The Saints Amity with God in Christ, Title page – Preface
THEOPHILIE: OR A DISCOURSE OF THE Saints Amitie WITH GOD in CHRIST.
Wherein is Explicated, and Improved,
I. The Idea of Amitie in the General: And more particularly, the Laws, both Fundamental, Eſſential, and Perfective, of the Saints Amitie with God in Chriſt.
II. The Gracious Vouchſafements, and Privileges, which Chriſt Confers on his Friends.
By Theophilus Gale.
Philip. 3.8.
Yea, doubtleſſe, and I count althings but loſſe, for the excellence of the knowlege of Chriſt Jeſus, my Lord, &c.
London, Printed by R. W. for Francis Tyton at the three Daggers in Fleet-ſtreet, 1671.
FOR My FRIENDS.
My Friends,
THE Idea of Friendſhip, we al know, is not leſſe Beautiful, and Pleaſing, than Commun: Who ſo moroſe, ſo rude, ſo ſelfiſh, ſo baſe-minded, but would fain be, if not really, yet in vulgar eſtimation, eminent both for Active, and Paſſive Friendſhip? Do not the moſt of men, make it their main ſtudie, and labor, how they may acquire friends; and appear to be ſuch to thoſe, whom they would make ſuch to themſelves? Ask the poor blind Philoſophers, and they wil tel you, what an incomparable Jewel a true Friend is. So univerſally received, ſo delicious, and raviſhing, is the Notion of Friendſhip. And yet, Friends, I muſt informe you, that albeit the Notion of Friendſhip be ſo commun, and pleaſing; yet the Thing it ſelf, is as rare, and diſpleaſing to this narrow-ſpirited, ſelfiſh Age.aAriſtotle was ſo ſenſible of the paucitie true friends, that he cries out, foreign, O friends! there is no friend. Oh! what a doleful and ſad contemplation is it, to an Ingenuous, and Noble, (not to adde a Chriſtian) Spirit; to conſider, among the croud of men, whoſo much affect, profeſſe, and glorie in this ſtile, of being Your Friend, how few there are, who affect, yea, who do not in Truth contradict, the Thing it ſelf? Do not moſt pretenders to friendſhip towards you, appear to be, at laſt, friends to none but themſelves? Alas! If the Notion of Friendſhip be ſo ſweet, and rare; then how much more ſweet, and rare is the Thing it ſelf? He muſt needs be much Alienated from Human Nature, who is not wel-pleaſed with the Name; and yet how few are experimentally acquainted with the Thing? The Deſigne therefore of this following Diſcourſe, is, to Revive the true Idea, and Character of Friendſhip, both Human and Divine; which ſeems much obliterated, and defaced, in theſe Laſt Times of Apoſtaſie.
I have been, My Friends, long meditating, how I might beſt expreſſe my Love to your Souls: And, after ſerious Inquiſition, I cannot find out a more effectual. Expedient than this, to acquaint you with, and preſſe you unto, Divine Amitie with God in Chriſt; which is the only ſolid, and ſubſtantial Foundation, for Amitie among our ſelves: For if we are not Friends of Chriſt, we ſhal not be Good, or Long friends each with other. Wherefore, my main work lies here, to corroborate, and fortifie the great Eſſentials, and Vitals of friendſhip with Chriſt; and then our Friendſhip among our ſelves wil follow, as Light doth the Sun, Heat Fire, and the Shadow the Bodie. For it is, to me, an Experiment, or Obſervation, clothed with eternal Truth, that nothing hath a more efficacious, and ſoverain Influence, for the Production, Conſervation, and Improvement of mutual friendſhip among Chriſtians, as Chriſtians; yea, among men, as men, under al Relations, than wel-grounded, and Growing Friendſhip with Chriſt; which is the firſt, original, Univerſal Idea, or moſt perfect Exemplar of al other true Friendſhip. And, without al peradventure, were Chriſtians but better friends of Chriſt, they would be better friends among themſelves. Whence ariſe thoſe envenimed Spirits, thoſe proud Animoſities, thoſe vexatious Heats, and needleſſe Controverſies, among the profeſſing friends of Chriſt; but from ſome very great gradual, if not eſſential, defect in that Friendſhip they profeſſe towards Chriſt? Doth not Chriſt make this an eſſential character of his friends, that they love each other, Joh. 15.12, 17? Is not then the defect of Love, and Friendſhip among Chriſtians, a black Marque of ſome defect in our Friendſhip towards Chriſt? And is there any more effectual courſe to be taken, for the Repairment, and Reſtauration of the primitive love, and friendſhip among Chriſtians, than the Reſtauration, and Repairment of their languid, dying Love, and Friendſhip towards Chriſt? Such an intimate, eſſential Connexion with, yea, cauſal Dependence on friendſhip with Chriſt, has Chriſtian friendſhip among our ſelves, both in its firſt Production, and Improvement.
Having, My Friends, given you my deſigne, I muſt a little acquaint you, with the Material parts, and Accidents of the following Diſcourſe. Finding my ſelf under a deep ſenſe, of many intrinſeck, and eſſential Obligations, ſome natural, ſome civil, ſome Chriſtian, and ſome mixed of ſome, or al of theſe; which have brought me under many particular Laws, and Offices of Chriſtian friendſhip towards you; I have, for the diſcharge of the ſame, endeavored to comprehend, under ſome one or t'other Head, al your Caſes, and Conditions: and O that you would al take your portion!
1. Some of you are my Friends by Bloud, and Nature; For my Friend's by bloud only.and O that I could ſay, we were al ſuch by Grace, and the Bloud of Chriſt alſo! But, Ah! Alas! I fear, ſome of you, who are Dear, yea very Dear friends to me by Bloud, are yet Enemies to Chriſt. And, albeit I am not arrived to that meſure of Pure zele, as to ſay, with Paul, Rom. 9.3. I could wiſh my ſelf were accurſed from Chriſt, for my Brethren, my Kinſmen according to the Fleſh; Yet, I hope, I may, in ſome poor meſure, without vanitie ſay, in the foregoing words of Paul, v. 2. That I have great heavines, and continual ſorrow in mine heart for you, to conſider, that any of us, who are tied together by ſuch a natural Bond of friendſhip founded in Bloud. ſhould be eternally rent, and ſeparated each from other. If there were any place for ſorrow and grief in Heaven, how much of it would be found in the hearts of glorified Saints, to think, that while they are there bathing their hearts, in the ſoul-ſatisfying river of Life, part of their own fleſh and bloud, ſhould be frying, and boiling in the flames of Hel? O that I could prevail upon you, who are ſo near to me by bloud (and yet, as I fear, too many of you, far from Chriſt) ſeriouſly to conſider, the weight of thoſe Arguments offered to you; in the following Treatiſe, for Friendſhip with Chriſt! What is it, you moſtly Intend, or aim at? Would you fain preſerve your Names, Families, and Repute, from being buried in the Grave of Oblivion, Diſgrace, and Reproche? I do not condemne your endeavor hereof, provided that it be in Subordination to the Name, and Intereſt of your Lord; and in Subjection to his Soverain wil, and Pleaſure: But yet remember, I pray you, (1.) That a Name, is but a Name, when al is done, and therefore butaforeign. Democrit. a Shadow of a Thing: (2.) That a Good Name is, by Univerſal Conſent, but the Shadow, or Reflexion of Virtue. And what greater Virtue can there be than the Election of Chriſt for your friend? What are a thouſand Names, or Titles of Honor without Chriſt, but as ſo many Ciphers without a figure? You know, that ten or twenty Ciphers, if they ſtand alone, without a Figure precedent, ſignifie nothing: but prefixe a figure before them, and then each Cipher is very ſignificant. And, is it not juſt ſo with al Names, and Titles of Honor? Are they any more, in themſelves, than mere Ciphers? But place Chriſt before them, and then, O! how ſignificant is every Name or Title of Honor? How many 10000, or 100000 of Honors follow? Yea, (3.) Can there be a greater piece of Honor, and Renown than this, to let your Names, and Honors rot in the duſt for the Name of Chriſt? Surely, the beſt way to preſerve your Name, is to Sacrifice it to Chriſt, and his Service. O that you had 100000 Names, and Dignities to part with for Chriſt, and his Service! What the Honor of Chriſt's friends is, you wil ſee p. 163. of this Diſcourſe. Or, is it Riches, Pleaſures, Beautie, or Libertie you aim at? Surely, theſe you wil find no where ſo pure, ſo ſweet, ſo ſatisfying, as in friendſhip with Chriſt, as Chap. 6. And if theſe taking, alluring Arguments wil not prevail with you, to make Chriſt your friend; then read, I beſeech you, the Black Marques, and Curſes, which remain on Open, or Secret Enemies of Chriſt, Chap. 8. But if you are in any meſure inclined to make Chriſt your friend, then for farther Inducements, and Directions, view Chap. 9.
As for you, My Friends, For my friends by civil contract.who are ſuch, on any civil account, or Relation, contracted by Education, or converſation; if you yet remain ſtrangers to Chriſt, my Deſires, and Advice to you, are the ſame with what precedes to my Friends, and Relations by Bloud.
But as for you, My Friends, For my Friends in Chriſt, or by Nature, and in Chriſt both.who are ſo by Grace, though not by Nature; or by Grace, and Nature both, I ſhal, becauſe I know I may, uſe much freedome with you. I have ever had, ſince I underſtood what Friendſhip means, great eſtime of it; though I am ſenſible of great defects therein, both towards Chriſt and you. And that which makes me the more to value your friendſhip is, many ſpiritual Advantages, eſpecially, the Benefit of your Prayers; which, I am very apt to perſuade my ſelf, I receive thereby. And the Reflexion on, or contemplation of thoſe many weightie Obligations, and Engagements I lie under, in reference to you, was a great motive to engage my pen, in this Ʋndertakement before you. I muſt confeſſe, I have been formerly, and ſtil am in part, much diſſatified in the commun Humor, or Itch of writing Books; eſpecially, unleſſe there be ſomething more than ordinary to be found in them: But yet conſidering, that Books are valued, and read by friends, not only for their own intrinſeck value; but alſo according to the Eſtime, and Affection we have of the Author, this gave me ſome hopes, that theſe my Deſires, and Labors, though never ſo mean and contemtible in themſelves, as alſo in the eſtime of Athenian Wits, might be of ſome Ʋſe to you, for your ſoul's good.
And I am farther to informe you, My dear Friends, that when I entred on this Ʋndertakement, my firſt Intention was, only to give you ſome familiar and brief Manual, or Directorie, for your Inſtruction, in What Chriſt expects from his friends, in a way of Dutie; and what they may expect from him, in a way of gracious privilege, and Vouchſafement: What ought to be the poſtures of your hearts towards Chriſt; and what are the poſtures of Chriſt's heart towards you: How you may walk with Chriſt; and how Chriſt wil walk with you, in al waies of friendſhip, and Communion. This, I ſay, was my firſt Intention, when I firſt undertook this Diſcourſe. Which indeed takes in the ſum of my practick Divinitie, and which I intended to give you, with as much Perſpicuitie, Brevitie, and Familiaritie, as I might. But, Lo! I had no ſooner entred into that ſpacious field of Emmanuel's Land, and there received ſome glimmering proſpect, of thoſe heart-raviſhing Beauties, and incomparable Perfections, which render him ſo much eligible, and amiable for himſelf, but I ſoon loſt my ſelf, and my firſt Intention in thoſe Thickets. I was, as the wandring Bee, ſo taken with the fragrant flours, that grow in this Emmanuel's garden; as that I could not refrain wandring from flour to flour, til I had gathered ſome ſweet honey from each.
And this, My Friends, gives you the Reaſon why the explicatorie part of this Firſt Book, which I intended to compriſe in one Section, or Chapter at moſt, is run up to ſuch a Bulk, and takes not in, as I gueſſe, the fourth part of the firſt fundamental Law of friendſhip with Chriſt. And albeit it may ſeem to ſome too offenſive, to others too uncouth and difficult, to others too digreſſive, to others too artificial; yet I muſt tel you, that I repent not of my Labors herein. O happy Digreſſion, that meets with ſo good a friend! O Bleſſed Art, that ſerves to adorne the Lord of Glorie!
Firſt, I am not ignorant, that this Diſcourſe wil ſeem offenſive to many Curious, Athenian wits; who may, peradventure, out of curioſitie look into it, but after a taſt of my Deſigne, wil treat it as the Athenians did Paul's Diſcourſe, Act. 17.18. What wil this Babler ſay? &c. To talk of Chriſt's being eligible for himſelf; and that he ought to be elected as ſuch by his friends, is a Myſterie too great for the wiſdome of this world to comprehend: and therefore no wonder, if many laſcivious wits ſnarle, and carpe at ſuch Diſcourſes. But I neither regard, nor fear their cavils: I bleſſe the Lord, I have this witnes in my ſelf, that, what I write, is Truth; yea, a Truth neceſſarie to be inculcated, in theſe Wanton, Backſliding daies. And though I ſhal not undertake to vindicate every expreſſion, yet I no way dout, but, with the Lord's Aſſiſtance, to maintain the ſubſtance of this Diſcourſe, and each part thereof; and that both by Scriptural, and Rational Argument. I have ſtudiouſly avoided Controverſies; becauſe my ſubject is Love, and friendſhip: neither would I have a Controverſie with any, but ſuch as have ſome fundamental controverſie with my Lord. You wil find here nothing diſſonant to the Doctrine of the Church of England, as ſtated by our firſt Reformers, and Sealed by many of them, with their Bloud. Yet I pretend not to be Infallible, and therefore if any ſerious perſon, ſhal declare his diſſent, againſt any thing dropt from my Pen, I hope, I ſhal be willing to be better informed; and though he may find me in an error, he ſhal not leave me in obſtinacie.
But to returne to you, My Chriſtian friends, for whom I am more nearly concerned, and, in a meſure, afflicted for ſome of you, who are good friends of Chriſt, and yet may, peradventure, find ſome Diſappointment, if not occaſion of ſpiritual trouble, from this Treatiſe, and that both as to Matter and Forme. Firſt, as to its Matter, you may, perhaps, find ſomething above your Intellectual capacitie to apprehend; and others above your Moral, or Gracious capacitie to practiſe. 1. As for ſuch Notions, you may here meet with, above your Apprehenſive capacitie; you may be pleaſed to conſider. (1.) That theſe Notions here explicated, are not mere, idle, fruitleſſe ſpeculations; but Scriptural Myſteries, ſuch as are ful of ſpiritual ſap, and juice; and have a mightie efficacious Influence on our walking with God, as our friend. (2.) If your capacitie be too ſhort to wade thorow, or fadome the Depths of theſe Divine Myſteries; yet remember, 'tis worth your while to ſtand on the banks of this bottomleſſe Ocean, and crie out with Paul, Rom. 11.33. O the Depth of the riches, both of the wiſdome, and knowlege of God! If we can comprehend, or apprehend but a little of ſuch Tranſcendent myſteries, it is of great moment. (3.) Remember alſo that Paul, Rom. 1.14. counted himſelf a debtor to the wiſe, as wel as to the unwiſe. (4.) Though in the explication of ſome great Scriptural Myſteries, I have gone, perhaps, beyond ordinary capacities, yet I have in other parts, eſpecially in the application, endeavored to condeſcend to vulgar capacities.
2. As for ſuch Truths as may ſeem to be above your moral, or gracious capacitie, in point of practice, particularly that of electing Chriſt for himſelf, and the like; be pleaſed to take notice. (1.) That we treat of Friendſhip with Chriſt in its univerſal Idea, or abſtract Nature; not in its Concrete, or Subject: we ſhew what our Friendſhip ought to be, not what we alwaies attain unto. (2.) Know that it is one thing to practice Truths, and another thing to know we practice them; The meaneſt Chriſtian doth, daily, more or leſſe, practiſe this Truth, of electing Chriſt for himſelf, albeit he knows not that he doth it.
Laſtly, Some of you, My dear friends, may perventure ſcruple at the Forme of this Diſcourſe; as being too artificial, and clothed with too much of the Aegyptian Spoils, or human Learning. But let ſuch remember; (1.) That what Earings, or Jewels we have taken from the Aegyptians, or Pagans, are only uſed to adorne the Lord of Glorie, from whom they al came. (2.) We uſe them, not as eſſential parts of our Diſcourſe, but only as Accidents, to illuſtrate, and ſet off the Truth we deliver; that ſo carnal hearts may thereby be allured, to come and ſee, what excellences are in our Lord. (3) It muſt be conſidered, that there is a vaſt difference between the Word preached, and Printed Diſcourſes thereon. In Preaching the Word, the Miniſter acts as the Ambaſſador of Chriſt, and inveſted with his Autoritie; and therefore the more he arrogates, or aſſumes of Human Autoritie, the more he ſeems to derogate from the Autoritie of Chriſt. The word Preached, the more it is clothed with its own native, virgin ſimplicitie; and the leſſe mixture it has of human wiſdome, and Autorities; the more Autoritie and Efficacie it has, as I conceive, on Conſcience. But now in Printed Diſcourſes, the caſe ſeems much different. For (1.) The Author acts under a more private capacitie, by virtue of his Gifts. (2.) In Printed Exercices, I ſee no reaſon to the contrarie, but that the Author may have diverſe ends, (though al ſubordinate to God's Glorie) and ſo a mixture of different Materials and Subjects, ſome Human, ſome Divine. Which is a ſufficient Apologie for what mixture of human Argument you may find, in this following Diſcourſe; which is intended as an Idea, as wel of Civil, as of Divine Friendſhip; that ſo the Former may allure, and make way to the latter; and the Latter give Spirit, and Perfection to the former.
Thus, my dear friends, I have given you ſome account of the Spirit, and Bodie, the deſigne and matter of the following Treatiſe. What remains but that we now enter on, not only the Studie and Contemplation, but alſo the practice of the enſuing Subject? Which that we may, with Life, and Power engage in, and performe, and ſo out-go, and out-live al falſe Hypocritick friends, of this back-ſliding age, ought to be our daily Prayer; which is greatly deſired of you, beauſe greatly needed, by him, who conceives himſelf under many eſſential obligations to be, firſt, entirely and inviolably the Lords; and in him, entirely, and inviolably,
Yours, in al Chriſtian friendſhip, and Service, Theophilus Gale.