The Reduction of a Digresser, Section 4 – Section 5
§. 4.
R. B. 1. YOu need not argue me to a higher respect to Dr. Twisse then I have ever manifested, except you would have me say, He was a God, or an Angel, or an Infallible man.
2. If you cannot forbear, as you say, its pity you should be hindered: Men and women must speak when their list is so great. Who can hold that which will away?
3. I confess that I did not much consult mine Honour in that writing. Else you had not found your self work as you have done in these leaves. If you mean the Honour of my Honesty, your proof must do more to the determination then your assertion: If you mean the Honour of my Learning, do not you know well enough, how little I have to consult? He that hath nothing, hath nothing to lose.
4. [Sleightingly] is a word that will stretch, and therefore I will not charge you with untruth. In one mans sense, he sleights a man that cals him [that famous excellent Divine:] but in another mans, sleighting signifieth the esteeming of a man below his worth, and expressing so much, or setting light by a man. I am miserably troubled with those kinde of people that cannot endure [sleighting] as they call it, above all folks in the world. (I use to call them plainly, Proud people, here in the Countrey; but if I were to talk to Learned men I would use more manners.) They think I sleight them, if I do not applaud them, or complement with them, or if I commend them not with so loud a voice as they expect (and they are a people that are never low in their expectations:) or if I do but praise another above them, or speak to another before them, or be short with them (when I am busie) when they look for a longer more respectfull discourse; yea if my Hat should be over mine eyes that I see them not, or my memory so fail me as that I forget them; these and abundance more I am guilty of sleighting every day, that I am now grown accustomed to the vice, and shameless in hearing it charged upon me. But I suspect that my sleighting Dr. Twisse consisteth in my supposing him to erre, and telling the world so: that is, in taking him to be a man: for h…manum est errare: and for saying he knew but in part, that is, that he was not glorifi…d on earth by perfection. If you could have charged me with any more then this, would you not have done it? I say, would you not? when the Vindication of this Reverend man was the end of your encountring me? and it boyled so hot on your stomack, that [you could not forbear: you had not the patience to see so Worthy men so unworthily handled.] Yea your self affirm that which is his doctrine to be untrue, and yet I sleight him for saying so! Lay this with the commanded Adoration of the footsteps, and it seems, it is high matters indeed that you expect. I doubt, by this, that you will say, I slight you before I have done, either because I praise you not enough, or because I take you not for infallible and indefectible, or because I value Dr. Twisse or Mr. Pemble so very, very, very farre before you; when yet I am accused of slighting them. Sir, these Reverend m…n, I doubt not, are perfected Saints in heaven, and hate pride so much, that if they know it, they will give little thanks to him that will contend for the honour of their Infallibility, yea or for the guilding over any of their errours▪ much less, if their honour should be made a… snare to▪ the entangling of the godly, and a means to the promoting the Kingdom of darkness, and opposing that Truth which they love better then their Honours, and the dishonouring of that God whose glory is their felicity.
Yea let me tell you that I take my self bound in conscience to say more then ever I have yet said, and that is thi… [All young Students that will deigne to take advice from so mean a man as I, as ever you would preserve your graces and conversations, preserve▪ your Judgements; and as ever you would maintain the Doctrine of Christ, take heed of the Errors of the Antinomians: and as ever you would escape the snare of Antinomianism, take heed of these principal Articles of it following: [That Christs satisfaction is ours quà praestita, before the Application; and that so far, as that we are actually Pardoned, Justified, Reconciled and Adopted by it before we were born, much more before we believe: yea that Adoption and Remission of sin are immanent acts in God, and so are from eternity, even before any death of Christ, or efficacy of it: That pardon of sin is nothing but Ve…e non Punire: That Justification by faith is nothing but Justification in foro conscientia, o… the sense of that in our hearts, which was really ours from eternity, or from Christs death, or both: That justifying faith is the feeling or apprehension of Gods eternal Love, Remission and Adoption.] I say, take heed of these master-Points of Antinomianism: And as ever you would avoid these, take heed how you receive them on the reputation and plausible words of any Writer: and especially of Dr Twiss, who is full of such passages, and being of greater learning and esteem then others is liker to mislead you. For you know, if you receive these then you must receive the r…st, if you discern the concatenation. For if all your sins were pardoned as soon as Christ died, then what need you pray for pardon, or Repent or Believe or be Baptized for pardon? then God loved you as well when you were his enemies, as since; and then how can you be restrained from sin by fear? &c. And that you may know I speak not this in slighting of the D…ctor, as Mr. K. chargeth me. 1. I profess to do it mainly for Gods glory and Truth, and for the love of souls. 2. I take my self the rather bound to it, because I was once drawn my self to some of these opinions by the meer high estimation of Mr. P…mble and Dr. Twisse. 3. I profess still most highly to love and reverence the names of these two blessed excellent men, as formerly I never honoured any two men more. For Dr. Twiss, I am more beholden to his Writings for that little knowledge I have then almost any one mans, besides: and for Mr. Pemble, for ought I can see in his Book of Justification, he revoked this same errour which in his Vindic. Grat. he hath delivered: sure I am, no two mens Writings have been more in my hands, and few mens nam…s are yet so highly honoured in my heart.
This much I take my self bound to publish for a common warning. And I would further advise all to take heed how they entertain Dr. Twiss▪s doctrine about the cause of sin; of which I shall be ready to give my reason when I have a call; but will not now digress so far.
5. For your good wish [that my Books had not something in the Doctrinal part not answering the devotional] I thank you. But, alas, ignorance and errour will not be healed with a wish: Many a year have I studied and praied against them, and yet they stick by me still. But had I erred in the Foundation, it would have spoiled my Devotion: for non recte vivitur, ubi de Deo non bene creditur: And I had rather be defective in lesser doctrinals, then in Devotion. And though I am as confident that you erre in some of your Doctrinals (as I shall anon manifest) as you are of my erring, yet I heartily wish your Devotion be as good as your Judgement in Doctrine; and I think I wish you a greater blessing then you wished me.
6. I do not well relish your exceeding coldness in Gods cause, who are so hot for man: When it is for the honour of your Learned Brethren, [you have not patience, you cannot forbear.] But what Dr. Twisse hath said for Justification from Eternity, on the ground that there is no new immanent act in God, this you say, Matters not: Is it a phrase beseeming a Preacher of Christs Truth to say, [It matters not?] When that Truth is contradicted in so high a Point? and the souls of men, and the peace of the Church so much endangered? A G…llio might better have spoke thus. England hath not sped so well by the Antinomians of late, as that any knowing friend of it, should say, It matters not, when such great Divines promote their cause.
7. And where you also say, that [it matters not what some in the Synod said against him, and how little he said for himself.] I am not of your minde. 1. Is it only the vestigia Doctoris Twissi & M. K. that are to be adored? You shall give me leave to honour you much, and the Doctor more, but the Assembly more then either of you. 2. I do not think the Doctor was so weak, or at least a good cause so friendless in the Assembly, but that himself or some other would have done something considerable to the justification of his cause, if it had been justifiable. 3. I will be bold to ask you, the next time I see you, whether all your heat and impatience for unworthy handling or slighting the Doctor be not meant against the Assembly as well as me? or if not, Whether it be not respect of persons that made the difference? or rather the securing of your reputation, which you might think would be elevated by a Victory over others, or at least lose nothing, though the person were so contemptible, as not to adde to your glory; but by an opposition to the Assembly it might have been dasht in pieces? Or if the Antinomians being questioned by the Assembly shall alleadge Dr. Twiss's words (frequently and plainly uttered) for their Defence; and the Doctors cause being hereupon questioned shall fall without any justification; I pray you tell me, Whether there may not be the same necessity for us to take notice of his Errours as the Assembly? and whether after them we may not do it (while we honour his worth as much as I still do) without slighting or wronging him. It is more dishonour to be Questioned by an Assembly and come off unjustified, then to be judged to mistake by so contemptible a person as I.
8. Where you speak of [his very Name doing most of the service.] I do not understand what service you mean. I know you mean not the service done in his Writings: And sure you dare not mean [the service done by the Assembly:] for that were to make them a contemptible Assembly indeed, if a mans Name, yea magni nominis umbra, did most of their service: And it were to think as basely of their service as the worst Sectary doth, that I have met with. It were not worth so much cost, and so many years pains, nor worthy the Acceptation of Parliament or People, if it were but the offspring of Dr. Twisse's Name. But Sir we have received fruits that shew they came from another cause then a name or the shadow of a name. I confess I value their least Catechism for children above all Mr. Kendall's learned Labours, were they twenty times more of the same quality. I never heard but one Learned man speak contemptuously of the Assembly, and his friends say it was because he was not thought Worthy to be one of them (I except those that were against them in the Warre; where heat of opposition might occasion disesteem: But if this were Mr. K's case, yet methinks when he changed his Cause and Party, he should withall have changed his esteem of the Assembly.) But its likely that Mr. K. means that it was the Doctors Name that did most of the service of a Moderator; most of his own part in the Assembly: It may be so: But if he had nothing to work by but his Name, yet had his cause been good, it would in that Assembly have found some friends. But what you mean then by the following words, I do not well know, that his Name you are sure [was that formidable thing to the Learned adversary.] Perhaps you mean your self, by the Learned adversary, of whose fears I confess you might be sure, and so might know the Name or Word that did affright you: else I cannot imagine who you mean, except it were the Kings party or the Episcopal Divines together: But for Episcopacy, I know of no Disputes that ever the Assembly had upon it, and so had no adversaries in a disputing way; at least during Dr. Twiss's time. And for disputing the Kings Cause, I think they did as little in it. Some chosen men in the Treaties indeed disputed against Episcopacy, but with other weapons then Dr. Twisse's Name. If you should mean that it was Dr. Twisse's Name that made the Learned Episcopal Divines have Reverend thoughts of the Assembly, I must tell you that there were in that Assembly no small number of Divines of that excellency for Learning, Piety and Ministerial Ability, which might command Reverence from the Learnedest adversaries of you all.
9. But though his Name did all the service; yet you [question not but he could have easily made it good, That there is no new immanent act in God, against, &c.] It seems by this that you think this the easier to prove of the two: And indeed I am acquainted with none that are minded to oppose it.
10. Nor is it reasonable for you to say, that you [would fain have any of them all that opposed him, to give a satisfactory answer to your Argument,] when you know it was not in that Point that they opposed him. Would you make more your adversaaies against their will as well as me? or do you long for more honourable Antagonists to cope with? And whats your Argument?
§. 5.
Mr. K. IF there be any new immanent Act in God, it must be either of his Understanding or his Will: Of his Ʋnderstanding there can be none: else must he know somewhat a new, which inferres he was not Omniscient, knew not all before this new act of Knowledge: If of his W…ll, then either this new act is for the better or worse or indifferent: If for the better, he was not absolutely perfect before, as being capable of bettering: If for the worse, he is not so perfect since this act as he was before; which is to make him l…ss perfect by his new act: If neither, then is this act such as might as well have been out as in: and then it is an imperfection to act so impertinently. This same Argument as I take it made use of by Mr. Goodwin himself in a like case, and therefore he will not be offended how highly soever I value it as an irrefragable Demonstration.