The Cure of Church Divisions, Directions · Direction 29 – Direction 31
DIRECT. XXIX.
Take heed lest the trouble of your own disquieted doubting minds do become a snare, to draw you to some uncouth way of cure, and so make the fancy of some new Opinion, Sect or Practise, to seem your Remedy, and give you ease, and thereby perswade you that it is the certain truth.
THis is the pitiful Case of the ignorant, and ungrounded, and troubled sort of religious persons; that they are looking every way for ease and comfort: And having not wisdom enough to fetch true grounded satisfaction from the Scriptures, and from the solid truth, in the use of Gods appointed means, they hearken to any one that will promise them comfort and salvation, by what means soever. Like ignorant people is their sickness; some of them know not an able Physician, and some of them will not be at the cost; and some of them will not take such unpleasing Medicines; and most of them have not patience to stay for a Cure, unless the Medicine at twice or thrice taking do give them ease, they will not believe that it will do them any good: And so in their foolish ignorance, and the weariness of their pain, they will go to any ignorant woman or unskilful fellow, who will take cheapest of them, and be boldest in his undertakings: And those that die by it, are out of sight, and forgotten by the living: And those that by the strength of nature do recover, do magnifie their ignorant Physician as if there were none such, and so entice others to their Graves.
Thus many troubled unquiet souls, either know not …ound Doctrine and Teachers from deceit, or else will not be at the pains or patience, to wait on God in the use of the right means; or most commonly spoil the Remedy offered them, by their own misapplications; and then for ease they hearken to any ignorant Sectary, that will fiercely cry out against …ound Teachers, and revile all that are wiser than himself, as if he knew more than all the Ministers in the Country. O saith the deceiving Papist, you will never have setled comfort while you follow these Ministers, and till you come to us, who are the true Church—Saith the Anabaptist, you will never be well setled while you follow these Preachers: They have not the Spirit, but speak only by the book: Come to us and be baptized, and you will have peace. And thus saith the Quaker, the Familist, and other Sects.
I have known some that have lived long in doubts and fears of damnation, who have turned Anabaptists, and suddenly had comfort: And yet in a short time they forsook that Sect and turned to another. I have known those also that have lived many years in timerous complaints, and fears of Hell; and they have turned to the Antinomians, and suddenly been comforted: And others have turned Arminians, which is clean contrary, and been comforted: And others have but heard of the Doctrine of perfection in this life, and suddenly been past their fears, as if hearing of perfection had made them perfect: And from thence they have turned Familists, and at last shew'd their perfection by fornication and licentiousness and meer Apostasie; who yet liv'd very conscionably and blamelesly, as long as they lived in their fears and troubles.
The reason of all this is plain to any judicious Observer. 1. The persons are ignorant and never had the right knowledge and skilful improvement, of the sound doctrine which at first they seemed to embrace. And 2. the power of conceit and fancy brought them comfort or quietness in their change. For they thought before, that if they had not somewhat extraordinary they could have no assurance of salvation: And while they held that sound Doctrine which all about them held as well as they, and found no extraordinary power of it on their hearts, they perceived no difference between themselves and others: But when they had entertained new opinions, and entered into a new Sect, which confidently told them, that they only were in the right, they had then something extraordinary to trust their souls on. And the novelty of the matter, and greatness of the change with the conceited excellency of the opinions and party, did make them think that they were now grown very acceptable to God.
To this may be added, that as a life of holiness hath far more opposition from the Devil, the world and the flesh, than the changing of an opinion or joyning with a party hath; so it must be harder to get and keep that comfort which is got and kept by faith and holiness, than that which is got by such an easie change.
We see among us what abundance of persons can live like beasts in most odious whoredomes, drunkenness and rage; or like devils in bloody cruelty against the good, and yet be comforted, because they are of the Church of Rome, which they think is the true Church. As if God saved men for being of such a side or party! And why may not Separatists, Anabaptists and others easily take such kind of comfort?
O therefore labour for well-grounded faith and solid knowledge; that you may attain the true Evangelical comforts, and your ignorance may not prepare you for deceit? and you may not be like children toss'd to and fro and carried up and down with every wind of doctrine by deceived and deceitful men. Nor may not have need to go to the devil to be your comforter, nor to steal a little unlawful peace from parties and opinions, as if there were not enough to be had in Christ and holiness and eternal life.
DIRECT. XXX.
Keep in the rank of a humble Disciple or learner in the Church of Christ, till you are fit and called to be your self a Teacher.
CHrist owneth no Disciples which are not in one of these two ranks; either Teachers by office upon a lawful call, or Learners who submit to be taught by others. When his Ministers have made men his Disciples, they must afterward Teach them to observe all things whatsoever he hath commanded them. Matth. 28. 19, 20. And a Learner must hear and read and discourse in a learning way, by humble asking the resolution of his doubts, acknowledging the weakness of his own understanding, and the superiority of his Teachers. This is the common ruine of raw professours, that they presently grow proud of a poor ignorant head, as if it were full of knowledge and spirituality: and while they continue Hearers, they continue not Disciples or Learners, but come with a proud and carping humour, to quarrel with their Teachers as poor ignorant men, in comparison of them; And therefore choose them a heap of Teachers according to their own opinions: And all this while they have such list to be some body and to vent their seeming wisdome, that they can hardly stay from being Teachers themselves, till they have any thing like a lawful call. Whereas if they would have kept in the rank of humble Learners till they had grown wiser, they might have preserved the Churches peace and their own.
DIRECT. XXXI.
Grow up in the great substantial practical truths and duties, and grow downwards in the roots of a clearer belief of the word of God and the life to come; And neither begin too soon with doubtful opinions, nor ever lay too much upon them.
HE that taketh this course will have all these advantages. First, He will be himself a solid Christian, and will make sure of the man, which is his own salvation. Secondly, He will have so fast hold of the necessary points, that no controversies or opinions, will shake his faith or destroy his love to God or man. Thirdly, He will honour God by upright practise, and shew forth the power and excellency of religion in the true success upon the heart and life: His Religion which begins in solid faith, will grow up into sincere Love and good works. Fourthly, He will be without partiality, a Lover of all the servants of Christ, and therefore escape temptations to faction and division, because his Religion consisteth in those common truths and duties, which all profess. Fifthly, he will not only safely receive all further truths from these principles, but all his knowledge and disputes will be sanctified, as being all subservient to faith and love and holiness.
Whereas he that taketh the contrary course, and presently falleth to the study of by-opinions, and layeth too much upon them, will prove too like a superficial hypocrite, and a deceiver of himself, by thinking that he is something when he is nothing. Gal. 6. 5, 6. And he will make a pudder in the world for nothing, as children do in the house about their babies and their bawbles: He will make but an engine of his by-opinions, to destroy true Piety and Christian Love in himself first, and then in all that will believe him. He will first make himself, and then many others, believe that Religion is nothing but proud self-conceit and faction; And he will be the shame of his profession, and the hardener of the wicked in their sin and misery; by perswading them that the Religious are bnt a few ignorant whimsical fanaticks. These are too sad experienced truths.