accounted the badge of Christianity, he had more need
BionUof the than any of the rest to be sent to baptize with water, that
Jews. he might mark the Gentiles converted by him with that
Christian. sign. But indeed the reason holds better thus,
that since Paul was the apostle of the Gentiles, and that in
his ministry he doth through all, as by his epistles, appears,
labour to wean them from the former Jewish ceremonies
and observations, though in so doing he was sometimes
undeservedly judged by others of his brethren, who were
unwilling to lay aside those ceremonies, therefore his com-
inission, though as full as to the preaching of the gospel
and new covenant dispensation as that of the other apos
tles, did not require of him that he should lead those con
verts into such Jewish observations and baptisms : how
ever that practice was indulged in and practised by the
other apostles among their Jewish proselytes, for which
1 Cor.i. 14. cause he thanks God that he had baptized so few :- intimat-
Paul was ing that what he did therein he did not by virtue of his
baptize."0 aPostolic commission, but rather in condescension to
their weakness, even as at another time he circumcised
Timothy.
Obj. 1. Our adversaries, to ,evade the truth of this testimony,
usually allege, That by this is only to be understood that
he was not sent principally to baptize, not that he was not
sent at all.
Answ. But this exposition, since ft contradicts the positive
words of the text, and has no better foundation than the
affirmation of its assertors, is justly rejected as spurious,
until they bring some better proof for it. He saith not, I
was not. sent principally to baptize, but, " I was not sent to
baptize."
Confik. As for what they urge, by way of confirmation, from
„ other places of scripture, where not is to be so taken, as
Mat. ix. 13. '
Hos. vi. 6. where itis said, "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice,"

OF BAPTISM.

399

which is to be understood that God requires principally
mercy, not excluding sacrifice :
I say this place is abundantly explained by the -followr Reput.
ing words, "And the knowledge of God more than burnt-
offerings ;" by which it clearly appears that burnt-offerings,
which are one with sacrifices, are not excluded ; but there
is no such word added in that of Paul, arid therefore the
parity is not demonstrated to be alike, and consequently
the instance not sufficient, unless they can prove that it
ought so to be admitted here ; else we might interpret by
the same rule all other places of scripture the same way,
as where the apostle saith, 1 Cor. ii. 5 : " That your faith
might not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power
of God," it might be understood, it shall not stand prin
cipally so. How might the gospel, by this liberty of inter
pretation be perverted?
If it be said, That the abuse of this baptism among the Obj. 3.
Corinthians, in dividing themselves according to the per
sons by whom they were baptized, made the apostle speak
so ; but that the abuse of a thing doth not abolish it;
I answer, It is true, it doth not, provided the thing be Answ.
lawful and necessary ; and that no doubtthe abuse above-
said gave the apostle occasion so to write. But let it from
this be considered how the apostle excludes-baptizing, not
preaching, though the abuse (mark) proceeded from that,
no less than from the other. For these Corinthians did
denominate themselves from those different persons by
whose preaching, . as well as from those by whom they
were baptized, they were converted, as by the 4th, 5th,
6th, -7th, and 8th verses of ehap. fii. may appear : and yet That
to remove that abuse the apostle doth not say he was not fsTstanf-
sent to preach, nor yet doth he rejoice that he had only ms °rdi-
f ' •> J J nance, and
preached to a few ; because preaching, being a standing not to be
ordinance in the church, is not, because of any abuse that
the devil may tempt any to make of it, to be forborne by-
such as are called to perform it by the Spirit of God :
wherefore the apostle accordingly, chap. iii. 8, 9, informs
them, as to that, how to remove that abuse. But as to

400 PROPOSITION XII.
water baptism, for' that it was no standing ordinance of
Christ, but only practised as in condescension to the Jews,
and by some apostles to some Gentiles also, therefore, so
soon as the apostle perceived the abuse, of it, he let the
Corinthians understand how little stress was to be laid upon
it, by showing them that he was glad that he had adminis
tered this ceremony to so few of them ; and by telling them
plainly that it was no part of his commission, neither that
which he was sent to administer.
Query. Some ask us, How we know that baptizing here is
meant of water, and not of the Spirit; which if it be,
then it will exclude baptism of the Spirit, as well as of
water.
Answ. I answer, Such as ask the question, I suppose, speak it
That which not as doubting that this was said of water baptism, which
ChrisUs the *s more tnan manifest. For since the apostle Paul's mes-
baptismof sage was, to turn people from "darkness to light, and con
vert them to God ; and that as many as are thus turned
and converted, so as to have the answer of a good con
science towards God, and to have put on Christ, and be
risen with him in newness of life, are baptized with the
baptism of the Spirit. But who will say that only those
few mentioned there to be baptized by Paul were come to
this ? Or that to turn or bring them to this condition was
not, even admitting our adversaries' interpretation, as prin
cipal a part of Paul's ministry as any other ? Since then
our adversaries do take this- place for water baptism, as
indeed it is, we may lawfully, taking it so also, urge it
upon them. Why the word baptism and baptizing is used
by the apostle, where that of water and not of the Spirit
Part II. is only understood, shall hereafter be spoken to. I come
now to consider the reasons alleged by such as plead for
water baptism, which are also the objections used against
the discontinuance of it.
Obj. i. § VIII. First, Some object, That Christ, who had the
John iii. 34. Spirit above measure, was notwithstanding baptized with
water. As Nic. Arnoldus against this Thesis^ Sect. xlvi.
of his Theological Exercitation.

OF BAPTISM. 401
I answer, So was he also circumcised : it will not follow Answ.
from thence that circumcision is to continue : for ft be
hoved Christ to fulfil all righteousness, not only the minis- WhyChrist
try of John, but the law also ; therefore did he observe the ^edby"
Jewish feasts and rites, and keep the passover. It will not John-
thence follow that Christians ought to do so now ; and
therefore Christ, Matt. iii. 15, gives John this reason ofhis
being baptized, desiring him to " suffer it to be so now ;"
whereby he sufficiently intimates that he intended not
thereby to perpetuate it as an ordinance to His disciples.
Secondly, They object, Mutt, xxviii. 19 : " Go ye there- Obj. 2.
fore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."
This is the great objection, and upon which they build Answ.
the whole superstructure ; whereunto the first general and
sound answer is, by granting the whole ; but putting them
to prove that water is here meant, since the text is silent What bap-
of it. And though in reason ft be sufficient upon our part d"t™ mean'
that we concede the whole expressed in the place, but in Matt.
xxviii.
deny that it is by water, which is an addition to- the text,
yet I shall premise some reasons why we do so, and then
consider the reasons alleged by those that will have water
to be here understood.
The first is a maxim yielded to by all, That we ought Aro. 1.
not to go from the literal signification of the text, except
some urgent necessity force us thereunto.
But no urgent necessity in this place forceth us there
unto :
Therefore we ought not to go from it.
Secondly, That baptism which Christ commanded his Aro. 2.
apostles was the one baptism, id est, his own baptism ;
But the one baptism, which is Christ's baptism, is not
-with water, as we have already proved:
Therefore the baptism commanded by Christ to his apos
tles was not water baptism.
Thirdly, That baptism which Christ commanded his Aro. 3.
apostles was' such, that as many as were therewith baptized
did put on Christ ;
34* 3 a

402 PROPOSITION XII.
But this is not true of water baptism :
Therefore, &c.
Aro. 4. Fourthly, The baptism commanded by Christ to his
apostles was not John's baptism ;
But baptism with water was John's baptism :
Therefore, &c.
Alle. I. But first, They allege, That Christ's baptism, though a
baptism with water, did differ from John's, because John
only baptized with water unto repentance, but Christ com
mands his disciples to baptize in the name of the Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost ; reckoning that in this form there
lieth a great difference betwixt the baptism of John and
that of Christ.
I answer, In that John's baptism was unto repentance,
the difference lieth not there, because so is Christ's also ;
yea, our adversaries will not deny but that adult persons
that are to be baptized ought, ere they are admitted to
water baptism, to repent, and confess their sins ; and that
infants also, with a respect to and consideration of their
baptism, ought to repent and confess ; so that the dif
ference lieth not here, since this of repentance and confes
sion agrees as well to Christ's as to John's baptism. But
in this our adversaries are divided: for Calvin will have
Christ's and John's to be all one, Inst. lib. iv., cap. 15,
sect. 7, 8, yet they do differ, and the difference is, in that
the one is by water, the other not, &c.
Secondly, As to what Christ saith, in commanding them
to " baptize in the name of the Father,"Son, and Spirit,"
I confess that states the difference, and it is great ; but that
lies not only in admitting water baptism in this different
form, by a bare expressing of these words : for as, the text
says no such thing, neither do, I see how it can be infer-
Of the red from it. For the Greek is lis to oVou.a, that is, into the
Lot! tow" name > now tne name of the Lord is often taken in scrip-
taken in ture for something else than a bare sound of words, or
1 literal expression, even for his virtue and power, as may
appear from Psal. liv. 1 ; Cant. i. 3; Prov. xviii. 10, and
in many more. Now that the apostles were by their minis-

OF BAPTISM. 403
try to baptize the nations into this name, virtue and power, The bap-
and that they did so, is evident by these testimonies of JhTname
Paul above mentioned, where he saith, " That as many of what il is-
them as were baptized into Christ, have put on Christ ;"
this must have been a baptizing into the name, i. e., power
and virtue, and not a mere formal expression of words ad
joined with water baptism ; because, as hath been above
observed, it doth not follow as a natural or necessary con
sequence of it. I would have those who desire to have
their faith built upon no other foundation than the testimony
of God's, Spirit and scriptures of truth, thoroughly to con
sider whether there can be any thing further alleged for this
interpretation than what the prejudice of education and- in
fluence of tradition hath imposed. Perhaps it may stum
ble the unwary and inconsiderate reader, as if the very
character of Christianity were abolished, to tell him plainly
that this scripture is not to be understood of baptizing with
water, and that this form of " baptizing in the name of the
Father, Son,- and Spirit," hath no warrant from Matt.
xxviii., &c.
For which, besides the reason taken from the significa- Whether
tion of " the name" as being the virtue and power above prescribe
expressed, let it be considered, that if it had been a form aform °(
1 ' ' baptism in
prescribed by Christ to his apostles, then surely they would Matt.
have made use of that form in the administering of water xxvm"
baptism lo such as they baptized with water ; but though
particular mention be made in divers places of the Acts
who were baptized, and how ; and though it be particularly
expressed that they baptized such and such, as Acts ii. 41,
and viii. 12, 13, 38, and ix. 18, and x. -48, and xvi. 15,
and xviii. 8, yet there is not a word of this form. And in
two places; Acts viii. 16, and xix. 5, it is said of some
that they were " baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus ;"
by which it yet more appears, that either the author of this
history hath been very defective, who having so often
occasion to mention this, yet omitteth so, substantial a part
of baptism (which were to accuse the Holy Ghost, by
whose guidance Luke wrote it), or else that the apostles

404

PROPOSITION XII.

Alls. II.

Answ.

How teach
ing and
baptizing
differ.

Alle. III.

Answ.The bap
tism with
the Spirit
ascribed to
godly men
as instru
ments.

did no ways understand that Christ by his commission,
Matt, xxviii., did enjoin them such a form of vi'at€r bap
tism, seeing they did not use ft. And therefore it is safer
to conclude, that what they did in administering water
baptism, they did not by virtue of that commission, else
they would have so used it: for our adversaries I suppose
would judge it a great heresy to administer water baptism
without that, or only in the name of Jesus, without men
tion of Father or Spirit, as it is expressly said they did, in
the two places above cited.
Secondly, They say, If this were not understood of
water baptism, it would be a tautology, and all one with
teaching. I say, Nay : Baptizing with the Spirit is somewhat fur
ther than teaching, or informing the understanding ; for it
imports a reaching to, and melting the heart, whereby it is
turned, as well as the understanding informed. Besides,
we find often in the scripture, that teaching and instructing
are put together, without any absurdity, or needless tauto
logy ; and yet these two have a greater affinity than teach
ing and baptizing with the Spirit.
Thirdly, They say, Baptism in this place must be under
stood with water, because it is the action of the apostles ;
and so cannot be the baptism of the Spirit, which is the
work of Christ, and his grace ; not of man, ~&c.
I answer ; Baptism with the Spirit, though not wrought
without Christ and his grace, is instrumentally done by
men fitted of God for that purpose ; and therefore no ab
surdity follows, that baptism with the Spirit should be
expressed as the action of the apostles. For though ft be
Christ by his grace that gives spiritual gifts, yet the apostle,
Rom. i. 11, speaks ofhis imparting to them spiritual .gifts ;
and he tells the Corinthians, that he had " begotten them
through the gospel," 1 Cor. iv. 15. And yet to beget
people to the faith, is the work of Christ and hisgface, not
of men. To convert the heart, is properly the work of
Christ ; and yet the scripture oftentimes ascribes it to men,
as being the instruments: and since Paul's commission

OF BAPTISM. 405
was, To turn people from darkness to light, though that be
not done without Christ co-operating by his grace, so may
also baptizing with the Spirit be expressed, as performable
by man as the instrument, though the work of Christ's
grace be needful to concur thereunto. So that it is no
absurdity to say, that the apostles did administer the bap
tism of the Spirit.
Lastly, They say, That since Christ saith here, that he Alle. IV.
will be with his disciples to the end of the world, therefore
water baptism must continue so long.
If he had been speaking here of water baptism, then that Answ.
might have been urged ; but seeing that is denied, and
proved to be false, nothing from thence can be gathered:
he speaking of the baptism of the- Spirit, which -we freely
confess doth remain to the end of the world ; yea, so long
as Christ's presence abideth with his children.
§ IX. Thirdly, They object the constant practice of the Obi. 3.
apostles in the primitive church, who, they say, -did always
administer water baptism, to such as they converted to the
faith of Christ ; and lience also they further urge that of
Mat. xxviii. to have been meant of water ; or else the
apostles did' not understand it, because in baptizing they
used water; or that in so doing they walked without a
commission. I answer; That ft was the constant practice of the apos- Answ.
ties, is denied ; for we have shown, in the example of Paul,
that it was not so ; since it were most absurd to judge that
he converted only those few, even of the church of Corinth,
whom he saith he baptized ; nor were it less absurd to think
that that was a constant apostolic practice, which he, who
was not inferior to the chiefest of the apostles, and who
declares he laboured as much as they all, rejoiceth he was
so little in. But further; the conclusion inferred from the How the
apostles'' practice of baptizing wfth water, to evince that baptized.
they understood Mat. xxviii. of water baptism, doth not
hold : for though they baptized with water, it will not fol
low that either they did it by virtue of that commission, or
that they mistook that place ; nor can there be any medium

406

PROPOSITION XII.

Object.

Answ.

The apos
tles did
scruple the
teachingthe Gen
tiles.

brought, that will infer such a conclusion. As to the. other
insinuated absurdity, That they did it without a commis
sion ; itis none at all : for they might have done it by a
permission, as being in use before Christ's death ; and be
cause the people, nursed up with outward ceremonies,
could not be weaned wholly from them. And thus they
used other things, as circumcision and legal purifications,
which yet they had no commission from Christ to do : to
which we shall speak more at length in the following pro
position concerning the supper.
But if from the sameness of the word, because Christ
bids them baptize, and they afterwards in the use of water
are said to baptize, it be judged probable that they did un
derstand that commission, Mat. xxviii., to authorize them
to baptize with water, and accordingly practised it ;
Although ft should be granted, that for a season they did
so far mistake its as to judge that water belonged to that
baptism, which however I find no necessity of granting, yet
I see not any great absurdity would thence follow. For it
is plain they did mistake that commission, as to a main part
of it, for a season ; as where he bids them " Go,. teach ajl
nations;" since some time after they judged it unlawful to
teach the Gentiles ; yea, Peter himself scrupled it, until by
a vision constrained thereunto ; for which, after he had done
it, he was for a season, until they were better informed,
judged by the rest of his brethren. Now, if the education
of the apostles as Jews; and their propensity to adhere and
stick to the Jewish religion, did so far influence them, that
even after Christ's resurrection, and- the pouring forth of
the Spirit, they could not receive nor admit of the teaching
of the Gentiles, though Christ, in his commission to them,
commanded them to preach to them ; what further absurdity
were ft to suppose, that, through the like mistake, the
chiefest of them having been the disciples of John, and his
baptism being so much prized there among the Jews, they
also took Christ's baptism, intended by him of the Spirit,
to be that of water, which was John's, and accordingly
practised it for a season ? It suffices us, that if they were

OF BAPTISM. 407
so mistaken, though I say not that they were so, they did
not always remain under that mistake : else Peter would
not have said of the baptism which now saves, " that it is
not a putting away of the filth of the flesh," which certainly
water baptism is.
But further, They urge much Peter's baptizing Cornelius ;
in which they press two things, First, That water baptism
is used, even to those that had received the Spirit. Se
condly, That it is said positively, " he commanded them
to be baptized," Acts x. 47, 48.
But neither of these doth necessarily infer water baptism
to belong to the new covenant dispensation, nor yet to be
a perpetual standing ordinance in the church. For first, whether
all that, this will amount to, was, that Peter at that time ?etfr's
7 ' baptizing
baptised these men ; but that he did it by virtue of that some with
commission, Mat. xxviii., remains yet to be proved. And makes it a
how doth the baptizing with water, after the receiving of ordinance
the Holy Ghost, prove the case, more than the use of cir- to the
cumcision, and other legal rites, acknowledged to have
been performed by him afterwards? Also, it is no wonder
if Peter, who thought it so strange, notwithstanding all that
had been. professed before, and spoken by Christ, that the
Gentiles should be made partakers of the gospel, and with
great difficulty, not without an extraordinary impulse there
unto, was brought to come to them, and eat with them,
was apt to put this ceremony upon them ; which being, as
it were, the particular dispensation of John, the forerunner
of Christ, seemed to have greater affinity with the gospel,
than the other Jewish ceremonies then used by the church ;
but that will no ways infer our adversaries' conclusion.
Secondly, As to these words, "And he commanded them
tb be baptized ;" it declareth matter of fact, not of .right,
and amounteth to no more, than that Peter did at that time,
pro hic # nunc, command those persons to be baptized with
water, which is not denied : but ft saith nothing that Peter
commanded water baptism to be a standing and perpetual
ordinance to the church ; neither can any man of sound
reason say, if he, heed what he says, that a command in

408 PROPOSITION XII.
matter of fact to particular persons, doth infer the thing
commanded to be of. general obligation to all, if it be not
otherwise bottomed upon some positive preeept. Why doth
Peter's commanding Cornelius and his household to be
baptized at that time infer water baptism to continue, more
than his constraining, which is more than commanding,
the Gentiles in general to be circumcised, and observe the
law? We find at that time, when Peter baptized Cornelius,
it was not yet determined whether the Gentiles should not
be circumcised ; but on the contrary, it was the most ge
neral sense of the church that they should : and therefore
no wonder if they thought it needful at that time that they
should be baptized ; which had more affinity with the gos
pel, and was a burthen less grievous.
Obj. 4. § X. Fourthly ; They object from the signification of
the word' baptize, which is as much as to -dip and wash
with water ; alleging thence, that the very word imports a
being baptized with water.
Answ. This objection is very weak. For since baptizing with
water was a rite among the Jews, as Paulus Riccius
Baptizing showeth, even before the coming of John ; and that the
dipping8 or ceremony received that name from the nature of the prac-
washing tice as useci qq^ dv the Jews and by John ; yet we find
with water. ' . J J J „
that Christ and his apostles frequently make use of these
terms to a more spiritual signification. Circumcision was
only used and understood among the Jews to be that of
the flesh ; but the apostle tells us of the circumcision of
the heart and spirit made without hands. " So that though
baptism was used among the Jews only to signify a wash
ing with water, yet both John, Christ, and his apostles,
speak of a being " baptized with the Spirit, and with fire ;"
which they make the peculiar baptism of Christ, as contra
distinguished from that of water, which was John's, as is
above shown. So that though baptism among the Jews
was only understood of water, yet among Christians it is
very well understood of the Sphit without water : as we
see Christ and his apostles spiritually to understand things,
under the terms of what had been shadows before. Thus

OF BAPTISM. 409
Christ, speaking of his body, though the Jews mistook him,
said, " Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise
it up ;" and many more that might be instanced. But if
the etymology of the word should be tenaciously adhered
to, it would militate against most of our adversaries, as
well as against us ; for the Greek Bairl/gw signifies immergo, Barfi^a,'
that is, to plunge and dip in; and that was the proper use ™™^f°'t0
of water baptism among the Jews, and also by John, and p}«r;ge and
the primitive Christians, who used it ; whereas our adver
saries, for the most part, only, sprinkle a little water upon
the forehead,. which doth not at all answer tq the word
baptism. Yea, those of bid among Christians that used Those tnat
water baptism-, thought this dipping or plunging so need-' wa°er bag
ful, that they, thus dipped children: and forasmuch as it Vsm Tered
was judged that it might prove hurtful to some weak con- plunged,
stitutions, sprinkling, to prevent that hurt, was introduced ; that were
yet then it was likewise appointed, that such as were only ?nI? sprin"
sprinkled, and not dipped, should not be admitted to have not admit-
any office in the church, as not being sufficiently baptized. 0ffice°innile
So that if our adversaries will stick to the word, they inust ctmrch, and
' * why.
alter their method of sprinkling.
Fifthly, They object John iii. 5, " Except a man be born Obj. 5.
of water, and of the Spirit," &c, hence inferring the ne
cessity of water baptism, as well as of the Spirit. /
But if this prove any thing, it will prove water baptism Answ.
to be of absolute necessity; and therefore Protestants
rightly affirm, when this is urged upon them by Papists, The water
to evince the absolute necessity of water baptism, that eratesTfs11"
water is not here understood of outward water ; but mysti- mystical
cally, of an inward cleansing and washing. Even as where
Christ speaks of being baptized with fire, it is not to be un
derstood of outward material fire, but only of purifying, by a
metonymy ; because to purify is a proper effect of fire, as to
wash and make clean is of water ; therefore the scripture al
ludes to water, where it can as little be so understood, as where
we are said to be saved by the washing of regeneration, Tit.
iii. 5. Yea, Peter saith expressly, in the place often cited, as *|£ *0ef^£
"Calvin well observes, "That the baptism which saves, is lnstit.,c.i5.
35 3 b

410

PROPOSITION XII.

Object.
Answ.

Necessitas
pro3cepti and medii
urged.

Obj. 6.

Answ.

Circumci
sion a seal
ofthe first
covenant. Water bap
tism falsely
called a
badge of
Christianity-

not the putting away of the filth of the flesh." So that
since water cannot be understood of outward water, this
can serve nothing to prove water baptism.
If it be said, that water imports here necessitates prce-
cepti, though not medii ;
I answer ; That is first to take it for granted that out
ward water is here understood ; the contrary whereof we
have already proved. Next, water and the Spirit are
placed here together, "Except a man be born of water
-and the Spirit,'" where the necessity ofthe one is urged. as
much as of the other. Now if the Spirit be absolutely ne
cessary, so will also water ; and then we must either say,
that to be born of the Spirft is not absolutely necessary,
which all acknowledge to be false ; or else, that water is
absolutely necessary ; which, as Protestants, we affirm, and
have proved, is false : else, we must confess, that water is
not here understood of outward water. For to say that
whenwater and the Spirit are placed here just together,
and in the same manner, though there be not any differ
ence or ground for it visible in the text, or deducible from
it, That the necessity of water is here prcecepti, but not
medii, but the necessity of the Spirit is. both medii and prce
cepti, is indeed confidently to affirm, but not to prove.
Sixthly and lastly ; They object, That the baptism of
water is a visible sign or badge to distinguish Christians
from Infidels, even as circumcision did the Jews.
I answer; Thist saith nothing at all, unless it be proved.
to be a necessary precept, or part of the new covenant dis
pensation; ft not being lawful for us to impose outward
ceremonies and rights, and say, they will distinguish us
from infidels. Circumcision was positively commanded,
and said to be a seal of the first covenant; but as we
have already proved that there is no such command for
baptism, so there is not any word in all the New Testa
ment, calling it a badge of Christianity, or seal of the new
covenant: and therefore to conclude it is so, because cir
cumcision was so, unless some better proof be alleged for
it, is miserably to beg the question. The professing of

OF BAPTISM. 4X1
faith in Christ, and a holy life answering thereunto, is a far Which is
better badge of Christianity than any outward washing ; 0fchri£e
which yet answers not to' that of circumcision, since that tianity-
affixed a character in the flesh, which this doth not : so
that a Christian is not known to be a Christian by" his be
ing baptized, especially when he was a child, unless he
tell them so much : and may not the professing of faith in What the
Christ signify that as well? I know there are divers of ofVaterBay
those called the Fathers, that speak much of water bap- baJf lsf"V
tism, calling it Characterem Christianitatis : butv so did sign of the
they also of the sign of the cross, and other such things,
justly rejected by Protestants. For the mystery of iniquity, Heathenish
which began to work in the apostles' days, soon spoiled toroXced.3
the simplicity and purity of the Christian worship ; inso- J!?'0.th.e
much that not only many Jewish rites were retained, but worship.
many heathenish customs and ceremonies introduced into
the Christian worship ; as particularly that word sacrament.
So that it is a great folly, especially for Protestants, to
plead any thing of this from tradition or antiquity ; for we
find that neither Papists nor Protestants use those rites
exactly as the ancients did ; who in such things, not walk
ing by the most certain rule of God's Spirit, but doting too
much upon externals, were very uncertain. For most of
them all, in the primitive times, did wholly plunge and
dip those they baptized, which neither Papists, nor most
Protestants, do:. yea, several of the Fathers accused some
as heretics in their days, for holding some principles com
mon with Protestants concerning it; as particularly Au
gustine doth the Pelagians, for saying that infants dying
unbaptized may be saved. And the Manichees were con
demned, for denying that grace is universally given by
baptism ; and Julian the Pelagian by Augustine, for deny- Exorcism
ing exorcism and insufflation in the use of baptism :. all °ion.JUr
which things Protestants deny also.' So that Protestants
do but foolishly to upbraid us, as if we could not show
any among the ancients that denied water baptism ; see
ing they cannot show any, whom they acknowledge not to
have been heretical in several things, that used it ; nor yet,

412 PROPOSITION XII.
The sign of who using it, did not also use the sign of the cross, and
the cross. otner tnjngS wjtn jt^ whkh they deny. There were some
Many in nevertheless in the darkest times of Popery, who testified
testified^3 against water baptism. For one Alanus, pag. 103, 104,
against wa- jQ7, speaks of some in his time that were burnt for the
tism. denying of it: for they said, That baptism had no. efficacy,
either in children or adult persons ; _and therefore men
were not obliged to take baptism: particularly ten ca-
nonics, so 'called, were burnt for, that crime, by the order
of king Robert of France. And P. Pithseus mentions ft in
his fragments of the history of Guienne, which is also con
firmed by one Johannes Floracensis, a monk, who was
famous at that time, in his epistle to Oliva, abbot of^the
Ausonian church : " I will," saith he, " give you to under-
Ten canon- stand concerning the heresy that was in the city of Orleans
a/orieans on Childermas-day ; for it was true, if ye have heard any
and why? thing, that king. Robert caused to be' burnt alive near four
teen of that city, of the chief of their clergy, and the more
noble of thejr laics, who were hateful to God, and abomin
able to heaven and earth ; for they did stiffly deny the
grace of holy baptism, and also the consecration of the
Lord's body and blood." The time of this deed' is noted
in these words by Papir. Masson, in his Annals of France,
lib. iii. ; in Hugh and Robert, Actum Aurelice publice anno
Incarnacionis Domini 1022 ; Regni Roberti Regis 28 ; In-
dictione 5, quando Stephanus Hceresiarcha $" Complices ejus
damnati sunt $¦ exusti Aurelice.
Now for their calling them Heretics and.Manicb.ees, we
have nothing but the testimony of their accusers, which
will no more invalidate their testimony for this truth against
the use of water baptism, or give more ground to charge
us, as being one with the Manichees, than because some,
called by them Manichees, do agree with Protestants in
some things, that therefore Protestants are Manichees or
Heretics, which Protestants can no ways shun. For the
question is, Whether,, in what they did, they walked ac
cording to the truth testified of by the Spirit in the holy
scriptures ? So that the controversy is brought back again

OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. 413
to the scriptures, according to which, I suppose, I have
already discussed it. ,
As for the latter part of the thesis, denying the use of The bap-
infant baptism, ft necessarily follows from what is above fa,lB a
said. For if water baptism be ceased, then surely baptiz- ^!"an tra"
ing of infants is not warrantable. But those that^ take
upon them to oppose us in this matter, will have more to
do as to this latter part: for after they have done what
they can to prove water baptism, it remains for them to
prove that infants ought to be baptized. For he that
proves water baptism ceased, proves that infant baptism is
vain : but he that should prove that water baptism con
tinues, has not thence proved that infant baptism is neces
sary ; that needs something further. And therefore it was
a, pitiful subterfuge of Nic. Arnoldus against this, to say,
That the denying of- infant baptism belonged to the, gan
grene of the Anabaptists, without adding any further
proof.

PROPOSITION XIII.
Concerning the Communion, or Participation of the Body
and Blood cf Christ.
The communion ofthe body and blood of Christ is inward 1 Cor. x.
and spiritual, which is the participation of his flesh and jo'hnvi. 32
blood, by which the inward man is daily nourished in 33> 35-
the hearts of those in whom Christ dwells. Of which
things the breaking of bread by Christ with his disciples
was a figure, which even they who had received the sub
stance used in the church for a time, for the sake of the
weak ; even as abstaining from things strangled, and from Acts xy. 20.
blood, the washing one another's feet, and the anointing 14
of the sick with oil: all which are commanded wfth no Jj>raeBV-
- less authority and solemnity than the former ; yet seeing
they are but shadows of better things, they cease in
. such as have obtained the substance.
35*

414

The body
and blood
of Christ is
spiritual.

Object.

Answ.

What the
heavenly seed is,
whereby formerly,
and also
now, life
and salva
tion was
and is com
municated.

PROPOSITION XIII.
§ I. The communion of the body and blood of Christ,
is a mystery hid from all natural men, in their first fallen
and degenerate state; which they cannot understand, reach
to, nor comprehend, as they there abide; neither, as they
there, are, can they be partakers of it, nor yet are they able
to discern the Lord's body; And forasmuch as the Chris
tian world, so called, for the most part hath- been still
labouring, working, conceiving and imagining, in their
own natural and unrenewed understandings, about the
things of God and religion ; therefore hath this mystery
been much hid and sealed up from them, while they have
been contending, quarrelling and fighting one with another
about the mere shadow, outside and form, but strangers to
the substance, life and virtue.
§ II. The body then of Christ, which believers partake
of, is spiritual, and not carnal; and his blood, Which they
drink of, is pure and heavenly, and not human or element
ary, as Augustine alsoaffirms ofthe body of Christ, which
is eaten, in his Tractat., Psal. xcviii., ''Except a man eat
my flesh, he hath not in him life eternal:" and he saith,
" The words which I speak unto you are Spirit and life ;
understand spiritually what I have spoken. Ye shall not
eat of this body which ye see, and drink this blood wljdch
they shall spill, which crucify me — I am the living bread,
who have descended from heaven. He calls himself the
bread, who descended from heaven, exhorting that we
might believe in him," &c.
If it be'asked then, What that body, what that flesh and
blood is ?
I answer ; It is that heavenly seed, that divine, spiritual,
celestial substance, of which we spake before in the fifth
and sixth propositions. This is that spiritual body of
Christ, whereby and through which he communicateth life
to men, and salvation to as many as believe in him, and re
ceive him ; and whereby also man comes to have fellow
ship and communion with God. This is proved from the
6th of John, from verse 32, to the end, where Christ speaks
more at large of this matter, than in any other place : and

OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. 415
indeed this evangelist and beloved disciple, who lay in the
bosom of our Lord, gives us a more full account of the
Spiritual sayings and doctrine of Christ than any other : and
'tis observable, that though he speaks nothing of the cere
mony used by Christ of breaking bread with his disciples,
neither in his evangelical account of Christ's life and suf
ferings, nor in his epistles ; yet he is more large in this
account of the participation of the body, flesh and blood
of Christ, than any of them all. .For Christ, in this chap
ter, perceiving that the Jews did follow him for love of the
loaves, desires them, verse 27, to " labour not for the meat
which .perisheth, but -for that meat which endureth for
ever :" but forasmuch as they, being carnal in their appre
hensions, and not understanding the spiritual language and
doctrine of Christ, did judge the manna, which Moses
gave their fathers, tb be the most excellent bread, as
coming from heaven ; Christ, to rectify that mistake, and
better inform them, affirmeth, First, That it is not Moses,
but his Father, that giveth the true bread from heaven,
vers. 32 and 48. Secondly, This bread he calls himself,
vers. 35, "I am the bread of life:" and vers. 51, "I am
theliving bread, which came down from heaven." Thirdly,
He declares that this bread is his flesh, vers. 51, "The The origin,
bread that I will give, is my flesh ;" and vers. 55, "For effects of
my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed." flhehbody1'
Fourthly, The necessity of partaking thereof, vers. 53, blood of
" Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink n8t'
his blood, ye have no life in you," And lastly, Tbe blessed
fruits and necessary effects of this communion of the body
and blood of Christ, vers. 33, " This bread giveth life to
the world." Vers. 50, He that eateth thereof, dieth
not. "Vers. 58, "He that eateth of this bread shall live
for ever." Vers. 54, Whoso eateth this flesh, and drink
eth this blood, shall live for ever. Vers. 56, And he
dwelleth in. Christ, and Christ in him. Vers. 57, And
shall live by Christ. From this large description of the
origin, nature, and effects of this body, flesh and blood of
Christ, it is apparent that it is spiritual, and to be under-

416 PROPOSITION XIII.
stood of a spiritual body, and not of that body, or temple
ofJesus ChFist,which was born of the Virgin Mary, and
in which he walked, lived, and suffered in the land of
Judea] because it is said, that it came down from heaven,
yea, that it is he that came down from heaven.' Now all
Christians at present generally acknowledge, that the out
ward body of Christ came not down from heaven ; neither
was it that part of Christ which came down from heaven.
And to put the matter out of doubt, when the carnal Jews
would have been so understanding it, he tells them plainly,
ver. 63, "It is the Spirit that quickeneth, but the flesh
Solid rea- profiteth nothing." This is also founded upon most sound
fah^spirit- a"d solid reason; because it is the soul, not the body, that
ual body is to be nourished by this flesh and blood. Now outward
speaks of. flesh cannot nourish nor feed the soul ; there is no propor
tion nor analogy betwixt them ; neither is the communion
of the saints with God by a' conjunction and mutual par-
l Cor. vi. ticipation of flesh, but of the Spirit : " He that is joined
to the Lord is One Spirit," not one flesh. For the flesh (I
mean outward flesh, even such as was that' wherein Christ
lived and walked when upon earth ; and not flesh, when
transformed -by a metaphor, to be understood spiritually)
can only partake of flesh, as spirit of spirit : as the body
cannot feed upon spirit, neither can the spirit feed upon
flesh. And that the flesh here spoken of is spiritually to
be understood, appears further, inasmuch as that which
feedeth upon it shall never die ; but the bodies of all men
once die ; yea, it was necessary that the body of Christ him
self should die. That this body, and spiritual flesh and
blood bf Christ, is to be understood of that divine and hea
venly seed, before spoken of by us, appears both by the
nature and fruits of it. First, it is said, it is that which
cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world :
now this answers to that light and seed, which is testified
This spirit- of, John i., to be the light of the world, and the life
and 'sled is of men. For that spiritual light and seed, as it receives
as bread to place in men's hearts, and room to spring up there, is as
soul. bread to the hungry and fainting soul, that is, as it Were,

OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. 417
buried and dead in "the lusts of the world ; which receives
life again, and revives, as it tasteth and partaketh of this
heavenly bread : and they that partake of it are said to
come to Christ ; neither can any have it, but by coming to
him, andbelieving in the appearance of his light in their
hearts p by receiving which, and believing in it, the parti-
cipation„of this body and bread is known. And that Christ
understands the same thing here by his body, flesh and
blood, which is:understood, John i., by the " light enlight
ening every man," and- the life, &c, appears; for the light
and life, spoken of John i., is said to be Christ; "He is
the true light:" and-the bread and flesh, &c, spoken of in
John vi., is called Christ; "I am the bread of life," saith
he. Again, They that received that light and life, John i.
12, obtained power to become the sons of God, by believ
ing in his name : so also here, John vi. 35, he that
cometh unto this bread of life shall not hunger ; and he that
believes in him, who is this bread, shall never thirst. So
then, as there was the, outward visible body and temple of Christ's
Jesus Christ, which took its origin from the Virgin Mary ; and spirit-
there is also the spiritual body of Christ, by and through 2fetm°dy
which He that was the " Word in the beginning with God," guisned.
and was and is GOD, did reveal himself to the sons of men
in all ages, and whereby men in all ages come to be made
partakers of eternal life, and to have communion ahd
fellowship with God and Christ. Of which body pf Christ,
and flesh and blood, if both Adam, and Seth, and Enoch, The patri-
and Noah, and Abraham, and Moses, and David, and all *at of the
the prophets and holy men of God, had not eaten, they body of
had not had life in them ; nor could their inward man have
been nourished. -Now as the outward body and temple
was called- Christ, so was also his spiritual body, no less
properly,, and that long before that outward body was in
being. Hence the apostle saith, 1 Cor. x. 3, 4, that the
"Fathers did all eat the same spiritual meat, and did all
drink the same spiritual drink : for they drank of that spiritual
rock that followed them, and that rock was. Christ." This
cannot be understood otherwise than of this spiritual body
3c

418 PROPOSITION XIII.
of Christ ; which spiritual body of Christ, though it was
the saving food of the righteous both before the law and
under the law; yet under the law it was veiled and sha
dowed, and covered under divers types, ceremonies, and
observations ; yea, and not only so, but it was veiled and
hid, in some respect, under the outward , temple and; body
of Christ, or during the continuance of it ; so that the Jews
could not understand Christ's preaching about it while on
earth ; and not the Jews only, but many of his disciples,
John vi. 60, judging it a hard saying, murmured at it; arid many
from that time went back from him, and walked no more
with him. I doubt not but that there are many also at
this day, professing to be the disciples of Christ, that do
as little understand this matter as those did, and are as apt
to be offended, and stumble at it, while they are gazing
and following after the outward body, and look not to that
by which the saints are daily fed and nourished. For
, as, Jesus Christ, in obedience to the will of the Father,
did by the eternal Spirit offer up that body for a propitia-
The divine tion for the remission of sins, and finished his testimony
Christ doth upon earth thereby, in a most perfect example of patience,
saints par- resignati°n and holiness, that all might be made partakers
takers of of the fruit of that sacrifice; so hath he likewise poured
forth into the hearts of all men a measure of that divine
light and seed wherewith he is clothed ) that thereby, reach
ing unto the consciences of all,' he may raise them up out
of death and darkness by his life and light, and thereby
may be made partakers of his body, and therethrough
come to have fellowship with the Father and with the Son.
Quest. § III. If it be asked, How and after what manner man
comes to partake of it, and to~be fed by it ?
Answ. I answer- in the plain, and express words of Christ, "I
John vi. 35," ani the bread of life," saith he ; " he that cometh to me
shall never hunger ; he that believeth in me shall never
thirst." And again, "For my flesh is meat indeed, and
my blood is drink indeed." So whosoever thou art that
askest this question, or readest these lines, whether" thou
accountest thyself a believer, or really feelest, by a certain

OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. 419
and sad experience, that thou art yet in the unbelief, and
findestthat the outward body and flesh of Christ is so far
from thee, that thou^canst not reach it, nor feed upon it;
yea, though thou hast often swallowed down and taken in
that which the Papists have persuaded thee to be the real
flesh and blood of Christ, and hast believed it to be so,
though all thy senses told thee the contrary ; or, being a
Lutheran, hast taken that bread, in and with and under The Lu-
which the Lutherans have assured thee that the flesh and the,r?,ns1 .
. ~ . . and Calvin-
blood of Christ is ; or, being a Calvinist, hast partaken of ists' opin-
that which the Calvinists say, though a figure only of the flensh°ande
body; gives them who take it a real participation 'of' the p?0.do.f
body, flesh, and blood of Christ, though they never knew the supper,
how nor what way ; I say, if for all this thou findest thy
soul yet barren, yea, hungry, and ready to starve, for want ,
of something thou longest for ; know that that light that
discovers thy iniquity to thee, that shows thee thy barren
ness, thy nakedness, thy emptiness, is that body which thou
must. partake of, and feed upon: but that till by forsaking
iniquity thou turnest to it, comest unto it, receivest it,
though thou mayest hunger after it, thou canst not be satis
fied with it; for it hath no communion with darkness, 2 Cor.vi. 14.
nor canst thou drink of the cup of the Lord, and the cup
of devils: and, be partaker of the Lord's table, and the
table of devils," 1 Cor. x. 21. But as thou sufferest that
small seed of righteousness to arise in thee, and to be
formed into, a birth; that new substantial birth, that is How the in-
brought forth in the soul, naturally feeds upon and is ^nourish-
nourished by this spiritual body J, yea, as this outward birth ed-
lives not but asrit draws in breath by the outward element
ary air, so this, new birth lives, not in the soul, but as it
draws in and breathes by that spiritual air or vehicle. And
as the outward birth cannot subsist without some outward
body to feed upon, some outward flesh, and some outward
drink, so neither can this inward birth, unless ft be fecf by
this inward flesh and blood of Christ, which answers to it
after the same manner, by way of analogy. And this is
most agreeable to the doctrine of Christ concerning this

420

PROPOSITION XIII.

matter. For as without outward food the natural body
John vi. 53. hath not life, so also saith Christ, ", Except ye eat the flesh
ofthe Son of. man, and -drink his blood, ye have no life in
you." And as .the outward body, eating outward food,
Johnvi. 57. lives thereby, so Christ saith, that he that eateth him shall
live by him. So it is. this inward participation of this in
ward man, of this inward and spiritual body, by which man
is united to God, and has fellowship and communion with
him. "He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood,"
Johnvi. 56. saith Christ, " dwelleth in me, and I in him." This cannot
be understood of outward, eating of outward bread ; and
as by this the soul must have fellowship with God, so also,
so far as all.the saints are partakers of this one body and
one blood,- they come also to have a joint communion.
Hence the apostle, 1 Cor. x. 17, in this respect saith, that
they " being many, are one bread, and one body;" and to
the wise among the Corinthians he saith, " The bread-whiGh
we break is it not the communion of the body of Christ ?"
This is the true and spiritual supper of the Lord, which
men come to partake of, by hearing the voice of Christ,
and opening the door of their hearts, and so letting him in
in the manner abovesaid, according to the plain words of
the scripture, Rev. iii. 20, "Behold I stand at the door
and knock ; if any man hear my voipe, and open the door,
I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with
me." So that the supper of the Lord, and the supping with
the Lord, and partaking of his flesh and blood, is no ways
limited to the ceremony of breaking bread and drinking
wine at particular times, but is truly and really enjoyed^ as
often as the soul retires into the light of the Lord, and feels
and partakes of that heavenly life by which the inward man
is nourished ; which may be and is often witnessed by the "
faithful at all times, though more particularly when fhey are
assembled together to wait upon the Lord.
§tIV. But what confusion the professors of Christianity
have run into concerning this matter, is more' than obvious ;
who, as in -most other things they have done, for want of
a true, spiritual understanding, have sought to tie this sup-

Verse 16.

The true
spiritualsupper df
the Lord.

OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. 421
per of the Lord to that ceremony used by Christ before his Man is not
death, "of breaking bread and drinking wine with his disci- ceremony6
pies. -And though they for the most part agree generally Pf breaking
in this,yet how do they contend and debate one against drinking
another ! How strangely, are they pinched, pained, and chrisrdidh
straitened to make the spiritual mystery agree to that cere- use with his
mony! And what monstrous and wild opinions and con- this only'
captions have they invented, to inclose or affix the body 5ow.aslia"
of Christ to their bread and wine ? From which opinion
not only the greatest, and fiercest, and most hurtful con
tests, both among the professors of Christianity in general,
and among Protestants in particular, have arisen ; but also
such absurdities, irrational and blasphemous consequences
have ensued, as make the Christian religion odious and What
hateful to Jews, Turks, and heathen. The professors of christian
Christianity do chiefly divide in this matter into three nelt,g^ft
opinions. Jews,
The first is of those that say, The substance of the bread heathen.
is transubstantiated into the very substance of that same r^1\e,p/:.u
J . pists faith
body, flesh, and blood of Christ, which was born of the of Christ'a
Virgin Mary, and crucified by the Jews ; so that after the
words of consecration, as they call them, it is no more
bread, but the body of Christ.
The second is of such who say, The substance of the TheLu-
bread remains, but that also that body is in, and with, and faith.
under the' bread ; so that both the substance: of bread, and
ofthe body, flesh, and blood of Christ, is there also.
The third is of those, that, denying both- these do affirm, The Cal-
That the body of Christ is not there corporally or substan- faith.
tially, but yet that it is really and sacramentally received
by the faithful in the use of bread and wine ; but how or
what way it is there, they know not, nor can they tell ; only
we must believe it is there, yet so that ft is only properly
in heaven.
It is not my design to enter into a refutation of these
several opinions ; for each of their authors and assertors
have sufficiently refuted one another, and are all of them
no less -strong both from scripture and reason in refuting
36

422 PROPOSITION XIII.
each their contrary parties' opinion, than they are weak in
establishing their own. For I often have seriously observed,
in reading their respective writings, and so it may be have
others, that all of them do notably, in. so far as they refute
the contrary opinions ; but that they are mightily pained,
when they come to confirm and plead for their own. Hence
I necessarily must conclude, that none of them had attained
to the truth and substance of this mystery. Let us see if
* Inst. lib. Calvin,* after he had refuted the two former opinions, be
iv. cap. . more successfui m what he affirms and asserts for the truth
of his opinion, who, after he hath much laboured in over
turning and refuting the two former opinions, plainly con
fesseth, that he knows not what to affirm instead of them.
For after he has spoken much, and at last concluded
J. Calvin's " that the body of Christ is there, and that the saints must
Christ's needs partake thereof," at last he lands in these words,
flesh and sect_ 32 « But if it be asked me how it is ?'I shall not be
blood un- '
certain. ashamed to confess, that it is a secret too high for me to
comprehend in my spirit, or explain in words." Here he
deals very ingenuously ; and yet who would have thought
that such a man would have been brought to this strait
in the Confirming of his opinion ? . considering that a little
before, in the same chapter, sect. 15, he accuseth the
The like school-men among the Papists, and I confess truly, in that
they neither understand nor explain to others how Christ is
in the eucharist, which shortly after he confesseth himself
he cannot do. If then the school-men among the Papists
do neither understand nor yet explain to others their doc
trine in this matter, nor Calvin can comprehend it in his
spirit, which I judge is as much as not to understand it,
nor express it in words, and then surely he cannot explain
it to others, then no certainty is to be had from either of
them. There have been great endeavours used for recon
cilement in this matter, both betwixt Papists and Lutherans,
Lutherans and Calvinists, yea, and Calvinists and Papists,
but all to no purpose ; and many forms and manners of
expressions drawn up, to which all might yield ; which in
the end proved in vain, seeing every one understood them,

the Papists-

OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. 423
and interpreted them in their own way; and so they did
thereby but equivocate and deceive one another. The
reason of all this contention is, because they had not a
clear understanding of the mystery, and were doting about
shadows and externals. For both the ground and matter
of their contest lies in things extrinsic from, and unneces
sary to, the main matter. And this hath been often the Satan bu-
policy of Satan,_to busy people, and amuse them with out- ^outward
ward signs, shadows, and forms, malting them contend signs, sha-
, ,,-i-, • • i i • dows, and
about that, while in the mean time the substance is ne- forms,
glected ; yea, and in contending for these shadows he stirs ™iect1the
them up to the practice of malice, heat, revenge, and other substance.
vices, by which he established his kingdom of darkness
among them, and ruins the life of Christianity. For there
have been more animosities and heats about this one parti
cular, and more bloodshed and contention, than about any
other. And surely they are little acquainted with the state What hath
of Protestant affairs, who' know not that their contentions ^^0 ^e '
about this have been more hurtful to the reformation than reforma-
all the opposition they met with from their common adver
saries. Now all those uncertain and absurd opinions, and Two errors
the contentions therefrom arising, have proceeded from 0ftne con-
their all agreeing in two general errors concerning this ^outlhe
thing; which being denied and receded from, as they are supper.
by us, there would be an easy <y made for reconciliation,
and we should all meet in one spiritual and true under
standing of this mystery : and as the contentions, so would
also the absurdities which follow from all the three fore-
mentioned opinions, cease and fall to the ground.
The -first of these errors is, in making the communion or
participation of the body, flesh, and blood of Christ to re
late to that outward body, vessel, or temple, that was born
of the Virgin- Mary, and walked and suffered in Judea;
whereas it should relate to the spiritual body, flesh, and
blood of Christ, even that heavenly and celestial light and
life, which was the food and nourishment of the regenerate
in all ages, as we have already proved.
The second error is, in tying this participation of the

424

PROPOSITION XIII.

Believers'souls do
really feed
upon the
flesh and
blood of
Christ.

"I.
That the
communionof the body
and blood
of Christ
has no
special re
lation to
the cere
mony of
breakingbread, nei
ther by na
ture nor
precept.

body and blood of Christ to that ceremony used by him
with his disciples in the breaking of bread, &c, as if it had
only a relation thereto, or were only enjoyed in the use of
that ceremony, which it neither hath nor is. For this is
that bread which Christ in his prayer teaches to call for,
terming it tov a.fov<rp\/ tieiksiov, i. e., the ^super-substantial
bread, as the Greek, hath it, and which the soul partakes of,
without any relation or necessary respect to this ceremony,
as shall be hereafter proved more at length.
These two errors being thus laid aside, andthe conten
tions arising therefrom buried, all are agreed in the main
positions, viz. : First, that the body, flesh, and blood of
Christ is necessary for the nourishing of the soul. Secondly,
that the souls of believers do really and truly partake and
feed upon the body, flesh, and blood of Christ, But while
men are not content with the spirituality of this mystery,
going in their own wills, and according to their own in
ventions, to strain and wrest the scriptures to tie this
spiritual communion of the flesh and blood of Christ to
outward bread and wine, and such like carnal ordinances,
no wonder if by their carnal apprehensions they run into
confusion. , But because it hath been generally supposed
that the communion of the body and blood of Christ had
some special relation to the ceremony of breaking bread,
I shall first refute that opinion, and then proceed to con
sider the nature and use of that ceremony, and whether it
be now necessary to continue ; answering the reasons and
objections of such as plead its continuance as a necessary
and standing ordinance of Jesus Christ.
§ V. First, it must be understood that I speak of a neces
sary and peculiar relation otherwise than in a general re
spect : for inasmuch as our communion with Christ is and
ought to be our greatest and chiefest work, we ought to do
all other things with a respect to God, and our fellowship
with him ; but a special and necessary respect or relation
is such as where the two things are so tied and united
together, either of their own nature, o.r by the command
of God, that the one cannot be enjoyed, or at least is not,

OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. 425
except very extraordinarily, without the other. Thus sal
vation hath a necessary respect to holiness, because " with
out holiness no man shall see God ;" and the eating of the
flesh and blood of Christ hath a necessary respect to our
having life, because if we eat not his flesh, and drink not
his blood, we cannot have life; and our feeling of God's
presence hath a necessary respect to our being found -meet
ing in his name by divine precept, because he has promised
where twa or three are met together in his name, he will
be in the midst of them. In like manner our receiving
benefits and blessings from God has a necessary respect to
our prayer, because if we ask, he hath promised we shall
receive. Now the communion or participation of the flesh
and blood of Christ hath no such necessary relation to the
breaking of bread and -drinking of wine : for if it had any
such necessary relation,' it would either be from the nature
of the thing, or from some divine precept ; but we shall
show it is from neither; therefore, &c.
First, It is not from the nature of ft ; because to partake^
ofthe flesh and blood. of Christ is a spiritual exercise, and
all confess that if is by the soul and spirit that we become
real partakers of it, as it is the soul, and not the body, that
is. nourished by it. But to eat bread and drink wine is a
natural act, which in itself adds nothing to the soul, neither
has any thing that is spiritual in it ; because the most carnal
man that is can as fully, as perfectly, and as wholly eat
bread and drink wine as the most spiritual. Secondly,
Their relation is not by nature, else they would infer one
another; but all acknowledge that many eat of the -bread
and drink of the wine, even that which they say is con
secrate and transubstantiate into the very botly of Christ,
who notwithstanding have not life eternal, have not Christ The patri-
dwelling in them, nor do live by him, as all do who truly prophets,
partake of the flesh and blood of Christ without the use without
r ,' . . . ' this cere-
of this ceremony, as all the patriarchs and prophets did mony'suse,
before this ordinance, as they account it, was instituted, ^takers of
Neither was there any thing under the law that had any Pf1™1'^
direct or necessary relation hereunto ; though to partake blood.
36* 3d

426 PROPOSITION XIII.
of the flesh and blood of Christ in all ages was indispen-
Thepas- sably necessary to salvation. For as for the paschallamb,
it/end!" the whole end of it is signified particularly, Exod. xiii. 8,
9, to wit, That the Jews might thereby be kept in remem
brance bf their deliverance out of Egypt.
Secondly, It hath not relation by divine precept ; for if
it had, it would be mentioned in that which our adver
saries account the institution of it, or else in the practice
of it by the saints recorded in scripture ; but so it is not.
For as to the institution, or rather narration, of Christ's
practice in this matter, we have it recorded by the evan
gelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In the first two there
Mat. xxvi. is only an account of the matter of fact, to wit, That
Mark xiv. Christ brake bread, and gave it his disciples to eat, say-
^2- .. ing, "This- is my body ;" and blessing the cup, he gave it
19. ' them to drink, saying, " This is my blood ;" but nothing of
The insti- any desire to them to do it. In the last, after the bread
the supper, (but before the blessing, or. giving them the wine), he bids
°l "a"?tl,on them do it in remembrance of him. What we are to
of Christ s , . ¦ .
practice think of this practice of Christ shall be spoken of hereafter.
t erem. -g^ wjjat necessarv relation hath all this to the believers
partaking of the flesh and blood of Christ ? The end of this
for which they were to do it, if at all, is to remember
Christ ; which the apostle yet more particularly expresses,
1 Cor. xi. 26, " to show forth the Lord's death ;"" but to
remember the Lord, or declare his death, which are the
special and particular ends annexed to the use of this cere
mony, is not at all to partake of the flesh and blood of
Christ ; neither have they any more necessary relation to it
than any other' two different spiritual duties. For though
they that partake of the flesh and blood of Christ cannot
but remember him, yet the Lord and his death may be re
membered, as none can deny, where his flesh and blood is
not truly partaken of. So that since the very particular
and express end of this ceremony may be witnessed, to
wit, the remembrance of the Lord's death, and yet the
flesh and blood of Christ not partaken of, it cannot have
had any necessary relation to it, else the partaking thereof

OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. 427
would have been the end of it, and could not have been
attained without this participation. But on the contrary,
we may well infer hence, that since the positive end of this
ceremony is not the partaking of the flesh and blood of
Christ; and that whoever partakes of the flesh and blood
of Christ cannot but remember him, that therefore such
need not this ceremony to put them in remembrance of
him. But if it be said, That Jesus Christ calls the bread here Object.
his body, and the wine his blood, therefore he seems to
have had a special relation to his disciples partaking of his
flesh and blood in the use of this thing ;
I answer, His calling the bread his body, and the wine Answ.
his blood", would yet infer no such thing; though it is not
denied but that Jesus Christ, in all things he did, yea, and
from the use of all natural things,- took occasion to raise
the minds of his disciples and hearers to spirituals. Hence
from the woman of Samaria her drawing water, he took The wo-
occasion to tell her of that living water, which " whoso ™aria° *"
drinketh of shall never thirst;" which indeed is all one Jocn iv- 14-
with his blood here spoken of; yet it will not follow that
that well or water had any necessary relation to the living The well,
water, or the living water to it, &c. So Christ takes occa- *jje !oav j8'
sion, from the Jews following him for the loaves, to tell and wine,
them of this spiritual bread and flesh of his body, which takes occa-
was more necessary for them to feed upon ; it will not sion from,
J 4 ' to show tha
therefore follow that their following- him for the loaves had inward
f A'
any necessary relation thereunto. So also Christ here, -""''
being at supper with his disciples,, takes occasion, from the
bread and wine which was before them, to signify unto
them, That as that bread which he brake unto them, and
that wine which he blessed and gave. unto them, did con
tribute to the preserving and nourishing of their bodies, so
was he also to give his body and shed his blood for the
salvation of their souls. And therefore the very end pro
posed in this ceremony to those that observe it is, to be a
memorial ofhis death.
But if it be said, That the apostle, 1 Cor. x. 16, calls

428 PROPOSITION XIII.
the bread which he brake the communion of the body of
Christ, and the cup. the communion of his blood ;
I do most willingly subscribe unto it ; but .do deny that
this is understood of the outward bread, neither can it be
evinced, but the contrary is manifest from the context:
for the apostle in this chapter speaks not one word of that
ceremony; for having in the beginning of it shown them
how the Jews of old were made partakers of the spiritual
food and water, which was Christ, and how several of
them, through disobedience and idolatry, fell from that
good condition, he exhorts them, by the example of those
Jews whom God destroyed of old, to" flee those evils ;
showing them that they, to wit, the Corinthians, are like
wise partakers of the body and blood of Christ; of which
communion they would rob themselves if they did evil,
because "they could not drink ofthe cup ofthe Lord and
the cup of devils, and partake of the Lord's table and the
table of devils," ver. 21, which shows that he understands
not here the using of outward bread and wine ; because
those that do drink the cup of devils, and eat of the table
The wick- of devils, yea, the wickedest of men, may partake of the
take'the^ outward bread- and outward wine. For there the apostle
outward cans the bread one, ver. 17, and he saith, " We being
bread and ' , , . 7 . , . ' „ - °
wine. many, are ofte bread, and one body ; for we are all par
takers of that one bread." Now if the bread be one, it
cannot be the outward, or the inward would be excluded ;
whereas it cannot be denied but that it is the partaking of
the inward bread, and not the outward, that, makes the
saints truly one body and one bread. And whereas they
The sacra- say, that the one bread here comprehendeth both the out-
union pre- war(l ancl in.warcl, by virtue of the sacramental union ; that
tended, a indeed is to affirm, but not to prove. As for that figment
of a sacramental union, I find not such a thing in all the
scripture, especially in the New Testament ; nor is there
any thing cart give a rise for such a thing in this chapter,
where the apostle, as is above observed, is not at all treat
ing of that ceremony, but only, from the excellency of that
privilege which the Corinthians had, as believing Chris-

OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. 429
tians, to partake of the flesh and blood of Christ, dehorts
them from idolatry, and partaking of the sacrifices offered
to idols, so -as thereby to offend or hurt their weak brethren.
But that which they most of all cry out for in this mat- Object.
ter, and are always urging, is from 1 Cor. xi,, where the
apostle is particularly treating of this matter, and therefore,
from some words here, they have the greatest appearance
of truth for their assertion, as ver. 27, where he calls the
cup the " cup of the Lord ;" and saith, " That they who
eat of it and. drink ft unworthily, are guilty of the body and
blood of the Lord ;" and ver. 29, Eat and drink their
own damnation ; intimating hence, that this hath an im
mediate ormecessary relation to the body, flesh, and blood
of Christ.
- Though this at first view may catch the unwary reader, answ.
yet being well considered, it doth no ways evince the mat
ter in controversy. As for the Corinthians being in the
use of this ceremony, why they were so, and how that
obliges not Christians now to the same, shall be spoken of
hereafter : it suffices at this time to consider that they were
in the use of ft. Secondly, That in the use of it they were
guilty of and committed divers abuses. Thirdly, That the
apostle here is giving them directions how they may do it
aright, in showing them the right and proper use and end
of it.
These things .being premised, let it be observed, that the
very express and particular use of it, according to the
apostle, is " to show forth the Lord's death," &c. But
to show forth the Lord's death, and partake of the flesh
and blood of Christ, are different things. He saith not,
As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye par
take of the body and blood of Christ; but, " ye show forth
the Lord's death." So I acknowledge that this ceremony,
by those that practise it, hath an immediate relation to the
outward body and death of Christ upon the cross, as being
properly a memorial of it ; but it doth not thence follow
that it hath any inward or immediate relation to believers
communicating or partaking of the spiritual body and blood

430 PROPOSITION XIII.
of Christ, or that spiritual supper spoken, of Rev. iii. 20.
For though,~in a general way, as every religious action in
some respect hath a common -relation to the spiritual com
munion of the saints with God, so we shall not deny but
this hath a relation as others. Nowfor his calling the cup
"the cup of the Lord," and saying, They are guilty of
the body and blood of Christ, and eat their own damna
tion in not discerning the Lord's -body, &c, I answer,
That this infers no more necessary relation than any othei
religious act, and amounts to no more than this, That since
the Corinthians were in the use of this ceremony, and so
performed ft as a religious act, they -ought to do it worthily,
or else they should bring condemnation upon themselves.
Now this will not more infer the thing so practised by them
to be a necessary religious act obligatory upon others, than
when the apostle saith, Rom. xiv. 6, "He that regardeth
the day, regardeth ft unto the Lord," it can be thence in
ferred that the days that some esteemed and observed did
lay an obligation upon others to do the same. But yet, as
he that esteemed a day, and placed conscience in keeping
it, was to regard ft to the Lord, and so it was to him, in
so far as he dedicated it unto the Lord, the Lord's day, he
was to do it worthily. ; and if iie did it unworthily, he
would be guilty of the Lord's day, and so keep ft to his
own damnation ; so also such as observe this ceremony of
bread and wine, it is to them the bread of the Lord, and
the cup 6f the Lord, because they use it as a religious
act ; and forasmuch as their end therein is to show forth
the Lord's death, and remember his-body that was cruci
fied for them, and his blood that was shed for them, if,
notwithstanding, they believe it is their duty to do it, and
make it a matter of conscience to forbear, if they do it
without that due preparation and examination which every
religious act ought to be performed in, then, instead of
truly remembering the Lord's death, and his body and his
blood, they render themselves guilty of it, as being in one
spirit with those that crucified him, and shed his blood,
though pretending with thanksgiving and joy to remember

OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. 431
it. Thus the Scribes and Pharisees of old, though in me- The Phan-
mory of the prophets they garnished their sepulchres, yet olrtif blqod
are said by Christ to be guilty of their blood. And that °{the Pr°-
no more can be hence inferred, appears from another, say
ing ofthe same apostle, Rom. xiv. 23, "He that doubteth
is, damned if he -eat," &c, where he, speaking of those
that judged it unlawful to eat flesh, &c, saith, If they
eat doubting, they eat their own damnation. Now it is
manifest from all this, that either the doing or forbearing
of this was to another, that placed no conscience in it, of
no moment. So I say, he that eateth that which in his
conscience he is persuaded it is not lawful for him to eat,
doth eat his own damnation ; so he also that placeth con
science in eating bread and wine as a religious act, if he
do it unprepared, and without that due respect wherein
such acts should be gone about, he eateth and drinketh
his own damnation, not discerning the Lord's body, i. e.,
not minding what he doth, to wit, with a special respect
to the Lord, and by way of special' commemoration of the
death of Christ.
§ VI. Havirig. now sufficiently shown what the true com
munion of the body and blood of Christ is, how itis par
taken of, and how it has no necessary relation to that cere
mony of bread ahd wine used by Christ with his disciples :
it is fit now to consider the nature and constitution of that II.
Whether
ceremony (for as to the proper use of it, we have had this cere-
occasion to speak before), whether it be a standing: ordi- mony De a
r ¦" _ ° . necessary
nance in the church of Christ obligatory upon all, or in- part of the
deed whether it be any necessary. part. of the worship of nant, and"
the new covenant dispensation, or hath any better pr more obllgat°ry.
binding foundation than several other ceremonies appointed
and practised about the same time, which the most of our
opposers acknowledge to be ceased, and now no ways
binding upon Christians. We find this ceremony only
mentioned in scripture in four places, to wit, Matthew,
Mark, and Luke, and by Paul to the Corinthians. If any
would infer any thing from the frequency of the mention
ing of it, that will add nothing : for it being a matter of

432

PROPOSITION XIII.

Matt. xxvi.
26. Mark xiv.
22. Luke xxii.
19.1 Cor. xi.
23, &c.

The break
ing of bread
was no
singular thing, but a
customamong the
Jews. ,
P. Riccius.

What it is
to do this
in remem
brance of
Christ.

fact, is therefore, mentioned by the evangelists ; and there
are other things less memorable as often, -yea, oftener men
tioned. Matthew and Mark give only an account of the
matter of fact, without any precept to do so afterwards ;
simply declaring, that Jesus at that time did desire them to
eat of the bread, and drink of the cup; to which Luke
adds these words, " This db in remembrance of me." If
we consider this action of Christ with his apostles, there
will appear nothing singular in it for a foundation tp such
a strange superstructure as many in their airy imaginations
have sought to. build upon it: for both Matthew and Mark
express it as an act done by him as he was eating. Mat
thew saith, "And as they were eating ;" and Mark, "And
as4hey did eat, Jesus took bread," &c. . Now this act was
no singular thing, neither any solemn institution of a gospel
ordinance; because it was a constant custom among the
Jews, as Paulus Riccius obserVes-at length in his Celestial
Agriculture, that when they did eat the passover, the mas
ter of the family did take bread, and bless it, and breaking
it, gave of it to the rest ; and likewise taking wine, did the
same ; so that there can nothing further appear in this, than
that Jesus Christ, who fulfilled all righteousness, and also
observed the Jewish feasts and customs, used this also
among his disciples only, that as in most other things he
laboured to draw their minds to a further thing, so in the
use- of this he takes occasion. to put thein in mind of his
death and sufferings, which were shortly "to be; which he
did the oftener inculcate unto them, for' that " they were
averse from believing it. And as for that expression of
Luke, "Do this in remembrance of me, "it will amount to
no more than this, that being the last time that Christ did
eat with his disciples, he desired them, that in their eating
and drinking they might have regard to him, and by the
remembering of that opportunity, be the more stirred" up
to follow him diligently through sufferings and death, &c.
But what man of reason, laying aside the prejudice of
education, and the influence of tradition, will say, that this
account of the matter of fact given by Matthew and Mark,

OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. 433
or this expression of Luke, to " do that in remembrance
of him," will amount to these consequences, which the
generality of Christians have sought to draw from it;
as calling it, Augustissimum Eucharistice Sacramentum;
venerabile altaris Sacramentum; the principal seal of the
covenant of grace, by which all the benefits of Christ's
death are sealed to believers j and such like things ? But
to give a further evidence, how these consequences have
not any bottom from the practice of that ceremony, nor
from the words following, " do this," &c, let us consider
another of the like nature, as it is at length expressed by
John, chap. xiii. 4, 5, 8, 12, 14, 15 : " Jesus riseth from Christ's
supper, and laid aside his garments, and took a towel, and feet audits
girded himself: after that, he poureth water into a bason, manner re-
and began to wash the disciples' feet; and to wipe them
with the towel wherewith he was girded : Peter said unto
him, Thou shalt never wash my feet: Jesus answered him,
If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. So after
he had washed their feet, he said, Know ye what I have
done to you ? If I then your Lord and Master have
washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's
feet: for I have given you an example, that ye should do
as I have done to you." As to which, let it be observed,
that John relates this passage to have been done at the
same time with the other of breaking bread ; both being Cpmpared
done the night of the passover, after supper. If we re- breaking 0f
gard the narration of this, and the circumstances attend- bread.
ing it, it was done with far more solemnity, and prescribed
far more punctually and particularly than the former. It
is said only, " As he was eating, he took bread ;" so that
this would seem to be but ah occasional business ; but
here he rose up, he laid by his garments, he girded him
self, he poured out the water, he washed their feet, he
wiped them with a towel ; he did this to all of them ; which
are circumstances surely far more observable than those
noted in the other. The former was a practice common
among the Jews, used by all masters of families upon that
occasion ; but this, as to the manner, and person acting it,
37 3e

434 PROPOSITION XIII.
to wit, for the master to rise up, arid wash the feet of his
servants arid disciples, was more singular and observable.
In the breaking of bread, and giving of wine, it is not
pleaded by our adversaries, nor yet mentioned in the text,
that he particularly put them into the hands of all ; but
breaking it, and blessing it, gave it the nearest, and so
they from hand to hand; but here it is mentioned, that he
washed not the feet of one or two, but of many. He saith
not in the former, that if they do not eat of that bread, and
drink of that wine, they shall be prejudiced by ft ; but
here he saith expressly to Peter, that if he wash him not,
he hath no part, with him ; which being spoken upon Peter'st
refusingto let him wash his feet, would seem to import no
less, than not the continuance only, but even the necessity.
of this ceremony. In the former he saith, as it were pass
ingly, Do this in remembrance of me ; but here he ,sitteth
down again, he desires them to consider what he hath
done, tells them positively, that as he hath done to them,
so ought they to do to one another ; and yet again, he re-
The wash- doubles that precept, by telling them, he has given them
otL°"s feet an example, that they should^ do so likewise. If we re-
was left as spect the nature of the thing, it hath as much in it as either
' baptism or the breaking of bread ; seeing it is an outward
element of a cleansing nature, applied to the outward man,
by the' command and the example of Christ, to signify an
inward purifying. I would willingly propose this seriously
to men, who will be pleased to make use of that reason
and understanding that God hath given them, and not be
imposed upon, nor abused by the custom or tradition of
others ; Whether this ceremony, if we respect either the
time that it was appointed in, or the circumstances where
with it was performed, or the command enjoining the use
of it* hath not as much to recommend it for a standing
ordinance of the gospel, as either water baptism, or bread
and wine, or any other of that kind? I wonder then what
reason the Papists can give,, why they have not numbered
it among their sacraments, except merely Voluntas Eccle-
sice and Traditio Patrum.

OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. 435
But if they say, That ft is used among them, in that the Object.
Pope, and some other persons among them, use to do ft
once a year to some poor people ;
I would willingly know' what reason they have why this Answ.
should not be extended to all, as well as that of the eucha
rist, as they term it, or whence it appears from the text,
that " Do this in remembrance of me," should be inter
preted that the bread and wine were every day to be taken
by all priests, or the bread every day, or every week, by
the people ; and that that other command of Christ, " Ye
ought to do as I have done to you," &c, is only to be
understood ofthe Pope, or some other persons,, to be done
only to a few, and that once a year ? Surely there can be
no other reason for this difference assigned from the text.
And as to Protestants, who use not this ceremony at all, The Pro-
if they will but open their eyes, they may see how that by ne0st'™e3Use
custom and tradition they are abused in this matter, as washing of
were their fathers in divers Popish traditions. For if we
look into the plain scripture,, what can be thence inferred
to urge the one, which may not be likewise pleaded for
the other; or for laying aside the one, which may-not be
likewise said against the continuance of the other ? If they
say, That the former, of, washing the feet, was only a cere
mony ; what have they, whence they can show, that this
breaking of bread is more ? If they say, That the former
was only a sign of humility and purifying ; what have tbey
to prove that this was more ? If they say, That one was
only for a time, and was no evangelical ordinance ; what
hath this to make it such, that the other wanted ? Surely
there is no way of reason to -evade this ; neither can any
thing be alleged, that the one should cease, and not the
other; or the one continue,, and not the other, but the
mere opinion ofthe affirmers ; which by custom, education
and tradition, hath begotten in the- hearts of people a
greater reverence for, and esteem of the one than the other ;
which if it had fallen out to be as much recommended to
us by tradition, would no doubt have been as tenaciously
pleaded for, as having no lessibundation in scripture. But

436

PROPOSITION XIII.

The break
ing of bread
not used
now in the
same man
ner as
Christ did.

Object.

Answ.

Object.

Answ.The break
ing of bread
was a Jew
ish cere
mony.

since the former, to wit, the washing bf one another's feet,
is justly laid aside, as not binding upon Christians ; so
ought also the other for the same reason.
§ VII. But it is strange that those who are so clamor
ous for this ceremony, and stick so much to it, take liberty
to dispense with the manner or method that Christ did it
in ; since none that ever I could hear of, except some
Baptists, who now do it, use it in the same way that he
did: Christ did it at supper, while they were eating; but
the generality of Protestants do it in the morning only by
itself. What rule walk they by in this change ?
If it be said, These are but circumstances, and not the
matter; and, if the matter be kept to, -the alteration of cir
cumstances is but of small moment ;
What if it should be said the whole is but a circum
stance, which fell out at that time when Christ eat the pass-
oVer ? ' For if we have regard to that which alone can be
pleaded for an institution, viz., these words, " Do this in re
membrance of me ;" it doth as properly relate to themanner
as matter. For what may or can they evince in reason, that
these words, " Do this," only signify eat bread, and drink
wine, but it is no matter when ye eat, no.r how ye eat it ;
and not as ye have seen me eat it at supper with you, who
take bread, and break it, and give it you ; and take the
cup, and bless it, and give it you ; so do ye likewise ?
And seeing Christ makes no distinction in those words, "Do
this," it cannot be judged in reason but to relate to the
whole ; which if it do, all those that at present use this
ceremony among Christians, have not yet obeyed this pre
cept, nor fulfilled this institution, for all theirolamours con
cerning it.
If it be said, That the time and manner of doing it by
Christ was but accidentally, as being after the Jewish pass-
over, which was at supper ;
Besides that it may be answered, and easily proved, that
the whole was accidental, as being the practice of a Jew
ish ceremony, as is above Observed ; may it not the same
way be urged, that the drinking of wine was accidental, as

OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. 437
being the natural product of that country ; and so be
pleaded, that in those countries where wine doth not grow,
as in our nation of Scotland, we may make use of beer or
ale in the use of this ceremony ; or bread made of other
grain than that which Christ used ?. And yet would not
our adversaries judge this an abuse, and not- right perform
ing of this sacrament ? Yea, have not-, scruples of this
kind occasioned no little contention among the professors
of Christianity ? What great contest and strife hath been Contests
betwixt the Greek and Latin churches concerning the the^Greek
bread ? While the one will have it unleavened, reckon- a"d L,atln
i ¦ churches,
ing, because the Jews made use of. unleavened bread in concerning
the passover, that it was such kind of bread that Christ did ed^nd^n-"
break to his disciples; the other leavened: therefore the }eave,neci .
. « . . bread in the
Lutherans make use of unleavened bread, the Calvinists supper.
of leavened. And this contest was so hot, when the refor
mation was beginning at Geneva, that Calvin and Farellus Farellus.
were forced to fly for it. But do not Protestants, by these
uncertainties, open a door to Papists for their excluding
the people from the cup ? Will not." Do this" infer posi
tively, that they should do it in tlie same manner, and at
the same time, as Christ did it ; as weU as that they should
use the cup, and not the bread only? Or what reason
have they to dispense with the one, more than the Papists
have to do with the other ? Oh ! what strange absurdities
and inconveniences have Christians brought upon them
selves, by superstitiously adhering to this ceremony ! Out
of which difficulties it is impossible for them to extricate
themselves, but by laying it aside, as they have done others
of the like nature. For besides what is above mentioned, The clergy
I would gladly know how from the words they can be cer- breadf do
tainly resolved that these words " Do this" must be under- b!essalld
J . d give it : the
stood to the clergy, Take, bless, and break this bread, and laity must
give it to others ; but to the laity only, Take and eat, but eatfnot
do not bfess, &c. bless u-
If it be said, That the clergy were only present ; Object.
Then will not that open a door for the Popish argument Answ.
against the administration of the cup to the people ? Or
37*

438 PROPOSITION XIII.
may not another from thence as easily infer, that the
clergy only ought to partake of this ceremony ; because
they were the apostles only then present, to whom it was
said, Do this?. But if this [Do this] be extended to all,
how comes it all have not liberty to obey it, in both bless
ing, breaking, and distributing, as well as taking and
Hot con- eating? Besides all these, even the Calvinist Protestants
the manner °f Great Britain could never yet accord among themselves
of taking it, about the manner of- taking it, whether sitting, standing,
whom to or kneeling ; whether it should be given to the sick, and
give ' * those that are ready to die, or not ? Which controversies,
though they may be esteemed of small moment, yet have
greatly contributed, with other things, to be the occasion
not only of much contention, but also of bloodshed and
devastation ; so that in this last respect the Prelatic Cal
vinists have termed the Presbyterians schismatical and per
tinacious ; and they them again superstitious, idolatrous,
and papistical. Who then, that will Open their eyes, but
may see that the devil hath stirred up this contention and
zeal, to busy men about things of small moment, that
greater matters may be neglected, while he keeps them in
such ado about this ceremony ; though they lay aside others
of the like nature, as positively commanded, and as punc
tually practised ; and from the observation of which half
so many difficulties will not follow ?
§ VIII. How then ? Have we not reason, not finding
the nature of this practice to be obligatory upon us, more
than those others which our adversaries have laid aside, to
avoid this confusion ; since those that use ft can never
agree, neither concerning the nature, efficacy, nor manner
of doing it ? And this proceeds, because they take it not
plainly, as it lies in the scripture ; but have so much inter
mixed their own inventions. For would they take it as it
lies, it would import no more, than that Jesus Christ at
that time did thereby signify unto them, that his'body and
blood was to be offered for them; and desired them, that
whensoever they did eat or drink, they might do it in re
membrance of him ; or with a regard to him, whose blood

OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. 439
was shed for them. Now that the primitive church, gather
ed immediately after his ascension, did so understand it,
doth appear fromtheir use and practice, if we admit those By break-
places of the Acts where breaking of bread is spoken of, }hev had^ll
to have relation hereto ; which as our adversaries do, so things in
we shall willingly agree to : as first, Acts ii. 42, "And they remember-
continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellow- Lfrdhe
ship, and in breaking" of bread," &c. This cannot be un
derstood of any other than of their ordinary eating ; for as
nothing- else appears from the text, so the context makes it
plain ; for they had all things in common : and therefore it
is said, vers. 46, "And they continuing daily with one
accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to
house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of
heart." Those who will not wilfully close their eyes, may
see here, that the breaking being joined with their eating,
shows, that nothing else is here expressed, but that having
all things in common, and so continuing together, they
also did break their bread, and eat their meat together: in
doing whereof, I cannot doubt but they remembered the
Lord; to follow whom they had, with, so much zeal and
resignation, betaken themselves. This is further manifest
from Acts vi. 2, for the apostles, having the care and dis
tribution of that money, which the believers, having sold
their possessions, gave unto them, and finding themselves
overcharged with that burthen, appointed deacons for that Deacons
business, that they might give themselves continually to forPeerving
prayer, and to the ministry of the word ; not leaving that, tables.
to serve tables. This cannot be meant of any sacramental
eating, or religious act of worship ; seeing our adversaries
make the distributing of that the proper act of ministers,
ftot of deacons : and yet there can be no reason alleged,
that that breaking of bread, which they are said to have
continued in, and to have done from house to house, was
other than those tables which the apostles served ; but here
gave over, as finding themselves overcharged with it. Now
as the increase of the disciples did incapacitate the apostles
any more to manage this ; so it would seem their further

440

PROPOSITION XIII.

At Troas
the supper
deferred till
midnight.

They only
did eat for
refreshingthe body.

By some
called a
love-feast.

increase, and dispersing in divers places, hindered the con
tinuance of that practice of having things in common : but
notwithstanding, so far at least to remember or continue
that ancient community they did at certain times come to
gether, and break bread together. Hence it is said, Acts
xx. 7, on Paul's coming to Troas, that " upon the first day
of the week, when the disciples, came together to break
bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the
morrow, and continued his speech-until midnight." Here
is no mention made -of any sacramental eating ; but only
that Paul took occasion from their being together to preach
unto them; And it seems it was a supper they intended,
not a morning bit of bread, and sup of wine, ejse it is not
very probable that Paul would from the morning have
preached until midnight. But the 11th verse puts the
matter out of dispute, which is thus : " When he therefore
was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and
talked a long while, even till break of day, so he depart
ed." This shows, that the breaking of bread was deferred
till that time ; for these words [and when he had broken
bread, and eaten] do show, that it had a relation to the
breaking of bread before mentioned, and that that was the
time he did ft. Secondly, These words jqined together
[and when he had broken bread, and eaten, and talked]
show, it was no religious act of worship, but only an eating
for bodily refreshment, for which the Christians used to
meet together some time ; and doing it in God's fear, and
singleness of heart, doth notwithstanding difference it from
the eating or feasting of profane persons. And this by some
is called a love-feast, or a being together, aot merely to
feed their bellies, or for outward ends ; but to take thence
occasion to eat and drink together, in the dread and pre
sence of the Lord, as his people ; which custom we shall
not condemn. But let it be observed, that in all the Acts
there is no other nor further mention of this matter. But
if that ceremony had been some solemn sacrifice, as some
will have it, or such a special sacrament as others plead it
to be ; it is strange that that history, which in many less

OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. 441
things gives a particular account of the Christians' beha
viour, should have been so silent in the matter : only we
find, that they used sometimes to meet together to break
bread, and eat. Now as the early Christians began by de- TheChris-
grees to depart from that primitive purity and simplicity, 'lan? began
so did they also to accumulate superstitious traditions, and to depart
vitiate the innocent practices of their predecessors, by the primitive
intermixing either of Jewish or heathenish rites ; and like- Pu"ty.
wise in the use of this, abuses began very early to creep in
among Christians, so that it was needful for the apostle
Paul to reform them, and reprove them for it, as he doth
at large, 1 Cor. xi., from vers. 17, to the end : which place l Cor. xi.
we shall particularly examine, because our adversaries lay concerning
the chief stress of their matter upon it; and we shall see the supper
T of the Lord
whether it will infer any more than we have above granted, (so called)
First, Because they were apt to use that practice in a super- exPlaine<1,
stitious mind beyond the true use of it, so as to make of it
some mystical supper of the Lord, he tells them, vers. 20,
That their " coming together into one place, is not to eat
the Lord's supper;" he saith not, This is- not the right
manner to eat; but, "This is not to eat the Lord's sup
per;" because the supper of the Lord is spiritual, and a
mystery. Secondly, He blames them, in that they came
together for the worse, and not for the better ; the reason
he gives of this is, vers. 21, " For in eating every one hath
taken before his own supper ; and one is hungry, and an
other is drunken." Here it is plain that the apostle con
demns them in that, because this custom of supping in why the
general was used among Christians to increase their love, supplne'in
and as a memorial of Christ's supping wfth the disciples, common
they had so vitiated it, as to eat if apart, and to come full, among
who had_ abundance; and hungry, who had little at home; chnstians-
whereby the very use and end of this practice was lost and
perverted : and therefore he blames them, -that they did not
either eat this in common at home ; or reserve their eating
till, they came all together to the public assembly. This
appears plainly by the following vers. 22 : " Have ye not
houses to eat and drink in ? Or despise ye the church of
3f

442

PROPOSITION XIII.

The rise
of that
custom.

That Las
often] im
ports no
command of this
supper. Object.

God, and shame them that have not?" Where he blames
them for their irregular practice herein, in that they despised
to eat orderly, or reserve their eating to the public assem
bly ; and so shaming such as not having houses, nor fulness
at home, came to partake, of the common table; who, be
ing hungry, thereby were ashamed, when they observed
others come thither full and drunken. Those that without
prejudice will look to the place, will see this must have
been the case among the Corinthians : for supposing the
use of this to have been then, as now used either by Pa
pists, Lutherans, or Calvinists, it is hard making sense of
the apostle's words, or indeed to conceive what was the
abuse the Corinthians committed in this thing: .Having
thus observed what the apostle said above, because this
custom of eating and drinking together some time, had its
rise from Christ's act with the apostles, the night he was
betrayed ; therefore the apostle proceeds, vers. 23, to give
them an account of that : " For I have received of the Lord
that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus,
the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread," &c.
Those that understand the difference betwixt a narration
of a thing, and a command, cannot but see, if- they will,
that there is no command in this place, but only an account
of matter of fact ; he saith not, I received of the Lord, that
as he took bread, so I should command it to you to do so
likewise ; there is nothing, like this in the place : yea, on
the contrary, vers. 25, where he repeats Christ's imperative
words to his apostles, he placeth them so as they import no
command ; " This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remem
brance of me :" and then he adds, " For as often as ye eat
this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death
till he come :" but these words " as often" import no more
a, command, than to say, As often as thou goest to Rome,
see the Capitol, will infer a command to me to go thither.
But whereas they urge the last words, " Ye show forth
the Lord's death till he come ;" insinuating, That this Im
ports a necessary continuance of that ceremony, until Christ
come at the end of the world to judgment ;

OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. 443
I answer ; They take two of the chief parts of the con- Answ.
troversy here for granted, without proof. First, that " as
often" imports a command ; the contrary whereof is shown ;
neither will they ever be able to prove it. Secondly, That Christ's
this coining is to be understood of Christ's last outward and inward
coming, and not of his inward and spiritual, that remains comins-
to be proved : whereas the apostle might well understand
it of his inward coming and appearance, which perhaps
some of those carnal Corinthians} that used to come drunken
together, had not yet known ; and others, being weak
among them, and inclinable to dote upon outwards, this
might have been indulged to them for a season, and even
used by those who knew Christ's appearance in Spirit (as
other things were, of which we shall speak hereafter),
especially by the apostle, who became weak to the weak,
and all to all, that he might save some. Now those weak To remem-
and carnal Corinthians might be permitted the use of this, death tdlha
to show forth, or remember Christ's death, till he came to corne.to ,
, - , , , , , ... arise in the
arise in them ; for though such need those outward things heart.
to put them in mind of Christ's death, yet those who are
dead with Christ, and not only dead with Christ, but
buried, and also arisen with him, need not such signs to
remember him : and to such therefore the apostle saith,
Col. iii.- 1, " If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those
things which are above; where Christ sitteth on the right
hand of God :" but bread and wine are not those things
that are above, but are things of the earth. But that this
whole matter was a mere act of indulgence and condescen
sion ofthe apostle Paul to the weak and carnal Corinthians,
appears yet more by the Syriac* copy, which, vers. 17, in
his entering upon this matter, hath it thus ; " In that con
cerning which I am about to command you (or instruct
you) I commend you not, because ye have not gone for
ward, but are descended unto that which is less, or of less
consequence :" clearly importing that the apostle was
grieved that such was their condition, that he was forced
* And likewise the other Oriental versions, as the Arabic and jEthio-
pic, have it the same way.

444 PROPOSITION XIII.
to give them instructions concerning those outward things ;
and doting upon which, they showed they were not gone
forward in the life of Christianity, but rather sticking in
beggarly elements. And therefore,, vers. 20, the same ver
sion hath it thus, "When. then ye meet together, ye do
not do it, as it is just ye should do in the day of the Lord,
ye eatand drink it:" therefore showing to them, that to
meet together to eat and drink outward bread and wine,
was not the labour and work of that day ofthe Lord.- But
since our adversaries are so zealous for this ceremony, be
cause used by the church of- Corinth, though with how
little ground is already shown, how come they to pass over
far more positive commands of the apostles, as matters of
no moment? As first, Acts xv. 29, where the apostles
peremptorily command the Gentiles, as that which was the
To abstain mind of the Holy Ghost, " To abstain from things strangled,
strangled88 anc^ ^TOla blood :" and James V. 14, where it is expressly
Theanoint- commanded, That the sick be anointed with oil in > the
oil. name of the Lord.
Object. If they say, These were only temporary things, but not
to continue ;
Answ. What have they more to show for this ; there being no
express repeal of them ?
Object. If they say, The repeal is implied, because the apostle
saith, We ought not to be judged in meats and drinks ;
Answ. I admit the answer; but how can it be prevented from
militating the same way against the other practice ? Surely
not at all: nor can there be any thing urged for the one
more than for the other, but custom and tradition.
Object. As for that of James, they say, There followed a miracle
upon it, to wit, the recovery of the sick^ but this being
ceased, so should the ceremony.
Answ. , Though this might many ways be answered, to wit,
That prayer then might as well be forborne, to which also
the saving of the sick is there ascribed ; yet I shall accept
ny ought to of it, because I judge indeed that ceremony is ceased ;
virtue fail- onty methinks, since our adversaries, and that rightly,
ing. think a ceremony ought to cease where the virtue fails,

OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. 445
they ought by the same rule to forbear the laying on of Thus lay-
hands, in imitation of the apostles, since the gift of the j,"^" of
Holy Ghost doth not follow upon it.
§ IX. But since we find that several testimonies of scrip
ture do sufficiently show, that such external rites are no
necessary part of the new covenant dispensation, therefore
not needful now to continue, however they were for a sea
son practised^ of old, I shall instance some few of them,
whereby from the nature of the thing, as well as those tes
timonies, it may appear, that the ceremony Of bread and The cere-
wine is ceased, as well as those other things confessed by {JJeUJ and
our adversaries to be so. The first is Rom. xiv. 17, "For wine *s
.... . . ceased.
the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteous
ness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost:" here the
apostle evidently shows, that the kingdom of God, or gos
pel of Christ, stands not in meats and drinks, and such
like things, but in righteousness, &c, as by the context
doth appear, where he is speaking of the guilt and hazard
of judging one- another about meats and drinks. So then,
if the kingdom of God stand not in them, nor the gospel,
nor work of Christ, then the eating of outward bread and
wine can be no necessary part of the gospel worship, nor
any perpetual, ordinance of it. Another of the . same
apostle is yet more plain, Col. ii. 16, the apostle through
out this whole second chapter doth clearly plead for us,
and against the formality and superstition of our opposers:
for in the beginning he holds forth the great privileges
which Christians have by Christ, who are indeed come to
the life of Christianity; and therefore he desires them, vers.
6, As they have received Christ, so to walk in him ; and
to beware, lest they be spoiled through philosophy and
vain deceit, after the rudiments or elements bf the world ;
because that in Christ, whom they have received, is all
fulness: and that they are circumcised with the circumci
sion made without hands (which he calls the circumcision
of Christ), and being buried with him by baptism, are also
arisen with him through the faith of the operation of God.
Here also they did partake of the true baptism of Christ ;
38

446 PROPOSITION XIII.
and being such as are arisen with him, let us see whether
he thinks it needful they should make use of such meat
and drink as bread and wine, to put them in remembrance
of Christ's death ; or whether they ought to be judged,
that they did it not; ver. 16, "Let no man therefore
judge you in meat or in drink:" Is not bread and wine
meat and drink ? But why ? " Which are a shadow of
things to come : but the body is of Christ." Then since
'Tis but a our adversaries confess, that their bread and wine is a sign
shgadowd or shadow ; therefore, according to the apostle's doctrine,
they con- we ought riot to be judged in the non-observation of ft.
But is it not fit for those that are dead with Christ to be
subject to such ordinances? See what he saith, vers.. 20,
And which u Wherefore, if ye be dead wfth Christ from the rudiments
wlth^he of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye
using. subject to ordinances, (Touch not, taste riot, handle not :
which all are to perish with the using) after the-command-
ments and doctrines of'men ?" What can be more plain ?
If this serve not to take away the absolute necessity of the
use of bread and wine, what can it serve do take away ?
Sure I -am, the reason here given is applicable to them,
" which all do perish with the using ;" since bread and
wine perish with the using, as much as other things. But
further, if the use of water, and bread- and wine, were that
wherein the very seals of the new covenant stood, and did
pertain to the chief sacraments bf the gospel and evan
gelical ordinances (so called), then would not the gospel
differ from the law, or be preferable to it. Whereas the
The law apostle shows the difference, Heb. ix. 10, in that such kind
and drinks- °f observations of the Jews were as a sign of the gospel,
not so the for that they " stood only in meats and drinks, and divers
washings." But if the gospel worship and service stand
in the same, where is the difference?
Object. If it be said, These under the gospel have a spiritual
signification ;
Answ. So had those under the -law ; God was the author of
those, as well as Christ is pretended to be the author of
these. But doth not this contending for the use of water,

OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. 447
bread and wine, as-necessary parts of the gospel worship,
destroy the nature of it, as if the gospel were a dispensa
tion of shadows, and not of the substance ? Whereas the The law
apostle, in that of the Colossians above mentioned, argues dows^the
against the use of these things, as needful to those that are gospel
dead and arisen with Christ, because they, are but shadows, substance.
Ahd since, through the whole Epistle to the Hebrews, he
argues with the Jews, to wean them from their old wor
ship, for this reason, because it was typical and figurative ;
is it agreeable to right reason to bring them to another of
the same nature ? What ground from scripture or reason
can our adversaries bring us, to evince that one shadow or
figure should point to another shadow Or figure, and not
to the substance ? And yet they make the figure of cir
cumcision to point to water baptism, and the paschal lamb
to bread and wine. But was it ever known that one figure
was the anti-type of the other, especially seeing Protestants
make not these their ahti-types to have any more virtue
and efficacy than the type had ? For since, as they say,
and that truly, That their sacraments confer not grace, but Their sa-
that it is conferred according to the faith of the receiver, it confernnot
will not be denied but the faithful among the Jews received grace.
also grace in the use of their figurative worship. And
though Papists boast that their sacraments confer-^grace ex
opere operato, yet experience abundantly proveth the con
trary. § X.' But supposing the use of water baptism and bread Opposers
and wine to have been in the primitive church, as was also poweMo
that of-" abstaining from things strangled, and from blood," £lve tneir
the use of legal purification, Acts xxi. 23, 24, 25, and ments ;
anointing of the sick with oil, for the reasons and whence do
grounds before mentioned ; yet it remains for our adver- ?h^ de«ve
saries to show us how they come by power or authority to
administer them. It cannot be from the letter ofthe scrip
ture, else they ought also to do those other things, which
the letter declares also they did, arid which in the letter
haye as much foundation. - Then their power must be
derived from the apostles, either mediately or immediately ;

44S

PROPOSITION XIII.

Tradition
no sufficient
ground for
faith.

The supper
they gave
to young
boys and
children.

Dallaeus.

but we have shown before, in the tenth proposition, that
they have no mediate power, because of the interruption
made by the apostasy ; and for an immediate power or
command by the Spirit of God to administer these things,
none of our adversaries pretend to it. We know that in
this, as in other things, they make a noise of the constant
consent of the church, and of Christians in all ages; but
as tradition is not a sufficient ground for faith, so in this
matter especially it ought to have but small weight ; for that
in this point of ceremonies and superstitious observations
the apostacy began very early, as may appear in the epistles
of Paul to the Galatians and Colossians ; and we have no
ground to imitate them in those things, whose entrance the
apostle so much withstood, so heavily regretted, and so
sharply reproved. Buttif we look to antiquity, we find,
that in such kind of observances and traditions they were
very uncertain and changeable ; so that neither Protestants
nor Papists do observe this ceremony as they did, both in
that they gave it to young boys, and to little children : and
for aught can be learned, the use of this and infant bap
tism are of a like age, though the one be laid aside both
by Papists and Protestants, and the other, to wit, baptisrn
of infants, be stuck to. And we have so much the less
reason to lay weight upon antiquity, for that if we con
sider their profession of religion, especially as to worship,
and the ceremonial part of it, we shall not find any church
now, whether Popish or Protestant, who. differ not widely
from them in many things, as Dailajus, in his treatise con
cerning the Use of the Fathers, well observeth and demon
strated!. And why they should obtrude this upon us
because of the ancients' practice, which they themselves
follow not, or why we may not reject this, as well as they
do other things no less zealously practised by the ancients,
no sufficient reason can be assigned.
Nevertheless I doubt not but many, whose understand
ings have been clouded with these ceremonies, have not
withstanding, by the mercy of God, had some secret sense
of the mystery, which they could not" clearly understand,

OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. 449
because it was veiled from them by their sticking to such
outward things ; and that through- that secret sense diving
in their comprehensions they ran themselves into these
carnal apprehensions, as imagining the substance of the
bread was changed, or that if the substance was not changed,
yet the body was there, &c. And indeed I am inclinable
very favourably to judge of Calvin in this particular, in Calvin's in-
that he deals so ingenuously to confess he " neither com- fonfessfon
prehends it,' nor can express ft iri words ; but yet by a feel- commend
ing experience can say, The Lord is spiritually present."
Now as I doubt not but Calvin sometimes had a sense of
his presence without the use of this ceremony, so as the
understanding given him of God made him justly reject
the false notions of transubstantiation and consubstantia-
tion, though he knew not what to establish instead of
them, if he had fully waited in the light that makes all Eph. v. 13.
things manifest, and had not laboured in his own compre
hension to settle upon that external ceremony, by affixing
the spiritual presence as chiefly or principally, though not
only, as he well knew by experience, there, or especially
to relate to it, he might have further reached unto the
knowledge of this mystery than many that went before
him. § XI. Lastly, If any now at this day, from a true ten- in tender-
derness of spirit, and with, real conscience towards God, scfence,00""
did practice this ceremony in the same way, method, and G?d Wlnk-
manner as did the primitive Christians recorded in scrip- ignorance.
ture, I should not doubt, to affirm but they might be in
dulged in it, and the Lord might regard them, and for a
season appear to them in the use of these things, as many
of us have known him to do to us in the time of our igno
rance; providing always they did not seek to obtrude them
upon others, nor judge such as found themselves delivered
¦from them,. or that they do not pertinaciously adhere to The d& .
them, For we certainly know that the day is dawned, in dawned
which God hath arisen, and hath dismissed all those cere- GodiTrisen
monies and rites, and is only to be worshipped in Spirit, *nd "™r-^
and that he appears tp them who wait upon him ; and that Spirit.
38* 3g

450 PROPOSITION XIV.
to seek God in these things is, with Mary at the sepulchre,
to seek the living among the dead: for we know that he is
risen, and revealed in Spirit, leading his children out of
these rudiments, that they may walk with him in his light :
to whom be glory for eve"r. Amen.

PROPOSITION XIV.
Concerning the Power of the Civil Magistrate in Matters
purely Religious, and pertaining to the Conscience.
Since God hath assumed to himself the power and domi
nion of the conscience, who alone can rightly instruct
Luke ix. and govern it, therefore it is not lawful for any, whoso-
Mat.vii.12, ever, by virtue of any authority or principality they bear
TiMii 10 in- the government of this world, to force the consciences
of others ; and therefore all killing, banishing, fining,
imprisoning, and other such things which are inflicted
upon men for the alone exercise of their conscience, or
difference in worship or opinion, proceedeth from the
spirft of Cain the murderer, and is contrary to the truth ;
providing always, that no man, under the pretence of
conscience, prejudice his neighbour in his life or estate,
or do any thing destructive to', or inconsistent with,
human society ; in which case the law is for the trans
gressor, and justice is to be administered upon all, with
out respect of persons.
§ I. Liberty of conscience from the power of the civil
magistrate hath been of late years so largely and learnedly
handled, that I shall need to be but brief in it ; yet it is to
be lamented that few have walked answerably to this prin
ciple, each pleading it for themselves, but scarce allowing
it to others, as hereafter I shall have occasion more at
length, to observe.
It will be fit in the first place, for clearing of mistakes,

OF THE POWER OF THE CIVIL MAGISTRATE. 451
to say something of the state of the controversy, that what
follows may be the more clearly understood.
By conscience then, Ets in the explanation of the. fifth
and sixth propositions I have observed, is to be understood What con-
that persuasion of the mind which arises from the under- sclence "•
standing's being possessed with the belief of the truth or
falsity of any thing ; which though it may be false or evil
upon the matter, yet if a man. should go against his per
suasion or conscience, he would commit a sin; because
what a man doth contrary to his faith, though his faith be
wrong, is.no ways acceptable to God. Hence the apostle
saith, " Whatsoever is not of faith, is sin ; and he that Rom. xiv.
doubteth is damned if he eat ;" though the thing might 23"
have been lawful to another ; and that this doubting to eat
some kind of meats (since all the creatures of God are
good, and for the use of man, if received with thanksgiving)
might be a superstition, or at least a weakness, which were
better removed. Hence Ames, de Cas. Cons, saith, "The
conscience, although erring, doth evermore bind, so as
that he sinneth who doth contrary to his conscience,* be- *¦• e- As
J he sup-
cause he doth contrary to the will of God, although not poseth.
materially and truly, yet formally and interpretatively."
So the question is, First, Whether the civil magistrate
hath power to force men in things religious to do contrary
to their conscience ; and if they will not, to punish them
in their goods, liberties, or lives? This we hold in the
negative. But Secondly, As we would have the magis
trate to avoid this extreme of encroaching upon men's con
sciences, so on the other hand we are far from joining with
or strengthening such libertines as would stretch the liberty
of their consciences to the prejudice of their neighbours,
or to the ruin of human society. We understand there
fore by matters of conscience such/ as immediately relate
betwixt God and man, or men and men, that are under
the same persuasion, as to meet together and worship God
in that way which they judge is most acceptable unto him,
and not to encroach upon, or seek to force their neighbours,
otherwise than by reason, or such other means as Christ

452 PROPOSITION XIV.
and his aposffes used, viz. : Preaching and instructing such
as will hear and receive it ; but not at all for men, under
the hotion of conscience, to do any thing contrary to the
moral and perpetual statutes generally acknowledged by
all Christians ; in which case the magistrate may very law
fully use his-authority ; as on those, who, under a pretence
of conscience, make it a principle to kill and destroy all
the wicked, id est, all that differ from them, that they, to
wit, the saints, may rule, and who therefore seek to make
all things common, and would' force their neighbours to
share their estates with them, and many such wild notions,
as is reported of the Anabaptists of Munster; which evi
dently appears to proceed from pride and covetousness,
and not from purity or conscience ; arid therefore I have
sufficiently guarded against that in the latter part of the
proposition. But the liberty we lay claim fo is such as
the primitive church justly sought under the heathen em
perors; to wit, for men of sobriety^ honesty, and a peace
able conversation, to enjoy the liberty and exercise of their
conscience towards God and among themselves, and to
admit among them such as by their persuasion and in^
fluence come to be convinced of the same truth with them,
without? being therefore molested by the civil magistrate.
Thirdly, Though we would not have men hurt in their
temporals, nor robbed of their privileges as men and mem
bers of the commonwealth, because of their inward per
suasion ; yet we are far from judging that in the church of
God there should not be censures exercised against such
as fall into error, as well as such as commit open evils ;
and therefore we believe ft may be very lawful for a Chris
tian church, if she find any of her members fall into any
error, after due admonitions and instructions according to
gospel orcler, if she find them pertinacious, to cut them off
from her felloe ship by the sword ofthe Spirit, and deprive
them of those privileges which they had as fellow-mem
bers ; but not to cut them off from the world by the tem
poral sword, or rob them of their common privileges as
men, seeing they enjoy not these as Christians, or under

OF THE POWER OF THE CIVIL MAGISTRATE. 453
such a fellowship, but as men, and members of the crea
tion. Hence Chrysostom saith well, (de Anath.) "We
must condemn and reprove the evil doctrines that proceed
from heretics ; but spare the men, and pray for their sal
vation." -
§ II. But that no man, by virtue of any power or prin
cipality he hath in the government of this world, hath
power over the consciences of men, is apparent, because
the conscience of man is the seat and throne of God in Conscience
him, of which God is the alone proper and infallible judge, 0fVod°ne
who by his power and Spirit can alone rectify the mistakes
of conscience, and therefore hath reserved to himself the
power of punishing the errors thereof as he seeth meet.
Now for the magistrate to assume this, is to take upon him
to meddle with things not within the compass of his juris
diction: for if this were within the compass of his juris
diction, he should be the proper judge in these things ; and
also it were needful to him, as an essential qualification of
his being a magistrate, to be capable, to judge in them.
But that the magistrate, as a magistrate, is neither proper
judge in these cases, nor yet that the capacity so to be is
requisite in him as a magistrate, our adversaries cannot
deny ; or else they must say, That all the heathen magis
trates were either no lawful magistrates, as wanting some
thing essential to magistracy, and this were contrary to the
express doctrine of the apostle, Rom. xiii., or else (which
is more absurd) that those heathen magistrates were proper
judges in matters of conscience among Christians. As for
that evasion that the magistrates ought to punish according
to the church censure and determination, which is indeed
no less than to make the magistrate the church's hangman,
we shall have occasion to speak of it hereafter. But if the
chief me-inbers of the church, though ordained to inform,
instruct, and reprove, are not to have dominion over the
faith nor consciences of the faithful, as the apostle ex
pressly affirms, 2 Cor. i. 24, then far less ought they to
usurp this dominion, or stir up the magistrate to persecute
and murder those who cannot yield to them therein.

454 PROPOSITION XIV.
Secondly, This pretended power of the magistrate is
both contrary unto, and inconsistent with the nature ofthe
gospel, which is a thing altogether extrinsic to the rule and
government of political states, as Christ expressly signi
fied, saying, His kingdom was not of this world ; and if
the propagating of the gospel had had any necessary rela
tion thereunto, then Christ had not said so, But he
abundantly hath shown by his example, whom we are
chiefly to imitate in matters of that nature, that it is by
persuasion and the power of God, not by whips, imprison
ments, banishments, and murderings, that the gospel is to
be propagated ; and that those that are the propagators of
it are often to suffer by the wicked, but never to cause the
wicked to suffer. When he sends forth his disciples, he
Matt. x. 16. tells them, he sends them forth as " lambs among wolves,"
io be willing to be' devoured, not to devour ; he tells them
of their being whipped, imprisoned, and killed, for their
.conscience ; but never that they shall either whip, imprison,
or kill ; and indeed if Christians must be as lambs, it is
not the nature of lambs to destroy or devour any. It
serves nothing to allege, that in Christ's and his apostles'
times the magistrates were heathen, and therefore Christ
and his apostles, nor yet any of the believers, being np
magistrates, could not exercise the power'; because it can
not be denied but- Christ, being the Son of God, had a true
Matt. right to all kingdoms, and was righteous heir of the earth.
xxviii. 18. Next, as to. his power, it cannot be denied but he could,
if he had seen meet, have called for legions of angels to
defend him, and have forced the princes and potentates of
the earth to be subject unto him, Mat. xxvi. 53. So that
it was only because it was contrary to the nature of Christ's
gospel and ministry to use any force or violence in the
gathering of souls to him. This he abundantly expressed
in his reproof to the two sons of Zebedee, who would have
been calling for fire from heaven to burn thoscthat refused
to receive Christ : it is not to be doubted but this was as
great a crime as now to be in an error Concerning the faith
and doctrine, of Christ., That there was not power wanting

OF THE POWER OF THE CIVIL MAGISTRATE. 455
to have punished those refusers of Christ cannot be doubt
ed; for they that could do other miracles, might have done
this also. And moreover, they wanted not the precedent
of a holyfman under the law, to wit, Elias ; yet we see what
Christ saith to them, " Ye know not what spirit ye are of,"
Luke ix. 55, " For the Son of Man is not come to destroy
men's lives, but to save them." Here Christ shows that
such kind of zeal was no ways approved of by him ; and
such as think to make way for Christ or his gospel by this
means, do not understand what spirit they are of. But if
it was not lawful to call for fire from heaven to destroy such
as refused to receive Christ, it is far less lawful to kindfe
fire upon earth to destroy those that believe in Christ, be
cause they will not believe, nor can believe, as the magis
trates do, for conscience' sake. And if it was riot lawful
for the apostles, who had so large a measure ofthe Spirit,
and were so little liable to mistake, to force others to their
judgment, it can be far less lawful now for men, who as
experience declareth, and many of themselves confess, are
fallible, and often mistaken, to kill and destroy all such as
cannot, because otherwise persuaded in their minds, judge
and believe in matters of conscience just as they do. And
if it was not according to the wisdom of Christ, who was
and is King of kings, by outward force to constrain others
to believe him or receive him, as being a thing inconsistent
with the nature of his ministry and spiritual government,
do not they grossly offend him, who will needs be wiser
than he, and think to force men against their persuasion to
conform to their doctrine and worship ? The word of the
Lord said, " Not by power and by might, but by my Spirit
saith the Lord," Zech. iv. 6. But these say, Not by the
Spirit, of the Lord, but by might and carnal power. The
apostle saith plainly, "We wrestle not with flesh and 2 Cor. *. 4.
blood;" and "the'weapons of our warfare are not carnal,
but mighty through God," &c. ; but these men will needs
wrestle with flesh and blood, when they cannot prevail
with the Spirit and the understanding; and not having
spiritual weapons, go about with carnal weapons to estab-

456 PROPOSITION XIV.
lish Christ's kingdom, which they can never do : and there
fore when the matter is well sifted, it is found to be more
out of love to self, arid from a principle of pride in man to
have all others to bow to him, than from the love of, God.
Psal. ex. 3. Christ indeed takes another method ; for he saith, " His
people shall be a willing people in the day of his power ;"
but these men labour against men's wills and consciences,
npt by Christ's power, but by the outward sword, to make
men the people of Christ, which they never can do, as shall
hereafter be shown.
But Thirdly, Christ -fully and plainly declarefh to us his
sense in this matter in the parable of the tares, Mat. xiii.
25, of which we have himself the interpreter, ver. 38, 39,
40," 41, where he expounds them to be the "children of
the wicked one,"- and yet he. will not have the servants to
meddle with them, lest they pull up the wheat therewith.
Now it cannot be deriied but heretics are here included ;
and although these servants saw the tares, and had a cer
tain discerning of them ; yet Christ would not they should
meddle, lest they should hurt the wheat : thereby inti
mating, that that capacity in man to be mistaken, ought to
be a bridle upon him, to make him wary in such matters ;
and therefore, to prevent this hurt, he gives- a positive "pro
hibition, " But he said, Nay," ver. 2&. So that they who
will notwithstanding be pulling up that which they judge
is tares, do openly declare, that they make no scruple to
break the commands of Christ. Miserable is that evasion
which some of our adversaries use here, in alleging these
tares are meant of hypocrites, and not o£ heretics ! But
how to evince that, "seeing heretics, as well as hypocrites,
are children of the wicked one, they have not any thing
but their own bare affirmation, which is therefore justly
rejected.
Object. If they say, Because hypocrites cannot be discerned, but
so may heretics ;
Answ. This is both false, and a begging of the question. For
those that have a spiritual discerning, can discern both
hypocrites and heretics ; and those that want it, Gannot

OF THE POWER OF THE CIVIL MAGISTRATE. 457
certainly discern either. Seeing the question will arise,
Whether that is a heresy which the magistrate saith is so ?
and seeing it is both possible, and confessed by all to have
often fallen out, that some magistrates have judged that
heresy which was not, punishing men accordingly for truth,
instead of error ; there can be no argument drawn from the
obviousness or evidence of heresy, unless we should con
clude heresy could never be mistaken for truth nor truth
for heresy ; whereof experience shows daily the contrary,
even among Christians. But neither is this shift applicable
to this place ; for the servants did discern the tares, and
yet were liable to hurt the wheat, if they had offered to pull
them up.
§ III. But they object against this liberty of conscience, Object.
Deut. xiii.-5,~ where false prophets are appointed to be put
to death ; and accordingly they give example thereof.
The case no way holds parallel ; those particular com- Answ.
mands to the Jews, and practices following upon them, are
not a rule for Christians ; else we might by the same rule
say, It were lawful for us to borrow of our neighbours their
goods, and so carry them away, because the Jews did so
by God's command ; or that it is lawful for Christians to
invade their neighbours' kingdoms, and cut them all off
without mercy, because the Jews did so to the Canaanites,
by the command of God.
If they urge, That these commands ought to stand, ex- Object.
cept they be repealed in the gospel ; ,
I say, The precepts and practices of Christ and his apos- Answ.
ties mentioned are a sufficient repeal : for if we should
plead,' that every command given to the Jews is binding
upon us, except there be a particular repeal ; then would
it follow, that because it was lawful for the Jews, if any
man killed one, for the nearest kindred presently to kill the
murderer, without any order of law, it were lawful for us
to do so likewise. And doth not this command of Deut.
xiii. 9, openly order him who is enticed by another to for
sake the Lord, though it were his brother, his son, his
daughter, or his wife, presently to kill him or her? " Thou
39 3 h

458 PROPOSITION XIV.
shalt surely kill him, thy; hand shall he first upon him, to
put him to death." If this command Were to be followed,
there heeded neither inquisition nor magistrate to do the
business ; and yet there is no reason why they should
shuffle by this part, and not the other ; yea, to argue this
way from the practice among the Jews, were to overturn
the very gospel, and to set up again the carnal ordinances
among the Jews, to pull down the spiritual- ones ofthe
gospel. Indeed we can far better argue from the. analogy
betwixt the figurative and carnal state of the Jews, and the
real and spiritual one under- the gospel; that as Moses de
livered the Jews out of outward Egypt, by an outward
force, and established them in an outward kingdom, by
destroying their outward enemies for them ; 'so Christ, not
by overcoming Outwardly, and killing others, but by suffer
ing and being killed, doth deliver his chosen ones, the in
ward Jews, out of mystical Egypt, destroying their spiritual
enemies before them, and establishing among them his
spiritual kingdom, which is not.of this world. And as such.
as departed from the fellowship of outward Israel were to
be cut off by the outward sword, so those that depart from
the inward Israel are to be cut off by the sword of the
Spirit: for ft answers very well, that as the Jews were to
cut off their enemies outwardly, in order to establish their
kingdom and outward worship, so they were to uphold ft
the same way : but as the kingdom and gospel of Christ
was not to be established or propagated by cutting off or
destroying the Gentiles, but by persuading them, so neither
is it to be upheld otherwise.
Object. But Secondly, they urge, Rom. xiii., where the magis
trate is said not to bear the sword in vain, because he is
the minister of God, to execute wrath upon such as do
evil. But heresy, say they, is evil. Ergo.
Answ. But so is hypocrisy also ; yet they confess he ought not
to punish that. Therefore this must be understood of moral
evils^ relative to affairs, betwixt-man and man, not of mat
ters of judgment or. worship ; or else what great absurdities
would follow, considering that Paul wrote here to the

OF THE POWER OF THE CIVIL MAGISTRATE. 459
church of Rome, which was under the government of Nero,
an impious. heathen and persecutor ofthe church? Now
if a power to punish in point of heresy be here included, it
will necessarily follow, that Nero had this power ; yea, and
that he had it of God ; for because the power was of God,
therefore the apostle urges their obedience. But can there
be any thing more absurd, than to say that Nero had power
to judge in such cases ? Surely if Christian magistrates be
not to punish for hypocrisy, because they cannot outwardly
discern it ; far less could Nero punish anybody for heresy,
which he was incapable to discern. And if Nero had riot
power to judge or punish in point of heresy, then nothing
can be urged from this place ; since all that is said here, is
spoken as applicable to Nero, wfth a particular relation to
whom it was written. And if Nero had such a power,
surely he was to exercise it according to his judgment and
conscience, and in doing thereof he was not to be blamed ;
which is enough fo justify him in his persecuting of the
apostles, and murdering the Christians.
Thirdly, They object that saying of the apostle to the Object.
Galatians, v. 12, " I would they were even cut off which
-trouble you."
But how this imports any more than a cutting off from Answ.
the church, is not, nor can be shown. Beza upon the
place saith, "We cannot understand that otherwise than
of excommunication, such as was that of the incestuous
Corinthian. And indeed it is madness to suppose it other
wise; for Paul would not have these cut off otherwise than
he did Hymenseus and Philetus, who were blasphemers ;
which was by giving them over to Satan, not by cutting
off their heads."
The same way may be answered that other argument,
drawn from Rev. ii. 20, where the church of Thyatira is
reproved for suffering the woman Jezebel : which can be
no otherways understood, than that they did not excom
municate her, or cut her off by a church censure. For as
to corporal punishment, it is known that at that time the

460 PROPOSITION XIV.
Christians had not power to punish heretics so, if they had
had a mind to it.
Object. Fourthly, They allege, that heresies are numbered among
the works' of the flesh, Gal. v. 20. Ergo, &c,
Answ. That magistrates have power to punish ail the works of
the flesh is denied, and not yet proved. Every evil is a
work of the flesh, but every evil comes not under theriia-
gistrate's cognizance. Is not hypocrisy a work of the
flesh, which our adversaries confess the magistrates ought
not to punish ? Yea, are not hatred and envy there men
tioned as works of fhe'flesh? And yet the magistrate can
not punish them, as they are in themselves, until they exert
themselves in other acts which come under his power. But
so long as heresy doth not exert itself in any act destructive
to human society, or such like things, but is kept within
the sphere of those duties of doctrine or worship which
stand betwixt a man and God, they no ways come under
the-magistrate's power.
§ IV. But Secondly ; This forcing of men's consciences
is contrary to sound reason, and the very law of nature.
For man's understanding cannot be forced by all the bodily
sufferings another man can inflict upon him, especially in
matters spiritual and supernatural : 'Tis argument,- and
evident demonstration of reason, together with the power
of God reaching the heart, that can change a man's mind
from one opinion to another, and not knocks and blows,
and such like things, which may well destroy the body,
but never can inform the soul, which is a free agent, arid
must either accept or reject matters of opinion as they are
borne in upon it by something proportioned to its own
nature. To seek to force minds in any other manner, is
to deal with men as if they were brutes, void of under
standing; and at last is but to lose one's labour, and as the
proverb is, " To seek to wash the black-moor white."
By that course indeed men may be made hypocrites, but
can never be made Christians ; and surely the products of
such compulsion, even where the end is obtained, to wit,
an outward assent or conformity, whether in doctrine or

OF THE POWER OF THE CIVIL MAGISTRATE. 461
worship, can be no ways acceptable to God, who desireth
not any sacrifice, except that which cometh thoroughly from
the heart, and will have no constrained ones : so that men,
by constraining force, are so far from being members of
the church, that they are made ten times more the servants
of Satan than before ; -in that to their error is added hypo
crisy,- the worst of evils iri matters of religion, and that
which above all things the Lord's soul most abhors.
But if it be said, Their error notwithstanding is thereby Object.
suppressed, and the scandal removed ;
I answer ; Besides that this is a method no ways allowed Answ.
by Christ, as is above proved, surely the church can be no
ways bettered by the accession of hypocrites, but greatly
corrupted and endangered ; for open heresies men may be
aware of, and shuri such as profess them, when they are
separated from the church by her censures; but secret
hypocrites may putrefy the body, and leaven ft, ere men
be aware. And if the dissenters prove resolute, and suffer
boldly for the opinions they esteem right, experience show
eth that such sufferings often tend to the commendation of
the sufferers, but never of the persecutors. For such
suffering ordinarily breeds compassion, and begets a curi
osity in others to enquire the more diligently into the things
for which they see men suffer such great losses, so boldly ;
and is also able to beget an opinion, that it is- for some
good they do so suffer : it being no ways probable that
men will venture all merely to acquire fame; which may
as well be urged to detract from the reputation of all the
martyrs, unless some -better arguments be brought against
it than a halter or a faggot. But supposing this principle,
That the magistrate hath power to force the consciences
of his .subjec'ts, and to punish them if. they will not com
ply, 'very great inconveniences and absurdities will follow,
and even such as' are inconsistent with- the nature of the
Christian religion.
For First, It will naturally follow that the magistrate
ought to do it, and sinneth by omission of , his duty, if he
do it not. Will it not then hence be inferred that Christ
39*

462 PROPOSITION XIV.
was defective to his church, who having power to force
men, and to call for legions of angels so to do, did not
withstanding not exert that power, but left his church to
the mercy of the wicked, without so necessary a, bulwark ?
Secondly, Seeing every magistrate is to exercise his
power according to the best understanding he hath, being
obliged so to do, for the promoting of what he in con
science is persuaded to be truth, will not this justify all the
heathen emperors in their persecutions against Christians ?
Will not this justify the Spanish inquisition, which yet is
odious not only to Protestants, but to many moderate
Papists? How can Protestants in reason condemn the
Papists for persecuting them, seeing they do" but exercise
a lawful power according to their conscience and best
understanding, and do no more to them than the sufferers
profess they would do to them, if they were in the like
capacity ? Which takes away all ground of commiseration
from the sufferers : whereas that was the ground which of
old gained reputation tb the Christians, that they being
innocent, suffered, who neither had, nor by principle could,
hurt any. But there is little reason to pity one that is but
dealt by according as he would deal wfth others. For to
say, They have no reason to persecute us, because they
are in the wrong, and we in the right, is but miserably to
beg the question. Doth not this doctrine strengthen the
hands of the persecutors every wThere, and that rationally,
from a principle of self-preservation ; For who can blame
me for destroying him that I know waits hut for an occa
sion to destroy me, if he could? Yea, this makes all
suffering for religion, which of old was the glory of Chris
tians, to be but of pure necessity ; whereby they are not
led as lambs to the slaughter, as was the captain of their
salvation ; but rather as wolves catched in the snare, who
only bite not again because they are not able ; but could
they get force, would be as ready to lead those the same
way that led them. Where is the faith and patience qf
the saints?, For indeed it is but a small glory to make a
virtue of necessity, and suffer because I cannot help. it.

OF THE POWER OF THE CIVIL MAGISTRATE. 463
Every thief and murderer would be a martyr at that rate :
experience hath abundantly proved this in these last cen
turies; for however each party talk of passively obeying
the magistrate in such cases, and that the power resides in
him, yet it is apparent, that from this principle it naturally
follows, that any party, supposing themselves right, should,
so soon as they are able, endeavour at any rate to get
uppermost, that they might bring under those of another
opinfon, and force the magistrate to uphold their way, to
the ruin of all others. What engine the pope of Rome
used to make qf his pretended power in. this thing, upon
any pretence of dislike to anyprince or state, even for very
small heresies in their own account, to depose princes, and
set up their subjects against them, and give their dominions r
to other princes to serve his interest, they cannot be igno
rant who have read the life of Hildebrand ; and how Pro
testants have vindicated the liberty of their consciences
after this same manner is apparent. They suffered much
in France, to the great increase and advantage of their
party; but as soon as they found themselves considerable,
and had gotten some princes upon their side, they began
to let the king know, that they must either have the liberty
of their consciences, or else they would purchase it ; not
by suffering, but by fighting. And the experience of other
Protestant states shows, that if Henry the Fourth, to please
the Papists, had not quitted his religion, to get the crown
the more peaceably, and so the Protestants had prevailed
with the sword, they would as well have taught the Papists
with the faggot, and led them to the- stake : so that this
principle of persecution on all hands is the ground of all
those miseries and contentions. For so long as any party
is persuaded that it is both lawful for them, and their duty,
if in power, to destroy those that differ from them, it natu
rally follows they ought to use all means possible to get
that power, whereby, they may secure themselves in the
ruin of their adversaries. And that Papist^ judge it not
unlawful to. compel the magistrate, if they be strong enough
to do it, to effect this, experience shows ft to be a known

464 PROPOSITION XIV.
popish principle, That the Pope may depose an heretic-
prince, and absolve the people from the oath of fidelity :
And the Pope, as is above said, hath done so to divers
princes; and this doctrine is defended by Bellarmine
against Barclay. The French refused Henry the Fourth
till he quitted his religion. And as 'for Protestants, many
of them scruple not to-affirm, That wicked kings and magis
trates may be deposed, and killed : yea, our Scotch Pres
byterians are as positive in it as any Jesuits, who would
not admit king Charles the Second, though otherwise a
Protestant prince, unless he would swear to renounce epis
copacy ; a matter of no great difference, though contrary
to his conscience. Now how little proportion these things
bear with the primitive Christians, and the religion propa
gated by Christ and his apostles, needs no great demon
stration ; and it is observable, that notwithstanding many
other superstitions crept into the church very early, yet this
of persecution was so inconsistent with the nature of the
gospel, and liberty of conscience, as we have asserted it,
such an innate and natural part of the Christian religion,
that -almost all the Christian writers, for the first three hun
dred years, earnestly contended for it, condemning the
contrary opinion.
Athan. in § V. Thus Athanasius ; " It is the property of pietynot
BoiftVvit. t-0 force, but to persuade, in imitation of our Lbrd, who
ag. ibid. forced nobody, but left it to the will of everyone to follow
him, &c. But the devil? because he hath nothing of truth,
uses knocks and axes, to break up the doors of such
as receive him. But our Saviour is meek, teaching the
truth;, whosoever. will come after me, and whosoever will
be my disciple, &c, but constraining none ; coming to us,
and knocking rather, and saying, My sister, my spouse
open to me, &c. And entereth when he- is opened to, and
retires if they delay, and will not open unto him ; because
it is not with swords, nor darts, nor soldiers, nor armour,
that truth is to be declared, but with persuasion and coun
sel." And it is observable, that they were the impious
Arians who first of all brought in this doctrine, to perse-

OF THE POWER OF THE CIVIL MAGISTRATE. 465
cute others among Christians, whose successors both Pa
pists and Protestants are in this matter, whom "Athanasius Athan.
thus reproveth further: "Where," saith he, "have they f^' Suade
learned to persecute ? Certainly they cannot say they have tom- *•
learned it from the saints ; but this hath been given them,
and taught them of the devil. The Lord commanded in
deed sometimes to flee, and the saints sometimes fled ; but
to persecute is the invention and argument of the devil,
which he seeks against all." And after, he saith, " In so
far as the Arians banish those that will not subscribe their
decrees, they show that they are contrary to Christians, and
friends of the devil."
"But now, 0 lamentable!" saith Hilarius, "they are Hil. contra
the suffrages of the earth that recommend the religion of ux'
God, and Christ is found naked of his virtue, while am
bition must give credit to his name. The church reproves
and fights by banishment and prisons, and forceth herself
to be believed, which once was believed because of the
imprisonments and banishments herself suffered. She that
once was Consecrated by the terrors of her persecutors, de
pends now upon the dignity of those that are in her, com
munion. She that once was propagated by her banished
priests, now banisheth the priests. And she boasts now,
that she is loved of the world, who would not have been
Christ's if she had -not been hated of the world."
'< The church," saith Hierom, " was founded by shed- Hierom,
ding of blood, and by suffering, and not in doing of hurt. I^The. '
The church increased by persecutions, and was crowned
by martyrdom."
Ambrose, speaking of Auxentius, saith thus, "Whom Amb.,
he (viz., Auxentius) 'could not deceive by discourse, he tom!-3. '
thinks ought to be killed with the sword, making bloody
laws with his mouth, writing them with his own hands, and
imagining that an edict can command faith."
And the same Ambrose saith, That going into France, Amb.,
he would riot communicate with those bishops that required eplst'
that heretics should be put to death.
The emperor Martianus, who assembled the council of
3i

466 PROPOSITION XIV. ;
Mart., Chalcedon, protests, That he would not force nor con-
Archi-ad stram anJ one t0 subscribe the council of Chalcedon
mand, &c. against his will.
in acta a Hosius, bishop of Corduba5 testifies, That the emperor
Chalced., Constans would not constrain any to be orthodox.
tom. 2, b Hilarius saith further, That God teacheth,- rather than
aHo'sii, exacteth, the knowledge of himself, and authorizing his
epist. ad— commandments by the miracles of his heavenly works ; he
Constit. _ J ¦> '
apud Ath. wills not that any should confess him with a forced will,
solitPvita &c- He is the God of the whole universe, he "needs not
tom. l. a forced obedience, nor requires a constrained confes-
bffil. 1. 1, . >- i
ad Const. Sion.
cAmbr. c "Christ," saith Ambrose, "sent his apostles to, sow
Luc"! 7* ^a'tn ' not to c°nstrain, but to teach; not to exercise coer
cive power, but to extol the doctrine of humility."
dCypr., Hence Cyprian, d comparing . the old covenant with the
epls new, saith, "Then were they put to death with the out
ward sword ; but now the proud and contumacious are cut
off with the spiritual sword; hy being east out of. the
church." And this answers very well that objection be
fore observed, taken from the practice of the Jews under
the law.
e Tertul., e " See," saith Tertullian to the heathen, " if it be not
po ' c* ' to contribute to the renown of irreligion, to seek to take
away the liberty of religion, and to hinder men their choice
of God, that I may not be admitted to adore whom I will,
but must be constrained to serve him whom I will not.
There is none, nay, hot a man, that desires to be adored
Id. Apol. by any against their will. And again, It is a thing that
c- 28- easily appears to be unjust, to constrain and force men to
sacrifice against their wills ; seeing to do the service of
Idem ad God there is required a willing heart." And again, "It
^capu .c. jg a jjUman r;gnt an(j naturai power that every one worship
what he esteems ; and one man's religion doth not profil
nor hurt another. Neither is it any piece of religion to
enforce religion ; which must be undertaken by consent,
and not by violence, seeing -that the sacrifices themselves
are not required, but from a willing mind."

OF THE POWER OF THE CIVIL MAGISTRATE. 467
Now how either Papists or Protestants, that boast of
antiquity,- can get by these plain testimonies, let any rational
man judge. And, indeed I much question if in any one
point owned by them, and denied by us, they can find all
the old fathers and writers so exactly unanimous. Which
shows how contrary all of them judged this to be to the
nature of Christianity, and that in the point of persecution
lay no small part of the apostasy; which, from little to
more, came to that, that the pope, upon every small dis
content, would excommunicate princes, absolve their sub
jects' from obeying them, and turn them in arid out at his
pleasure. Now if Protestants do justly abhor these things
among Papists, is it not sad that they should do the like
themselves ? . A thing that" at their first appearance, when
they were in their primitive innocency, they did not think
on, as appears by that saying of Luther; "Neither pope Luth. lib.
nor bishop^ nor any other man, hath power to oblige a tate'Saby'-
Christian to one syllable, except it be by his own consent." lon-
And again, " I call boldly to all Christians, that neither
man nor angel can impose any law upon them, but so far
as they will : for we are free of all." And. when he ap
peared, at the diet of Spiers, before the emperor, iri a par
ticular conference he had before the archbishop of Triers
and Joachim, elector of Brandenburgh, when there seemed
no possibility of agreeing with his opposers, they asking
him, What remedy seemed to him most fit? He answer- History of
edr" The counsel that Gamaliel proposed to the Jews, to ofVrent?1
wit, That if this design was of God, it would stand ; if not,
it would vanish ; which he said ought to content the pope :"
he did not say, Because he was in the righthe ought. to be
spared. For this^counsel supposeth, that those that are
tolerated may be wrong; and yet how soon did the same
Luther, ere he was well secure himself, press the elector
of Saxony to banish poor Carolostadius, because he could
not in all things submit to his judgment ? And certainly
it is not without -ground reported, that it smote Luther to
the heart ; so that he needed to be comforted, when he
was informed, that Carolostadius, in his letter to his con-

468 proposition xiv.
gregation, styled himself "A man banished for conscience,
by the procurement of Martin Luther." And since, both
the Lutherans and Calvinists not admitting one another to
worship in those respective dominions,, showeth how little
better they are than either Papists or Arians in this par-
Calv. inst. ticular. And yet Calvin saith, That "the conscience is
s'ect.H. ' ffee from the power of all men:" if so, why then did he
cause Castellio to be banished, because he could not, for
conscience' sake, believe as he did, That God had or-
- dairied men to be damned ? And Servetus to be burned
for denying the divinity of Christ, if , Calvin's, report, of
him be to be credited ? Which opinion, though indeed it
was to be abominated, yet ho less was Calvin's practice in
causing him to be burned, and afterwards defending that
it was lawful to burn heretics; by which he encouraged
the Papists to lead his followers the more confidently to
the stake, as having for their warrant the doctrine of their
own sect-master; which they omitted not frequently to
twit them with, and indeed if was to them unanswerable.
Hence, upon this occasion, the judicious author of the
History of the Council of Trent, in his fifth book, where
giving an account of several Protestants that were burned
for their religion, well and wisely observeth it, as a matter
of astonishment, that those of the new reformation did
offer to punish in the case of religion. And afterwards,
taking notice that Calvin justifies the punishing of heretics,
he adds, " But since the name of heresy may be more or
less restricted, yea, or diversely taken, this doctrine may
be likewise taken in divers senses, and may at one time
hurt those, whom at another time ft may have benefited."
Protestant So that this doctrine of persecution cannot be maih-
sfrengthens tained by Protestants without strengthening the hands of
the popish popish inquisitors ; and indeed in the end lands in direct
inquisition. r r n . '
popery ; seeing, if 1 may not profess and preach that reli
gion, which I am persuaded in my own conscience is true,
it is to no purpose to search the scriptures, or to seek to
choose my own faith by convictions thence derived ; since
whatever I there observe, or am persuaded of, I must

OF THE POWER OF THE CIVIL MAGISTRATE. 469
either subject to the judgment of the magistrate and church
of that place I am in, or else resolve to remove or die.
Yea, doth not this heretical and antichristian doctrine,
both of Papists and Protestants, at last resolve into that
cursed policy of Mahomet, who prohibited all reason or
discourse about religion,1 as occasioning factions arid divi
sions ? And indeed those that press persecution, and deny
liberty of conscience, do thereby show themselves more
the disciples of Mahomet than of Christ ; and that they are
no ways followers of the apostle's doctrine, who desired
the Thessalonians "to prove all things, and hold fast that
which is good," 1 Thess. v. 21. And also saith, " Unto
such as are otherwise minded, God shall reveal it,". Phil.
iii. 15, not that by beatings and banishments it must be
knocked into them.
§ VI. Now the ground of persecution, as hath been above The ground
shown, is an.unwillingness to suffer ; for no man, that will tion?r8ecu"
persecute another for his conscience, would suffer for his
own, if he could avoid it, seeing his principle obliges him,
if he had, power, by force to establish that which he judges
is the truth, and so to force others to it. Therefore I judge
it meet, for the information of the nations, briefly to add
something in this place concerning the nature of true Chris
tian sufferings, whereunto a very faithful testimony hath
been borne by God's witnesses, which he hath raised up
in this age, beyond what hath been generally known or
practised for these many generations, yea, since the apos
tasy took place. Yet it is not ,rriy design here in any wise
to derogate from the sufferings of the Protestant martyrs,
whom I believe to have walked in faithfulness towards
God,' according to the dispensation of light in that day ap
pearing, and of which many were utter enemies to perse
cution, as by their testimonies against it might be made
appear. But the true, faithful and Christian suffering is for men What true
to profess what they are persuaded is right, and so practise ™ enng
and perform their worship towards God, as being their true
right so to do ; and neither to do more in that, because of
40

470 PROPOSITION XIV.
outward encouragement from men ; nor any whit less, ber
cause of the fear of their laws and acts against it. . Thus
for a Christian man. to vindicate his just liberty with so
much boldness, arid yet innocency, will in due time,
though through blood, purchase1 peace, as this age hath in
some measure experienced, and many are witnesses of it ;
which yet shall be more apparent to the world, as truth
takes place in the earth. But they greatly sin against this
excellent rule, that in time of persecution do not profess
their oWn way so muchas they would if it were otherwise;
and yet, when they can get the magistrate upon their side,
not only stretch their own liberty to the utmost, but seek
to- establish the same by denying it to others.
The inno- But of this excellent patience and sufferings, the wit-
ings ofthe" nesses of God, in scorn called Quakers, have given a mani-
Pe°p|.e fest proof: for so soon as God revealed his truth among,
Quakers, them, without regard to any opposition whatsoever, or
what, they might meet with, they went up and down, as
they were moved of the Lord, preaching and propagating
the truth in market-places, highways, streets, and public
temples, though daily beaten, whipped, bruised, haled, and
imprisoned therefore. And when there was any where a
church or assembly gathered, . they taught them to keep
their meetings openly, and not to shut the door, nor do it
by stealth, that all might know it, and those who would
might enter. And as hereby all just occasion of fear of
plotting against the government was fully removed, so this
their courage and faithfulness in not giving over their meet
ing together (but more especially the presence and glory
of God manifested in the meeting being terrible to the. con
sciences of the persecutors), did so weary out the malice
of their adversaries, that oftentimes they were forced to
leave their work undone. For when they came to break
up a meeting, they were obliged to take every individual
out by force, they not being free to give up their liberty by
dissolving at their command : and when they were haled
out, unless they were kept forth by violence, they present
ly returned peaceably to their place. Yea, when sometimes

OF THE POWER OF THE CIVIL MAGISTRATE. 471
the magistrates have pulled down their meeting-houses,
they have met the next day openly upon the rubbish, and
so by innocency kept their possession and ground, being
properly their own, and their right to meet and worship
God being not forfeited to any. So that when armed men
have come to dissolve them, it was impossible for them to
do it, unless they had killed every one ; for they stood so
close together, that no force could move any one to stir,
until violently pulled thence : so that when the malice of
their opposers stirred. them to take shovels, and throw the
rubbish upon them, there they stood unmoved, being
willing; if the Lord should so permit, to have been there
buried alive, witnessing for him. As this patient but yet
courageous way of suffering made the persecutors' work
very heavy and wearisome unto them, so the courage and
patience of the sufferers, using no resistance, nor bringing
any weapons to defend themselves, nor seeking any ways
revenge, upon such occasions, did secretly smite the hearts
of the persecutors, and made their chariot wheels go on
heavily. Thus after much and many kind of sufferings
thus patiently borne, which to rehearse would make a
volume of itself, which may in due time be published to
the nations (for we have them upon record) a kind of ne
gative liberty has been obtained ; so that at present for the
most part we meet together without disturbance from the
magistrate. But on the contrary, most Protestants, when
they have not the allowance and toleration ofthe magistrate,
meet only in secret, and hide their testimony ; and if they
be discovered, if there be any probability qf making their
escape by force (or suppose it were by cutting off those
that seek them out) they will do it ; whereby they lose the
glory of their sufferings, by not appearing as the innocent
followers of Christ, nor having a testimony of their harm-
lessness in the hearts of their pursuers, their fury, by such
resistance, is the more kindled against them. As to this
last part, of resisting such as persecute them, they can lay
claim to no precept from Christ, nor any example of him
or his apostles approved.

472 proposition xiy.
Object. But as to the first part, for fleeing and meeting secretly,
and not openly testifying for the truth, they usually object
that saying of Christ, Mat. x. 23, " When they persecute
you in this city, flee ye into another." And John xx. 19,
That the disciples met secretly for fear bf the Jews.
And Acts ix. 25, That Paul was let out of Damascus in a
basket down .by the wall.
Answ. To all which I answer, First, As tq that saying of Christ,
ft is a question if it had any further relation than to that
particular message with which he sent them to the Jews ;
yea, the latter end of the words seem expressly to hold
forth so much ; " For ye shall not have gone over the cities
of Israel, till the Son of man be come." Now a particular
practice or command for a particular time will not serve
for a precedent to any at this day to shun the cross of
Christ. But supposing this precept to reach farther, it
must be so understood to be made use of only according
as the Spirit giveth liberty, else no man that could flee
Fleeing in might suffer persecution. How then did not the apostles
secutton61' John and Peter flee, when they were the first time nerse-
not allow- cuted at Jerusalem? But, on the contrary, went the next
day, after they were discharged by the council, and
preached boldly to the people. But indeed many are but
too capable to stretch such sayings as these; for self-per-
servation,.and therefore have great ground Jo fear, when
they interpret them, that they shun to witness for Christ,
for fear of hurt to themselves, lest_ they mistake them. As
for that private meeting of the disciples, we have only an
account ofthe matter of fact, but that suffices not to make
of it a precedent for us ; and men's aptness to imitate them
in that (which, for aught we know, might have been an act
of weakness) and not in other things of a contrary, nature,
shows that it is not a true zeal to be like those disciples,
but indeed a desire to preserve themselves, which moves
them so to do. Lastly, As to that of Paul's being con
veyed out of Damascus, the case was singular ; and is not
to be doubted but it was done by a special allowance from
God, who having designed him to be a principal minister

OF THE POWER OF THE CIVIL MAGISTRATE. 473
of his gospel, saw meet in his wisdom to disappoint the
wicked counsel ofthe Jews. But our adversaries have no
such pretext for fleeing, whose fleeing proceeds from self-
preservation, not from immediate revelation. And that
Paul made not this the method of his procedure, appears,
in that at another time, notwithstanding the persuasion of
his friends, and certain prophecies of his sufferings to
come, he would not be dissuaded from going up to Jeru
salem, which according to the forementioned rule he should
have done.
But Lastly, To conclude this matter, glory to God, and
our Lord Jesus Christ, that now these twenty-five years,
since we were known to be a distinct and separate people,
hath given us faithfully to suffer for his name, without
shrinking or fleeing the cross ; and what liberty we now
enjoy, it is by his mercy, and not by any outward working
or -procuring of our own, but it is He has wrought upon
the hearts of our opposers. Nor was it any outward in
terest hath procured it unto us, but the testimony of our
harmlessness in the hearts of our superiors : for God hath
preserved us hitherto in the patient suffering of Jesus, that
we have not given away our cause by persecuting any,
which few if any Christians that I know can say. Now
against our unparalleled yet innocent and Christian cause
our malicious enemies have nothing to say, but that if we
had power, we would do so likewise. This is a piece of
mere unreasonable malice, and a privilege they take to
judge of things to come, which they have not by imme
diate revelation ; and surely it is the greatest height of
harsh judgment to say men would do contrary to their
professed principle if they could, who have from their prac
tice hitherto given no ground for it, and wherein they only
judge others by themselves : such conjectures cannot mili
tate against us, so long as we are innocent. And if ever
we prove guilty of persecution, by -forcing other men by
corporal punishment to our way, then let us be judged the
greatest of hypocrites, and let not any spare to persecute
us. Amen, saith my soul.
40* 3 k

474 PROPOSITION -xv.
PROPOSITION XV.
Concerning Salutations and Recreations, Ifc. .
Ephes. v. Seeing the chief end of all religion is to redeem men from
1 Pet. i. 14. the spirit -and vain conversation of this world, and to
John v. 44. ]ea(i int0 iHWard communion with God, before whom if
Acts x. 26. we fear al Ways we are accounted happy:; therefore all
CoT.'iTs'!3' the vain customs and habits thereof, both in word and
deed, are to be rejected and forsaken by those who
come to this fear; such as taking off the hat to' a man,
the bowings and cringings of the body, and such other
salutations of that kind, with all the foolish and supersti
tious formalities attending them ; all which man hath
invented in his degenerate state, to feed his pride in the
vain pomp and glory of this world-: as also the unprofit
able plays, frivolous recreations, sportings, and gamings,
which are invented to pass away the precious time, and
divert the mind from the witness of God in the heart,
and from the living sense of his fear, and" from that
evangelical spirit wherewith - Christians ought to be
leavened, and which leads into sobriety, gravity, and
godly fear;- in which as we abide, the blessing of the
Lord is felt to attend us in those actions in which we
are necessarily engaged, in order to the taking care for
the sustenance of the outward man.
§ I. Having hitherto treated of the principles of religion,
both relating to doctrine and worship, I am now to speak
of some practices which have been the product of this
principle, in those witnesses whom God hath raised up in
this day to testify for his truth. It will not a little commend
them, I suppose, in the judgment of sober and judicious
men, that taking them generally, even by the confession
of their adversaries, they are found to be free of those
abominations which abound among other professors,- such-
as are swearing, drunkenness, whoredom, riotousness, &c. ;
and that generally the very coming among this people

OF SALUTATIONS AND RECREATIONS. 475
doth naturally work such a change, so that many vicious
and profane persons have been known, by coming to this
truth, to become sober and virtuous ; and many light, vain,
and wanton ones to become grave and serious, as our
adversaries dare not deny :* yet that they may not want
something to detract us for, cease not to accuse us for those
filings which, when found among themselves, they highly
commend ; thus our gravity theycall sullenness, our serious
ness melancholy, our silence sottishness. Such as have
been vicious and profane among them, but by coming to
us have left off those evils, lest they should commend the
truth of our profession, they say, that whereas they were
profane before, they are become worse, in being hypocriti
cal and spiritually proud. If anyb.efore dissolute and pro
fane among them, by. coming to the truth with us, become
frugal and diligent, then they will charge them with covet
ousness : and if any eminent among them for seriousness,
piety, and discoveries of God, come unto us, then they
will say, they were always subject to -melancholy and to
enthusiasm ; though before, when among them, it was
esteemed neither .melancholy nor enthusiasm in, an evil
sense, but Christian gravity and divine revelation. Our
boldness and Christian suffering they call obstinacy and
pertinacity ;' though half as much, if among themselves,
they would account Christian courage and nobility. And
though thus by their envy they strive to read all relating to
us backwards, counting those things vices in us, which in
themselves they would extol as virtues, yet hath the strength
of truth extorted this confession often from them, That we
are generally a pure and clean people, as to the outward
conversation. ! -
But this, they say, is but in policy tq commend our
heresy. * After this manner the Papists used to disapprove the sobriety of
the Waldenses, of whom Reinerus, a Popish author, so writeth:- "But
this sect of the Leonists hath a great show of truth ; tor that they live
righteously before men, and believe all things well of God, and all-the
articles which are contained in the creed;' only they blaspheme and
hate the church of Rome."

476 PROPOSITION XV.
But such policy it is, say I, as Christ- and his apostles
made use of, and allgood Christians ought to do ; yea, -so
far hath truth prevailed by the purity of its followers, that
if one that is called a Quaker do but that which is common
among them, as to laugh and be wanton, speak at large,
and keep not his word punctually, or be overtaken with
hastiness or anger, they presently say, O this -is against
-your profession! Aa if indeed so to do were very con
sistent with theirs ; wherein thougJh they speak the truth,
yet they give away their cause. But if they can find any
under our name in any of those evils common among them
selves (as who can imagine but among so many thousands
there will be some chaff, since of twelve apostles one was
found to be a devil), 0 how will they insult, and make more
noise of the oscape of one Quaker, than of an hundred
among themselves !
§ II. But there are some singular things, which most of
all our adversaries plead for the lawfulness of, and allow
themselves in, as no ways inconsistent with the Christian
religion, which we have found to be no ways lawful unto
us, and have been commanded of the Lord to lay them
aside ; though the doing thereof hath occasioned no small
sufferings and buffetings, and hath procured us much
hatred and malice from the world. And because the nature
of these things is such, that they do upon the very sight
distinguish us, and make us known, so that we cannot hide
ourselves from any, without proving unfaithful to our testi
mony ; our trials and exercises have here-through proved
the more numerous and difficult, as will after appear. These
I have laboured briefly to comprehend in this proposition ;
but they may more largely be exhibited in these six follow
ing propositions :
Flattering I. That it is not lawful to give to men such flattering
titles, as Your Holiness, Your Majesty, Your Eminency,
Youi- Excellency, Your Grace, Your Lordship, Your
Honour, &c, nor use those flattering words, commonly
called Compliments.
II. That it is not lawful for Christians to kneel, or pros-

titles.

OF SALUTATIONS AND RECREATIONS. 477
trate themselves to any man, or to bow the body, or to un- Hat and
cover the head to them. , knee'
III. That it is not lawful for a Christian to use super- Apparel.
fluities in apparel, as are of no use, save for ornament and
vanity. IV. That it is not lawful to use games, sports, plays, Gaming.
nor among other things comedies among Christians, under
the notion of recreations, which do not agree with Chris
tian sijence, gravity, and sobriety ; for laughing, sporting,
gaming, mocking, jesting, vain talking, &c, is not Chris
tian liberty, nor harmless mirth.
V. That it is not lawful for Christians to swear at all Swearing.
under the gospel, not only not vainly, and in their common
discourse, which was also forbidden under the Mosaical
law, but even not in judgment before the magistrate.
VI. That ft is not lawful for Qhristians to resist evil, or Fighting.
to war or fight in any case.
Before I enter upon a particular disquisition of these Degrees of
things, I shall first premise some general considerations, to prece/ency
prevent all mistakes ; and next add some general consider- alloweQ-
ations, which equally respect all of them. I would not
have any judge, that hereby we intend to destroy the
mutual relation that either is betwixt prince and people,
master and servants, parents and children ; nay, not at all :
we shall evidence, that our principle in these things hath
no such .tendency, and that these natural relations are
.rather better established, than any ways hurt by it.- Next,
Let not any judge, that from our opinion in these things,
any necessity of levelling will follow, or that all men must
have. things in common. Our principle leaves every man
to enjoy that peaceably, which either his own industry, or
his parents, have purchased to him ; only he is thereby in
structed to use it aright, both for his own good, and that
of his brethren ; and all to the glory of God : in which
also his acts are to be voluntary, arid no ways constrained.
And further, weusay not hereby, that no man may use the
creation more Or less than another : for we know, that as
it hath pleased God to dispense it diversly, giving to some

478 PROPOSITION XV.
more, and some less, so they may use it accordingly.
Education The several conditions, under which men are diversly
cofdiiigty! stated, together with their educations answering thereunto,
do sufficiently show this : the servant is not the same way
educated as the master ; nor the tenant as the. landlord ;
nor the rich as the poor ; nor the prince as the peasant,.
Now, though it be not lawful for any, however great abun
dance they may have, or whatever their education may be,
to use that which is merely superfluous; yet seeing their
education has accustomed them thereunto, and their capa
city enables them so to do, without being profuse or extra
vagant, they may use things better iri their kind, than such
whose educatiori hath neither accustomed them to such
The lawful things, nor their capacity will reach to compass them. For
use ofthe it is beyond question, that whatever thing the creation
creation, affords is for the use of man, and the moderate use of
them is lawful ; yet, per accidensj they may be unlawful to
some, and not to others. As. for instance, he that by rea
son of his estate and education hath been, used to eat flesh
and drink wine, and to be clothed with the finest wool, if
his estate will bear it, and he use it neither in superfluity,
nor immoderately, he may do it ¦; and perhaps, if he should
apply himself to feed, or be clothed as are the peasants, it
might prejudice the health of his body, and nothing
advance his soul. But if a man, whose estate and edu
cation had accustomed him to both coarser food and rai
ment, should stretch himself beyond what he had, or Were
used to, to the manifest prejudice of his family and chil
dren, no doubt it would be unlawful to him, even^so to eat
or be clothed as another, in whom it is lawful ;- for that the
other may be as much mortified, and have denied himself
as much in coming down to that, Which this aspires to, as
he, in willing to be like him, aspires beyond what he either
is able, or hath accustomed to do. The safe place then is,
for such as have fulness, to watch over themselves, that
Thh [ichh ^ey use '* moderately, and rescind all superfluities ; being
poor. willing, as far as they can, to help the need of those to
whom Providence hath allotted a smaller allowance. Let

OF SALUTATIONS AND RECREATIONS. 479
the brother of high degree rejoice, in that he is abased ;
and such as God calls in a low degree, be content with
their condition, not envying those brethren who have
greater abundance, knowing they have received abundance,
as to the inward man; which is chiefly to be regarded.
And therefore beware of such a temptation, as to use their
calling as an engine to be richer, knowing, they have this
advantage beyond the rich and noble that are called, that
the truth doth not any ways abase them, nay, not in the
esteem of the world, as it doth the other.; but that they
are rather exalted thereby, in that as to the inward and
spiritual fellowship of the saints, they become the brethren
and companions of the greatest and richest ; and in this
respect, Let him of low degree rejoice that he is exalted.
These things premised, I would seriously propose unto
all such, as choose to be Christians indeed, and that in
nature, and not in name only, whether it were not desirable,
and would not greatly contribute to the commendation of
Christianity, and. to the increase of the life and. virtue of
Christ, if all superfluous titles of honour, profuseness and
prodigality in meat and apparel, gaming, sporting and
playing, were laid aside and forborne? And whether.
such as lay them aside, in so doing, walk not more like
the disciples of Christ and his apostles, and are therein
nearer their example', than .such as use them ? Whether
the laying them aside would hinder any from being good
Christians? Or if Christians might not be better without
them, than with them ? Certainly the sobqr and serious
among all sorts will say, Yea. Then surely such as lay
them aside, as reckoning them unsuitable for Christians,'
are not to be blamed, but rather commended for so doing :
because that in principle and practice they effectually
advance that, which others acknowledge were desirable,
but can- never make effectual, so long as they allow the use
of them as lawful. And Gpd hath made it manifest in
this age, that by discovering the evil of such things, and
leading his witnesses out of them, and to testify against
them, he hath produced effectually in many that mortifica-

480

PROPOSITION XV.

Under the
law and

tion and abstraction from the love and cares of this world,
who daily are conversing in the world, but inwardly re
deemed out, of ft, both in wedlock, and in their lawful em
ployments, which was judged could only be obtained- by
such as were shut up in cloisters and monasteries. Thus
much in general.
§ III. As to the first we affirm positively, That itjs not
lawful for Christians either to give ' or receive these titles
of honpur, as, Your Holiness, Your Majesty, Your Excel
lency, Your Eminency, &c.
Titles. First, Because these titles are no part of that obedience
which is due to magistrates or superiors ; neither doth the
giving them add' to or diminish from that subjection we
Owe to them, which consists in obeying their just arid law
ful commands, not in titles and designations.
Secondly, We find not that in the scripture any such
titles are used, either under the law or the gospel : but that
in the speaking to kings, princes, or nobles, they used only
a simple compellation, as O King ! and that without any
further designation, save perhaps the name of the person,
as, 0 King Agrippa, &c. ' -
Thirdly, It lays a necessity upon Christians most fre
quently to lie ; because the persons obtaining these titles,
either by election or hereditarily, may frequently be found
to have nothing really in them deserving them, or answer
ing to them : as some, to whom it is said, Your Excellency,
having, nothing of excellency, in them ; and he who is
called, Your Grace, appears to be an enemy to grace ; and
he who is called, Your Honour, is known to be base and
Patents do ignoble. I wonder what 'law of man, or what patent ought
to°a°lie!Se to oblige me to make a lie, in calling good, evil ;. and evil,
good? I wonder what "law. of man can secure me, in so
doing, from the just judgment of God^hat will make me
account for, every idle word? And to lie is something
more. Surely Christians should be ashamed that such
laws, manifestly crossing the law of God, should be among
them.
Object. If ft be said, We ought in charity to suppose that they

Lying
titles.

OF SALUTATIONS AND RECREATIONS. 481
have these virtues, because the king has bestowed those
titles upon them, or that they are descended of such as
deserved them ;
I answer, Charity destroys not knowledge : I am not Answ.
obliged by charity, either to believe or speak a lie. Now
it is apparent, and cannot be denied by any, but that those
virtues are not in many of the persons expressed by the
titles they bear; neither will they allow to speak so to
such, in whom these virtues are, unless they be so digni
fied by outward princes. So that such as are truly virtu
ous, must not be styled by their virtues, because not
privileged by the princes of this world ; and such as have
them not, must be so called, because they have obtained a
patent so to be : and all this is done by those, who pre
tend to be. his followers, that commanded his disciples, Not
to be called of men, Master; and told them, such could
not believe, as received honour one from another, and
sought not the honour which cometh from God only. This
is so plain, to. such as will indeed be Christians, that it
needs no consequence.
Fourthly, As to those titles of Holiness, Eminency and Your Holi-
Excellehcy, used among the Papists to the Pope and Car- Grace, &c.
dinals, &c, and Grace, Lordship, and Worship, used to
the clergy among the Protestants, it is a most blasphemous
usurpation. For if they use Holiness and Grace, because
these things ought to be in a Pope or in a Bishop, how
come they to usurp that peculiarly to themselves ? Ought
not holiness and grace to be in every Christian ? And so
every Christian should say, Your Holiness, and Your
Grace, one to another. Next, how can they in reason
claim any more titles, than were practised and received by
the apostles and primitive Christians, whose successors they
pretend they are, and as whose successors (and no other
wise) themselves, I judge, will confess any honour they
seek, is due to them ? Now if they neither sought, re
ceived, nor admitted such honour nor titles, how came
these by them ? If they say theydid, let them prove it if
they can: we find no such thing in the scripture. The
41 3l

482 PROPOSITION XV.
Christians speak to the apostles without any such deno
mination, neither saying, If it please Your jGrace, Your
Holiness, Your Lordship, nor Your Worship j they are
neither ¦ called, My Lord Peter, nor My Lord Paul ; nor
yet Master Peter, nor Master Paul ; nor Doctor Peter, nor
Doctor Paul ; but singly Peter and Paul ; and that not
only in the scripture, but. for some hundreds of years after :
so that this appears" to be a manifest fruit of the apostasy.
For if these titles arise either from the office or worth of
the persons, ft will not be- denied, but the apostles deserved
them better than any now that call for them. But the case
is plain, the apostles had the holiness, the excellency, the
grace; and because they were holy, excellent, and gra
cious, they neither used, nor admitted "of such titles : but
Hypocrites these having neither holiness; excellency, nor grace, will
want titles. neecis j^ so ca]jeci} to satisfy their ambitious and ostenta
tious minds, which is a manifest token of their hypocrisy.
Fifthly, As to that title of Majesty, usually ascribed to
princes, we do not find it given to any such in the holy
scripture ; but that it is specially and peculiarly ascribed
unto God, as 1 Chron. xxix. 11 ; Job xxxvii. 22 ; Psal.
xxi. 5, and xxix. 4, and xiv. 3, and xciii. 1, and xcvi. 6 ;
Isa. ii. 10, arid xxiv. 14, and xxvi. 10; Heb. i. 3; 2 Pet.
i. 16, andlmany more places. Hence saith Jude, ver. 25,
" To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and ma
jesty," &c, not to men. We find in scripture the proud
king Nebuchadnezzar assuming this title to himself, Dan.
iv. 30, who at that time received a sufficient reproof, by a
sudden judgment which came upon him. Therefore in all
the compellations used to princes in the Old Testament, it
is hot to be found, nor yet in the New. Paul was very
civil to Agrippa, yet he gives him no such title : neither >.
was this title used among Christians in the primitive times.
Hence the Ecclesiastical History of- the Reformation of
France, relating the speech of the Lord Rochefort, at the
assembly of the estates Of France, held under Charles the
Ninth, in the year 1560, saith, That this harangue was
well remarked; in that he used not the word Majesty, in-

OF SALUTATIONS AND RECREATIONS. 483
vented by flatterers of late years. And yet . this author Eccles.
minded not how his master, Calyin used this flattering title i'l ^, 445.
to Francis the First, King of France ; and. not only so, but Jom Ma-
. . ° . . J J jesty not
calls him Most Christian King, in the epistle to his Institu- used ; how
tions ; though by his daily persecuting of the reformers, it J^/ofm"
was apparent,- he was far from being such, even in Calvin's 156°-
own esteem. Surely the complying with such vain titles,
imposed and introduced by anti-christ, greatly tended to
stain the reformation, and to render it defective in many
things. :
Lastly, All these titles and styles of honour are to be re
jected by Christians, because they are to seek the honour that
comes from above, and not the honour that is from below :
but these honours are not that honour that comes from above,
but are from below. For we know well enough what in
dustry, and what pains men are at to get these things, and
what part it is that seeks after them, to wit, the proud, in- The proud
solent, haughty, aspiring mind, For judge, Is it the meek titles.
and innocent Spirit of Christ that covets that honour ? Is
it that Spirit that must be of no reputation in this world,
that has its conversation in heaven, that comes to have
fellowship- with the sons of God ? Is it that Spirit, I say, Phil. iii. 20.
that loves that , honour, that seeks after that honour, that
pleads for the upholding of that honour, that frets, and
rages, and fumes, when ft is denied that honour ? - Or is it
not rather the lordly insulting spirit of Lucifer, the prince Lucifer's
of this world, he that of old affected and sought after this
honour, and loved not to abide in the submissive low
place?. And so all his children are possessed with the
same ambitious proud mind,- seeking and coveting titles
of honour, which indeed belong not to them. For let us
examine, *Who they are that are honourable indeed? Is
it not the righteous man ? Is it not the holy man ? Is it iSam.ii.30.
* Hierom, in his epistle to. Celant, admonisheth hex, That she was to
be preferred to none for her nobility, for the Christian religion admits
not of-respect of persons; neither are men to be esteemed because of
their outward condition, but according to the disposition of the mind
to he esteemed either noble or base; he that obeyeth not sin, is free •
who is strong in virtue, is noble. Let the Epistle of James be read.

484 PROPOSITION XV.
not the humble-hearted man, the meek-spirited man ? And
are not such those that ought to be honoured among Chris
tians? Now of these, may there not be poor men, la
bourers, silly nshermen ? . And if so, how comes it that the
titles of honour are not bestowed upon such ? But who are
they that generally receive and look for this honour? Are
they not the rich ones, such as have abundance of the
earth, as be like the rich glutton, such as are proud and
ambitious, such as are oppressors of the poor, such as
swell with lust and vanity, and all superfluity of naughti
ness, who are the very abomination and plague of the
nations ? Are not these they that are accounted honourable,
that "require and receive the titles of honour, proud Ha-
mans ? Now whether is this the honour that comes from
God, or the honour from below? Doth, God honour such
as daily dishonour him, and disobey .him ? And if this be
not the honour that comes from God, but the nonpur of
this world, which the children of this world give and re
ceive one from another ; how can the children of God,
such as are Christians indeed, give or receive that honour
among themselves, without coming under the reproof of
Christ, who saith, that such as do cannot - believe ? But
further, if we respect the cause that most frequently pro
cures to men these titles of honour, there is not one of a
thousand that shall be found to be, because of any Chris
tian virtue; but rather. -for things to be discommended
among Christians : as by the favour of princes, procured
by flattering, and often by worse means. Yea, the most
frequent, and accounted among men most honourable, is
fighting, or some great martial exploit, which can add
nothing to a Christian's worth : since, sure it is, it were
desirable there were no fightings among Christians at all;
and in so far as there are, it shows they are not right
Christians. And James tells us, that fighting proceeds
from the lusts. So that it were fitter for Christians^ by the
sword of God's Spirit, to fight against their lusts, than by
the prevalency of their lusts to destroy one another. What
ever honour any might have attained of old under the

OF SALUTATIONS AND RECREATIONS. 485
Law this way, we find under the Gospel Christians com
mended for suffering, not for fighting; neither did any of
Christ's disciples, save one, offer outward violence by the
sword, in cutting off Malchus's ear; for which he received
no title of honour, but a just reproof. Finally, if we look
either to the nature of this honour, the cause of it, the
ways it is conveyed, the terms in which it is delivered, it
Cannot be used by such as desire to be Christians in good
earnest. § IV. Now besides these general titles of honour, what
gross abuses are crept in among such as are called Chris
tians in the use of compliments, wherein not servants to
masters, or others, with respect to any such kind of relations,
but others who have no such relation, do say and write to one
another, at every turn, Your humble servant, Your most obe
dient servant, &c. Such wicked customs have, to the -great
prejudice of souls, accustomed Christians to lie ; and to use
lying is now come to be accounted civility. O horrid apos
tasy! for it is notoriously known, that the use of these com
pliments imports not any design of service, neither are any
such fools as to think so : for if we should put them to it
that say so, they would not doubt to think we abused them ;
and would let us us know they gave us words in course, and
no more. It is strange, that such as pretendjo scripture as
their rule should not be ashamed to use. such things ; since
Elihu, who had not the scriptures, could by the Light
within him (which these nien think insufficient), say, Job
xxxii. 21, 22: "Let me not accept any man's person,
neither let me give flattering titles unto man. ¦ For I know
not to give flattering titles ; in so doing my Maker would
soon take me away." A certain ancient devout man, in
the primitive time, subscribed himself to a bishop, Your
humble servant ; wherein I doubt not but he was more
real than our usual complimenters ; and yet he was sharply
reproved for it.*
* This history is reported by Casaubonus, in his -book of Manners
and Customs, p. 160. In this last age heis esteemed an uncivil man,
who will not either to bis inferior or equal'subscribe himself Servant.
But Sulpitius Severus was heretofore sharply reproved by Paulinus,
41*

486 PROPOSITION XV.
But they usually object, to defend themselves, That
Luke saith, Most Excellent Theophilus ; and Paid, Most
Noble Festus.
I answer ; Since Luke wrote that by the dictates" of the
infallible Spirit-of God, I think it will not he doubted but
Theophilus did deserve it, as being really endued wfth that
virtue : in which base we. shall not condemn those that do
it by the same rule. But it is not proved that Luke gave
Theophilus this title, as that which was inherent to him,
either by his father,- or by any patent Theophilus had ob
tained from any of the princes of the earth ; or that he
would have given ft him, in case he had not been truly
excellent ; and without this be proved (which never can),
there can nothing hence be deduced against us. The like
Concerning may be. said of that of Paul to Festus, whom he would
Paulgave nGt naV€ called such, if he had not been truly noble ; as
to Festus. indeed he was, in that he suffered him to be heard in his
own cause, and would not give way to the fury of the
Jews against, him : it was not because, of any outward title
bestowed upon Festus, that he so called him, else he would
have given the same appellation to his predecessor, Felix,
who. had the same office ; but being a covetous man, we
find he gives him no such style.
The singu- § V. It will not be unfit in this place to say something
t^one'per- concerning the using of the singular number to one person ;
son used in 0f this there is no controversy in the Latin. For when we
the Latin. . J *-,,-,
speak to one, we always use the pronoun tu, and he that
would do otherwise, would break the rules of grammar.
For what boy, learning his rudiments, is ignorant, that it
is incongruous to say vos amas,vos legis, that is, you lovest,
you readest, speaking to ohe ? But the pride of man, that
hath corrupted many things, refuses also to use this sim
plicity of speaking. in the vulgar languages. For being
puffed up with a vain opinion of themselves, as if the singu-
bishop of I^ola, because in his epistle he had subscribed himself his
Servant, saying, " Beware thou subscribe not thyself his Servant, who
is thy Brother: for flattery }s sinful, not' a testimony of humility to give
those honours to men, which are only due to the One Lord, Master,
and GOD."

OF SALUTATIONS AND RECREATIONS. 487
lar number were not sufficient for them, they will have
others to speak to them in the plural. Hence Luther, in
his plays, reproves and mocks this manner of speaking,
saying, Magister, vos es iratus : which corruption Erasmus
sufficiently refutes in his book of writing epistles: con
cerning which likewise James Howel, in his epistle to the
nobility of England, before the French and English Dic
tionary, takes notice, " That both in France, and in other
nations, the word thou was used in speaking to one ; but
by succession of time, when the Roman commonwealth
grew into an 'empire, the courtiers began to magnify the
emperor (as being furnished with power to confer dignities
and offices), using the word you, yea, and deifying him How the
with more remarkable titles ; ooncerning which matter, we ^™ '"^
read in the epistles of Symmachus to the emperors Theo- used to a
dosius and Valentinianus, where he useth these forms of son.
speaking, Vestra jEternitas, Your Eternity ; Vestrum Nu-
men, Your Godhead ; Vestra Serenitas, Your Serenity ;
Vestra Clementia, Your Clemency. So that the word you
in the plural number, together with the other titles and
compellations of honour, seem to have taken their rise
from monarchical government ; which afterwards, by de
grees, came to be derived to private persons."
The same is witnessed by John Maresius, of the French
academy, in the preface of his Clovis : " Let none won
der," saith he, " that the word thou is used in this work
to Princes and Princesses; for we use the same to God:
and of .'old the same was used to Alexanders, Caesars,
Queens and Empresses, The use of the v/ord'you, when
one person is spoken to, was only introduced by these
base flatterers of men of latter ages, -to whom it seemed
good to use the plural number to one person, that he may
imagine himself alone to be equal to many others in dig
nity and worth ; from whence at last it came to persons of
lower quality."
To the same purpose speaketh also M. Godeau, in his
. preface-to the New Testament translation : " I had rather,''
saith he, "faithfully keep to the express words of Paul,

488 PROPOSITION XV.
than exactly follow the polished style of our tongue ; there
fore! always use that form of calling God in the singular
number, not in the plural ; and therefore I say rather thou
than you. I confess indeed, that the civility and custom
of this world requires him to be honoured after that man
ner ; , but it is likewise on the contrary true, that the ori
ginal tongue of the New Testament hath nothing common
with such manners and civility ; so that not one of these
many old versions we have doth observe it. Let not, men
believe, that we give not respect enough to God, in that
The word we call him by the word thou, which is nevertheless far
S-ea'te* otherwise ; for I seem tp myself (may be by the effect of
honour to custom) more to honour his Divine Majesty, in calling
y0U„ him after this manner, than if I should call him after the
manner of'men, who are so delicate in their, forms of
speech." See "how clearly and evidently these men witness, that
this form of speaking, and these profane titles, derive their
origin frbm the base flattery of these last ages, and from
the delicate haughtiness of worldly men, who have in
vented, these novelties, that thereby they might honour.
one another, under I know not what pretence of civility
and respect. From whence many of the present Chris
tians (so accounted) are become so perverse, in commend
ing most wicked men, and wicked customsj that the sim
plicity of the Gospel is wholly lost ; so that the giving of
men and things their own names is not Qnly worn out of
custom, but the doing thereof is accounted absurd and
rude by such kind of delicate parasites, who desire to
ascribe to' this flattery and abuse, the name of civility.
Moreover, that this way of speaking proceeds from a high
and proud mind, hence appears ; because that men com
monly use the singular number to beggars, and to their
servants; yea, and in their prayers to God. Thus the
superior will speak to his inferior, who yet will not bear
that the inferior so speak to him, as judging it a kind of
reproach unto. him. So hath the pride of men placed God
and the beggar in the same category. I think I need not

OF SALUTATIONS AND , RECREATIONS. 489
use arguments to prove to such as know congruous lan
guage, that we ought to use the singular number speaking
to one ; which is the common dialect of the whole scrip
ture, as also the most interpreters do translate it. Seeing
therefore it is manifest to us, that this form of speaking to
men in the plural number doth proceed from pride, as
well as that it is in itself a lie, we found a necessity upon
us to testify against this corruption, by using the singular
equally unto all. And although no reason can be given
why we should be persecuted upon this account, especially
by Christians, who profess to follow the rule of scripture, Scripture
whose dialect this is ; yet it would perhaps seem incredible pia'^ian1!6
if I should relate how much we haVe suffered for this guage.
thing, and how these proud ones have fumed, fretted, and
gnashed their teeth, frequently beating and striking us,
when we have spoken to them thus in the singular number :
whereby we are the more confirmed in our judgment, as
seeing that this testimony of truth, which God hath given
ns to bear in all things, doth so vex the serpentine nature
in the children of darkness.
§ yi. Secondly, Next unto this of -titles, tlfe other part Bowing to
of honour used among Christians is ihe kneeling, bowing, men* c*
and uncovering of the head to one another. I know
nothing our adversaries have" to plead for them in this
matter, save some few instances of the Old Testament, and
the custom ofthe country.
The first are, such as Abraham's bowing himself to the
children of Heth, and Lot, to the two angels, &c.
But. the practice of these patriarchs, related as matter
of fact, is not to be a rule to Christiana now ; neither are
we to imitate them in every -practice, which has not a par
ticular reproof added to it: for we find not Abraham re
proved for taking Hagar, &c. And indeed to say all
things were lawful for us which they practised, would pro
duce great inconveniences obvious enough to all. And The eus-
? ... ...... torn of the
as to the customs of the nations, it is a very ill argument nations no
for a Christian's practice : we should have a better rule to c^ig°ian8>
walk by than the custom of the Gentiles ; the apostle
3m

490 PROPOSITION XV.
Rom. xii. desires us not to be " conformed tp this world," &c. We
see how little they have to>say for themselves in this matter.
Let it be observed then, whether our reasons for laying
aside these things be not considerable and weighty enough
to uphold us in so doirig.
First, We say, That God, who. is the creator of man,
and he to whom he oweth the dedication both of. soul and
body, is over all to be worshipped and adored, and that
not only by the spirit, but also with the prostration of body.
Bowing is Now kneeling, bowing, and uncovering of the head,- is
and is only the' alone outward signification of our adoration towards
due to God. q0(j an(j therefore it is not lawful to give it unto man. He
that kneeleth, or prostrates himself to man, what doth he
more to God ? He that boweth, and -uncovereth his head
to the creature, what hath he reserved to the Creator?
Now the apostle shows us, that the uncovering of the head
is that which God requires of us in our worshipping of
him, 1 Cor. xi. 4- But if we make our address to men in
the same manner, where lieth the difference ? Not in the
outward signification, but merely in the intention ; which
opens a door for the popish veneration -of images, which
hereby is necessarily excluded.
Secondly, Men being alike by creation, though their
being stated under their several relations requires from
them mutual services- according to those respective rela
tions, owe not worship one to another, but all equally are
to return it to God : because it is to him, and his name
alone, that every knee must bow, and before whose throne
the four and twenty elders prostrate themselves. There
fore for men to take this one from another, is to rob God
of his glory : since all the duties of relations may be per
formed one to another without these kind of bowings,
which therefore are no essential part of our duty to man,
but to God. All men, by an inward instinct, in all nations
have been led to prostrate and bow themselves to God.
And it is plain that this bowing to men took place from a
slavish fear .possessing some, which led them to set up
others as gods ; when also an ambitious proud spirit got

OF SALUTATIONS AND RECREATIONS. 491
up in those others, to usurp the place of God over their
brethren. Thirdly, We see that Peter refused ft from Cornelius,
saying, He was a man. Are then the popes more, or more
excellent than Peter, who suffer men daily to fall down at
their feet, and kiss them?1 This reproof of Peter to Cor- Peter and
nelius doth abundantly show, that such manners were not refUsefel
to be admitted among Christians, Yea, we see, that the bowing.
angel twice refused this kind of bowing -from John, Rev.
xix. 10, and xxii. 9, for this reason, » Because I am thy
fellow-servant, and of thy brethren ;"-abundaritly intimat
ing that it is not lawful for fellow-servants thus to prostrate
themselves one to another : and in this respect all men are
fellow-servants. If.it be said, John intended here a religious worship, Object.
and not a civil :
I answer; This is to say, not to prove : neither can we Answ.
suppose John, at that time of the day, so ill-instructed as
not to know ft was unlawful to worship angels ; only it
should seem, because of those great and mysterious things
revealed to him by that angel, he was willing to signify
some more than ordinary testimony of respect, for which
he was reproved. These things being thus considered, it
is remitted to the judgment of such as are desirous to be
found Christians indeed, whether we are worthy of blame
for waving it to men. Let those then that will blame us
consider whether they might -not as well accuse Mordecai
of incivility, who was. no less singular than we in this mat
ter. And-forasmuch as they accuse us herein of rudeness To forbear
and pride, though the.testimony of our consciences in the rnan'isfno
sight of God be a sufficient guard against such calumnies, inclvll?<y>
yet there are of us known to be men of such education, as nor rude-
forbear hot these- things for want of that they call good
breeding; and we should be very void of reason, -to pur
chase that pride at so dear a rate, as many have done the
exercise of their conscience in this matter ; many of us
having been sorely beaten and^ buffeted, yea, and several -
months imprisoned, for no other reason but because we

492 PROPOSITION XV.
coiilel not so satisfy the proud unreasonable humours of
proud men, as to uncover our heads, and bow our bodies.
Nor doth our innocent practice, in standing still, though
upright, not putting off our hats, any more than our shoes,
the one being the covering of our heads, as well as the
other of our feet, show so much rudeness, as their beating
and knpcking us, &c, because we cannot bow to them,
contrary to our consciences : which certainly shows less
meekness and humility upon their part, than it doth of
rudeness or pride upon ours. Now suppose it were our
weakness, and we really under a mistake in this thing,
since it is not alleged to be the breach bf any Christian
precept, are we not to be indulged, as the apostle com
manded should be done to such as scrupled to eat flesh ?
-And do not persecuting and reviling us upon this account
show them to be more like unto proud Hainan, than the
^disciples or followers of the meek, self-denying Jesus?
And this I can say boldly, in the sight of God, from my
own experience, and that of many thousands more, that
however small or foolish this may seem, yet we behoved
to choose death rather than do it, and that for conscience'
sake: and that in its being so contrary to our natural
spirits, there are many of us, to whom the forsaking of
these bowings and ceremonies was as death itself; which
we could never have left, if we could have enjoyed our
peace with God in the use of them. Though it be. far from
us to judge all those to whom God hath not shown the evil
of them under the like hazard ; yet nevertheless, we doubt
not but to such as would prove faithful witnesses to
Christ's divine light in their consciences, God will also
show the evil of these things.
Apparel in § VII. The third thing to be treated of, is the vanity
andVsuper- anc' superfluity of apparel. In which, first, two things are
fluitydis- to be considered, the condition of the person, and the
country he lives in. We shall not say that all persons are
to be clothed alike, because it will perhaps neither suit
their bodies nor their estates. And if a man be clothed
soberly, and without superfluity, though they may be finer

OF SALUTATIONS AND RECREATIONS. 493
than that which his servant is clothed with, we shall not
blame him for it: the abstaining from superfluities, which \
his condition and education have accustomed him to, may
be in him a greater act of mortification than the abstaining
from jiner clothes in the servant, who never was accustomed
to them. As to the country, what it naturally produces
may be no vanity to the -inhabitants to use, or what is com
monly imparted to them by way of exchange, seeing it is
without doubt that the creation is for the use of man. So
where silk abounds, it may be worn as well as wool ; and
were we in those countries, or near unto them, where gold
or silver were as common as iron or brass, the one might
be used as well as the other. The iniquity lies then here,
First, When from a lust of vanity, arid a desire to adorn
themselves, men and women, not content with what their
condition can bear, or their country easily affords, do
stretch to have .things, that from their rarity, and the price
that is put upon them, seem to be precious, and so feed
their lust the -more ; and this all sober men of all sorts will
readily grant to" be evil.
Secondly, When men are npt content to make a true
use of the creation, whether the things be fine pr coarse,
and do not satisfy themselves with what need and con
veniency call for, but add thereunto things merely super
fluous, such as is the use of ribbands and lace, and much
more of that kind of stuff, as painting the face, and plaiting
the hair, which are the fruits of the fallen, lustful, and
corrupt nature, and not of the new creation, as all will
acknowledge. And though sober men among all sorts
will say, that it were better these things were not, yet will
they not reckon them unlawful, and therefore do admit the
use of them among their church members : but we do ac
count them altogether, unlawful, and unsuitable to Chris
tians, and that for these reasons :
First, The use of clothes came originally from the fall. The proper
If man had not fallen, it appears he would not have needed cf0ethes.
them ; but this miserable state made them necessary in two
respects : 1. To cover his nakedness ; 2. To keep him from
42

494 PROPOSITION XV.
the cold; which are both the proper arid principal use of
them. Now for man to delight himself in that which is
the fruit of his iniquity, and the consequence of his sin,
can be no ways lawful for him : so to extend things beyond
their real use, or to superadd things wholly superfluous, is
a manifest abuse of the creation, and therefore not lawful
to Christians.
Secondly, Those that will needs so adorn themselves in
the use of their clothes, as to beset them with things hav
ing no real use or necessity, but merely for ornament sake,
Not to do openly declare, that the end of it is either to please their
Fusts.6 ' 6ir lust> f°r which end these things are chiefly invented and
contrived, or otherwise to gratify a vain, proud, and
ostentatious mind ; and it is obvious these are their gen
eral ends in so doing. Yea, we see how easily men are
puffed up with their garments, and how proud and vain
they are, when adorned to their mind. Now how far these
things are below a true Christian, and how unsuitable,
needs very little proof. Hereby those, who love to be
gaudy and superfluous in their clothes, show they concern
themselves little with mortification and self-denial, and that
they study to beautify their bodies more than their souls ;
which prove they think little upon mortality, and so cer
tainly are more nominal than real Christians.
Contrary to Thirdly, The scripture severely reproves such practices,
scripture, fofa commending and commanding the contrary ; as Isa.
iii., how severely doth the prophet reprove the daughters
of Israel for their tinkling ornaments, their cauls, and their
round tires, their chains and bracelets, &c, and yet is it
not strange to see Christians allow themselves in these
things, from whom a more stiict and exemplary conversa
tion is required ? Christ desires us not to be anxious about
our clothing, Mat. vi. 25, and to show the vanity qf such
as glory in the splendour of their clothing, tells them, That
even Solomon, in all his glory, was not tb be compared to
the lily of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast
into- the oven. But surely they make small reckoning of
Christ's words and doctrine that are so curious in their

OF SALUTATIONS AND RECREATIONS. 495
clothing, and so industrious to deck themselves, and so
earnest to justify it, and so enraged when they are reproved
for it. The apostle Paul is very positive in this respect,
1 Tim. ii. 9, 10, " I will therefore in like manner also that
women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shame-
facedness and sobriety, and not with broidered hair, or
gold, or pearls, or costly array, but (which becometh
women professing godliness) with good works." To the
same purpose saith Peter, 1 Pet. iii. 3, 4, "Whose adorn
ing let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair,
and wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel ; but let
it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not cor
ruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit,"
&c. Here both the apostles do very positively and ex
pressly assert two things. First, That the adorning of
Christian women (of whom it is particularly spoken, I
judge, because this sex is most naturally inclined to that
vanity, and that it seems that Christian men in those days
deserved not in this respect so much to be reproved)
ought not to be outward, nor consist in the apparel. Se
condly, That they ought not to use the plaiting ofthe hair, Plaitingthe
or ornaments, &c, which was at that time the custom of air' °'
the nations. But is it not strange, that such as make the
scripture their rule, and pretend they are guided by it,
should not only be so generally in the use of these things,
which the scripture so plainly condemns, but also should
attempt to justify themselves in -so doing ? For the apostles
not only commend the forbearance of these things, as an
attainment commendable in Christians, but condemn the
use of them as unlawful ; and yet may it not seem more
strange, that in contradiction to the apostles' doctrine, as
if they' had resolved to slight their testimony, they should
condemn those that out of conscience apply themselves
seriously to follow it, as if-in so doing they were singular,
proud, or superstitious? This certainly betokens a sad
apostasy in those that will be accounted Christians, that
they are so offended with those who love to follow Christ
and his apostles, in denying of, and departing from, the

496 PROPOSITION XV.
lying vanities of this perishing world ; and so doth much
evidence their affinity with those who hate to be reproved,
and neither will enter themselves, nor suffer those that
would. 1
Sports, § VIII. Fourthly, Let us consider the use of games,
siste'ntwith sports, comedies, and other such things, commonly-and
the gospel, indifferently used by all the several sorts of -Christians,
under the notion of divertisement and recreation, and see
whether these things can consist ' with the seriousness,
gravity, and Godly fear, which the gospel calls for. Let
us but view and look over the notions of them that call
themselves Christians, whether Papists or Protestants, and
see if generally there be any difference, sa>e in mere name
and profession, from the "heathen ? Doth, not the same
folly, the same vanity, the same abuse of precious and
irrevocable time abound? The same gaming, sporting,
playing, and from thence quarrelling, fighting, swearing,
ranting, revelling? Now how can these -things be reme
died, so long as the preachers and professors, and .those
who are the leaders of the people, do allow these things,
and account them not inconsistent with the profession of
Christianity? And it is strange to see that these things
are tolerated every where ; the inquisition lays no hold on
them, neither at Rome, nor in Spain, where in their mas
querades all manner of obscenity, folly, yea, and Atheism
is generally practised in the face of the world, to the great
scandal of the Christian name ; but if any, man reprove
them in these things, and forsake -their superstitions, and
come seriously to serve God, and worship him in the
Spirit, he becomes their prey, and is immediately exposed
to cruel sufferings. Doth this bear any relation to Chris
tianity ? , Do these things look any thing like the churches
of the primitive Christians? Surely not at all. I shall
first cite some few scripture testimonies, being very posi
tive precepts to Christians, and then see whether such as
obey them cah admit of these forementioned things. The
apostle commands us, That " whether we eat or drink, or
whatever we do, we do it all to the glory of God." But

OF SALUTATIONS AND RECREATIONS. 497
I judge none will be so impudent as to affirm, That in the
use of these sports and games God is glorified: if any By sports
should so say,- they would declare they neither knew God Qod^™^
nor his glory. And experience abundantly proves, that in glorified.
the practice of these things men mind nothing less than
the glory of God, and nothing more than the satisfaction
of their own carnal lusts, wills, and appetites. The apos
tle desires us, 1 Cor. vii. 29, 31 : Because the time is
short, that they that buy should be as though they possess
ed not ; and they that use this world, as not abusing it, &c.
But how can they be found in the obedience of this pre
cept that plead for the use of these games and sports, who,
it seems, think the time so long, , that they cannot find
occasion enough to employ it, neither in takipg care for their
souls, nor yet in the necessary care for their bodies ; but
invent these games and sports to pass it away, as if they
wanted other work to serve God in, or be useful to the
creation ? The apostle Peter desires us, " To pass' the
time of our sojourning here in fear," 1 Pet. ii 17. But
will any say, That such as use dancing and comedies, card
ing and dicing, do so much as mind this precept in the
use of these things ? Where there is nothing to be seen
but lightness and vanity, wantonness arid obscenity, con
trived to draw men from the fear of God, and there
fore no doubt calculated for the service of the devil. There
is no duty more frequently commanded, nor more incum
bent upon Christians, than the fear of the Lord, to stand
in awe before him, to walk as in his presence ; but if such
as use these games and . sports will speak from their con
sciences, they can, I doubt not, experimentally declare,
that this fear is forgotten in their gaming; and if God by
his light secretly touch them,, or mind them of the vanity
of their way, they strive to shut it out, and use their gaming
as an engine to put away from them that troublesome guest ;
and thus make merry over the Just One, whom they have
slain and crucified in themselves. But further, if Christ^
reasoning be to be heeded, who saith, Matt. xii. 35, 36 :
That « the good man, out of the good treasure of the heart,
42 * 3 n

498 PROPOSITION XV.
bringeth forth good things ; and an evil man, out of the
evil treasure, bringeth forth evil things," arid that " of'
every idle word we shall give an account in the day of
judgment," it may be easily gathered from what treasure
these inventions come ; and it may be easily proved, that
. it is from the evil, and not the good. How many idle
words do they necessarily produce ? Yea, what are come-
Comedies a dies but a studied complex of idle and lying words ? Let
complex of men tnat believe their souls are immortal, and that there
idle lying wiH be a day of judgment, in which these words of Christ
will be accomplished, answer me, how all these will make
account in that great and terrible day, of all these . idle
words that are necessarily made use of about dancing,
gaming, carding, and comedies acting? Ahd yet how is
it that by Christians not condemning these things, but
allowing of them, many that are accounted Christians take
up their whole time in them, yea, make it their trade and
employment ? Such as the dancing-masters and come
dians, &c, whose hellish conversations do sufficiently der-
clare what master they serve, and to whatond these things
contribute. And it cannot be denied, as being obviously
manifest by experience, that such as are masters of these
occupations, and are most delighted in them, if they be
not open Atheists and profligates, are such at best as make
religion or the care of their souls their least business. Now
if these things were discountenanced by Christians, as in
consistent with their profession, it would remove these
things : for these wretches would be necessitated then to
betake themselves to some honest livelihood, if they were
not fed and upholden by these. And as hereby a great
scandal arid -stumbling-block would be removed from off
the Christian name, so also would that in part be taken
out of the way which provokes the Lord to withhold his
blessing, and by occasion of which things the minds of
many remain chained in darkness, and drowned in lust,
sensuality, and worldly pleasures, without any sense of
God's fear, or their own souls' salvation. Many of those
called fathers of the church, and other serious persons,

OF SALUTATIONS AND RECREATIONS. 499
have signified their regret for these things, and their desires
they might be remedied ; of whom many citations might
be alleged, which for brevity's sake I have omitted.
§ IX. But they object, That men's spirits could not Object.
subsist, if they were always intent upon serious and spi
ritual matters, and that therefore there is need of some
diverfisement to recreate the mind a little, whereby it being
refreshed, is able with greater vigour to apply itself to these
things. I answer ; Though all this were granted, it would no Answ.
ways militate against us, neither plead the use of these
things, which we would have wholly laid aside. For that
men should be always in the same intentiveness of mind,
we do not plead, knowing how impossible it is, so long as
we are clothed with this tabernacle of clay. But this will
not allow us at anytime so to recede from the remembrance
of God, and of our souls' chief concern, as not still to
retain a certain sense of" his fear; which cannot be so The fear of
much as rationally supposed to be in the use of these things t,e^t recrea.
whichwe condemn. Now the necessary occasions in tlon,i,n 'te
. J world.
which all are involved, in order to the care and sustenta-
tion of the outward man, are a relaxation ofthe mind from
the more serious duties; and those are performed in the
blessing, as the mind is so leavened with the love of God,
and the sense of his presence, that even in doing these
things the soul carrieth with it that divine influence and
spiritual habit, whereby, though these acts, as of eating,
drinking, sleeping, working, be upon the matter one with
what the wicked do, yet they are done in another spirit ; and
in doing of them we please the Lord, serve him, and
answer our end in the creation, and so feel and are sen
sible of his blessing : whereas the wicked and profane,
being not come to this place, are in whatsoever they do,
cursed, and their ploughing as well as praying is sin.
Now if any will plead, that for relaxation of mind, there
may be a liberty allowed beyond these things, which are
of absolute need to the sustenance of the outward man, I
shall not much contend against it ; provided these things

500 PROPOSITION XV.
be not such as are wholly superfluous, or in their proper
nature and tendency lead the mind into lust, vanity, and
wantonness, as being chiefly contrived and framed for that
end, or generally experienced to produce these effects, or
being the common engines of such as are so minded to
feed one another therein, and to propagate their wicked
ness, to the impbisoning of others 5 seeing there are other
Lawful di- innocent divertisements which may sufficiently serve for
ments. relaxation of the mind, such as for friends to visit one an
other ; to hear or read history ; to speak soberly of the
present or past transactions ; to follow, after gardening ; to
use geometrical and mathematical experiments, and such
other things of this nature. In all which things we are
not so to forget God, in whom we. both live and are moved,
Acts xvii. 28, as not to have always some secret reserve
to him, and sense of his fear^ and presence ; which also
frequently exerts itself in the midst of these things by
some short aspiration and breathings. And that this may
neither seem strange nor troublesome, I shall clear it by
one manifest instance, answerable to the experience of all
men. It will not be denied but that men ought to be more
in the love of God than of any other thing; for we ought
to love God above all things. Now it is plain, that men
that are taken with love, whether ft be pf a woman, or of
any other thing, if it hath taken a deep place in the heart,
and possess the mind,, ft will be hard for the man so in loye
to drive out of his mind the person or thing so loved ;
yea, in his eating, drinking, and sleeping, his mind, will
always have a tendency that way ; and in business or re
creations, however intent he be in it, there will but a very
short time be permitted to pass, but the mind will let some
The love ejaculation forth towards its beloved. And albeit such a
beloved 'tB one mns^ De conversant in those things that the care of this
shuns its body and such like things call for ; yet will he avoid as
death itself to do those things that may offend the -party so
beloved, or cross his design in obtaining the thing so ear
nestly desired: though there may be some small use in
them, the great design, which is chiefly in his eye, will so

OF SALUTATIONS AND RECREATIONS. 501
balance him, that he will easily look over arid dispense
with, such petty necessities, rather than endanger the loss
of the greater by them. Now that men ought to be thus
in love with God, and the life to come, none will deny;
and the thing is apparent from these scripture^, Mat. vi.
20, " But lay. up for yourselves treasures in heaven." Col.
iii, 2, "Set your affection on things above," &c. And
that this hath been the experience and attainment of
some, the scripture also declares. Psalm lxiii. 1, 8 ; 2 Cor.
v. 4.
And again, That these games, sports, plays, dancing, Sports and
comedies, &c, do naturally tend to draw men from God's meTfromW
fear, to. make them forget heaven, death, and judgment, to the fear of
foster lust, vanity, and wantonness, and therefore are most
loved, as well as used, by such kind of persons, expe
rience abundantly shows, and the most serious and con-
seientious among all will scarcely deny ; which if it be so,
the application is easy.
§ X. Fifthly, The use of swearing is to be considered,
which is so frequently practised almost among all Chris
tians; not only profane oaths among the profane, in their
common discourses, whereby the most holy name of
God is in a horrible manner daily blasphemed ; but also
solemn. oaths, with those that have some show of piety,
whereof the most part do defend swearing before the magis
trate with so great zeal, that not only they are ready them
selves to do it upon every occasion, but also have stirred
up the magistrates to persecute those, who, out of obe
dience to Christ,1 their Lord and master, judge it unlawful
to swear ; upon which' account not a few have suffered im
prisonment, and the spoiling of their goods.
But considering these clear Words of our Saviour, Mat. All swear-
v. 33, 34, "Again, ye have heard that it hath been said bidden—"
by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but
shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths. But I say unto
you, Swear not at all, neither by heaven," &c. " But
let your communication be yea, yea; nay, nay; for what-
SQever is more than these cometh of evil." As also the

602 PROPOSITION XV.
words of the apostle James, v. 12, " But above all things,
my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the
earth, neither by any other oath ; but let your yea be yea,
and your nay, nay, lest ye' fall into condemnation." I
say, considering these'clear words, it is admirable how any
one that professeth the name of Christ can pronounce any
oath with a quiet conscience, far less to persecute other
Christians, that dare not swear, beeause of their- master
Christ's authority. For did ariy one purpose seriously,
and in the most rigid manner, to forbid any thing compre
hended under any general, can they use a more full and
general prohibition, and that without any exception ? I
think not. For Christ, First, proposeth it to us nega
tively, Swear not all, neither by heaven, nor by the
earth, nOr by Jerusalem, nor by thy head, &c. And
again, "Swear not by heaven, nor by earth, nor by any
other oath." Secondly, he presseth it affirmatively, "But
let your communication be yea, yea, and nay, nay ; for
whatsoever is more than these, cometh of evil." And saith
James, "Lest ye fall into condemnation."
Without Which words both all and every One of them do make
exception, such a full prohibition, and so free of all exception, that it
- is strange how men that boast the scripture is the rule of
their faith and life, can counterfeit any exception ! Cer
tainly reason ought to teach every one, that it is not law
ful to make void a general prohibition coming from God
by such opposition, unless the exception be as clearly and
evidently expressed as the prohibition: neither is it enough
fo endeavour to confirm if by consequences and proba
bilities, which are obscure and uncertain, and not sufficient
to bring quiet to the conscience. For if they say, that
there is therefore an exception and limitation in the words,
because there' are found exceptions in the other general
prohibition of the fifth chapter, as in the forbidding of
divorcement, where Christ saith, " It hath been said, Who
soever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing
of divorcement : but I say unto you, That whosoever shall
put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, caus-

OF SALUTATIONS AND RECREATIONS. 603
eth her to commit adultery ;" if, I say, they plead this, they
not only labour in vain, but also fight against themselves,
because they can produce no exception of this general
command of not swearing, expressed by God to any under
the new covenant, after Christ gave this prohibition so
clear as that which is made in the, prohibition itself. More- A1«> oaths
over, if Christ would have excepted oaths made before magistrate.
magistrates, certainly he had then expressed, adding, Ex
cept in judgment, before the magistrate, or the like ; as he
did in that of divorcement by these words, " saving for
the cause of fornication :" which being so, it is not lawful
for us to except or distinguish, or, which is all one, make
void this general prohibition of Christ ; it would be far less
agreeable to Christian holiness to bring upon our heads the
crimes of so many oaths, which by reason of this corrup
tion and exception are so frequent among Christians.
Neither is it to be omitted that without doubt the most The con-
learned, doctors of each sect know, that these fore-men- thTancfent
tioned words were understood by the ancient fathers ofthe fathers
. . . therein.
first three hundred years after Christ to be. a prohibition of
all sorts of oaths. - It is not then without reason that we
wonder that the Popish doctors and priests bind themselves
by an oath to interpret the holy scriptures according to the
universal exposition of the holy fathers ; who nevertheless
understood those controverted texts quite contrary to what
these modern doctors do. And from thence also do
clearly appear the vanity and foolish certainty (so to speak)
of Popish traditions ; for if by the writings of the fathers,
so called, the faith of the church of those ages may be
demonstrated, it is clear they have departed from the faith
of the church of the first three ages in the point of swear
ing. Moreover, because not only Papists, but also Luther
ans and Calvinists, and some others, do restrict the words
of Christ and James, I think it needful to make manifest
the vain foundation upon which their presumption in this
matter is built.
§ XL First, They object, That Christ only forbids these Object.
oaths that are made by creatures, and things created ; and

504 PROPOSITION XV. f
they prove it thence, because he numbers some of these
things. .
Secondly, All rash and vain oaths in familiar discourses;
because he saith, "Let your communication be yea, yea,
and nay, nay."
Ans. l. To which I answer, First, That the law did forbid- all.
oaths made by the creatures, as also all vain and rash oaths
in our common discourses, commanding, That .men should
only swear by the name of God, and that neither falsely
nor rashly ; for that is to take his name in vain.
Ans. 2. Secondly, It is most evident that. Christ forbids some-
To swear what that was permitted under the law, to wit, to swear
himself for- by the name of God, because it was not lawful for any
Chd'enby man to swear but by God himself. And because he saith,
"Neither by heaven, .because it is the throne of God;"
therefore he excludes all other oaths, even those which are
made by God; for he saith, chap, xxiii. 22, "He that
shall swear by heaveri, sweareth by the throne of God, and
by him that sitteth thereon f" which is also to be under
stood of the rest.
Ans. 3. Lastly, That he might put the matter beyond all con
troversy, he adds, "Neither by any other oath:" there
fore seeing tq swear before -the magistrate by God is an
oath, it is here without doubt forbidden.
Object. , Secondly, They object, That by these words oaths by
God's name cannot be forbidden, because the Heavenly
Father hath commanded them ; for the Father and theSon
are one, which could not be, if the Son had forbid that
which the Father commanded.
Answ. I answer, They are indeed one, and cannot contradict
one another: nevertheless the Father gave many things to
Oaths un- the Jews for a time, because of their infirmity under the
covenant, old covenant, which had only a shadow of good things to
come, not the very substance of things, until Christ should
come, who was the substance, and by whose coming all
these things vanished, to wit, sabbaths, circumcision, the
paschal lamb : men used then sacrifices, who lived in con
troversies with God, and one with another, which all are

OF SALUTATIONS AND RECREATIONS. 505
abrogated in the coming of the Son, who is the Substance,
Eternal Word, and Essential Oath and Amen, in whom
the promises of God are Yea and Amen : who came that
men might be redeemed out of strife, and might make an
end of controversy?
Thirdly, They object, But all oaths are hot ceremonies, Object.
nor any part of the ceremonial law.
I answer, Except it be shown to be an eternal, im^ Answ.
mutable, and moral precept, it withstands not ; neither are
they of so old an origin as tithes, and the offering of the Tithes, &c.
first fruits of the ground, which by Abel and Cain were now?*"1
offered long before the ceremonial law, or the use of oaths;
which, whatever may be alleged against it, were no doubt
ceremonies, arid therefore no doubt unlawful now to be
practised. r
Fourthly, They object, That to swear by the name of Object.
God is a moral precept of continual duration, because it is
marked with his essential and moral worship, Deut. vi. 13,
and x. 20, " Thou shaft fear the Lord thy God, and serve
him alone : thou shalt cleave to him, and swear by his
name." I answer, This proves not that it is a moral and eternal Answ.
precept ; for Moses adds that to all the precepts and cere
monies in several places ; as Deut. x. 12, 13, saying, "And
now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee,
but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and
to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul ; to keep the commandments
of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this
day?" And chap. xiv. 23, the fear of the Lord is'men-
tioned together with the tithes. And so also Levit. xix.
2, 3, 6, the sabbaths and regard to parents are mentioned
with swearing.
Fifthly, They object, That solemn oaths, which God Object.
commanded, cannot be here forbidden by Christ ; for he
sajth, that/ they come from evil : but these did not come
from evil ; for God never commanded any thing that was
evil, or came from evil.
43 3o

506

PROPOSITION XV.

Answ.

Oaths are
evil, be
cause for
bidden.

Truth was
before all
oaths.

Oaths sup
ply pre
supposeddefects of
men's in
constancy.

I answer, There are things which are good because
commanded, and evil because forbidden ; other things are
commanded because good, and forbidden because evil.
As circumcision and oaths, which were good, when and
because they were commanded, and in no other respect ;
and again, when and because prohibited under the gospel,
they are evil;
And in all these Jewish constitutions, however cere
monial, there was something of good, to wit, in their
season, as prefiguring some good : as by circumcision, the
purifications, and other things, the holiness of God was
typified, and that the Israelites ought to be holy, as their
God was holy. In the like manner, oaths, under the sha
dows and ceremonies, signified - the verity of God, diis
faithfulness and certainty ; and therefore that we ought in
all things to speak and witness the truth. But the witness
of truth was before all oaths, and remains when all oaths
are abolished ; and this is the morality of all oaths ; and
so long as men abide therein, there is, no necessity nor
place for oaths, as Polybius witnessed, who, said, " The
use of oaths in judgment was rare among the ancients ; but
by the "growing of perfidiousness, so grew also the use of
oaths." To which agreeth Grotius, saying, "Ah oath is
only to be used as a medicine, in case of necessity: a
solemn oath is not used but to supply defect. The light-'"
ness of men, and their inconstancy, begot diffidence ; for
which swearing was sought out as a remedy." Basil the
Great saith, That " swearing is the effect of sin^' And
Ambrose, That " oaths are orily a condescendency for de
fect." Chrysostom saith, -That " an oath entered when
evil grew, when men exercised -their frauds, when all
foundations were overturned :, that oaths took their be
ginning from the want of truth." These and the like are
witnessed by many others with the fore-mentioned authors.
But what need of~ testimonies, where the evidence of
things speaks itself? For who will force another to swear,
of whom he is certainly persuaded that he abhors to lie in
his words? And again, as Chrysostom and others say,

OF SALUTATIONS AND RECREATIONS. 507
Forwhat end wilt thou force him to swear, whom thou
believest not that he will speak the truth ?
§ XII. That then which was not from the beginning,
which was of no use in the beginning, which had not its
beginning first from the will of God, but from the work
of the, devil, occasioned from evil, to wit, from unfaith
fulness, lying, deceit ; and which was at 'first only invented
by mari, as a mutual remedy of this evil, in which they
called upon the names of their idols ; yea, that which, as
Hierom, .Chrysostom, and others- testify, was given to the
Israelites by God, as unto children, that they might abstain
from the idolatrous oaths of the heathen, Jer. xii. 16,
whatsoever is- so, is far from being a moral and eternal
precept. And lastly, whatsoever by its profanation and
abuse is polluted with sin, such as are abundantly the
oaths of these times, by so often swearing arid forswearing,
far differs from any necessary and perpetual duty of a
Christian: but oaths are so; therefore, &c.
Sixthly, They object, That God swore, therefore to
swear is good.
I answer with Athanasius; "Seeing it is certain it is Answ.
proper in swearing to swear by another, thence it appears, patS9al&n
that God, to speak properly, did never swear but only im- cruc- Dom-
properly: whence,' speaking to men, he is said to swear,
because those things, which he speaks, because of the cer
tainty and immutability of his will, are to be esteemed for
oaths. .Compare Psalm ex. 4, where it, is said, The
Lord did swear, and it did not repent him, &c. ' And
I swore,' saith he, 'by myself:' and this is not an oath ; Godswears
for he did not swear by another, which is the property of otherTbut
an oath, but by himself. Therefore God swears not ac- by nimaelf-
cording to the manner of men, neither can. we be induced
from thence to swear. But let us so do and say, and show
ourselves such by speaking and acting, that we need not
an qatlTwfth those who hear us; and let our words of
themselves have, the testimony of truth: for so we shall
plainly imitate God."

508

PROPOSITION XV.

Object.
Answ.

Hier. lib.
Ep. part. 3
tract. 1.
Ep. 2.

Object.

Answ.

The cere
monies of
an oath.

Seventhly, They object, Christ did swear, and we ought.
to imitate him. ,
I answer, That. Christ did not swear ; and albeit he had
sworn, being yet under the law, this would nO ways oblige
us under the gospel; as neither circumcision, or the cele
bration of the paschal lamb. Concerning which Hierom
saith, "All things agree not unto us, who are servants, that
agreed unto our Lord," &c. " The Lord swore as' Lord,
whom no man did forbid- to swear ; but unto us, that are
servants, it is not lawful to swear, because we are forbid
den by the law of our Lord. Yet, lest we should suffer
scandal by his example, he hath not sworn, since he com
manded us not to swear."
Eighthly, They object, That Paul swore, and that often,
Rom. i. 9; Phil. i. 8, saying, "For God is my record."
2 Cor. xi. 10, " As the truth of Christ is in me." 2 Cor.
i. 23, " I call God for a record upon my soul." Rom.
ix. 1, " I speak the truth in Christ, I lie not." Gal. i. 20,
" Behold, before God I lie not," and also requires oaths
of others. 1 Tim. v. 21, "I charge thee before God and
our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thess. v. 27, " I charge you
by the Lord, that this epistle be read to all the brethren."
But Paul would not have done so, if all manner of oaths
had been fofbidden by Christ, whose apostle he was.
To all which I answer, First, That the using of such
forms of speaking is neither swearing, nor so esteemed by
our adversaries. For when upon occasion, in matters of
great moment, we have said, tl We speak the truth in the
fear of God, and before him, who is our witness, and the
searcher of our hearts," adding such kind of serious at
testations, which we never refused in matters of conse
quence; nevertheless an oath hath moreover been required
of us, with the ceremony of putting our hands upon the
book, the kissing of it, the lifting up of the hand.or fingers,
together with this common form of imprecation, " So help
me God ;" or, " So truly let the Lord God Almighty help
me." Secondly, This contradicts the opinion of our ad
versaries, because that. Paul was neither before a magistrate

OF SALUTATIONS AND RECREATIONS. 509
that was requiring an oath of him, nor did he himself ad
minister the office of a magistrate, as offering an oath to
any other.. Thirdly, The question is not what Paul or
Peter did, but what their and our Master taught to be
done; and if Paul did swear (which we belie~ve not) he
had sinned against the command of Christ, even according
to their own opinion, because he swore not before a ma
gistrate, but in an epistle to his brethren.
Ninthly, They object, Isa. Ixv. 16, where, speaking of Object.
the evangelical times, he saith, " That he who blesseth
himself in the earth, shall bless himself in the God of truth ;
and he that sweareth iri the earth, shall swear by the God
of truth ; because the former troubles are forgotten, and
because they are hid from mine eyes. For behold I create
new heavens, and a new earth." Therefore in these times
we ought to swear by the name of the Lord.
I answer, It is ordinary for the prophets to express the Answ.
greatest duties of evangelical times in mosaical terms, as
appears among others from Jer. xxxi. 38, 39, 40 ; Ezek.
xxxvi. 25, and 30; and Isa. xiv. 23: "I have sworn by
myself, that unto "me every hnee shall bow, every tongue
shall swear." Where the righteousness of the new Jeru
salem, the purity of the gospel, with its spiritual worship,
and the profession of the name of Christ, are expressed
under forms of speaking used to the old Jerusalem, under
the washings of the law, under the names of ceremonies,
the temple, services, sacrifices, baths, &c. Yea, that which
the prophet speaks here of swearing, the apostle Paul in- Swearing is
terprets expressly of confessing, saying, Rom. xiv. 11: byPconfess-
"For it is written, As I live,~ saith the Lord, every knee ing under
shall b(ow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God :"
which being rightly considered, hone can be ignorant but
these words which the prophet writes under the law, when
the ceremonial oaths were in use, to wit, " Every tongue
shall swear," were by the apostle, being under the gospel,
when those oaths became abolished, expressed by " Every
tongue shall confess."
Tenthly, They object, But the apostle Paul approves Object.
43*

510 PROPOSITION XV.
oaths used among men, when he writes, Heb. vi. 16 : " For
men verily swear by the greater, and an oath for confirma
tion is to them an end of all strife." But there are as
many contests, fallacies, and diffidences, at this time, as
there ever 'were ; therefore the necessity of oaths doth yet
remain.
Answ. I answer ; The apostle tells indeed in this place what
men -at that time did, who lived in controversies and in
credulity ; not what they ought to have done, nor what the
saints did, who were redeemed from strife and incredulity,
and had come to Christ, .the Truth and Amen of God.
Moreover, he only alludes to a certain custom usual among
men, that he might - express, the firmness of the divine
promise, in Order to excite in the saints so much the more
confidence in God promising to them ; not that he might
instigate them to swear against the law of God, or confirm
them in that; no, not at all : for neither doth 1 Cor. jx. 24
teach Christians the vain races, whereby men oftentimes,
even to the destruction of their bodies, are wearied to ob
tain a corruptible prize; so neither, doth Christ, who is the
Prince of Peace, teach his disciples to fight, albeit he takes
notice, Luke xiv. 31, what it behoveth such kings to do
who are accustomed to fight, as prudent warriors therein.
Secondly, as to what pertains to contests, perfidies, and
diffidences among men, which our adversaries affirm to
have grown to such a height, that swearing is at present
as necessary as ever, that we deny not at all : for we see,
Deceit and daily experience teacheth us, that all manner of deceit
faise^not6 an^ malice doth increase among worldly men and false
the true Christians ; but not among true Christians. But because
Christians. , ° .
men cannot trust one another, and therefore require oaths
one of another, it will not therefore follow that true Chris
tians ought to do so, whom Christ has brought to faithful
ness and honesty, as well towards God as one towards an
other, and therefore has delivered- them from contests, per
fidies, and consequently from oaths.
Object. Eleventhly, They object, We grant, that among true
Christians there is not need of oaths ; but by what means

OF SALUTATIONS AND RECREATIONS. 511
shall we infallibly know them? It will follow then that
oaths are at present needful, and that, it is lawful for Chris
tians to swear, to wit, that Such may be satisfied who will
not acknowledge this and the other man to be a Chris
tian. I answer, It is no ways lawful for a Christian to swear, Answ.
whom Christ has called to his essential truth, whieh was
before all oaths, forbidding him to swear ; and on the con- Truth was
trary, commanding him fo speak the truth in all things, 0jtJ™
to the honour of Christ who called him ; that it may
appear that the words of his disciples may be as truly
believed as the oaths of all the worldly men. Neither is
it lawful for them to be unfaithful in this, that they may
please others; or that they may avoid their hurt : for thus
the primitive Christians for some ages remained faithful,
who being required to swear, did unanimously answer,
I am a Christian, I do not swear. What shall I say of
the heathen, some of whom arrived to that degree ? For Heathen
Diodorus Siculus relates, lib. xvi., That "the giving of against
the right hand was among the Persians, a sign of speaking oatha-
the truth." And. the Scythians, as Qu. Curtius relates,
said, in their conferences with Alexander the Great, " Think
not that the Scythians confirm their friendship by swear
ing ; they swear by keeping their promises." Stobaeus,
Serm. 3, relates, That Solon said, " A good man ought to
be in that estimation that he need not an oath ; because it
is to be reputed a lessening of his honour if he be forced
to swear." Pythagoras, in his oration, among other things
hath this maxim, as that which concerns the adminis
tration of the commonwealth : " Let no man Call God to
witness by an oath, no not in judgment ; but let every
man so accustom himself to speak, that he may become
worthy to be trusted even without an oath." Basil the
Great commends Clinias an heathen, " That he had rather
pay three talents, which are about three thousand pounds,
than swear." Socrates, as Stobseus relates, Serm. 14, had
this sentence, « The duty of good men requires that they
show to the world that their manners and actions are more

512 PROPOSITION XV.
firm than oaths." The same was the judgment of Iso-
crates. Plato also stood against oaths in his judgment
de Leg. 12, Quintiliarius • takes notice, " That it was of
old a kind of infamy, if any was desired to swear ; but to
require an oath of a nobleman, was like an examining him
by the hangman." The Emperor Marcus Aurelius Anto
ninus saith, in his description of _a good man, "Such is
his integrity, that he needs not an oath." So also some
Jews did witness, as Grotius relates out of Maimonides,
" It is best for a man to abstain from all oaths." The
Essenes, as Philo Judseus relates, " did esteem their words
more firm than oaths ; and oaths were esteemed among
them as needless things." And Philo. himself, speaking
of the third commandment, explains his inind thus, viz. :
" It were better altogether not to swear, but to be accus
tomed always to speak the truth, that naked words might
have the strength of an oath.". And elsewhere he saith,
" It is more agreeable to natural reason altogether to
abstain from swearing ; persuading, That whatsoever, a
good man saith may be equivalent with an oath."
Oaths^b- Who then needs further to doubt, but that sinee Christ
Christ. y would have his disciples attain the highest pitch of per
fection, he abrogated oaths, as a rudimept of infirmity,
and in place thereof established the use of truth ? Who
can nowvany more think that the holy martyrs and ancient
fathers of the first three hundred years, and many others
since that time, have so opposed themselves to oaths, that
they might only rebuke vain and rash, oaths by the crea
tures, or heathen idols, which were also prohibited under
the mosaical law ; and not also swearing by the true God,
in truth and righteousness, which was there commanded ?
as Polycarpus, Justin Martyr, Apolog. 2, and many mar-
Thetesti- tyrs, as Eusebius relates. Tertullian, in his Apol., cap.
Senfkthers 32 I ad ScaP-> caP- 1 5 of Idolatry, cap. 11, Clem. Alex-
against andrinus, Strom., lib. 7. Origen, in Mat., Tract. 25.
oaths and _, . ,.,„., •• . „ ' . .
swearing. Cyprianus, lib. 3. Athanasius, in pass. & cruc, Domini
Christi. Hilarius in Mat. v. 34. Basilius Magn. in Psalm
xiv. Greg. Nyssenus, in Cant. Orat. 13. Greg. Nazian-

OF SALUTATIONS AND RECREATIONS. 513
zenus in dialog, contra juramenta. Epiphanius adversus
heres., lib. 1. Ambros. de Virg., lib. 3 ; Idem in Mat. y.
Chrysostom in Genes, homil. 15; Idem homil., in Act.
Apost., cap. 3. Hieronimus EpistoL, lib. part 3, Ep. 2.
Idem in Zech., lib. 2, cap. 8. Idem in Mat., lib. 1, cap. 5.
Augustinus de serm. Dom. serm. 28. Cyrillus in Jer. iv.
Theodoretus in Deut. vi. Isidorus Pelusiota, Ep. lib. 1,
Epist. 155. Chromatius in Mat. v. Johannes Damas-
cenus, lib. 3, cap. 16. Cassiodorus in Psalm xciv.- Isi
dorus Hispalensis, cap. 31. Antiochus in Pandect, script.
horn. 62. Beda in Jac. v. Haimo in Apoc. Ambrosius
Ansbertus in Apoc. Theophylactus in Mat. v. Pascha-
sius Radbertus in Mat. v. Otho Brunsfelsius in Mat. v.
Druthmarus in Mat. v. Euthymius Eugubinus Bibliotheca
vet. patr. in Mat. v. GScumenius in Jac, cap. v., ver. 12.
Anselmus in Mat. v. ; the Waldenses, Wickliffe, Erasmus,
in Mat. v., and in Jac. v. Who can read these places and
doubt of their sense.in this matter ? And who, believing
that they were against all oaths, can bring so great an in
dignity to the name of Christ, as to seek to subject again
his followers to so great an indignity ? Is ft not rather
time that all good men should labour to remove this abuse
and infamy from Christians ?.
Lastly, They object, This will bring in fraud and con- Object.
fusion ; for impostors will counterfeit probity, and under
the benefit of this dispensation will lie without fear of
punishment. .
I answer, There are two things which oblige a man tp Answ.
speak the truth : First, either the fear of God in, his heart,
and love of truth ; for where this is, there is no need of
oaths to speak the truth ; or Secondly, The fear of punish
ment from the judge. Therefore let there be the same, The
or rather greater punishment appointed to those who pre- £f "liars"8"1
tend so great truth in words, and so great simplicity in
heart that they cannot lie, and so great reverence towards
the law of Christ, that for conscience' sake they deny to
swear in any wise, if they, fail; and so there shall be the
same good order, yea, greater security against deceivers,
3p

514 PROPOSITION XV.
as if oaths were continued ; and also, by that more severe
punishment, to which these false dissemblers shall be
liable. Hence wicked men shall be more terrified, and
good men delivered from all oppression, both in their
liberty and goods : for which respect to tender consciences,
God hath often a regard to magistrates and their state, as
a thing most acceptable to him. But if any can further
doubt of this thing, to wit, if without confusion it can be
practised in the commonwealth, let him consider the state
The United ofthe United Netherlands, andhe shall see the good effect
landsln- of it: for there, because of the great. number of merchants
stanced. m0re than in any other place, there is most frequent occa
sion for this thing ; and though the number of those that
are of this mind be considerable, to whom the States these
hundred years have condescended, and yet daily conde
scend, yet nevertheless there has nothing of prejudice fol
lowed thereupon to the commonwealth, government, or
good order ; but rather great advantage to trade, and so to
the commonwealth.
§ XIII. Sixthly, The last thing to be considered, is
revenge and war, an evil as opposite and contrary to the
Spirit' and doctrine of Christ as light to darkness. For,
as is manifest by what is said, through contempt of Christ's
Revenge law the whofe world is filled with various oaths, cursings,
anntrarv to blasphemous profanations, and horrid perjuries ; so like-
Christ, wise, through contempt of the same law, the world is
filled with violence, oppression, murders, ravishing of
women and virgins, spoilings, depredations, burnings,
devastations, and all manner of. lasciviousness and cruelty :
so that it is strange that men, made. after the image of God,
should have so much degenerated, that they rather bear
the image and nature of roaring lions, tearing tigers,
devouring wolves, and raging boars, than of rational crea
tures endued with reason. And is it not yet much more
adrnnable, that this horrid monster should find place, and
be fomented, among those men that profess themselves
disciples of our peaceable Lord and master Jesus Christ,
who by excellency is called the Prince of Peace, and hath

OF SALUTATIONS AND RECREATIONS. 515
expressly prohibited his children all violence ; and on the
contrary,- commanded them, that, according to his exam- ,
pie, they should follow patience, charity, forbearance, and
other virtues worthy of a Christian ?
Hear then what this great prophet saith,, whom every
soul is commanded to hear, urider the pain of being cut
off, Matt, v., from verse 38, to the end ofthe chapter. For
thus he saith : "Ye have heard that it hath been said, An Revenge
eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth : But I say unto by Christ.
you, That ye resist not evil ; but whosoever shall smite thee
on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also, And if any
man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, Jet
him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel
thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that --
asketh thee ; and from him that would borrow of thee, turn
not thou away. Ye have heard that it has been said, Thou
shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy ; but I. say
unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you,
do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which
despitefully use you, and persecute you, that ye may be
the children of your Father which is in heaven. For he
maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and
sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love
them which love you, what reward have ye ? Do not even
the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren
only, what do you more than others? Do not even the
publicans so ? Be ye therefore perfect,-even as your Father
which is in heaven is perfect."
These words, with respect to revenge, as the former in The law
the case of swearing, do forbid some things, which in- time more "esr.
past were lawful to the Jews, considering their condition **cttlian
and dispensation ; and command unto such as will be the Moses.
disciples of Christ,, a more perfect, eminent, and full sig
nification of charity, as also patience and suffering, than
was required of them in that time, state, and dispensation
by the law. of Moses. This is not only the judgment of
most, if not all, the ancient fathers, so called, of the first
three hundred years after Christ, but also of many others,

516 PROPOSITION XV.
and in general of all those who have rightly understood
and propagated the law of Christ concerning swearing, as
Testi- appears from Justin Martyr in Dialog, cum Tryph. ejus-
the"fathers demque Apolog. 2, Item ad Zenam. Tertul. de Corona
If !ht"mt. Militis- It. Apolog., cap. 21, and 37. It. lib. de Idolol.,
cap. 17, 18, 19. It. ad Scapulam., cap. 1. It., adversus
Jud., cap. 7, and 9. It. adv.- Gnost., cap. 13. It. ad.
Marc, cap. 4. It. lib. de Patientia,-c 6, 10. Orig. cont.
Celsum, lib. 3, 5, 8. . It. in Josuam hom. 12, cap. 9. It.
in Matt, cap. 26. Tract. 35. Cyp. Epist. 56. It. ad.
Cornel. Lactan. de just., lib. 5, c. 18; lib. 6, c 20. Ambr.
in Luc. xxii. Chrysost. in Matt, v., hom. 18. It. in Matt.
xxvi.,. hom. 85. It. lib. 2, de Sacerdotio. It. in 1 Cor.
xiii; Chromat. in Matt. y. Hierom. ad. Ocean. It. lib.
Epist., p. 3; Tom. 1, Ep. 2. Athan. de Inc. Verb. Dei.
Cyrill. Alex., lib. 11, in Johan., cap. xxv. 26.' Yea, Au
gustine, although he vary much in this matter, notwith
standing in these places he did condemn fighting, Epist.
158, 159, 160. It. ad. Judices, Epist. 203. It. ad. Da-
rium, and lib. 21. It. ad. Faustum., cap. 76, lib. 22, de
C.ivit. ad. Marc, cap. 6^ as. Sylburgius relates. Euthym.
in Matt. xxvi,. and many others of this age. Erasmus in
Luc, cap. 3, and 22. Ludov. Vives in Introduc. ad. Sap.
J. Ferus, lib. 4,; Comment, in Matt, vii., and Luc. xxii.
The laws From hence it appears, that there is so great a connec-
the New m tion betwixt these two precepts of Ghrist, that as they were
Testament uttered and commanded by him at one and the same time,
are irrecon- . i , i
citable to so the same way they were received by men of all ages,.
tiorifwars, n°t only *n the first promulgation by the little number of
and fight- fae disciples, but also after the Christians increased in the
first three hundred years. Even so in the apostasy, the one
was not left and rejected without the other ; and now again
in the restitution, and renewed preaching of the eternal
gospel, they are acknowledged as eternal and unchange
able laws, properly belonging to the evangelical state and
perfection thereof; from which if any withdraw; he falls
short of the- perfection of a Christian man.
And truly the wqrds are so clear in themselves, that, in

OF SALUTATIONS AND RECREATIONS. 517
my judgment, they need no illustration to explain their
sense : for it is as easy to reconcile the greatest contradic
tions; as these laws of our Lord Jesus Christ with the
wicked practices of wars : for they are plainly inconsistent.
Whoever can reconcile this, " Resist not evil," with, Re
sist violence by force : again, " Give also thy other cheek,"
with, Strike again ; also " Love thine enemies," with, Spoil
them, make a prey of them, pursue them with fire and
sword; or, "Pray for those that persecute you, and those
that calumniate you," with, Persecute them by fines, im
prisonments, and death itself; and not only such as do not
persecute you, but who heartily seek and desire your eternal
and temporal welfare : whoever, I say, can find a means to
reconcile these things, may be supposed also to have found
a way to reconcile God with the devil, Christ with Anti
christ, light with darkness, and good with evil. But if
this be impossible, as indeed it is, so will also the other be
impossible ; and men dq but deceive themselves and others,
while they boldly adventure to establish such absurd and
impossible things.
§ XIV. Nevertheless, because some, perhaps through
inadyertency, and by the force of custom and tradition, do
transgress this command of Christ, I shall briefly show
how much war doth contradict this precept, and how much
they are inconsistent with one another ; and consequently,
that war is no ways lawful to such as will be the disciples
of Christ. For,
First, Christ commands, That " we should love our ene- Matt. v. 44.
mies;" but war, on the contrary, teacheth us to hate and
destroy them.
Secondly, The apostle saith, That "we war not after Eph. vi. 12
the flesh," and that " we fight not wfth flesh and blood ;"
but outward war is according to the flesh, and against flesh
and blood : for the shedding of the one, and destroying
of the other.
Thirdly, The apostle saith, That " the weapons of qur 2 Cor. x. 4.
warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God ;" but the
weapons of outward warfare are carnal, such as cannon,
44

Mic. iv. 3.

518 PROPOSITION XV.
musfeets, spears, swords, &c, qf which there, is no men
tion in the armour described by Paul.
James iv. i. Fourthly, Because James testifies, That wars and strifes
come from the lusts, which war in the members of carnal
men ; but Christians, that is, those that are truly saints,
" have crucified the flesh, wfth its affections and lusts ;"
therefore they cannot indulge them by waging war.
Isa. ii. 4. Fifthly, Because the prophets Isaiah and Micah have ex
pressly prophesied, That in the mountain of the house
of the, Lord, Christ shall judge the nations, and then
" they shall beat their swords into ploughshares," &c
Primitive And the ancient fathers of the first three hundred years
most averse after Christ did affirm these prophecies to be fulfilled in
from war. j^g Christians of their times, who were most, averse from
war; concerning which J u stih Martyr, Tertullian, and
others may be seen : which need not seem strange to any,
since Philo Judaeus abundantly testifies of the Essenes,
That "there was none found among them that would
make instruments of war." But how much more did Jesus
come, that he might keep his followers from fighting, and
might bring, them to patience and charity ?
Isa. ixv. 25. Sixthly, Because the prophet foretold, That there
should none hurt nor kill in all the holy mountain of the
Lord ; but outward war is appointed for killing and de
stroying.
John xviii. Seventhly, .Because Christ said, That " his kingdom is
not of this world," and therefore that his servants shall not
fight ; therefore those that fight are not his disciples nor
servants.
Mat. xxvi. Eighthly, Because he reproved Peter for the use of the
sword, saying, " Put "up again thy sword into his place :
for all they that take the sword, shall perish wfth the sword."
Concerning which Tertullian speaks well, lib. de Idol.,
"How shall he fight in peace without a sword, which the
Lord did take away ? For although soldiers came to John,
and received a form of observation ; if also the centurion
believed afterwards, he disarmed every soldier in disarm
ing of Peter." Idem, de Coron. Mil. asketh, " Shall it

OF SALUTATIONS AND RECREATIONS. 519
be lawful to use the sword, the Lord saying, That he that
useth the sword, shall perish by the sword."
Ninthly, Because the apostle admonisheth Christians, Rom. xii.
That they defend not themselves, neither revenge by
rendering evil for evil ; but give place unto wrath, because
vengeance is the Lord's. Be not overcome of evil, but
overcome evil with good. If thine enemy hunger, feed
him ; if he thirst, give him drink. But war throughout
teacheth and enjoineth the quite contrary.
Tenthly, Because Christ calls his children to bear his
cross,-' not to crucify or kill others ; to patience, riot to Mark viii.
revenge ; to truth and simplicity, not to fraudulent stra- "
tagems of war, or to play the sycophant, which John him
self forbids ; to -flee the glory of this world, not -to acquire
it by warlike endeavours ; therefore war is altogether con
trary Unto the law and Spirit of Christ.
§ XV. But they object, That it is lawful to War, be- Object.
cause Abraham did war before the giving of the law, and
the Israelites after the giving of the law.
I answer as before, 1. That Abraham offered sacrifices Answ.
at that time, and circumcised the males ; which neverthe
less are not lawful for us under the gospel.
2. That neither defensive nor offensive war was lawful Israelites
to the Israelites of their own will, or by their own counsel ^"fn-0
or conduct ; but they were obliged at all times, if they quire<l of
•* & ' J the oracle
would be successful, first to inquire of the oracle of God. of God.
3. That their wars against the wicked nations were a
figure of the inward war of the true Christians against their
spiritual enemies, in which we overcome the devil, the
world, and the flesh.
4. Something is expressly forbidden by Christ, Mat. v.
38, &c, which was granted to the Jews in their time, be
cause of their hardness ; and on the contrary, we are com- Some
manded that singular patience and exercise of love which ^unt|d^r"
Moses commanded not to his disciples. From whence Jj;e Old
Tertullian saith well against Marc, " Christ truly teacheth because of'
a new patience, even forbidding the revenge of an injury, heart!6380'
which was permitted by the Creator." And lib. de patien.,

520

PROPOSITION XV.

" The law finds more than it lost, by Christ's saying, Love
your enemies." And in the time of Clem. Alex. Christians
were so far from wars, that he testified that they had no
marks or signs of violence among them, saying, " Neither
are the faces of idols to be painted, to which so much as
to regard is forbidden: neither sword nor bow to them
that follow peace ; nor cups to them who are moderate and
temperate," as Sylvius Disc, de Rev. Belg.
Object. Secondly, They object, That defence is of natural right,
and that religion destroys not nature.
Aksw. I answer, Be it so ; but to obey God, and commend
ourselves to him in faith and, patience, is not to destroy
nature, but to exalt and perfect it; to wit, to elevate it
from the natural to the supernatural life, by Christ living
therein, and comforting it, that it may do all things, and
be rendered more than conqueror.
Object. Thirdly, They object, That John did not abrogate or
condemn war, when the soldiers came unto him.
Answ. I answer, What then ? The question is not concerning
John's doctrine, but Christ's, Whose disciples we are, not
John's : for Christ, and not John, is that prophet whom
Luke vii. we ought all to hear. And although Christ said, " That
a greater than John the Baptist was not among men born
of women," yet he adds, " That the least in the kingdom
of God is greater than he." But what was John's answer,
that We may see if it can justify the soldiers of this time?
' For if it be narrowly observed, it will appear, that what
he proposeth to soldiers doth manifestly forbid them that
Luke iii. 14. employment; for he commands them "not to do violence
to any man, nor to accuse any falsely ;" but to <f be con
tent with their wages." Consider then what he dischargeth
to soldiers, viz. : Not to use violence or deceit against
any ; which being removed, let any tell how soldiers can
war? For are not craft, violence, and injustice three pro
perties of war, and the natural consequences of battles ?
Object. Fourthly, They object, That Cornelius, and that cen
turion of whom there is mention made, Mat. viii. 5, were

OF SALUTATIONS AND RECREATIONS. 521
soldiers, and there is no mention that they laid down their
military employments.
I answer, Neither read we that they continued in them. Answ.
But it is most probable that if they continued in the doc
trine of Christ (and we read not any where of their falling
from the faith) that they did not continue in them ; espe
cially if we consider, that two or three ages afterwards
Christians altogether rejected war, or at least a long while
after that time, if the emperor Marc. Aurel. Anton, be to
be credited, who writes thus: — "I prayed to my country
gods; but when I was neglected by them, and observed
myself pressed by the enemy, considering the fewness of
my forces, I called to one, and entreated those who with Christians
us are called Christians, and I found a great number of that did not
them ; and I forced them with threats, which ought not to war-
have been, because afterwards I knew their strength and
force:" therefore they betook themselves neither to the
use of darts nor trumpets, "for they use not so to do, for
the cause and name of their God, which they bear in their
consciences:" and this was done about an hundred and
sixty years after Christ. To this add those words, which in
Justin Martyr the Christians answer, k flroXsu.Su.sv <rofe ir/^goT^
that is, 'We fight not with our enemies.' And moreover
the answer of -Martin to Julian the apostate, related by
Sulpitius Severus, "I am a soldier of Christ, therefore I
cannot fight ;" which was three hundred years after Christ.
It is not therefore probable that they continued in warlike
employments. How then are Vincentius Lyrinensis and
the Papists consistent with their maxim, "That which al
ways, every where, and by all. was received," &c And
what becomes of the priests, with, their oath,,That they
neither ought nor will interpret the scripture but according
to the universal consent of the fathers, so called? For it is
as easy to obscure the sun at mid-day, as to deny that the
primitive Christians renounced all revenge and war.
And although this thing be so much known, yet it is as
well known that almost all the modern sects live in the
neglect and contempt of this law of Christ, and likewise
44* 3q

522 PROPOSITION XV.
oppress others, who in this agree not wfth them for con-
Persecu- science' sake towards God : even as we have suffered much
bearing "0t m our country, because we neither could ourselves bear
arms, and arms, nor send others in our place, nor give our money
and praying for the buying of drums, standards, and other military
for victory. attire> ^nd i^tly, Because we eould not hold our doors,
windows, and shops close, for conscience' sake, upon such
days as fasts and prayers were appointed, to desire a bless
ing upon, and success for, the arms of the kingdom or
commonwealth under which we live ; neither give thanks
for the victories acquired by the effusion, of much blood.
, By which forcing of the conscience, they would have con
strained our brethren, living in divers kingdoms at war
together, to have implored our God for contrary and con
tradictory things, and consequently impossible : for it is
impossible that -two parties fighting together, should both
obtain the victory. And because we cannot concur with
them in this confusion, therefore we are subject fo per
secution. Yea, and others, who with us do witness that
the use of arms is unlawful to Christians, do look asquint
upon us ; but which of us two do most faithfully observe
this testimony against arms ? Either they, who at certain
times, at the magistrate's, order, dp close up their shops
and houses, and meet in their assembly, praying for the
prosperity of their arms, or giving thanks for some victory
or other, whereby they make themselves hke to those that
approve wars ahd fighting ; or we, who cannot do these
things for the same cause of conscience, lest we should
destroy, hy our works, what we establish in words, we
shall leave to the judgment of all prudent men.
Object. Fifthly, They'object, That Christ, Luke xxii. 36, speak
ing to his disciples, commands them, That he that then had
not a sword, should sell his coat, and buy a sword ; there
fore, say they, arms are lawful.
Answ. I answer, Some indeed understand this of the outward
sword, nevertheless regarding only that occasion ; other
wise judging, that Christians are prohibited wars under the
gospel. Among which is Ambrose, who upon this place

OF SALUTATIONS AND RECREATIONS. 523
speaks thus : " 0 Lord ! why commandest thou me to buy
a sword, who forbiddest me to smite with it ? Why com
mandest thou me to have it, whom thou prohibitest to draw
it? Unless perhaps a defence be prepared, not a neces
sary revenge ; and that I may seem to have been able to
revenge, but that I would not. For the law forbids me to
smite again ; and therefore perhaps he said to Peter, offer- Peter offer
ing two swords, ' It is enough,' as if it had been lawful swords.
until the gospel times, that in the law there might be a
learning of equity, but in the gospel a perfection of good
ness." Others judge Christ to have spoken here mysti
cally, and not according to the letter; as Origen upon
Matt, xix., saying, "If any looking to the letter, and not
understanding the will of the words, shall sell his bodily
garment, and buy a sword, taking the words of Christ con
trary to his will, he shall perish ; but concerning which
sword he speaks, is not proper here to mention." And
truly when we consider the answer ofthe disciples, "Mas
ter, behold here are two swoTds ;" understanding it of out
ward swords ; and again Christ's answer, " It is enough,""
it .seems that Christ would not that the rest, who had not
swords (for they had only two swords), should sell their
coats, and buy an outward sword. Who .can think that,
matters standing thus, he should have said, Two was
enough? But however, it is sufficient that the use of arms
is unlawful under the gospel.
Sixthly, They object, That the scriptures and old fathers, Object.
so called,. did only prohibit private revenge, not the use of
arms for the defence of our country, body, wives, children,
and goods, when the magistrate commands it, seeing the
magistrate ought to be obeyed ; therefore although it be
not -lawful for private men to do it of themselves, never-
theless-they are bound to do it by the command of the
magistrate. I answer, If the magistrate be truly a Christian, or de- Answ.
sires to be so, he ought himself, in the first place, to obey
the command ofhis master, saying, " Love your enemies,"
&c, arid then he could not command us to kill them : but

524 PROPOSITION XV.
Christian if he be not a true Christian, then ought we to obey our
SulitTo'68 Lord ancl King> Jesus Christ, whom he ought also to obey :
obey the for jn the kingdom of Christ all ought to -submit to his
command ° . , . ' . .
of their laws, from the highest to the lowest, that is, from the king
Christ'.' to the beggar, and from Caesar to the clown. But alas !
where shall we find such an obedience ? 0 deplorable fall '
Lud. Vives concerning which Ludov. Viv. writes .well, lib. de con.
arms!8' v't- Christ, sub. Ture, by relation of Fredericus Sylvius,
Disc, de ReVol. Belg., p. 85 : " The prince entered into
the church, not as a true and plain Christian, which had
indeed been most happy and desirable ; but he brought in
with him his nobility, his honours, his ARMS, his ensigns^
his triumphs, his haughtiness, his pride, his supercilious
ness, that is, he came into the house of Christ, accom
panied with the devil ; and which could no ways be done ;
he would have joined two houses and two cities together,
God's and the devil's, which could not more be done than
Rome and Constantinople, which are distant by so long a
tract both of sea anddand. What communion, saith Paul,
is there betwixt Christ and Belial? Their zeal cooled by
degrees, their faith decreased, their whole piety degene
rated ; instead whereof we make now use of shadows and
images, and, as he saith, I would we could but retain
these." Thus far Vives. But lastly, as. to what relates to
this thing, since nothing seems more contrary to man's
nature, and seeing of all things the defence of one's self
seems most tolerable, as it is most hard to men, so it is the
most perfect part of the Christian religion, as that wherein
the denial of self and entire confidence in God doth most
appear ; and therefore Christ and his apostles left us hereof
Concerning a most perfect example. As to what relates to the present
magnates magistrates of The Christian world, albeit we deny them
of the not altogether the name of Christians, because of the public
Christian .... . , _.. . , ' , , „
world. profession they make of Christ's name, yet we may boldly
affirm, that they are far from the perfection ofthe Christian
religion; because in the state in which they are (as in
many places before I have largely observed), they have not
come to the pure dispensation of the gospel. And there-

OF SALUTATIONS AND RECREATIONS. 525
fore, while they are in that condition, we shall not say,
That war, undertaken upon a just occasion, is altogether
unlawful to them. For even as circumcision and the other
ceremonies were for a season permitted to the Jews, not
because they were either necessary of themselves, or law
ful at that time, after the resurrection of Christ, but be
cause that Spirit was not yet raised up in them, whereby
they could be delivered from such rudiments ; so the pre
sent confessors of the Christian name, who are yet in the
mixture, and not in the patient suffering spirit, are not yet
fitted for this form of Christianity, and therefore cannot be
undefending themselves until they attain that perfection.
But for such whom Christ has brought hither, it is not
lawful to defend themselves by arms, but they ought over
all to trust to the Lord.
§ XVI. But Lastly, to conclude, If to give and receive Thecal
flattering titles, which are not used because of the virtues
inherent in the persons, but are for the most part bestowed
by wicked men upon such as themselves ; if to. bow,
scrape, and cringe to one another ; if at every time to call
themselves each others' humble servants, and that most
frequently without any design of real. service ; if this be
the honour that comes from God, and not the honour that
is from below, then indeed our adversaries may be said
to be believers, and we condemned as proud and stubborn,
in denying all these things.
But if with Mordecai, to refuse to bow to proud Haman, Esther Hi.
and with Elihu not to give flattering titles to men, lest j"ob xxxii>
we should be reproved of our Maker; and if, according 21, 22.
to Peter's example and the angel's advice, to bow only to
God, and not to our fellow-servants ; and if to call no man
lord nor master, except under particular relations, accord
ing to Christ's command ; I say, if these things are not to
be reproved, then are we not blameworthy in so doing.
If to be vain and gaudy in apparel ; if to paint the face
and plait the hair ; if to be clothed wfth gold and silver,
and precious stones ; and if to be filled with ribands and
lace be to be clothed in modest apparel ; and if these be

PROPOSITION XV.
the ornaments of Christians; nndif that be to be humble,
meek, and mortified, then are our adversaries good Chris
tians indeed, and we proud, singular, and conceited, in
contenting ourselves with what need and conveniency calls
for, and condemning, what is more as-superfluous : but not
otherwise. If to use games, sports, plays ; if to card, dice, and
dance ; if to sing, fiddle, and pipe ; if to use stage-plays
and comedies, and to lie, counterfeit, and dissemble,
be to fear always ; and if that, be to do all things to the
glory of God ; and if that be to pass our, sojourning here
in fear ; and if that be to use this world as if we did not
use it ; and if that be not to fashion ourselves according
to our former lusts ; to be not conformable to the spirit
and vain conversation of this world ; then are our adver
saries, notwithstanding they use these things, and plead for
them, very good, sober, mortified, and self-denying Chris
tians, and we justly to be blamed for judging them : but
not otherwise.
If the profanation ofthe holy name of God ; if to exact
oaths one from another upon every light occasion ; if to
call God to witness in things of such a nature, in which
no earthly king would think himself lawfully and honour
ably to be a witness, be the , duties bf a Christian man, I
shall confess that our adversaries are excellent good Chris
tians, and we wanting in our, duty : but if the contrary be
true, of necessity our obedience to God in this thing must
be acceptable.
Jf to revenge ourselves, or to render injury, evil for
evil, wound for wound, to take eye for eye, tooth for
tooth ; if. to fight for outward and perishing things, to go a
warring one against another, whom we never saw, with
whom we never had any contest, nor any thing to do ;
being moreover altogether ignorant of the cause of the war,
but only that the magistrates of the nations foment quar
rels one against another, the causes whereof are for the
most part unknown to the soldiers that fight, as well as
upon whose side the right or wrong is ; and yet to be so

OF SALUTATIONS AND RECREATIONS. 527
furious, and rage one against another, to destroy and spoil
all, that this or the other worship may be received or
abolished; if to do this, and much more of this kind, be to
fulfil the law of Christ, then are our adversaries indeed true
Christians, and we miserable heretics, that suffer ourselves
to be spoiled, taken, imprisoned, banished, beaten, and
evilly entreated, without any resistance, placing our trust
only in GOD, that he may defend us, and lead us by the
way of the cross unto his kingdom. But if it be other-
ways, we shall certainly receive the reward which the Lord
hath promised to those that cleave to him, and, in denying
themselves, confide in him.
And to sum up all, if to use all these things, and many
more that might be instanced, be to walk in the strait way
that leads to life, be to take up the cross of Christ, be to
die with him to the lusts and perishing vanities of this world,
and to arise with him in newness of life, and sit down with
him in the heavenly places, then our adversaries may be
accounted such, and they need not fear they are in the
broad way that leads to destruction, and we are greatlyf
mistaken, that have laid aside all these things for Christ's
sake, to the crucifying of our own lusts, and to the pro
curing to ourselves shame, reproach, hatred, and ill-will
from the men of this world : not as if by so doing we judged
to merit heaven, but as knowing they are contrary to the
will of Him who redeems his children from the love of this
world, and its lusts, and leads them in the ways of truth
and holiness, in which theytake delight to walk.

THE

CO NCL USION

If in God's fear, candid reader, thou appliest thyself to
consider this system of religion here delivered, with its
consistency and harmony, as well in itself as with the
scriptures of truth, I doubt not "but thou wilt say with me
and many more, that this is the spiritual day of Christ's
appearance, wherein he is again revealing the ancient
paths of truth and righteousness. For thou mayest ob
serve here the Christian religion in all its parts truly estab
lished and vindicated, as ft" is a living, inward, spiritual,
pure, and substantial thing, and not a mere form, show,
shadow, notion, and opinion, as too many have hitherto
held it, whose fruits declare they wanted that which they
bear the. name of: and yet many of those are so in love
with their empty forms and shadows, that they cease not
to calumniate us for commending and calling them to the
substance, as if we therefore denied or neglected the true
form and outward part of Christianity, which indeed is,
as God the searcher of hearts knows, a very great slander.
Thus, because we have desired people earnestly to feel
after God'near and in themselves, telling them that their
notions of God, as he is beyond the clouds, will little avail
them, if they do not feel him near ; hence they have sought
maliciously to infer that we deny any God except that
which is within us. Because we tell people, that it is the
light and law within, and not the letter without, that can
truly tell them their condition, and lead them out of all
evil ; hence they say, we vilify the scriptures, and set up
our own imaginations above them. Because we tell them,
that it is not their talking or believing of Christ's outward
(528)

THE CONCLUSION. 529
life, sufferings, death, and resurrection, no more than the
Jews crying, "the temple of the Lord, the temple of the
Lord," that will serve their turn, or justify them in the ,
sight of God ; but that they must know Christ in them,
whom they have crucified, to be raised, and to justify
them, and redeem them from their iniquities : hence they
say, we. deny the life, death, and sufferings of Christ, justi
fication by his blood, and remission of sins through him.
Because we tell them, while they are talking and determin
ing about the resurrection, that they have more need to
know the Just One, whom they have slain, raised in them
selves, and to be sure they are partakers of the first resur
rection ; and that if this be, they will be the more capable
to judge of the second : hence they say, that we deny the
resurrection^ of the body. Because when we hear them
talk foolishly of heaven and hell, and the last judgment,
we exhort them to come out qf that hellish condition they
are in, and come down to the judgment of Christ in their
own hearts, and believe in the light, and follow it, that so
they may come to sit in the heavenly places that are in
Christ Jesus : hence they maliciously say, that we deny
any heaven or hell but that which is within us, and that
we deny any general judgment; which slanders the Lord
knows are foully cast upon us, whom God hath raised for
this end, and gathered us, that by us he might confound
the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nought the under
standing of the prudent; and might, in and by his own
Spirit and power in a despised people (that no flesh might
glory in his presence), pull down that dead, dark, corrupt
image, and mere shadow and shell of Christianity where
with Antichrist hath deceived the nations: for which end
he hath called us to be a first-fruits of those that serve him,
and worship him no more in the oldness of the letter, but
in the newness of the Spirit. And though we be few in
number, in respect of others, and weak as to outward
strength, which we also altogether reject, and foolish if
compared with the wise ones of this world ; yet as God
hath prospered us, notwithstanding much opposition, so
45 3s

53d

THE CONCLUSION.
will he yet do, that neither the art, wisdom, nor violence
of men or devils shall be able to quench that little spark
that hath appeared ; but it shall grow to the consuming of
whatsoever shall stand up to oppose it. The mouth of the
Lord hath spoken it ! yea, he that hath arisen in a small
remnant shall arise and go on by the, same arm of power
in his spiritual manifestatiqn, until he hath conquered all
his enemies,* until all the kingdoms of the earth become the
kingdom of Christ Jesus.
Unto Him that hath begun this work, not among the rich
or great ones, but among; the poor and small, and hath
revealed it not to the wise and learned, but unto the
poor, unto babes and sucklings ; even to him, the Only-
wise and Omnipotent GOD, be Honour, Glory, Thanks
giving, and renown, from henceforth and' for ever.
Amen. Hallelu-JAH.

TABLE OF THE AUTHORS CITED IN THIS BOOK. .

A.
Alanus  Page 412
Amandus Polanus  226
Ambrosius Ansbertus. ,".\  513
Ambrosius Mediolanensis 126, 465,
466, 513, 516
Amesius  227, 451
Anselrhus, Bishop of Canterbury 513
Antiochus  Hid..
Apollinarius  137
Athanasius 31, 464, 465., 507, 512, ,516
Augustinus 30, 67,-86} 98, 146, 185,
187, 213, 243, 248, 411, 414,
513, 516
Author de vocat. Gentium ..... 126
B.
Basil the Great  506, 512
Beda>...  513
Bellarmine  197, 464
Bernard  32, 355, 367
Bertius  225
Beza  ,  114,210
Boraeus  211,216
Bucerus  211
Buchanan  187
Bullinger . .".  210
C.
Calvin 52, 53,74, 82, 114,213,225,
303,327,402,419, 421, 422,
437, 449, 468, 483
Carolostadius  .467
Casaubonus  485
Cassiodoms  513
Castellio  468
Catechism of Westminster .... .'230
Chamienis  210
Chemnitius  ,  213
Christianus Druthmarus  513
Chromatius  513, 516

Chrysostom 126, 453, 507, 513, 516
Cicero  184
Claudius Albertus Inuncunamls .217
Clemens Alexandrinus 31, 166, 167,
168, 185, 512, 520
Conference of Oldenb. El. D. . .228
Confession of Augsburgh. .228, 251
— ' — the French Churches 74
 Faith of the Churches
of Holland  75
 the Divines at West
minster  '... .75, 82, 193
Council of Aszansic . . . :  248
 Carthage  75
 Florence  63
 Laodicea  75
 Trent  109, 226, 467
Cyprian  ...466, 512, 516
Cyrillus Alexandrinus 32, 155, 160,
161, 513, 516
D.
Dallaeus   448
Diodorus Siculus  511
E.
Epictetus .  27
Epiphanius  85, 513
Erasmus  487, 513, 516
Estius  217
Eusebius  62
Euthymius  513, 51 6
Eutyches  ...  137
Forbes  212
Franciscus Lambertus . . . .286, 361
Fredericus Sylvius  520, 524
G.
Gelasius  248
Gentiletus   .  226
Gerardus Vossius  162, 228, 251
Godeau  487, 488
Gregory the Great  31
(531)

532

A TABLE OF THE AUTHORS.

Gregorius Nazianzenus .... i . .512
Gregorius Nyssenus . ^  ibid .
H.
Haimo  -. . 513
Hierom 31, 85, 89, 248,-465, 483,
508,513,516
Hilarius  465, 466, 512
Hildebrand . .,  463
Himelius  217
History of the Council of Trent 467
 Beformation of France 482
Hosius . .  466
Hugo Grotius  506, 512
I.
James Coret  225
James Howel  < . . 487
Johannes Damascenus  , . . 513
Johannes Ferus  516
Johannes Floracensis  412
John Hus  96
Isidorus Hispalensis  513
 Peliisiota  ibid.
Justin Martyr 168, 185, 512, 516,
' 518, 521
L.
Lactantius  . . 184
Lucas Osiander  128, 293
Ludovicus Vives .... 185, 516, 524
Luther 32, 127, 190, 192, 268, 467,
468, 487
- M.
Martianus  465, 466
Martyr  114
Melancthon  32, 21 1, 251
Musculus  ,  225
n:
Nicolaus Arnoldus of Franequer 267,
268, 287, 289, 310, 324, 326,
400, 413 O.
GUcumenius  513
Origen. .33, 34,295, 512, 516, 523
Otho Brunsfelsius  513

Eapirius Masson  412
Faraeus...  114,207
Paschasius Radbertus  513
Paulus Riccius  408, 432
Philo Judeeus  512, 518
Phocylides  .. .:  185
Piscator . :  114
Pithceus  412
Platina  277
Plato  184, 512
Plotinus  184
Polybius  506
Polycarpus  62, 512
Prosper  125
Pythagoras  184, 511
Q-
Quintiliahus . '.  512
Quintus Curtius  511
R.
Reinerius  475
Richard Baxter  217, 227
S.
Seneca  184
Smith, Doctor in Cambridge  33
Stobaeus  511
Sulpitius Severus . .-  521
Synod Arelatensian  126
 of Dort  75, 113
T.
Tertullian 31, 466, 512, 516, 518, 519
Theophylactus  513
Thomas Aquinas   57, 58
Thysius  209
V.
Victor Antiochenus-  1 62
Vincentius Lyrinensis  52 1
W.
Waldenses  513
WicklifTe.;  ibid.
Z.
Zanchius  1 14, 209, 213, 227
Zuinglius  109, 1 14, 217

A TABLE OF

THE CHIEE THINGS.

Abraham's Faith, 43.
Adam ; see Man, Sin, Redempr
tion. What happiness he lost by the
fall, 99. What death he died, ibid.
He retained in his nature no will or
light capable of itself to manifest
spiritual things, ibid. Whether there
be any relics of the heavenly image
left in him, 103, 141.
¦ Alexander Skein's queries pro
posed to the preachers, 373, 374.
Anabaptists of Great Britain, 63,
348. Anabaptists of Munster, how their
mischievous actings nothing touch
the Quakers, 61 to 65.
AnicetuS, 62.
Anointing, the anointing teacheth
all things ; it is and abideth for ever
a common privilege, and sure rule to
air saints, 59, 60.
Antichrist is exalted when the seed
of God is pressed, 142. His work,
299, 300, 305, 306.
Antinomians, their opinion con
cerning justification, 200.
Apostasy, 249, 296.
Apostle, who he is, their number
was not limited, and whether any
maybe now-a-days so called, 301,
302, 303, 304.
Appearances ; see Faith.
Arians, ihey first brought in the
doctrine of persecution upon the ac
count of religion, 465.
Arius, by what he fell into error,
295, 296.
Arminians ; see Remonstrants.
Assemblings are needful, and what
45*

sOrt, 325, 326, &c, see Worship;
they arenot to be forsaken, 341.
Astronomer, 69.
Amelia, there ten canonics were
burnt, and why, 412. B.
Baptism is one, its definition, 380,
383 to 390. It is the baptism of
Christ, and of the Spirit, not of wa
ter, 390 to 393. The. baptism of
water, which was John's baptism,
was a figure of this baptism, and is
not to be continued, 393 to 413.
Baptism with water doth not
cleanse the heart, 384, 395. Nor is
it a badge of Christianity, as was
circumcision to the Jews, 398, 410.
That Paul was not sent to baptize is
explained, 398 to 400. Concerning
what baptism Christ speaks, Mat.
xxviii. 19, it is explained, 401. How
the apostles baptized with water is
explained, 404 to 408. To baptize
signifies to plunge, and how sprin
kling was brought in, 408, 409.
Those of old that used water bap
tism were plunged, and they that
were only sprinkled were not ad
mitted to an ecclesiastical function,
and why, 409. Against the use of
water baptism many heretofore have
testified, 412.
Infant Baptism is a mere human
tradition, 381, 413.
Bible, the last translations always
find fault with the first, 84.
Birth, the spiritual birth, 7 1 . Holy
birth, 343 ; see Justification.
Bishop of Rome, concerning his
(533)

534

A TABLE OF THE CHIEF .THINGS.

primacy, 62, 63. How he abused
his authority, and by what he de
posed princes, and absolveth "the
people from the oath of fidelity, 463,
467. Blood, to abstain from blood and
things strangled, 444.
Blood of Christ; see Commu
nion. Body, to bow the body; see
Head. Books Canonical und Apocry
phal ; see Canon, Scripture.
Bonaventure, 328.
Bow, to bow the knee ; see Un
cover the Head. .
Bread, the breaking of bread
among the Jew's was no singular
thing, 432, 436. It is now other-
ways performed than it was by
Christ, 436. Whether unleavened
or leavened bread is to be used ;
also it is hotly disputed about the
manner of taking it, and to whom
it is to be given, 437, 438. See
Communion. C.
Calvinists; see Protestants. They
deny consubstantiation, 63. They
maintain absolute reprobation, ibid.
They think grace is a certain irre
sistible power, and what sort of a
Saviour they would have, 171, 172.
Of the flesh and blood of Christ,
119, 421, 422. They use leavened
bread in the supper, 437.
Canon, whether the scripture be
a filled-up canon, 94, 95. Whether
it can be proved by scripture that
any book is canonical, 95, 96.
Castellio banished, 468.
Ceremonies ; see Superstition.
Christ; see Communion, Justifica
tion, Redemption, Word.— He show-
fth himself daily, revealing the
knowledge of the Father, 3 1 . With
out his school there is nothing

learned but busy talking, 32. He is
the Eternal Word, 36. No crea
ture hath access to God but by him,
36, 37. He is the Way, the Truth,
and the Life, 37. He is trie Mediator
between God and man, -37, 195. He
is God, and in time he was made
partaker of man's nature, 37. The
same yesterday, to-day, and for
ever, 47. The fathers believed in
him, and how, 46. His sheep hear
his voice, and contemn- the voice of
a stranger, 75, 284, 286. It is the
fruit of his ascension to send pastors,
88. He dwelleth in the saints, and
how, 137. His coming was neces
sary, 139. By his sacrifice we have
remission of sins,' 139, 177, 178,
194, 195. Whether he be, and how
he is in all men, is explained, 1 40.
Being formed within, heis the formal
cause of justification, 188, 189,213.
By ¦ his life, death, &c, he hath
opened a way for reconciliation, 2 1 5,
216, 217. His obedience, righte
ousness, death, and sufferings are
ours ; and it is explained that Paul
said, " He filled up that which was
behind of the afflictions of Christ
in his flesh," 197. How we are
partakers of his sufferings, 241.
For what end he was manifested,
234, 235, 236. He delivers his own
by suffering, 236. Concerning his
outward and ^spiritual body, 416,
417. Concerning his outward and
inward coming, 442, 443.
Christian, how he is a Christian,
and when he ceaseth so to be, 29,
34, 35, 50, 51 to 55,241,270 to
273, 282, 283. The foundation of
his faith, 70. His privilege, 71.
When men were made Christians by
birth, and not by conversion, 261,
262. They have borrowed many
things from Jews and Gentiles, 382,
383. They departed by little and
little from their first purity, 441

A TABLE OF THE CHIEF THINGS.

535

524. The primitive Christians for
some ages said, We are Christians,
we swear not, 511. And, We are
the soldiers of Christ, it is not law
ful for. us to fight, 52 1 .
Christianity is made as an art, 34.
It is not Christianity without the
Spirit, 49 to 53. It would be turn
ed into scepticism, 292. It is
placed chiefly in the renewing of
the heart, 263. Wherein it con
sists not, 339. What is and is not
th> mark thereof, 398, 410,-411.
Why it is odious to Jews, Turks,
and Heathen, 421. What would
contribute to its commendation,
479. Church, without t which there is
no salvation ; what she is ; concern
ing her members, visibility, profes
sion, degeneration, succession, 257
to 281. Whatsoever is done in the
church without the instinct of the
Holy Spirit is vain and impious, 286.
The same may be said of her as was
in the schools of Theseus's boat,
306. In her, corrections ought to
be exercised, and against whom,
452, 453. She is more corrupted by
the accession of hypocrites, 461.
The contentions . of the Greek and
Latin churches about unleavened or
leavened bread in the supper, 437.
The lukewarmness of the church of
Laodicea, 271. There are intro
duced into the Roman church no
less superstitions and ceremonies
than among heathen and Jews, 262.
.Circumcision, a seal of the old
covenant, 410.
Clergy, 300 to 303, 305, 315,
316, 437, 438.
Clothes, that it is not lawful for
Christians to use things superfluous
in clothes, 492 to 495, 525.
' Comforter, for what end he was
sent, 31, 32, 33.
Commission, the commission of

the disciples of Christ before the
work was finished was more legal
than evangelical, 288.
Communion, the communion ofthe
body and blood of Christ is a spirit
ual and inward thing, 413. That
body, that blood is a spiritual thing,
and that it is that heavenly seed,
whereby life and salvation was of
old and is now communicated, 414,
415. How any becomes partaker
thereof, 4 19, 420. It is not tied to
the ceremony of breaking bread and
drinking wine, which Christ used
with his disciples, this was only a
figure, 414, 421 to 431. Whether
that ceremony be a necessary part
of the new covenant, and whether it
is to be continued, 43 1 to 449. Spi
ritual communion with God is ob
tained through Christ, 99.
Community of goods is not brought
in by the Quakers, 452, 477, 478.
Compliments ; see Titles.
Conscience ; see Magistrate. — -Its
definition, what it is; it is distin
guished from the saving light, 141
to 146, 451. The good conscience,
and the hypocritical, 251, 252. He
that acteth contrary to his conscience
sinneth ; and concerning an erring
conscience, 451. What things ap
pertain to conscience, 452. What
sort of liberty of conscience is de
fended, ibid. It is the throne of
God, 453. It is free from the power
of all men, 468.
Conversion, what is man'-s there
in, is rather a passion than an ac
tion, 146. Augustine's saying, ibid.
This is cleared by two examples,
146, 147.
Correction,how and against whom
it ought to be exercised, 452, 453.
Covenant, ihe difference betwixt
the new and old covenant worship,
57, 324, 325, 350 to 353, 395 to
397. See also Law, Gospel.

536

A TABLE OF THE CHIEF THINGS.

Cross, the sign of the cross, 411.
D.
Dancing ; see Plays.
Days, whether any -be holy, and
concerning the day commonly called
the Lord's day, 327, 430.
Deacons, 439. .
Death ; see Adam, Redemption.
— It entered into the World by sin,
106, 107. In the saints it is rather
a passing from death to life, 108.
Devil, he cares not at all how
much God be acknowledged with
the mouth, provided himself be wor
shipped in the heart, 34, 174. He
haunts among the wicked, 236. How
he may seem to be a minister of the
gospel, 297, 298. When he can
work nothing, 345> 346. He keeps
men in outward signs, shadows, and
forms, while they neglect the sub
stance, 423? 424.
Dispute, the dispute of the shoe
maker with a certain professor, 292.
Of an heathen philosopher with a
bishop in the council of Nice, and
of the unlettered clown, 293.
Divinity, school divinity, 282.
How pernicious it is, 294 to 297.
Dreams ; see Faith, Miracles.
E.
Ear, there is a spiritual and a
bodily ear, 32, 45.
Easter is celebrated other ways
in the Latin chufch than in the
Eastern, 62. The celebration of it
is grounded upon tradition, ibid.
Elders, 4) , 305.
Elector of Saxony, the scandal
given by him^ 375.
Eminency, Your Eminency; see
Titles. Enoch walked with God, 242.
Epistle-; see James, John, Peter.
Esau, 335.
Ethics, or books of moral philo

sophy, are not needful to Christians,
294. Evangelist, .who be is, and whe
ther aiiy now-a-days may be so
called, 303.
Excellency, Tour Excellency; see
Titles; Exorcism, 411.

Faith, its definition, and what its
object is, 42 to 46. How far, and
how appearances, outward voices,
and dreams were the objects of the
saints' faith, 44. That faith is one,
and that the object of faith is one,
46. Its foundation, 70. See Re
velation, Scripture.
Farellus, 437.
Father ; see Knowledge, Revela
tion, 42.
Fathers, so called, they did not
agree about some books of thescrip-
ture, 75, 85. They affirm that there
are whole verses taken out of Mark
and Luke, 85. Concerning the Sep
tuagint interpretation, and the He
brew copy, 85. They preached uni
versal redemption for the first four
centuries, 124,125. They frequent
ly used the word merit in their doc
trine, 226, 227, 228. Concerning
the possibility of not sinning, 248.
The possibility of falling from grace,
251. Many of them did not only
contradict one another, but them
selves also, 296. Concerning bap
tism, and the sign ofthe cross, 411.
Concerning an oath, 503.
Feet, concerning the washing of
one another's feet, 433 to 436.
Franequer, 310.
Freely, the gospel ought to be
preached freely, 309, 310, 31 1.
G.

Games ; see Sports.
Gifted brethren, 280.

A TABLE OF THE CHIEF THINGS.

537

God, how he hath always mani
fested himself, 28. Unless he speak
within, the preacher makes a rust
ling to no purpose, 32, 33.' None
can know him aright, unless he rer
ceive it of the Holy Ghost, ibid.
God is to be sought within, 33. He
is known by sensation, and not by
mere speculation and syllogistic de
monstrations, 33. He is the foun
tain, root, and beginning of all good
works, and he hath made all things
by his eternal word, 36. God speak
ing is the-'object of faith, 42. Among
all, he hath his own chosen ones,
30. He-delights not in the death of
the wicked ; see Redemption. He
hath manifested his love in sending
his son, 194, 215, 216; see Justifi
cation. He rewards the good works
of his children, 226, 227. Whether
it be possible to keep his command
ments, 230,231. He is the Lord,
and the only judge ofthe conscience,
450, 453. He will have a free ex
ercise, 460.
Gospel; see Redemption.— -The
truths of it are as lies in the mouths
of profane and carnal men, 39, 40,
The nature of it is explained, 56,
57. It is distinguished from the
law, and is more excellent than it,
57, 77, 78 ; see. Covenant, Law.
Whether any ought to preach it in
this or that place, is1 not found in
scripture, 280. Its works are dis
tinguished from the works of the
law, 220. How it is to be propa
gated, and of its propagation, 454.
The worship of it is inward, 397.
It is' an iij ward power, 163.
Grace, .the grace of God can be
lost through disobedience, 249, §lc.
Saving grace (see Redemption) which
is required in the -calling and quali
fying of a minister; see Minister.
In some -it worketh in a special and
prevalent manner, that they neces

sarily obtain salvation, 148, 149.
Tour Grace ; see Titles.
H.
Hai Eben Yokdan, 186.
Hands, laying on of hands, 281,
445. Head, of uncovering the head in
salutations, 474, 477, 489 to 492,
525. Heart, the heart is deceitful and
wicked, 82, 100, 101.
Heathen, ¦ albeit they were igno
rant of thfr history, yet they were
sensible of the loss by the fall, 184.
Some heathen would not swear, 511.
Heathenish ceremonies were brought
into the Christian religion, 411.
Henry IV., king of France, 463,
464. Heresies, whence they proceeded,
339. Heretics, 456. (
High ; see Priest.
History of Christ; see Quakers,
Redemption. Holy of Holies, the high priest
entered -into it once a year, 41, 58.
But now all of us at all times have
access, unto God, 58.
Holiness, Tour Holiness ; see
Titles. Honour ; see Titles.
Hypocrite, 456, 460, 461.
I.
Jacob, 335.
James the Apostle, there were of
old divers opinions concerning his
epistle, 75.
Idolatry, 323, 324, 340. Whence
it proceeded, 381.
Jesting ; see Plays, Games.
Jesuits ; see Sect, Ignatian.
Jesus ; see Christ- — What it is to
be saved, and to be assembled in his
name, 178, 193,331..
Jews, among them there may be
3s

538

A TABLE OF THE CHIEF THINGS.

members of the church, 259. Their
error concerning the outward suc
cession from Abraham, 269. Their
worship is outward, 397.
Illiterate ; see Mechanics.
Indulgences, 191.
Infants ; see Sin.
Iniquities, spiritual iniquities, or
wickedness, 338.
Inquisition, 462.
Inspiration, where that doth not
teach, words without do make a
noise to no purpose, 31, 32.
John the ApOstle, concerning his
second and third epistles, and the
revelation, there were sometime di
vers opinions, 75.
John the Baptist did not miracles,
279. John Hus is said to have prophe
sied, 96.
John Knox, in what respect he
was called the apostle of Scotland,
304. Judas fell from his apostleship,
271. Who was his vicar, 286. His
ministry was not purely evangelical,
288. He was called immediately of
Christ, and who are inferior to him,
and plead for him, as a pattern of
their ministry, 289.
Justification, the doctrine thereof
is and hath been greatly vitiated
among the Papists, 189, 190, 191,
and wherein we place it, 215, 216.
Luther and the Protestants with good
reason opposed the Popish doctrine,
though many of them ran soon Into
another extreme; and wherein they
place it; and that they agree in one,
192, 193, 198. It comes from the
love of God, 194, 215. To justify,
signifies to make really just, not to
repute just, which many Protestants
are forced to acknowledge, 206, 207,
209 to 213. The revelation of
Christ formed -in the heart is the
formal cause of justification, not |

works (to speak properly), which
are only an effect, and so also many
Protestants have said, 188, 189, 191
to 194, 205 to 226. We are justi
fied in works, and how, 188, 189,
197, 198, 199, 218 to 226. . This is
so far from being a Popish- doctrine,
that Bellarmine and others opposed
it, 197, 225, 226, 227. '
K.
Kingdom of God,, 355, 445,454.
Knowledge, the height of man's
happiness js placed in the true know
ledge of God, 13. Error in the en
trance of this knowledge is danger
ous, 25. Superstition, idolatry, and
thence atheism, have proceeded from
the false and feigned opinions con
cerning God, and the knowledge of
him, 2,7. The uncertain knowledge
of God is divers ways attained, but
the true and certain only by the in
ward and immediate revelation of
the Holy Spirit, 30. It hath been
brought out of use, and by what de
vices, 34, 35. There is no know
ledge of the Father but by the Son,
nor of the Son but by the Spirit, 27,
36 to 41: The knowledge of Christ,
which is not by the revelation of his
Spirit in the heart, is no more the
knowledge of Christ, than the prat
tling of a parrot, which hath been
taught a few words; may be said to
be the voice of a man, 40.
L.
Laics, 301, 302.
Laity, 305, 306, 307.
Lake of Bethesda, 145.
Law, the law is distinguished
from the gospel, 57, 58, 397. The
difference thereof, 57, 239, 240. See
Gospel. — Under the law the people
were not in any doubt who should
be priests, and ministers, 266. See
Minister of the Law, Worship.

A TABLE OF THE CHIEF THINGS.

539

Learning, what true learning is,
289,290. Letter, the letter killeth, quick
eneth not, 240.
Light, the innate light is explained
by Cicero, .184.
Light of Nature, the errors of the
Socinians and Pelagians, who exalt
this light, are rejected, 97. Saving
Light ; see Redemption. — Is uni
versal; it is in all, 131. It is a spi
ritual and heavenly principle, 136.
It is a substance, not an accident,
137, 138. It is supernatural and
sufficient, 156, 161, 162. It is the
gospel preached in every creature,.
163. It is the word nigh in the
mouth and in the heart, 165, 166.
It is the ingrafted word, able to save
the soul,. 170. Testimonies of Au
gustine and Buchanan concerning
this, light, 187, 188. It is not any
part of nature, or relics of the light
remaining in Adam after the fall,
141... It is distinguished from the
conscience, 142,. 143. It is not a
common gift, as the heat of the
fire, and outward light of the sun,
as a certain preacher said, 176.
It may be resisted, 132, 136, 145,
249. By this light or seed, grace
and word of God, he invites all, and
calls them to salvation, 166, 167,
168. None of those to whom the
history of Christ is preached are
saved, but by the inward operation
of this light, 169 to 175. It is
small in the first manifestation, but
it groweth, 170, 171. It is slighted
by the Calvinists, Papists, Socinians',
and Arminians, and why, 171, 172.
None can put it to silence, 172.
There are and may be saved by the
operation thereof, who are ignorant
of the history of Christ, 110, 111,
133, 139, 140, 168, 175 to 184.
An answer to the objection, That

none can be saved but in the name
of Jesus Christ, 178, 179.
Literature, human literature is not
at all needful, 290, &.c.
Liturgy, 328, 348.
Logic, 292, 293, 294-.
Lord, there is one Lord, 46, 47.
Love, of a love-feast, 440, 442.
¦ Lutherans ; see Protestants. —
They affirm consubstantiation, 63.
Of the flesh and blood of Christ,
421. They use unleavened bread
in the supper, 437. M.
Magistrate, concerning his power
in things purely religious, and that
he hath no authority over the con
science, 450 to 473. Nor ought he
to punish according to church cen
sure, 453,- 454. Concerning the
present magistrates of the Christian
world, 524, 525.
Mahomet prohibited all discourse
and reasoning about religion, 469.
He was an impostor, 144.
Majesty, Tour Majesty; see
Titles. Man; see Knowledge. — His spi
rit knoweth the things of a man,
and not the things of God, 38. The
carnal man esteemeth the gospel
truths as lies, 3D, 40. And in that
state he cannot please God, 50. The
new man and the old, 71, 136. The
natural man cannot discern spiritual
things ; as to the first Adam, he is
fallen and degenerate, 72, 97, 98,
109. His thoughts of God and di
vine things in the corrupt state are
evil and unprofitable, 97. Nothing
of Adam's sin is imputed to him,
until by evil-doing he commit his
own, 99, 1.06, 107. In the corrupt
state he hath no will or light capable
of itself to manifest spiritual things,
99 to 105, 194. He cannot when

540

A TABLE OF THE CHIEF THINGS.

he will procure to himself tender
ness of heart, 144. Whatsoever he
doth, while he doth it not by, in,
and through the power of God, he
is not approved of God, 344. How
the inward man is nourished, 416 to
420. How his understanding can
not be forced by sufferings, and how
his understanding is changed, 460,
461. Merchandise, what it is to make
merchandise with the Scriptures,
296. Mass, 323, 328, 347, 375.
Mathematician, 69.
Mechanics, 306, 307. They con
tributed much to the reformation
ibid. Merit ; see Justification.
Metaphysics, 294.
Minister of the Gospel, it is not
found in scripture if any be called,
79, 80, 280, 281. Teachers are not
to go before the teaching of the
Spirit, 88. The Popish and Pro
testant errors concerning the grace
of a minister are rejected, 97, 305,
306. They are given for the per
fecting of the saints, &c, 237. Con
cerning their call, and wherein it
is placed, 256, 257, 264 to 280.
Qualities, 257, 281 to 298. „ Orders
and distinction of laity and clergy,
300 to 305. Of separating men for
the ministry, ibid. ' Concerning the
sustentation and maintenance of mi
nisters, and their abuse ; of the idle
ness, riot, and cruelty of ministers,
306 to 318. What kind of ministry
and ministers the Quakers are for,
and what sort their adversaries are
for, 319 to 321.
Minister of the Law, there was
no doubtfulness concerning them
under the law, 266. Their minis
try was not purely spiritual ; and
while they performed it, they be
hoved to be purified from their

outward pollutions, as now those
under the gospel from their inward,
265, 266, 288.
Miracles, whether they be need
ful to those who place their faith in
objective revelation, 44, "279.
Moses, 183, 349, 353, 381, 415.
Munster ;. see Anabaptists, their
mischievous actings, 60.
Music, 379, 380.
Mystery of iniquity, 300.
Mystics, 354, 355. N.
Name of ihe Lord, 402,' 403.
To anoint in the name of the Lord.
444. Nero, 459.
Noah's faith had neither the scrip
ture nor the prophecy of those go
ing before him, 43. It is said of
him, that he was a perfect man,
242., Number, of using the singular
number to one person, 486, 487.
0\
Oath, that it is not lawful to
swear, 477, 501 to 514.
Obedience is better than sacrifice,
80. Object of faith ; see Faith.
Oil, to anoint with oil, 413, 444,
447. Ordinance, sealing ordinance, 384.
P.
Papists^ the rule of their faith,
62. They are forced ultimately to
recur unto the immediate and in
ward revelations of the. Holy Spirit,
70. What difference there is be
twixt the cursed deeds of those of
Munster and theirs, 64 to 67. They
have taken away the second com
mandment in their catechism, 84.
They make philosophy the hand
maid of divinity, 89. They exalt

A TABLE OF THE CHIEF THINGS.

541

too much the natural power, and
what they think of the saving light,
171, 172. Their doctrine concern
ing justification is greatly vitiated,
189. Concerning their manners and
ceremonies, 261, 262, 273, 274,
277, 278. Their literature and stu
dies, 290. Of the modern apostles '
and evangelists, 303, 304. Whom
they exclude from the ministry, 307.
They must be sure of so much a
year before they preach, 309. They
do not labour, 317. The more mo
derate and sober of them exclaim
against the excessive revenues of
the clergy, 313. Their worship can
easily be stopped, 347. Albeit they
say, None are saved without water
baptism, yet they allow an excep-
tion, 391. Of baptism, 410, 411,
412. Of the flesh and blood of
Christ, 421, 422. Of an oath, 503.
Parable of the talents, 154, 162.
Ofthe vineyard intrusted, 152, 153.
Of the sower, 161, 162, 165. Of
the tares, 456.
Paschal Lamb, the end thereof,
426. Patriarchs, 417, 425.
Pelagians, 97, 98. How we dif
fer from them, 145, 411. See Light
of Nature.
Pelagius denied that man gets an
evil seed from Adam, «nd ascribes
all to the will and nature of men :
he said, that man could attain unto
a state of not sinning by his mere
natural strength, without the grace
of God, 248.
Persecution upon the account of
religion, 465 to 471. See Magis
trate. Perseverance, the grace of God,
may be lost through disobedience,
229, 249, 252. Tet such a stability
may in this life be attained, from
which there cannot be a total apos
tasy, 253 to 256.
46

Peter, whether he was at Rome,
62. He was ignorant of Aristotle's
logic, 89. There were of old di
vers opinions concerning his second
epistle, 75.
Pharisees, 382, 431.
Philosopher, the heathen philo
sopher was brought to the Christian
faith by an illiterate rustic, 293.
Philosophy, 282, 294.
Physics, 294.
Plays, whether it be lawful to
use them, 474, 477, 496 to 501,
526. Polycarpus, the disciple of John,
62. Pray, to pray for Remission of
sins, 247. Concerning the Lord's
Prayer, 340. To pray without the
Spirit is to offend God, 345, 499.
Concerning the prayer of the will in
silence, 354. See Worship.
Prayer, the prayers of the people
were in the Latin tongue, 291.
Preacher ; see Minister.
Preaching, what is termed the
preaching of the word, 297, 305,
325, 326. To preach without the
Spirit is to offend God, 345. See
Worship. It is a permanent institu
tion, 399. It is learned as another
trade, 305.
Predestinated, God hath after a
special manner predestinated some
to salvation ; of whom, if the places
of scripture which some abuse be
understood, their objections are easi
ly solved, 149.
Priest, under the law God spake
immediately to the high priest, 41,
58. Priests ; see Minister ofthe Law,
263, 264, 266, 268, 288, 326.
Profession, an outward profession
is necessary that any be a member
of a particular Christian church,
260. Prophecy, and to prophesy, what

542

A TABLE OF THE CHIEF THINGS.

it signifies, 302, 303. Of the liberty
of prophesying, ibid.
Prophets, some prophets did not
miracles, 279.
Protestants, the rule of their faith,
62. They are forced ultimately to
recur unto the immediate and in
ward revelation of the Holy Spirit,
71. What difference betwixt the
execrable deeds of those of Munster
and theirs, 64 to 67. They make
philosophy the handmaid of divinity,
89. They affirm John Hus pro
phesied of the reformation that was
to be, 96. Whether they did not
throw themselves into many errors
while they were expecting a greater
light, 130. They opposed the Pa
pists not without good cause, in
the doctrine of justification; but
they soon ran into another extreme,
192, 193. They say, that the best
works of the saints are defiled, 198.
Whether there be any difference be
tween them and the Papists in su
perstitions and manners, and what
it is, 262, 263, 277, 278. What
they think of the call of a minister,
266 to 272, 277 to 281. It is la
mentable that they betake them to
Judas for a pattern to their ministers
and ministry, 289. Their zeal and
endeavours are praised, 291. Of
their school-divinity, 294, 295. Of
the apostles and evangelists of this
time, 303, 304. Whom they ex
clude from the ministry, 305. That
they preach to none, until they be
first sure of so much a year, 309.
The more moderate of them exclaim
against the excessive revenues of
the clergy, 313. Though they had
forsaken the bishop of Rome, yet
they would not part with old bene
fices, 315, 316. They will not la
bour, 317. Whether they have
made a perfect reformation in wor
ship, 323, 324. Their worship can

easily be stopped, 348. They have
given great scandal to the reforma
tion, 375. They deny water bap
tism to be absolutely necessary to
salvation, 391. Of water baptism,
409 to 41 1. Of the flesh and blood
of Christ, 419 to 422. They use
not washing of feet, 435. How they
did vindicate liberty of conscience,
462. Some affirm, that wicked kings
and magistrates ought to be deposed,
yea, killed, 464. How they meet,
when they have not the consent of
the magistrate, 471. Of oaths and
swearing, 503, 504.
Psalms, singing of psalms, 378.
Q-
Quakers, i. e. Tremblers, and
why so called, 175, 335, 336. They
are not contemners of the scriptures,
and what they think of them, 72, 73,
76, 77, 86 to 89. Nor of reason,
and what they think of it, 142, 143.
They do not say, that ali other se
condary means of knowledge are of
no service, 35. They do not com
pare themselves to Jesus Christ, as
they are falsely accused, 137. Nor
do they deny those things that are
written in the holy scriptures con
cerning Christ, his conception, &c,
137, 205, 206. They, were raised
up of God to show forth the truth,
130, 131, 173, 186, 187, 297, 298,
336. Their doctrine of justification
is not popish, 189, 197,217,218,
227. They are not against medita
tion, 344. Their worship cannot be
interrupted, 347. And what they
have suffered, 347 to 350. How
they vindicate liberty of conscience,
470. They do not persecute others,
473. Their adversaries confess, that
they are found for the most part free
from the abominations which abound
among others ; yet they count those
things vices in them, which in them-

A TABLE OF THE CHIEF THINGS.

543

selves they extol as notable virtues,
and make more noise about the
escape of one Quaker, than of an
hundred among themselves, 476.
They destroy not the mutual rela
tion that is betwixt prince and peo
ple, master and servant, father and
son, nor do they introduce com
munity of goods, 477. Nor say that
one man may not use the creation
more or less than another, 478.

Ranters, the blasphemy of the
Ranters or Libertines, saying, that
there is no difference betwixt good
and evil, 239.
Reason, what need we set up cor
rupt reason, 54. Concerning reason,
63, 64, 142, 143.
Rebecca, 335.
Reconciliation, how reconciliation
with God is made, 199 to 206.
Recreations ; see Plays.
Redemption is considered in a
twofold respect ; first, performed by
Christ without us; and secondly,
wrought in us, 195, 196, 197. It
is universal : God gave his only be
gotten Son Jesus Christ for a light,
that whosoever believeth in him
maybe saved,- 109, 110, 156, 157.
The benefit of his death is no less
universal than the seed of sin, 110,
111. There is scarce found any
article of the Christian religion that
is so expressly confirmed in the holy
scriptures, 118 to 125. This doc
trine was preached by the fathers (so
called) of the first six hundred years,
and is proved by the sayings of
some, 125, 126, 127. Those that
since the time of the reformation
have affirmed it, have not given a
clear testimony how that benefit is
communicated to all, nor have suffi
ciently taught the truth, because
they have added the absolute ne

cessity of the outward knowledge
of the history of Christ ; yea, they
have thereby given the contrary
party a stronger argument to defend
their precise decree of reprobation,
among whom were the Remonstrants
of Holland, 112, 127, 128, 129.
God hath now raised up a few illi
terate men to be dispensers of this
truth, 130, 131, 174, 175. This
doctrine showeth forth the mercy
and justice of God, 132, 148, 149.
It is the foundation of salvation, 132.
It answers to the whole tenor of the
gospel promises and threats, ibid.
It magnifies and commends the me
rits and death of Christ, ibid. It
exalts above all the grace of God,
ibid. It overturns the false doctrine
of the Pelagians, Semi-Pelagians, and
others, who exalt the light of na
ture, and the freedom of man's will,
ibid. It makes the salvation of man
solely to depend upon God, and his
condemnation wholly and in every
respect to be of himself, 132, 133.
It takes away all ground of despair,
and feeds none in security, 133. It
commends the Christian religion
among infidels, ibid. It showeth
the wisdom of God, ibid. And it is
established, though not in words,
yet by deeds, even by those minis
ters that oppose this doctrine, 133,
134. It derogates not from the
atonement and sacrifice of Jesus
Christ, but doth magnify and exalt
it, 139. There is given to every one
(none excepted) a certain day and
time of visitation, in which it is pos
sible for them to be saved, 131, 149
to 156. The testimony of Cyrillus
concerning this thing, 155. It is
i explained what is understood and
'not understood by this day, 135.
To some it may be longer, to others
shorter, ibid. Many may outlive
I their day of visitation, after which

544

A TABLE OF THE CHIEF THINGS,

there is no possibility of salvation
to them, ibid. Some examples are
alleged, ibid. The objections, and
those places of scripture which others
abuse, to prove that God incites men
necessarily to sin, are easily solved,
if they be applied to these men, after
the time of their visitation is past,
135, 149. There is given to every
one a measure of the light, seed,
grace, and word of God, whereby
they can be saved, 131, 132, 149,
150, 161 to 169. Which is also
confirmed by the testimonies of Cy
rillus and others, 159 to 168. What
that light is ; see Light. — Many,
though ignorant of the outvfard his
tory, yet have been sensible of the
loss that came by Adam, which is
confirmed by the testimonies of
Plato and others, 184, 185. Many
have known Christ within, as a re
medy to redeem them, though not
under that denomination, witness
Seneca, Cicero, and others, 184, 185,
186. Tet all are obliged to believe
the outward history of Christ to
whom God bringeth the knowledge
of it, 139, 140.
Reformation, wherein it is not
placed, 267. Mechanic men have
contributed much to it, 307. What
hath been pernicious to it, 423.
Relation; see Quakers.
Religion, the Christian religion.;
see Christianity. — How it is made
odious to Jews, Turks, and Heathen,
421. Remonstrants of Holland ; see
Arminians, Redemption. — They de
ny absolute reprobation, 63. How
we differ from them, 145, 146. They
exalt too much the natural power
and free will of man, and what they
think of the saving light, 171, 172.
Their worship can easily be stopped,
348. Reprobation; see also Redemp

tion. — .What absolute reprobation is,
is described, 112. Its doctrine is
horrible, impious, and blasphemous,
112 to 117. It is also- so called by
Lucas Osiander, 128. It is anew
doctrine, arid Augustine laid the first
foundation thereof, which Domini-
cus, Calvin, and the Synod of Dort
maintained, 113, 127, 128. Also
Luther, whom notwithstanding Lu
therans afterwards deserted, ibid. It
is injurious to God, and makes him
the author of sin; proved by the
sayings of Calvin, Beza, Zanchius,
Parasus, Martyr, Zuinglius, and Pis
cator, 114. It makes the preaching -
of the gospel a mere mock and illu
sion, 116. It makes the coming of
Christ and his propitiatory sacrifice
to have been a testimony of God's
wrath, ibid. It is injurious toman-
kind, and makes his condition worse
than the condition of devils, beasts,
Jews under Pharaoh, and the same
which the poets applied to Tantalus,
117. Revelation, God always manifest
ed himself by the revelations of the
Spirit, 13, 38, 39, 68. They are
made several ways, 13. They have
been always the formal object of
faith, and so remain, 13, 41 to 56.
And that not only subjectively, but
also objectively, 56, 57. They are
simply necessary unto true faith, 1-4,
28, 61, 70. They are not uncertain,
59, 60, 61. Tea, it is horrible sa
crilege to accuse them of uncertain
ty, 52, 53. The examples of the
Anabaptists of Munster do not a whit
weaken this doctrine, 60, 61, 64, 65,
67. They can never contradict the
holy scripture, nor sound reason, 14,
68,89,90. They are evident and
clear of themselves, nor need they
another's testimony, 13, 68, 69.
They are the only, sure, certain,
and unmovable foundation of all

A TABLE OF THE CHIEF THINGS.

545

Christian faith, 70. Carnal Chris
tians judge them nothing necessary;
yea, they are hissed out by the most
part of men, 29. Of old none were
esteemed Christians save those that
had the Spirit of Christ ; but now-a-
days he is termed an heretic who
affirms that he is led by it, 52, 53.
The testimonies of some concerning
the necessity of these revelations,
30 to 33, 52, 53. By whose and
what devices they have been brought
out of use, 130.
Revenge; see War, 514, 515,
516. Rule of faith and manners; see
Scripture., Rustic, the poor rustic's answer
given to the proud prelate, 276.
He brought a philosopher unto the
Christian faith, 293. S.
Sabbath, 327.
Sacraments, of their number, na
ture, &c, how much contention
there hath been, and that the word
sacrament, is not found in scripture,
but borrowed from the heathen,
382, 383, 411. Its definition will
agree to many other things, 383,
384. Whether they confer grace,
447. Salvation, without the church
there is no salvation, 258.
Samaria, the woman of Samaria,
427. Sanctification ; see Justification.
Saxony, the elector of Saxony,
of the scandal he gave to the Re
formation, by being present at the
mass, 375.
Sceptic, 292.
School, without the school of
Christ nothing is learned but mere
talk, and a shadow of knowledge,
30 to 33. Whether public schools
be necessary, 291.
46*

Scriptures of truth, whence they
proceeded, and what they contain,
72, 73, 74. They are a declaration
of the fountain, and not the fountain
itself, 73. They are not to be es
teemed the adequate primary rule
of faith and manners, but a second
ary, and subordinate to the Spirit,
and why, 73 to 97, 280. Their
certainty is only known by the Spi
rit, 73, 74, 260. They testify that
the Spirit is given to the saints for
a guide, 73, 85, 86, 90 to 96. Their
authority depends not upon the
church, or council, nor upon their
intrinsic virtue, but upon the Spirit ;
nor is it subjected to the corrupt
reason of men, but to the Spirit, 73,
88. The testimonies of Calvin, the
French churches, the Synod of Dort,
and the divines of Great Britain at
Westminster concerning this thing,
74, 75. The contentions of those
that seek the certainty of the scrip
tures from something else than the
Spirit, ibid. Divers opinions of the
fathers (so called) concerning some
books, ibid. Concerning the tak
ing away, and the corruption of
some places ; the translation, tran
scription, and various lections of
the Hebrew character, and of the
Greek books, the interpretation of
the Septuagint, concerning the He
brew books, and of admitting or re
jecting some books, 84, 85, 86. Of
the difficulty in their explanation,
88, 89, 90. Augustine's judgment
concerning the authors of the ca
nonical books, and concerning the
transcription and interpretation, 86.
The use of them is very profitable
and comfortable, 76, 88. The un
learned and unstable abuse them,
88. There is no necessity of be
lieving the scripture to be a filled-
up canon, 94, 95. Many canonic
books, through the injury of time,
3t

546

A TABLE OF THE CHIEF THINGS.

lost, ibid. Whether it can be proved
by scripture that any book is ca
nonical, 94, 95, 96. They were
some time as a sealed book, 291.
To understand them there is need
of the help and revelation of the
Holy Spirit, 30 to 33. No man can
make himself a doctor of them, but
the Holy Spirit, ibid.
Sect, the Ignatian sect loveth
literature, 291. They call those
that are sent unto India apostles,
304. Seed of righteousness, 343. The
seed of sin ; see Sin, Redemption.
Self-denial, 342.
Semi-Pelagians, their axiom, Fa-
cienti quod in se est, Deus non de-
negat gratiam, 127.
Servant, whether it be lawful to
say, I am your humble servant,
485. Servetus, 468.
'Shoemaker, he disputes with the
professor, 292.
Silence ; see Worship.
Simon Magus, 310. .
Sin ; see Adam, Justification. —
It shall not have dominion over the
saints, 78. The seed of sin is trans
mitted from Adam unto all men, biit
it is imputed to none, no not to in
fants, except they actually join with
it by sinning, 97, 98, 105 to 108.
And this seed is often called death,
109. Original sin; of this phrase
the scripture makes no mention,
ibid. By virtue of the sacrifice of
Christ we have remission of sins,
139, 194, 195. Forgiveness of sin
among the Papists, 190, 191. A
fre'edom from actual sin is obtained,
both when and how, and that many
have attained unto it, 229 to 249.
Every sin weakens a man in his
spiritual condition, but doth not de
stroy him altogether, 231. It is one
thing not to sin, another thing not

to have sin, 243, 244. Whatsoever
is not done through the power of
God is sin, 344, 345.
Singing of Psalms, 378.
Socinians ; see Natural Light.
— Their rashness is reproved, 49.
They think reason is the chief rule
and guide of faith,. 49, 62. Albeit
many have abused reason, yet they
do not say, that any ought to use
it; and how ill they argue against
the inward and immediate revela
tions of the Holy Spirit, 60 to 64.
Tet they are forced ultimately to
recur unto them, 70. They exalt
too much their natural power, and
what they think of the Saving Light,
171, 172. Their worship can easily
be stopped, 348.
Son of God ; see Christ, Know
ledge, Revelation.
Soul, the soul hath its senses, as
well as the body, 33. By what it
is strengthened and fed, 344, 424.
Spirit, the Holy Spirit; see
Knowledge, Communion, Revela
tion, Scriptures. — Unless the Spirit
sit upon the heart of the hearer, in
vain is the discourse of the doctor,
32, 44, 45. The Spirit of God
knoweth the things of God, 38.
Without the Spirit none can say
that Jesus is the Lord, 32, 38, 39.
He rested upon the seventy elders
and others, 41. He abideth with
us for ever, 46, 47. He teacheth
and bringeth all things to remem
brance, and leads into all truth, 48,
49, 54, 55, 56, 72, 73, 74. He
differs from the scriptures, 48, 49.
He is God, ibid. He, dwelleth in
the saints, 49 to 55. Without the
Spirit, Christianity is no Christianity,
50,- 62, 75. Whatsoever is to be
desired in the Christian faith, is
ascribed to him, 50, 51. By this
Spirit we are turned unto God, and
we triumph in the midst bf persecu-

A TABLE OF THE CHIEF THINGS.

547

tions, 51. He quickens, &.c, 51.
An observable testimony of Calvin
concerning the Spirit, 52, 53, 74.
It is the fountain and origin of all
truth and right reason, 68. It gives
the belief of the scriptures, which
may satisfy our consciences, 74, 75.
His testimony is more excellent than
all reason, 74. He is the chief and
principal guide, 83. He reasoneth
with and striveth in men, 150.
Those that are led by the Spirit
love the scriptures, 87, 260. He is
as it were the soul of the church,
and what is done without him is
vain and impious, 286. He is the
Spirit of order, and not of disorder,
299. Such as the Spirit sets apart
to the ministry are heard of the
brethren, 300. It is the earnest of
our inheritance, 83.
Spiritual iniquities, 338. Spirit
ual discerning, 456, 457.
Stephen spake by the Spirit, 51.
Suffering, how Paul filled up that
which was behind of the afflictions
of Christ; how any are made par
takers of the sufferings of Christ,
and conformable to his death, 241.
Superstition, 322, 323. Whence
superstitions sprung, 339, 381, 382,
411. Supper ; see Communion, Bread.
— It was of old administered even to
little children and infants, 448.
T.
Tables, 439.
Talents, one talent is not at all
insufficient of itself; the parable of
the talents, 154, 162. Those that
improved their talents well are call
ed good and faithful servants, 219.
He that improved well his two ta
lents, was nothing less accepted than
he that improved his five, 231.
Talk ; see Plays.

Taulerus was instructed by the
poor laic, 282. He tasted of the
love of God, 328.
Testimony; see Spirit.
Theseus's boat, 306.
Thomas a Kempis, 328.
Tithes were assigned to the Le
vites, but not to the ministers of this
day, 309.
Titles, it is not at all lawful for
Christians to use those . titles of
honour, majesty, &c, 476, 480 to
489. Tongue, the knowledge of tongues
is laudable, 290, 291.
Tradition, how insufficient it is
to decide, 62, 63. It is not a suffi
cient ground for faith, 448.
Translations ; see Bible.
Truth, there is a difference be
twixt what one saith of the truth,
and that which the truth itself, in
terpreting itself, saith, 3 1 . Truth is
not hard to be arrived at, but is most
nigh, 31.
Turks, among them there may be
members of the church, 259.

Vespers, 328.
Voices, outward voices ; see Faithy
Miracles. W.
War, that it is not lawful for
Christians to resist evil, nor wage
war, 477, 514 to 525.
Washing of feet, 433, 434, 435.
William Barclay, 464.
Woman, a woman may preach,
301, 307, 308. Luther also, 268.
Word, the Eternal Word is the
Son : it was in the beginning with
God, and was God : it is Jesus
Christ, by whom God created all
things, 36, 137. What Augustine
read in the writings of the Platonists
concerning this Word, 186.

548

A TABLE OF THE CHIEF THINGS.

Works are -either of. the law, or
of the gospel, 220 ; see Justification.
Worship, what the true and ac
ceptable worship to God is, and
how it is offered, and what the su
perstitious and abominable is, 321,
&c. The true worship was soon
corrupted and lost, 323. Concern
ing the worship done in the time of
the apostasy, 328, 368. Of what
worship is here handled, and of the
difference of the worship of the old
and new covenant, 324, 325, 350,
351, 352. The true worship is

neither limited to times, places, nor
persons, and it is explained how this
is to be understood, 325, 326, 356,
357, 358, 366, 367, 368, 396, 397.
Concerning the Lord's day, and the
days upon which worship is per
formed, 327. Of the public and
silent worship, and its excellency,
329 to 359. Of preaching, 359 to
365. Of prayer, 365 to 378. Of
singing of psalms and music, 378,
379. What sort of worship the
Quakers are for, and what sort their
adversaries, 380.

THE END.

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