Conflicts and Comforts of Conscience, Treatise · Chapter 11
CHAP. XI. The sixt Conflict. With the Enemies of the truth.
IT goes hard with the poore seruant of Christ, when hee hath giuen cause of offence to the enemies of the truth, whether they be without, or within the Church, open or priuate, profest Papists, or prophane Protestants. For if the Angels in heauen reioyce at the conuersion of a sinner, surely the Angels of darkenes, and wicked persons, enemies of the truth, reioyce at the fal, or least slip of one that beareth Christs Image. Yea it is meate and drinke vntounto them. They do so hunger after this, waiting for the halting of the godly man, that rather then faile, they will inuent how to fasten slanders, & cast aspersions euen vponupon the most innocent; so little need hath any of Gods children to be heedlesse of his conuersation, as to expose his name as a prey to their teeth. And yet this hath bene the lot euen of the strongest Champions, and holiest Saints of God Dauid smarted so much the more, because he had by his sinne caused the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. O how neere doth this goe to the heart of Gods child, when hee considereth, how instead of being an example of vertue, to inuite the enemies of the truth to the louelove of it, beholding it to shine in the professors of it: on the contrary, hee causeth them to mis-deeme the truth it selfe, yea to blaspheme it, & thereupon to condemne al that professe it. For such is the malice of enuious men against the excellent glory of the truth (the highest obiect of enuy) that the least miscarriage of one Professor preuailes more with them to condemne the whole communion of Saints militant on earth, as hypocrites, and dissemblers, then the vnspotted conuersation of thousands is able to wipe off, or to possesse them with a good opinion of their Profession. Yea and in stead of taking profit, and making vse of the enemies of the truth, among whom wee haply conuerse, while their vicinity or neighbourhood should make vsus more heedfull of our wayes, least we offend them (nothing being more disgracefull to a man, then to commit any vnseemely act in the presence of his enemy, the Apostle admonishing, Walke wisely towards them that are without) wee on the otherside cause much hurt vntounto them (not onelyonly the greater shame to our selues) by obfirming them in their ignorance, prophannesse, idolatry, or superstition, which now they dare more confidently preferre euen before Gods pure religion it selfe, while their naturall morality, or superstition may seeme in the least degree to outstrip our practicall diuinity. Much more then what a disgrace is it for a Protestant to run riot in the presence of Papists? Not that Papists can shew any great holinesse of their religion, by the holines of their liues, seeing they so much exclaime vponupon holinesse, in the professors of the truth, giuing it the nick-name of a new kind of I wot not what heresie, as Puritanisme, or the like; so that they plainely disclaime holinesse in themselues: neither hath their religion it in it, for all their infused righteousnesse, to infuse any holines (Bellarmine making the sanctitie of Doctrine, not of Life, to be that, which sheweth the Church of Rome to bee holy) into the professors of it; a thing confessed by Bellarmine, His eight marke of the Church. Bellar. de Ecclae. no…, cap. 1…that hee is faine to trauaile farre to deriue holinesse to make the Church of Rome holy, namely (among others) from the holinesse ofBellar. de notis. Ecclae. cap. 13. Nota. 10… S. Dominicke and S. Francis, the Founders of their religious Orders: Yea and the better to comply with Protestants, (as the Iuy winding about the Oake, in time eates out the heart of it) they fauour them most, in whom they obserue the fewest and least tokens of grace and holinesse, speaking euill of the best, hereby not onelyonly making a diuision between Protestants, but insinuating themselues into an vnited societie of the worst sort of Protestants, whose weakenesse maketh them way the more easily to instill their poysonous Doctrines into them, while they so liberally will promise Pardons and Indulgences to those, whose profane liues stand in need of the whole Ocean of Gods Mercies, of the whole Fountaine of Christs Merits in his Blood to wash and purge them, and not those imaginarie Waters that flow from the See of Rome, whose Conduits conuey nothing but emptie ayre to thirstie Consciences, but flow backe againe with streames of Gold, which the Alchimistes of Rome do spunge from the full pouches of emptie braines.
Nor speake wee of any bastard Protestants, who casting off all care and conscience of a Christian conuersation, answerable to their generall calling, are willing rather to symbolize with Papists in their profanation of all holy things, as the hallowing of the Lords day in all such Christian duties, as God requireth, and so consequently run along with them vntounto all excesse of riot, railing at those that run not with them; such Neutralls are neither good Fish nor Flesh; but we speake of such Protestants, as making conscience of their wayes, to walke worthy of their calling, if they chance to step besides the narrow path, and of humaine frailtie commit the least errour, so as euen the Papist comes to take notice of it: It is enough to rayse a clamour not onelyonly against the person in particular, but against the whole Profession, to make it odious (if possible) to all the world. Certainly, if any sober Protestant doe but enter into a consideration hereof, he will be exceedingly wounded for the least offence giuen in this kind, either by himselfe, or by another.
Nor doth the offence onelyonly reach to enemies without, but it more neerely toucheth the Conscience for enemies within the Church. What an indignation was it to Dauid (trow you) when hee heard how the verie drunkards, and debosht sons of Belial within the Church, made their Songs of him? It was grieuous to Iob to be the derision of those base brats, whose fathers formerly Iob accounted not (for their vile conditions, not for their pouertie) worthy to bee set with the Dogges of his Flocke? But this might the more easily bee brooked, sith not any iust offence in Iob, but his vertues, so formerly enuied, but now scorned, being couered ouer and defaced with outward calamities, made him to bee the obiect of contempt. But Dauid's case was much more pittifull, when those drunken companions at their vsuall Bacchanals made his sinne their song. Can an ingenuous, and noble Heauen-borne Spirit, euen without bursting, brooke such an indignitie? And yet not so much the shame, which himselfe sustaineth, as the blame which Religion beareth for his sake, and the desperate danger also, whereinto by occasion of his example such Coribantes precipitate themselues: is the thing, that most of all troubleth his noble Spirit. What comfort then in such a case?