Sermons, Dedication 8
TO THE HONOURABLE Houſe of COMMONS Aſſembled in Parliament.
THe Compaſſe of the ſubject entreated upon in this Sermon was too large to be ſurveied in a ſhort time. The nature of Haereſy lies under much obſcurity and inevidence. The Infidel who comes not in at all, And the Apoſtate who goes out at all are viſible enough to the eye, but the Haereticke who like a cunning Bankerupt breakes with ſome ſtock in his hand, and holds' ſome planks of truth when the ſhip is broken, is more hardly to bee knowne. I have not ſpoken much about the puniſhment of an Haereticke, but rather choſe to ſhew you who hee is then what to doe with him. There are good rules for the Church her proceeding againſt ſuch men, which may alſo ſerve very fitly to the meridian of your juriſdiction, as namely, in peccatis evidentiam, in paenis aedificationem; & againe, nec cito in apertis, nec unquam in ambiguis, with many other, which lay on the other ſide of the hedge from my way which was toward the inveſtigation of the nature of Haereſie, wherein I hope that what I have offered ſhall be interpreted with candour, for it was not my meaning to ſpeake thunder & lightning, but to ſpeake to the enlightning of the minds of the auditory, and not to the burning of Haereticks bodies; if any man pleaſe to compare my language with that ſtile wherein the holy ſcripture ſpeakes of falſe teachers and their corrupting mens minds, I doubt not but that I ſhall be found not guilty of rayling, whereof I have already beene indited in print, but I muſt make amends for a long Sermon with a ſhort Epiſtle; and therefore in a word, Be quick (Noble Gentlemen) in ſetling the intereſt of Chriſt in this Kingdome. God hath paid you well aforehand, if that doe not ſet an edge upon you, yet be confident that he hath ſomewhat behinde remaining yet in his hand, which he will not part with untill he ſee your worke for him in ſome forwardneſſe, and the longer the yarne hangs in the loome, the more it is ravelled, you have beene told that you have nothing to doe in the reformation of the Church, give not the world occaſion to ſuſpect that you thinke ſo too, but goe on with God, and proſper, and the Lord make your way plaine before your face,
So prayes Your moſt humble ſervant in Chriſt Jeſus RICHARD VINES.