An Appeal to the Churches of Christ for their Judgment, Letter 2
A Letter annexed to theſe Papers, when by the Brethren, they were preſented to the Reverend Miniſter, requiring a Reaſon of their doings.
Deare Sir.
THere is no little Difference betwixt us Opinionum varietas & opinantium unitas, non ſunt foreign.in opinion, none at all, we truſt in Affection; which ſhall appeare, we hope, on our part, in the manage of the Debate between us all along. It were well if we could be every way accorded. And we think theſe words preſſe hard upon us, to ſtrive in this thing, that there be no ſtrife at all. There was a ſtrife between the heardmen of Abrahams Cattle, and the heard-men of Lotts Cattle, and the Canaanite and the Perrezite dwelled then in the Land, Gen. 13. 7. They did not walke in wiſdome towards them that were without. The enemies of God could diſcerne, being quickſighted that way, There were animoſities—that which ſhould not be among the Lords own people: Therefore faithfull Abraham, beſtirres himſelfe, for it was high time, and ſprang, or ranne-in (to uſe that word, and witneſſe the foreign.haſte he made) Let there be no ſtrife I pray thee between Acts 14. 14. 16. 29.thee and me, and between my heardmen and thy heardmen, for wee be men-brethren, verſe 8: This is commended to Acts 7. 26.your ſerious thoughts, and the Lord grant it may abide upon ours. For Diviſions among brethren, makes friends mourne, and enemies within laugh and ſcorne, and hinders them that are without from making offer to come in. Let Gods people walk as becometh, ſtudy to be quiet, follow after peace, act nothing while they be angry, not giving place to it, no not for an houre, for that were to give place to the Devill. The Preacher tells us, that anger reſteth in the boſome of fooles; and paſſion dwells at the ſigne of folly; we are never angry, and ſinne not, but when we are angry at nothing but ſinne. Factions cauſe Fractions; Ʋnity makes ſtrong. David pray'd heartily, ſo ſhall we by his grace, Lead me in a plaine path becauſe of mine obſervers, Pſal. 27. 11 Enemies we reade, who are obſervers, they note diligently what we that are men-Brethren doe: The Lord humble us for the pride of our hearts (It is likely you may pray ſo too,) from whence comes warres and fightings among us? For untill we are well humbled, we ſhall doe nothing well, nor can we ſuffer, as Chriſtians for well-doing. The Lord humble us, ſuch need we have to pray this prayer againe, make us vile in our owne eyes, and then it will be no trouble at all how vile we are in others eyes. And all our things ſhall be done in Charity, (which ſhewes us what we are *Non facium bonas vel malos mores, niſi boni vel mali amores. Aug. Ep: ad Maced:) wherein wee ſhould abound one towards another.
We come to that now, we would ſay to you at the porch, or entrance to our worke.
We have anſwered your deſire in giving you here an account of your matters; how ſhort of your expectation, or full-up unto it we know not. Only this we know, our ſtrong deſire and earneſt endeavours were to pleaſe God, and our Neighbour for his Good to Edification in all we have done, keeping cloſe to His rule laid before us in His Word. And having ſo done, we would hope, we have not diſpleaſed you. This being the way, you and wee muſt take if we goe right; In the active obedience, what we doe, we labour to pleaſe God; In the paſſive, we endeavour, what He doth may pleaſe us. Exceeded we have all expectations, yours and our owne, in the largeneſſe of our Worke, whereunto we will ſay as followeth.
1. It falls out in matters of this Nature as in building, The coſt and paines amounts to double as much, as at firſt was intended.
2. Your Brothers Book of Infant Baptiſme accidentally coming to our hands (for as we heard not of it, ſo we ſought not for it) put us to an after-trouble, altogether as great as the former.
3. If it be ſaid, we are tedious herein, we can clearely ſay, it was to make Truth's cleare, we conſidered withall to whom we ſpeake, at leaſt, whom we would have to heare, poore ſimple ignorant Country folke, who are taken wholy with the rind or bark, the out-ſide of Sacrament, to whom if you ſpeake conciſely, little and ſhort, you ſpeake nothing at all; poſſibly a man may, though we cannot, ſpeake much in a little; but ſurely we commonly underſtand but little in much: Therefore it was not beſide our purpoſe to be ſo large, nor beyond the marke we ſended to.
4. You ſpeake highly of Mr. Hus: we ſuppoſe it was in favour to his way, and in love to us, that we might walke in his way. We would ſuppoſe alſo, thus highly you ſpake of him, hearing much good of him, from thoſe that may have little good in them, we meane, you might ſpeake by heare-ſay, not by what you had found in him, by reading his Books, you call them too, The works of the fleſh. So we would ſuppoſe, becauſe we would not queſtion the ſoundneſſe of your judgement, as to thoſe matters you may finde in the worke he hath made. But whatever you doe, or have done, we judge of a Man by his workes, as of a tree by his fruits. And this we muſt ſay of him, as once holy Fox of an unholy Biſhop, He was a Divine little ſeaſoned with the Goſpell. And for his book, ſaid that Saint on earth, long ſince in Heaven, I would tell him to his Teeth, were we face to face, That it is a grievous plague to the Common ſafety of Chriſtians. Yet becauſe you might intend our good in mentioning, that—Man and his workes unto us (and ſurely through grace, for we have it in us readily to comply with, and greedily to catch at ſuch works of the fleſh, but through grace, we have, as others may doe, gained much good by it, to advance our Love to Gods way, and our hatred to his) we will returne your Love as we can, onelyonly in this, making honourable mention unto you, of three the Lords Worthies, (we need not mention Doctor Drake to you) that have made Anſwer to Mr Humphs: Mr Anthony Palmer, Mr Hum: Saunders, (whoſe booke, hath worthy Mr Tho: Mantons Epiſtle before it) Mr John Collins; we mention them in the ſame order, they came forth, and to our hands; and not before we were Come to the Cloſe of our worke. The laſt of theſe, Mr Jo: Collins hath given the people an Antidote againſt the poyſon of his laſt booke. We heartily Commend theſe to your reading; knowing no other meanes, whereby to commend our Love unto you.
And ſo, Sir, having more to ſay to your beloved Brethren, and by us as much honoured; and then to the Chriſtian Reader, we will leave the matters here under Debate, to better judgement; And the Lord God of judgement be with them, that ſhall make judgement thereof, which by the ſupply of the Spirit is what it is, as wee by His grace are what we are. Only this we would Remember your ſelfe, your Brethren, and our ſelves off, That all thoſe matters we have, perhaps, too rigidly, or poſſible, too haſtily and inconſiderately paſſed our judgement-upon, muſt have another day of hearing, and then be called over againe. Therefore we ſay againe. The Lord helpe us to give up our judgements unto the Lord, that ſo we may judge righteous judgement. And to begin at home with our ſelves, judging there every one of us, where God hath made us Judges: And enquire in the firſt place what truth is wrought in the inward parts, which will quickly ſhew-forth it ſelfe in out-workes, ſo as others may ſee what is within, by what is done without, and glorifie our Father which is in Heaven.
So we heartily take our Leave of you for this time, and at this place; and Leave you and your Brethren to your owne time for peruſall of theſe matters, as they ſhall be preſented to your hands, and then to deale therein, as they, after ſerious debate about them, ſhall require.
And the Lord God proſper you, and bleſſe your Labours faithfully undertaken for Him, as ſure He will if you Labour earneſtly, to be accepted in Him, as the ambitious Man doth to clamber to the pinnacle of honour here below. And with you bleſſe all your faithfull Brethren all over the Nation, with one minde, heart, lippe, and ſhoulder, That by your and their meanes, the glorious Sun of the Goſpell may ſpread all over the ſame, as the morning ſpreads upon the mountaines, That His people all may walke by the light thereof, as Friends and Fellow-helpers to The Truth, preaching one thing, and praying as all may agree, whereunto all the good people in all the Nations will ſay Amen; and wee with them, Amen and Amen.