Concerning the Plagues Infection, Title page – Table of contents
A SHORT DIALOGVE CONCERNING THE PLAGVES INFECTION.
Publiſhed to preſerue bloud, through the bleſſing of God.
Pſal. 91. 11. He ſhall giuegive his Angels charge ouer thee, to keepe thee in all thy wayes.
Matth. 4. 7. Thou ſhalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
ANCHORA. SPEI.
LONDON, Printed for Richard Boyle, and are to be ſold at his ſhop in Blacke-friers. 1603.
TO HIS VVELBELOVED IN CHRIST, THE PARISHIONERS OF SAINT OLAVES IN Southwarke, IAMES BAMFORD wiſheth increaſe of Grace and knowledge of our Lord and Sauiour Ieſus Chriſt.
IT is written in the 33. of Ezechiel: That, if the people of the land take a man of their coaſts, and make him their watchman, if when he ſeeth the ſword come vponupon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warne the people: then he that heareth the ſound of the trumpet and will not be warned, if the ſword come and take him away, his bloud ſhall be vponupon his owne head. But if the watchman ſee the ſword come; and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned, if the ſword come, and take any perſon from among them, he is taken away for his iniquity, but his bloud will I require (ſaith the Lord) at the watchmans hand. So you (my beloued) hauehave choſen me to be your watchman. Therefore it concerneth me to giuegive, and you to take warning of mortall danger, as we wil be free from bloudguiltineſſe. But I hauehave publickly giuen you warning of that bloudy errour, which denieth the Peſtilence to be contagious: maintained, not onelyonly by the rude multitude, but by too many of the better ſort; you are therefore to take warning. That ye may the rather take heed to the ſiluer trumpet, which hath ſoūded in your eares, I hauehave thought it neceſſary to ſet downe in writing all that I hauehave publickly taught, together with whatſoeuer elſe, I perceiue, by priuate conference to be appertaining to that queſtion, that yee may take time, better to conſider that which is either miſunderſtood, or not well remembred, becauſe it was but once deliuered, and the common ſort are not acquainted with, and therefore hardly capeable of Scholaſticall diſputations. And yet I endeuoured to ſpeake as plaine as I could. But now I hauehave contriued al in the forme of a Dialogue, which is a more familiar maner of teaching; hoping that now yee will more readily both perceiue, and receiue the truth herein contained. I humbly and earneſtly deſire you (at your leiſure) diligently to examine the quotations: but firſt to reade ouer the Dialogue it ſelfe. If any deſire a more learned diſcourſe, I referre them to that worthy Treatiſe written by that reuerend father (the light of our age) Maiſter Beza, and tranſlated by that faithfull and profitable ſeruant of Chriſt, Maiſter Stockwood. Furthermore, as I deſire you to reade this Dialogue with good reſpect: ſo I pray you do not thinke, that I hauehave any purpoſe to traduce you as maintainers of errour, and gainſayers of your teacher. For howſoeuer (indeed) I was occaſioned by that I ſaw and heard amongſt our ſelues, to preach this doctrine, and hauehave committed it to writing for your ſpeciall good, yet knowing that bloudy errour (which I impugne) to be commonly maintained in London, I thought it conuenient to publiſh this Dialogue in print, for a more generall good. As for your ſelues, I am ſo far from traducing you, that I do (with ioyfull thankes to God the father, in the name of Ieſus Chriſt) giuegive you this teſtimony; that notwithſtanding the iudgement of ſome be not well informed in this point, yet I hauehave much comfort in my Miniſtery amongſt you: for in ſundry things ye ſhew the obediēce of faith. Amongſt the reſt, ye attend the Sacrament of Baptiſme, from which in moſt places people runne away moſt contemptuouſly; Ye frequent Friday Lecture as diligently (euer ſince the Plague was kindled) as in winter nights: wheras many in & about Londō are winter hearers, attending the word when they hauehave nothing elſe to do: and ye fill Gods houſe vpō the daies of humiliation, & holy reſt, notwithſtanding there hauehave died in our pariſh from the 7. of May to this day 2640. Wheras before the Plague our Church was partly filled by ſtrāgers, both on Sondayes & Fridayes. Theſe things I take knowledge of, as to ſignifie, that in this Dialogue I do not taxe you, or any of you, more than other, ſo, to incourage you to go forward (& not backward) in your holy profeſſion, ſeruing God, and ſanctifying his Sabboths as religiouſly hereafter, as ye do now while God is preſent with you in this his grieuous viſitation. For it is a good thing (ſaith one Apoſtle) to louelove earneſtly alwayes in a good thing:Gal. 4. 18. And it is better (ſaith another Apoſtle) for you not to hauehave taken the way of righteouſnes,2. Pet. 2. 21 than after ye hauehave taken it to forſake it. Therfore (good brethren) take heed that ye coole not in your deuotion, becauſe the number of the buried in our pariſh is fallen (bleſſed be God) frō 305. to 51. in one weeke, and from 57. to 4. buried in one day. Shall our louelove coole, whē Gods louelove is kindled? God forbid. O remember that when Moſes lifted vp his hands,Exod. 17. 11. 12. Iſrael preuailed: but when his hands were heauy Amalech preuailed. And when it ſhall pleaſe God to remoue this heauy iudgement, let vsus neuer forget this viſitation, according to the doctrine we hauehave learned out of the title of the 38.Pſal. 78. 34. 35. 36. 37. 57. Pſal. Let vsus not turne backe like a deceitfull bow, and let vsus ſin no more, leſt a worſe euill come vntovs, according to the ſaying of Chriſt himſelfe to a man deliuered from a grieuous diſeaſe. Conceiuing good hope that yee will hide the words of exhortation in honeſt and good harts to bring forth fruite with patience, I commend me to your fauour, my Dialogue to your reading, and your ſelues to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build further. From my ſtudy this 13. of October. 1603.
Yours in the Lord aſſured and readie to do all the ſeruice he may, IAMES BAMFORD.
The Contents of this Dialogue.
1 THE occaſion of this Dialogue, and chiefe points to be diſcuſſed. page 2.
2 People muſt heare well, before they preſume to iudge their teachers. pag. 2, 3, 4.
3 Magiſtrates may and ought to ſeuer the ſound from the infected, and the infected from the ſound. pag. 5, 6, 7, 8.
4 How the poore infected may go abroad for neceſſarie reliefe, which otherwiſe they ſhould want. pag. 9.
5 The infected who want no neceſſarie releefe ſhould keepe in, and they, withall ſuppoſed to come about them, are to forbeare the Church for a while. pag. 10, 11, 12, 13.
6 The Plague may be in a garment. pag. 13, 14, 15.
7 The Plague may be taken by feare, whereof we are therefore to take heede. pag. 15, 16, 17.
8 How Miniſters are to viſite the ſicke. 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.
9 How the ſicke are to be viſited by other. pag. 24, 25, 26, 27, 28.
10 The ſicke of the plague are not to deſire the vnneceſſary preſence of their friends. pag. 28, 29, 30.
11 Thronging at the burying of the infected, is to be taken heed of. pag. 31, 32, 33.
12 The law of Lepers proueth ſeparation betweene the ſound and the infected. pag. 3, 34, 35, 36, 37.
13 Great care is to be had of that bloudy errour, which denieth the Plague to be contagious. pag. 38, 39, 40.
14 The true cauſe and effects of inordinate feare. pag 41, 42, 43.
15 Magiſtrates are to be reſident. pag. 43, 44.
16 The eſcaping of ſome conuerſant with the infected, is not a good argument againſt the infection. pag. 44. to 59.
17 Cauſes why ſome eſcape, though conuerſant with the infected. pag. 49. to 54.
18 An abſolute faith touching deliuerance from the Plague, is not required. pag. 54. to 57.
19 Why godly men die of the Plague. pa. 57, 58, 59.
20 The Plague is contagious, notwithſtanding there die none but by the ſpeciall appointmeot of God. pag. 59, to 69.
21 Who may flie into the country from the Plague, and with what cautions. p. 70. to 74.
22 Gods people are to come to Church, notwithſtanding the plagues contagion. pag. 75, 76, 77.
23 The Plague is contagious, though the Scripture doth not expreſly affirme ſo much. pag. 78.
24 The contagion of the plague may be concluded out of the word. pag. 79. 80.
25 The vſe which is to be made of this Dialogue. pag. 81, 82.