Works of Joseph Hall, Section 16 – Section 17
SECTION XVI.
IF then ſuch be the good things of our Church; What good can you acknowledge to hauehave receiued from her? Nothing giues what it hath not: A Baptiſme perhaps; Alas, but no true Sacrament, you ſay: yea, the ſeale of graceleſnes and miſchiefe; As little are you beholden to the Church for that, as the Church to you, for your good acceptation: Why are you not rebaptized? You that cannot abide a falſe Church, why doe you content your ſelues with a falſe Sacrament? eſpecially, ſince our Church, being not yet gathered to Chriſt, is no Church, and therefore her baptiſme a nullitie.
What elſe doe you owe to the liberality of this Step-dame? You are cloſe; your Paſtor is lauiſh for you both; who thus ſpeaks of himſelfe, and you, and vsus: I confeſſe that whiles I was Miniſter in your Church of Englād,Bar. ſupra Fr. Iohn againſt M. Iacob. p. 41. Exc. 2. I ſtood in an Antichriſtian eſtate; yet doubt I not, but euen then, being of the Elect of God, I was partaker through faith, of the mercy of God in Chriſt to ſaluation: but as for you (Ma. IACOB & his fellow-Chriſtians) whiles you thus remaine, you cannot in that eſtate approue your ſelues to hauehave the promiſe of ſaluation. Behold here, the Church of England gaue you but an Antichriſtian eſtate; if God giuegive ſecret merciemercy, what is that to her?
Gods ſuperaboundant grace doth neither abate ought of her Antichriſtianiſme, nor moue you to follow him in couering, and paſſing by the manifold enormities in our Church, wherewith thoſe good things are inſeparably commingled: Your owne mouth ſhall condemne you: Doth God paſſe ouer our enormities, and doe you ſticke, yea, ſeparate? Doth his grace couer them, and doe you diſplay them? HaueHave you learned to be more iuſt than your Maker? Or if you be not aboue his iuſtice, why are you againſt his mercy? God hath not diſclaimed vsus, by your owne confeſſion; you hauehave preuented him. If Princes leaſurees may not be ſtayed in reforming, yet ſhall not Gods in reiecting? Your ignorance enwrapped you in your errors: his infinite wiſedome ſees them, and yet his infinite mercy forbeares them: ſo might you at once hauehave ſeene, diſliked, ſtayed; If you did not herein goe contrary to the courſes of our common God, how happy ſhould both ſides hauehave beene? yea, how ſhould there be no ſides? How ſhould we be more inſeparably commingled, than our good and euill?
But ſhould you hauehave continued ſtill in ſinne that grace might hauehave abounded? God forbid: you might hauehave continued here without ſinne (ſaue your owne) and then grace would no leſſe hauehave abounded to you, than now your ſin abounds in not continuing: What neede you to ſurfet of another mans Trencher? Other ſinnes need no more to infect you, than your graces can ſanctifie them. As for your further light, ſuſpect it not of God: ſuſpect it to bee meere darkneſſe: and if the light in you bee darkneſſe, how great is that darkneſſe? What? ſo true and glorious a light of God, and neuer ſeene till now? No Worlds, Times, Churches, Patriarchs, Prophets, Apoſtles, Martyrs, Fathers, Doctors,Gen. 1.2. Eſa. 5.20. Woe to them that put darkneſſe for light. Eſa. 59.9. Chriſtians, euer ſaw this truth looke forth beſides you, vntill you? Externall light was Gods firſt creature, and ſhall this ſpirituall light, whereby all Churches ſhould be diſcerned, come thus late? Miſtruſt therefore your eyes, and your light: and feare Eſayes woe, and the Iewes miſerable diſappointment: we wait for light, but loe, it is darkneſſe: for brightneſſe, but we walke in obſcuritie.
SEP.
But the Church of England (ſay you) is our Mother, and ſo ought not to be auoyded: But ſay I, we muſt not ſo cleaue to holy Mother Church, as we neglect our Heauenly Father, and his Commandements, which we know in that eſtate we could not but tranſgreſſe, and that hainouſly, and againſt our conſciences, not onelyonly in the want of many Chriſtian Ordinances, to which we are moſt ſtraightly bound both by Gods Word and our owne neceſsities,
SECTION XVII.
THE Church of England is your Mother, to her ſmall comfort; ſhe hath borne you,The Motherhood of the Church of England, how far it obligeth vsus. Deut. 21, 22, 23. and repented. Alas, you hauehave giuen her cauſe to powre out Iobs curſes vponupon your Birth-day, by your not onelyonly forſaking but curſing her: Stand not vponupon her faults, which you ſhall neuer proue capitall: Not onelyonly the beſt Parent might hauehave brought forth a rebellious ſonne to be ſtoned. What then? Doe we prefer dutie to piety, and ſo plead for our Holy Mother Church, that we neglect our Heauenly Father, yea, offend him? See what you ſay: it muſt needs be an Holy Mother that cannot be pleaſed without the diſpleaſure of God: A good wife, that oppoſes ſuch an husband: a good ſonne that vpbraids this vniuſtly: Therefore is ſhee a Church, your Mother, holy,Mater Eccleſia, Mater eſt etiam Matris noſtrae. Aug. Epiſt. 38. becauſe ſhee bred you to God, cleaues to him, obeyes his commandements, and commands them. And ſo farre is ſhee from this deſperate contradiction, that ſhee voweth not to hold you for her ſonne, vnleſſe you honour God as a Father. It is a wilfull ſlander that you could not but hainouſly tranſgreſſe vnderunder her: I dare take it vponupon my ſoule, that all your tranſgreſſion which you ſhould neceſſarily hauehave incurred by her obedience, is nothing ſo hainous, as your vncharitableneſſe in your cenſures and diſobedience. Conſcience is a common plea, euen to thoſe you hate: we inquire not how ſtrong it is, but how well informed: not whether it ſuggeſt this, but whereupon. To go againſt the conſcience is ſinne, to follow a miſ-informed conſcience is ſinne alſo. If you do not the firſt, we know you are faultie in the ſecond: He that is greater than the conſcience, will not take this for an excuſe: But wherein ſhould hauehave beene this tranſgreſſion; ſo vnauoidable, hainous, againſt conſcience? Firſt, in the want of many Ordinances, to which we are moſt ſtrictly bound, both by Gods Word, and our owne neceſſities.