A third defence of the cause of peace proving 1. the need of our concord, 2. the impossibility of it, on the terms of the present impositions against the accusations and storms of, viz., Mr. John Hinckley, a nameless impleader, a nameless reflector, or Speculum, &c., Mr. John Cheny's second accusation, Mr. Roger L'Strange, justice, &c., the Dialogue between the Pope and a fanatic, J. Varney's phanatic Prophesie / by Richard Baxter.

Readers,

IF this striving work be unpleasant to you, it must be much more so to me: It is not the least advan∣tage that Satan getteth against the Church, that by other mens sins he can occasion that to become our duty, which else would be a sinfull loss of time, and against the peace of our selves and others. A multitude of heresies make it our duty, to read abundance of Books, and study those languages, and trifling Arts, which else were needless: And the multi∣tude of Erroneous, malignant, and other adversaries, and the variety of their assaults, maketh many De∣fences, Evidences, Witnesses, and Confutations necessary, which else would signifie that evil Contenti∣ousness, which the assaulters manifest. Though the servant of the Lord must not strive, yet must we contend

earnestly for the Faith, and must not forsake and betray truth and innocency. And the necessitated De∣fender may do his duty, while the wilfull Aggressor doth sinfully mili∣tate against Truth, Charity, and Peace. And as we must love our Enemies, so we take our selves bound much more, to love our temp∣ted envyous brethren; and if they use us as Joseph, cast us into the Pit and sell us as slaves, we will call them brethren still, and hope one day their repentance will render them more lovely than they are. And though some Preach Christ in Envy, Strife, and Contention, to add to our affliction, and not sin∣cerely, we rejoyce and will rejoyce that Christ is Preached: And though they would drive us out from the inheritance of the Lord, 1 Sam. 26. 19. We will not ven∣ture with David to curse them,

but say as he in another pursuit, 2 Sam. 15. 25. 26. Carry back the Ark of God into the City: If I shall find favour in the Eyes of the Lord, he will bring me again, and shew me both it and his Habitation. But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee, behold, here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good to him. In my endeavours for peace these Thirty Four Years, as I have been put to publish many things which I had rather might have been spared, so I have written to satisfie others, the Quantity of many Volumes, which I cast away as unnecessary to the World. But some men that I have dealt with, will not give me and the Reader such an indulgence.

Mr. Dodwell is one who shall have his answer by it self. Mr. Hink∣ley is another, to whose last Letter I wrote an answer about Nine Years

ago: But he would not so bury his Talent, but hath printed my for∣mer Letters with his answer, and so called and constrained me to publish my last reply. Fame reporteth that the Impleader is Mr. Long of Exeter, who heretofore wrote an Accusing Book, of which I gave him a private Epistolary Animadversion. Who the Reflector or the Author of the Specu∣lum is I know not, the Subject calleth me to no particular Answer. He and Mr. Roger le strange, who argue in the same Mood and Figure, make me little work: which concerneth others, They mistook the question, as if it had been, what the World should think of me. In which I leave them to their Liberty without much contradiction.

But our question is First, whether the Concord of Protestants being sup∣posed necessary, the silencing, impri∣soning, fining, and banishing from Corporations, all Ministers that take

Conformity to the present Impositions to be a sin, be the way of Peace and Concord, either probable or possible to attain the end. Mr. John Cheny, I judge a godly serious man: who being neer me and familiar with me, never told me a word of his exceptions, nor gave me the least touch of a private Admonition for all the Atheism, Infi∣delity, Wickedness, Abomination, destroying all Religion &c. Which he accuseth me of in print: And his Book is so dismal a piece of work, in its extraordinary privation of Com∣mon Reason, Truth, Charity, Ten∣derness and Modesty, that I am con∣strained to think that the honest man is diseasedly melancholly: And I have known some well meaning men in that disease, that are so tenacious of all their own Conceptions, that they are still fiercely confident that the grossest things that they hold and say are right, and passionately reject all that is said

against them. Whom he hath reported to be his Instigator, I shall not here proclaim. The Dialogue between the Pope and a Phanatick, and Joh. Var∣ney's Prophesie, I leave the Reader to answer himself, as he findeth cause. If any man think it a service to God to accuse me and others, and justifie our silencing and the imposed penalties, I intreat him to remember the Ninth Commandement, and that God and his Church need not Lies for their Service, but its he that is both the Father of them, and a Lyar from the begin∣ning. That was a lying Spirit in the Mouth of all Ahabs Prophets, (even of him that smote Mica••ah, for suppo∣sing the Spirit of God departed from him,) and whose work on Earth a∣gainst Christ and Souls, is done by De∣ceit, and Wrath, and Hurtfulness; Imitating him will disgrace your cause and you: And Light will not so easi∣ly be hid. Great is truth and will fi∣nally

prevaile. And all the waves do but break themselves, who dash a∣gainst this impregnable rock. I call this Book, A Third Defence of the cause of Peace, with respect to two former, One in answer to the Accusa∣tion of Mr. John Cheny, the other in answer to Dr. Edward Stillingfleet, men whom I once thought more unlike∣ly than most other to become our Accu∣sers.