The Marrow of Modern Divinity, To the reader 1 – List of sources
To all such humble hearted Readers, as see any need to learn, eyther to know themselves or GOD in CHRIST.
Loving Christians:
COnsider, I pray you, that as the first Adam did as a common person, enter into covenant with God for all mankind; and brake it, whereby they became sinfull and guilty of everlasting death and damnation: Even so Jesus Christ, the second Adam, did as a common person enter into covenant with God his Father for all the elect (that is to say, all those that have or shall believe on his name) and for them kept it, whereby they become righteous, and heires of everlasting life and salvation. And therfore it is our greatest wisdome, and ought to be our greatest care and endeavour to come out, and from the first Adam, unto and into the second Adam, that so wee may have life through his Name. John 20.31.
And yet, alas, there is no point in all practicall Divinity, that wee are naturally so much averse and backward unto as unto this; neyther doth Sathan strive to hinder us so much from doing any thing else as this: And hence it is, that we are all of us naturally apt to abide and continue, in that sinfull and miserable estate, that the first Adam plunged us into without eyther taking any notice of it, or being at all affected with it, so far are wee from comming out of it. And if the Lord be pleased by any means to open our eyes, to see our misery, and we doe thereupon begin to step out of it, yet, alas, wee are prone rather to goe backwards towards the first Adams pure estate, in striving and strugling to leave sinne, and performe duties, and doe good works, hoping thereby to make our selves so righteous and holy, that God will let us into Paradise againe to eat of the tree of life and live for ever, and this we do untill we see the flaming sword at Edens gate, Gen. 3.24.turning every way to keepe the way of the tree of life. Is it not ordinary when the Lord convinceth a man of his sin (eyther by means of his Word or his Rod) to cry after this manner: O, I am a sinfull man! for I have lived a very wicked life, and therefore surely the Lord is angry with mee, and will damne me in hell: ô! what shall I do to save my soule? And is there not at hand some ignorant, miserable comforter ready to say, yet doe not despayre man, but repent of your sins, and aske God forgivenesse, and reforme your life, and doubt not, but he will be mercifull unto you, for hee hath promised (you know) that at what time soever a sinner repenteth of his sins hee will forgive him.
And doth hee not hereupon comfort himself, and say in his heart at least, ô, if the Lord will but spare my life, and lengthen out my days, I will become a new man! I am very sorry that I have lived such a sinfull life, but I will never doe as I have done for all the world: ô, you shall see a great change in me! believe it.
And hereupon he betakes himself to a new course of life, and it may be becomes a zealous professour of Religion, performing all Christian exercises both publike and private, and leaves off his old companions, and keeps company with religious men, (and so it may be goes on till his dying day, and thinks himselfe sure of Heaven and eternall happines) & yet it maybe all this while is ignorant of Christ and his Righteousnes, and therefore establisheth his own.
Where is the man, or where is the woman that is truly come to Christ, that hath not had some experience in themselves of such a disposition as this, if there be any that have reformed their lives, and are become Professours of Religion, and have not taken notice of this in themselves more or lesse: I wish they have gone beyond a legall Professour, or one still under the covenant of works.
Nay, where is the man or woman that is truly in Christ, that findeth not in themselves an aptnes to withdraw their hearts from Christ, and to put some confidence in their owne works and doings; if there be any that do not find it: I wish their hearts deceive them not.
Let me confesse ingeniously, I was a professour of Religion, at least a dozen yeeres, before I knew any other way to eternall life, then to be sorry for my sins, and aske forgivenesse, and strive and endeavour to fulfill the Law, and keepe the Commandements, according as Master Dod and other godly men had expounded them: and truly I remember I was in hope I should at last attain to the perfect fulfilling of them, and in the mean-time, I conceived, that God would accept the will for the deed, or what I could not doe Christ had done for me.
And though at last by meanes of conferring with Master Thomas Hooker in private, the Lord was pleased to convince me, that I was yet but a proud Pharisee, and to shew mee the way of faith and salvation by Christ alone, and to give mee (as I hope) a heart in some measure to embrace it; yet, alas, through the weaknesse of my faith, I have been and am still apt to turne aside to the covenant of works, and therefore have not attained to that joy and peace in believing, nor that measure of love to Christ and man for Christs sake, as I am confident, many of Gods Saints do attain unto in the time of this life, the Lord be mercifull unto mee, and increase my faith.
And are there not other (though I hope) but few who being enlightned to see their misery, by reason of the guilt of sin, though not by reason of the filth of sinne: And hearing of justification freely by grace through the redemption which is in Jesus Christ, do applaud and magnifie that doctrine, following them that doe most preach and presse the same, seeming to be (as it were) ravished with the hearing thereof, out of a conceit that they are by Christ freely justified from the guilt of sin, though still they retain the filth of sin, these are they that content themselves (with a Gospel knowledge, with meere notions in the head but not in the heart, glorying and rejoycing in free grace, and justification by faith alone, professing faith in Christ, and yet are not possessed of Christ, these are they that can talke like believers, and yet do not walke like believers; these are they that have language like Saints, and yet have conversations like Devils: these are they that are not obedient to the Law of Christ, and therefore are justly called Antinomians.
Now both these paths leading from Christ, have been justly judged as erronious, and to my knowledge, not onelyonly a matter of 18 or 20 years agoe, but also within these three or foure years, there hath been much a doe, both by preaching, writing, and disputing, both to reduce men out of them, and to keep them from them, and hot contentious have been on both sides, and all, I fear me, to little purpose, for hath not the strict professour according to the Law, whilst he hath striven to reduce the loose professour, according to the Gospel, out of the Antinomian path, intangled both himselfe and others, the faster in the yoke of bondage,Gal. 5.1. and hath not the loose professour according to the Gospel, whilst he hath striven to reduce the strict professour according to the Law, out of the legall path, by promising liberty from the Law, 2 Pet. 2.19.taught others, and been himselfe the servant of corruption.
For this cause I, though I be nothing, have, by the grace of God, endeavoured in this Dialogue, to walk, as a middle-man betwixt them both, in shewing to each of them his erronious path, with the middle path (which is Jesus Christ received truly, and walked in answerably, as a means to bring them both unto him, and make them both one in him: And oh! that the Lord would be pleased so to blesse it to them, that it might be a means to produce that effect.
I have (as you may see) gathered much of it, out of known and approved Authours, and yet have therein wronged no man, for I have restored it to the right owner again in the margent, some part of it my manuscripts have afforded me, and of the rest I hope I may say as Jacob did of his venison, Gen. 27.20.Burton Me…a… pag. 8. The Lord hath brought it unto me, (let me speak it without vain glory) I have endeavoured herein to imitate the laborious Bee, who out of divers flowers gathers honey and wax, and thereof makes one combe: if any soule feels any sweetnesse in it, let them praise God, and pray for me who am weak in faith, and cold in love.
E. F.
TO THE READER.
IF thou wilt please to peruse this little Book, thou shalt finde great worth in it: There is a line of a gracious Spirit drawne through it, which hath fastned many precious truths together, and presented them to thy view, according to the variety of mens spirits, the various ways of presenting known truths are profitable. The grace of God hath helped this Author in his worke, if it, in like manner, helps thee in reading, thou shalt have cause to blesse God for these truths thus brought to thee, and for the labours of this good man, whose ends, I believe, are very syncere for God and thy good.
Jer. Burroughes.
OCcasionally lighting upon this Dialogue, under the Approbation of a learned and judicious Divine, I was thereby induced to read it, and afterwards upon serious consideration of the usefulnesse of it, to commend it to the people in my publike Ministry.
Two things in it especially tooke with me: first the matter, the main substance being distinctly to discover the nature of the two Covenants, upon which all the mysteries both of Law and Gospel depend. To see the first Adam to be primus foederatus, in the one, and the second Adam in the other, to distinguish rightly betwixt the law standing alone as a Covenant, and standing in subordination to the Gospel, as a servant, this I assure my selfe to be the key which opens the hiden treasures of the Gospel.
Portis apertis paradisum intrasse, Tom. 1.As soone as God had given Luther but a glimpse hereof, hee professeth that hee seemed to bee brought into Paradise again; and the whole face of the Scripture to bee changed to him: and he looked upon every truth with another eye.
Secondly, the manner, because it is an Irenicum, and tends to an accommodation and a right understanding. Times of Reformation have always been times of division, Satan will cast out a floud after the woman, as knowing that more die by the disagreement of the humours of their own bodies, than by the sword, and that if men be once engaged, they will contend; if not for truth, yet for victory.
Now if the difference be in things of lesser consequence, the best way to quench it were silence, this was Luthers counsell given in an Epistle written to the Divines assembled in a Synod at Norimberge, Meum consilium fuerit (cum nullum sit Ecclesiae periculum) ut hanc causam sinatis, vel ad tempus sopitam, (utinam extinctam) jacere donec tutiore & meliore tempore, animis in pace firmatis; & charitate aduatis, eam disputetis. I think it were good counsell concerning many of the Disputes of our times.
But if the difference be of greater concernment as this is, then the way to decide it, is to bring in more light which this Authour hath done, with much evidence of Scripture, backt with the authority of most moderne Divines: so that whosoever desires to have his judgement cleered in the maine controversie, betweene us and the Antinomians, with a small expence either of money or time, hee may here receive ample satisfaction; this I testifie upon request, professing my selfe a friend both to truth and peace.
Novem. 12. W. Strong.
THis book at first well accommodated with so valuable a testimony as M. Caryls, besides its better-approving it self to the choicer spirits every where, to the speedy distribution of the whole impression, it might seeme a needlesse or superfluous thing to adde any more to the praise thereof, yet meeting with detracting language, from some few (by reason of some phrases by them either not duly pondered, or not rightly understood) it is thought meete this second impression, to relieve that worthy testimony which still stands to it, with fresh supplies, not for any need, the truth therein contained hath thereof, but because either the prejudice or darknesse of some mens judgements doth require it: I therefore having throughly perused it, cannot but testifie, that if I have any the least judgment or rellish of truth, hee that findes this book, findes a good thing, and not unworthy of its title, and may account the Saints to have obtained favour with the Lord, in the ministration of it, as that which with great plainenesse and evidence of truth comprises the chiefe (if not all) the differences that have been lately ingendred about the Law, it hath, I must confesse, not onelyonly fortified my judgement, but also warmed my heart in the reading of it, as indeed inculcating throughout the whole Dialogue, the cleer and familiar notion of those things by which we live (as Hezekias speaks in another case) and it appeareth to me to be written from much experimentall knowledge of Christ, and teaching of the Spirit. Let all men that taste the fruit of it, confesse to the glory of God, he is no respecter of persons, and endeavour to know no man henceforth after the flesh, nor envie the compiler thereof, the honour to be accounted as God hath made him in this point, a healer of breaches, and a restorer of the over-grown paths of the Gospel: as for mine own part, I am so satisfied in this testimony I lend, that I reckon, what ever credit is thus pawned, will be a glory to the name that stands by and avows this truth, so long as the book shall endure to record it.
Ihshua Sprigge.
Grace and peace to you in Christ Jesus.
My loving friend in Christ,
I Have, according to your desire, read over your Booke, and finde it full of Evangelicall light and life, and I doubt not, but the oftner I read it, the more true comfort I shall finde in the knowledge of Christ thereby, the matter …s pure, the method is Apostolicall, wherein the works of love in the right place, after the life of faith bee effectually required. God hath endewed his Fisher with the Net of a trying understanding and discerning iudgement and discretion, whereby out of the Christaline streams of the well of life, you have taken a messe of the sweetest and wholsomest fish that the whole world can afford, which if I could daily have enough of, I should no more care for the flesh, or the works thereof.
Samuell Prittie.
A CATALOGUE of those Writers names out of whom I have collected much of the matter contained in this ensuing Dialogue.
A
Doctor Ames
M. Aynsworth
B
M. Beza
M. Bulenger
M. Bradford
M. Bastingius
Bishop Babington
M. Ball
M. Robert Boulton
M. Samuel Boulton
C
M. Calvin
M. Culverwell
M. Carelesse
M. Cornwall
D
Du Plesse
B. D…wname
Doctor Di…da…e
M. Dixon
M. Dyke
E
M. Elton
F
M. Fox
M. Frith
M. Forbs
G
M. Greenham
M. Gibbens
M. Thomas Goodwin
M. Gray junior
H
Bishop Hall
M. Thomas Hooker.
L
Doctor Luther
M. Lightfoot
M
Wolfangius Musculus
Peter Martyr
Doctor Mayor
M. Marshall
O
Barnardine Ochine
P
M. Perkins
Doctor Preston
R
M. Rollock
M. Reynolds
M. Rouse.
S
Doctor Smith
Doctor Sibbs
M. Slater
T
M. Tyndall
M. Robert Towne
V
Doctor Vrban Regius
Doctor Vrsinus
M. Vaughan
W
Doctor Willet
Doctor Williams
M. Wilson
M. Ward.