The Cause and Cure of Ignorance, Section 72 – Section 74
SECT. 72.
Admonition to bew…r before it proves too late.WHerefore dally no longer with your owne soules. Are ye Christians in earnest? Doe yee beleeve the word? or do you not? if ye do not ye are worse than the Devill: f…r the Devills bel…eve and tremble; they have both faith and feare, whereas thou hast neither feare nor faith. If you be Christians, there is an hell in your Creed: if there be an hell, How dare you teare Heaven with your bla…phemies, and bandie the dreadfull Name of God in your impure mouthes, by your bloody o…thes and execrations? How dare you ex…rcise your saucy wits in prophane s…offes at religion, and disgrace that blood, whereof hereafter you would give a thousand worlds for one drop? It is no light or sleight offence, to contemne the brethren of the Son of God: but thou fightest against the very graces of Gods Spirit, where-ever they appeare? and notwithstanding thou didst vow in thy baptisme, to fight under Christs banner, against the world the fl…sh and the Devill, and to continue his faith…ull souldier and servant unto thy lives end ▪ as good reason, since he laid downe his life to redeeme thee, and hath ever since protected and provided for thee; for a very Dog will fight for his master that feeds him: thou contrarily takest part with the world, the flesh and the Devill, his mortall enemies, and takest up armes to fight against Christ.
Againe,Fruits of Atheisme wherewith the land abounds. if there be an hell, and but a tithe of them Christians, who call themselves so; what meanes our grinding of faces, like edged tooles, and our spilling of blood, like water? What meanes our racking of rents, our detention of wages, our incredible cruelty to servants, our inclosing of Commons, ingrossing of commodities, our griping exactions, with streining the advantages of greatnesse, our inequall levies of legal payments, our spightfull suites, griping usury, our bouzing and quaffing, our bribery, perjury, partiallity, our sacriledge, simonaicall contracts, and soule-murther, our scurr… prophanesse, cousoning in bargaines, breaking of promises, perfidious underminings, pride, luxury, wantonnesse, contempt of Gods Messengers, neglect of his Ordinances, violation of his dayes, &c? When if the Word of God be true, we need no other ground of our last and heaviest doom, than ye have not given, ye have not visited &c. Mat. 25.41. to 46▪ Certainely, if the tythe of us be Christians,If a tithe of us are Christians then there are milions of Christians in hell. which call our selvrs so, there are abundance of Christians in hell: For what eyes can but runne over, to see for the most part, what lives men leade? There was a woman much spoken of in some parts of this Land, that lived in a professed doubt of the D…ity, yea, even after Illumination and Repentance, she could hardly be comforted; she often protested, that the vicious and offencive life of a great learned man, in the Towne where she dwelt, did occasion those damned doubts in her minde. And we reade that Linacre reading upon the New Testament the fif…h sixth and seaventh Chapters of Saint Matthews Gospell, and comparing those rules with Christians lives, hee threw downe the booke, and burst forth into this protestation, Either this is not God's Gospell, or we are not Christians. Let any man looke upon the lives of most men, and then say, whether the argument be not without all exceptions.
Or let any compare Christians, that live now under Christian Governours:How far we come short of Primative Christians with those that lived formerly, under Heathan Persecutors; and it will force them to confesse the same. Athenagoras told the Emperor, in the Primitive times: that there was not one of the Christians evill manured; unlesse it were such as dissembled themselves Christians for some by, and sinister ends. And Tertullian saith of the Christians in his time: non aliunde noscibiles quam de emendatione vitiorum. And Chrisostome speaketh of many in his daies, whose lives were angelicall, they so walked up to their principles.
It is the abstract of Religion, to imitate him whom we worship: neither are we worthy to be called Christians, except wee be like him in workes: Wee are not like Christ, except we doe whatsoever God commands, and suffer whatsoever he inflicts: Now we are naught at doing, but when it comes to suffering, we are gone: it is the happinesse of these cold times, that wee are not put to the hot fire, for tryall of our faith and love: if the Wheele should turne, which the mercy of God forbid, how many would turne from Christ, rather than burne for him?Most men can be of any religion which proves they are truly of none. Alasse! the greatest number are like Orbilius the Grammarian, who not onelyonly forgot the Letters of his Book, but even his own name: for they not only forget what is written in Christ's Gospell, but they forget also that they are Christians, & can be of any religiō, for a need which shewes their hearts are truely of none. True, Gods seede is sowne, but the Devills fruit comes up: and, like the Iewes we bring Christ Vinegar, when he thirsts for Wine. But what a shame? What a prodigy is this? We are bound to praise GOD above any Nation whatsoever, (for what Nation under Heaven in…oyes so much light, or so many blessings as we?) above any creature, for all the creatures were ordained for our sakes: and yet Heaven, Earth and Sea, all the Elements, all the Creatures obey the Word of God; onelyonly men, for whom they were all made, ingratefully rebell against it.
How Gods goodnesse aggravates our wickednesse.The which, as it mightily aggravates our unthankfulnesse; so when time comes, it will gall our Consciences to death. Yea, when we shall consider, that Christ hath removed so many evils from us, and conferred so many good things upon us, that they are beyond thought, or imagination; and that our recompence of his love, hath been onelyonly to do that which he hates, and hate those whom he loves: it will make us speechlesse (like him in the Gospel, who wanted his wedding Garment) as neither expecting mercy, nor daring to aske it: for know this, that thy own Conscience will once sting thee, like an Adder, to thinke what Christ hath given, and what he would have forgiven thee, if thou would'st but have repented: to thinke how often thou hast been invited to Heaven, how easily thou mightest have escaped Hell, how often Christ by his Embassadours offered thee remission of sinnes, and the Kingdom of Heaven freely, if thou wouldest but believe and repent, and how easily thou mightest have obtained mercy in those dayes, how near thou wast many times to have repented, and yet didst suffer the Devil and the World to keep thee still impenitent, and how the day of mercy is then past, and will never dawn again.
Mens eyes will be opened on their death-beds or in hell.For the same Devil that now shuts your eyes, and labours to keep you blinde, during the presumption of your Life, will open them in the desperation, that shall wait on you at death, or in Hell: as it fared with the rich man, who when he was in Hell, lift up his eyes to Heaven; but never before, Luke 16.23. Those scorching flames opened them to purpose: sinne shuts up mens eyes, but punishment opens them. Satan seldome lets us see our folly, till we be plunged into some deep extremity; but then he writes it in capital Letters, and pines it on our foreheads; like one riding to the Pillory: especially on our death-beds, hee shewes us all our sinnes, in multiplying glasses.
That subtil Syren, with Orphean a…ers; and dexterous warbles: leads us to the flames of hell, and then derides us with contempt, and triumph. Like a cunning courtezan; that dallies the Ruffian to undoe himselfe; and then paies him with a fleere and scorne.
SECT. 73.
BUT I hope I have said enough, and that thou art convinc'd in thine own Conscience, that hitherto thou hast been a meer Atheist, and that through Atheisme, thou hast hated, reviled, and persecuted the godly: If not, Truth is as much Truth, when it is not acknowledged, as when it is.
Now if thou dost confidently,Good councell for Scoffers. and without peradventure beleeve what the Scripture speaks of God, Heaven, Hell, &c. If thou beleevest the threatnings and precepts, as well as the promises, and if thou bearest any love to thine owne soule, Break off thy sins by repentance, and oppose the good no longer: give no credit to the flesh, or the Devill, which prophe…e prosperity to sinne; but beleeve God and the Scripture, which manifestly proves, that every man shall bee judged according to his works, Revel. 12.13. & 22.12. Make not Christ a boulster for sin, nor Gods mercy a warrant for thy continuance in an evill course. Bee not therefore evill, because hee is good, least like the foolish builder, thou commest short of thy reckoning; for Christ came to destroy the workes of the Devill, Iohn 3.3.8, 9, 10. And not to be a Patron of sin; and there is mercy with God that hee might be feared, not that he might be despised, blasphemed, &c. Psalm. 130.4. Yea, know this and write it in the Table-booke of thy memory, and on the table of thine heart, that if God's bountifullnesse and long suffering towards thee, does not leade thee to repentance; it will double thy doome, and increase the pile of thy torments: for every day, which does not abate of thy reckoning, will increase it, Qui numerat dotes, numerat dies; and thou by thy hardnesse and impenitency, shalt but treasure up unto thy selfe wrath against the day of wrath, and the declaration of the …ust judgement of God, Romans 2▪ 4, 5, 6.
And so much of the third Cause.
SECT. 74.
THere are Eight other Causes (as they make them) why they thus hate and persecute us.eight other causes of hatred and persecution.
The first is, Speaking of Truth, 1 Speaking of truth.for which see 1 King. 22.8.17.23, 24.26.27. Ier. 11.19. and 26.8, 9.11. and 36.23.26. and 38.4, 5, 6. Amos 5.10. Mark 6.16. to 29. Act. 16.19. to 25. and 17.5.6.7.13. and 18.11.12, 13. and 19.26. to 34. and 21.27, 28.30.31. and 22.22, 23. and 23.1, 2.12, 13.14. Gal. 4.16.2 misprision
The second is, Misprision, for which see Act. 24.14. and 26.9.10.11.24. 1 King. 18.17, 18. Psalm. 14. 1 Ier. 44.17, 18, 19. Wisd. 5.4. Matth. 7.14. and 13.55, 56, 57. and 28, 15. Mark. 5.39.40. and 7, 5, 8.9. Iohn 2.19, 20.21. and 3.3.4. and 7.15.23, 24. and 8.15.57, 58, 59. & 9.16 & 16.2. Act. 2.13. 2 Thess. 2.10.11, 12, Rom. 8.5, 6, 7, 8. 1 Corinth. 1.18. to 29. and 2.7, 8, 10, 11.12, 13, 14, 15, 16. and 3.18, 19, 20. 2 Timothy 2.26. 1 Pet. 2.7, 8. Revel. 3.17.3 Example of the multitude.
The third is, Example of the multitude, touching which read Gen. 19.4. to 12. Numb. 14.2, 3, 10. and 16.1, to 4. Matth. 27.20.25, 27, 39, 49. Act. 19.24 to 30.
4 seperation.The fourth is, Separation, for which looke Gen. 39.12. to 21. Psal. 26.4.5. and 101.7. and 119.63.115. Prov. 5.8. and 23.20. Ier. 15.19. Wisd. 2.16. Ioh, 15.19 1 Cor. 5.11. 2 Cor. 6.17. Ephes. 5.7. 2 Thess. 3.6.14. 1 Pet. 4.4. Rev. 18.4.
5 The preaching of some Ministers.The fifth is, The preaching of some Ministers, for which see Ier. 5.31. and 8.11. and 23.13.14, 15, 16, 17.21, 22, 26, 27.31, 32. Ezek. 22.25, 26, 28. Mat. 9.34. Mar. 13.22. Ioh. 5.43. Act. 13.8. and 20.29.30. Romans 16.17, 18. 2 Cor. 2.17. and 11.13.14.15. 1 Tim. 4.1, 2, 3. 2 Tim. 3.8. 2 Pet. 2. ch. and 3.3.
6 The scandalous lives of some professors,The sixth is, The scandalous lives of some Professors, for which see Gen. 9.21.22. and 12, 18, 19. and 19.33, 35, 36. and 20.2.12.16. and 34.13, 14, 15, 16.25, 26. to 31. 1 Sam. 2.12. to 18. 2 Sam. 12.14. Mat. 7.15. and 18.7. and 23.3.14 23, 24, 25, 27. and 26.14, 15, 16.70.72.74. and 27.5.7 Flocking after sermons.
The seventh is, Flocking after Sermons for which looke Ioh. 11.48. and 12.19. and 6, 2. & Acts 13.45. Matth. 4.24, 25. and 15, 30. Mar. 3.10. and 8.1. and 10.1, 2. Luke 5.15. and 6.17, 18, 19.That they may have more company here in sin, and hereafter in torment
Eightly, the finall Cause is, that they may have more company here in sinne, and hereafter in torments. For which turne to, Psal. 35.4, 7, 12. & 40.14. & 56.6 & 59.2, 3. Matth. 23.13, 15. Luke 11.52. Iohn 11.48. and 12, 10, 11. and 15.19. Act. 26.11. 1 Pet 4.4. Revel. 12.17. and 13, 15.
But they are all so prolix,Conclusion. and yet so unmeete to be abbreviated, that if I should handle them, and make of all but one Volume, they would so swel the heape, that not a few would bee deprived of the whole. Hee will buy a Manuall, or Enchiridion, that will not buy, a Commentary: and hee will read a Curranto, that will not reade a Chronicle History. Yea, it may happen to meet with Patients so desperate: that although they acknowledge it is of absolute necessity for them to be informed touching these things, yet having Queasie stomacks; if they see their Potion bigge, aswell as bitter: will resolve to suffer, yea, to dye rather than take it.
That will bee swallowed by morsells, and easily disgested: which being taken all at once, will not only cloy, but surfeit.
Wherefore I have devided the whole into parts; of which five are already published Viz.
The Cure of Misprision
Compleat Armory against evill society
Characters of the kinds of Preaching.
Sin Stigmatized.
The Victory of Patience.
FINIS.
Imprimatur, John Downeham.
End of the text · Richard Younge, The Cause and Cure of Ignorance (1648)