Religio stoici

THE STOICKS Friendly ADDRESSE To the PHANATICKS Of all SECTS and SORTS.

THe mad-cap Zealots of this bigot Age, intending to mount heaven, Elias-like, in Zeals fiery Cha∣riot, do, like foolish Phaeton, not only fall themselves from their flaming seat, but by their furious over-driving, invelop the ••••rld in unquenchable combustions; 〈◊〉〈◊〉 when they have thus set the whole

Globe on a blaze, this they tearm a new light. It is remarkable in Scripture, that Jehu, who drove fu∣riously, and called up the Prophet to see what zeal he had for the house of God, was even at that instant, do∣ing it more wrong then ever was done to it by unconcerned Gallio, who flan∣tingly cared for none of those things. And that none of all the apostolick Conclave desired ever fire might rain from above upon mis-believers; ex∣cept the Sons of Zebedee, who im∣mediatly thereafter, arrived at that pitch of vanity, as to desire to sit in heaven upon Christs right and left hand. And that Peter, who was the first who did draw a sword in his Masters quarrel, was likewayes the first who denyed him. Firy Zeal blows soon up, such combustible mater as the Sons of Zebedee; and that flash being spent and evaporat, a fall follows, as befell Peter. As that bo∣dy

is hardly cureable, which enter∣tains such ill-suited neighbours as a cold Stomach and a hote Liver; So, the body of the visible Church may be now concluded to be in a very distempered conditon, when it's Cha∣rity waxeth cold, and it's Zeal hot, beyond what is due to either; and these feaverish fits of unnatural Zeal, wherewith the Church is troubled in it's old and cold age, betokens too much that it draws near it's last pe∣riod.

The inconsiderableness likewayes of our differences, and inconsiderat∣ness wherewith they are persued, in∣duces me to believe, that the Zeal now a-la-mode, is not that holy Fire which is kindled by a coal from the Altar, but is that ign's fatuus, or wild-fire, which is but a Meteor peec'd up of malignant Vapours, and is observed to frequent Church-yards ofter then other places.

I am none of those who acknow∣ledge no temples, besides these of their own heads. And I am of opi∣nion, that such as think that they have a Church within their own breasts, should likewayes believe, that their heads are steeples, and so should provide them with bells. I be∣lieve that there is a Church-militant, which, like the Ark, must lodge in it's bowels all such as are to be saved from the flood of condemnation: but, to chalk out it's bordering lines, is beyond the geography of my Religion. He was infallible who compared Gods Spirit to the wind which bloweth where it listeth, we hear the sound of it, but knows not whence it comes, or whether it goeth. And the name graven upon the whit-stone, none knows but he who hath it. Eli con∣cluded Hannah to be drunk, when she was pouring out her soul before her Maker: and Elias believed, that the

Church, in his dayes, was stinted to his own person; and yet God told him, that there were seven thousand in Israel who had not bowed their knees to Baal: why then should any private Christian determine, magi∣gisterially, that, wherein the greatest of Prophets erred?

The reed wherewith the Temple was to be measured, Rev. 11. 2. was only entrusted to an Angel; and yet he had not in commission, to mea∣sure the Court that was without, because it was given to the Gentiles. And albeit, Rev. 7. the number of the Iews who were saved is de∣termined; yet, the number of Gen∣tiles is left indefinit, and said to be numberless.

There is nothing more ordinar, then for each Nation to confine the Church within themselves. And in that Nation again, one corner will have themselves the Sanctum Sancto∣rum

of that only Temple; albeit our Saviour in His Gospel assures us, that men shall come from all corners of the world, and sit down with Abra∣ham, Isaac and Jacob. And John in his Revelation tells us, that mul∣titudes of all Nations, Kindreds and Families, were seen following the Lamb. Upon this same block do these likewayes stumble, who put the bolt of their uncharitableness upon the gates of heaven, to debar whole Professions, such as Lawyers and Physitians, from entring in thereat; notwithstanding that the abovecited place tells us, that there were only twelve thousand of the tribe of Levi the Priest chosen, and the like number was prickt; in the tribe of Judah, the Law-giver: Aaron the Priest did mould the golden calf, and not Moses the Iudge; and Korah and Dathan were Levits, and yet mutined against their Magistrates.

I say not this to disparage that ho∣ly Function: For, none shall wish Aarons rod to flourish more then my self; and ordinarily, these who love not to touch the Lords anointed, will likewayes be sure, to do His Prophets no harm: but, I say it to take off an aspersion which hath stain'd too long, and too injustly, these of my own pro∣fession. Is not the Church our com∣mon Mother? albeit, I confess, she is likewayes their Nurse, in a more particular way; and since there is heavenly Mannah enough to aliment us all, why should Christans de ny to admit their brethren to an equal partage?

It grieves me sore to see my mother the Church tortur'd like Rebecca, by carrying strugling twaines in her pained bowels. And seing all Chri∣stians are but pilgrims here, I admire that these pilgrims should leave off to journey, and stand skirmishing

and fighting with all such as will not travel their road. And albeit we ac∣knowledge, that the Spirit of God takes pains, and is sufficient for lead∣ing all men in the way wherein they should walk; yet, we must compell them, as if either He needed our help, or we resolved to share with Him the glory of their conversion. Thus God (who loves us all infinitly bet∣ter then one any of us doth another) leaves us, upon our own hazard, a freedom in our choice, albeit we poor miscreants compell one another, de∣nying to our fellow-creatures that freedom which he allowes all the Crea∣tion. I wish we would consider how each man eats, drinks, cares for his fa∣mily and performes all common du∣ties, rational enough without any compulsion; and yet, in the affairs of Religion, wherein doubtless man is led by a far more infallible assist∣ance, there are many slips com∣mitted,

daily and grossly, notwith∣standing of all the pains taken, and force used by one man towards ano∣ther. Thus it fairs with us as with Patients, whom when the Physitians stints to a narrow dyet, then they loath even that food, which their unreined appetite would never have rejected. And this makes me apt to believe, that if Laws and Law-givers did not make Hereticks vain, by taking too much notice of their extravagan∣cies, the world should be no more trou∣bled with these, then they are with the Chimeras of Alchimists and Phi∣losophers. And it fairs with them as with Tops, which, how long they are scourged, keep foot and run pleasantly, but fall how soon they are neglected and left to themselves.

In order to which, it was wittily observed by our great King James the Sixth, that the Puritans of his age strove with him, and yet ceded

at first, in a difference between them and the Shoe-makers of Edinburgh: For, not only pleases it their humour to contend where they may gain ho∣nour and can loss none, but likewayes, by contesting with Monarchs, they magnifie to the people their pious courage, assuring the world, that such attempts require a particular assist∣ance from heaven; and when their jangling hath extorted some conces∣sions from the Magistrate, (as ordi∣narily it doth) then they press that success as an infallible mark of the Jure-divinoship of their quarrel. Albeit, I confess, that when these, not only recede from the canonized Creed of the Church, but likewayes incroach upon the Laws of the State, then, as of all others, they are the most dan∣gerous; So, of all others, they should be most severely punished.

Opinion, kept within it's proper bounds, is an pure act of the mind:

and so it would appear, that to punish the body for that which is a guilt of the soul, is as unjust as to punish one relation for another. And this blood∣thirsty zeal, which hath reigned in our age, supposes our most mercifull God to be of the same temper with these pagan Deities, who desired to have their Altars gored with blood; and being devils themselves, delight∣ed in the destruction of men: where∣as the Almighty, who delights not in the death of a sinner, but rather that he should repent and live, hath left no warr and upon holy Record, for perse∣cuting such as dissent from us; but even then when He commands that the Prophets, who tempts others to idolatry, should be slain, yet, speaks He nothing of punishing these who were seduced by them. And why should we shew so much violence in these things whereof we can show no cer∣tain evidence? as ordinarily we can∣not

in circumfundamental debates. Are we not ready to condemn to day, as Phanatick, what yesterday was judged Jure-divino? And do not even those who persecuted others for their opinions, admire why they should be, upon that score, persecuted themselves? So that (victory de∣pending upon event) we legitimat the persecutions, to be used by others, against our selves, by the persecutions used by our selves, against others. Our Saviour forbids us to pluck up the tears, lest the wheat be pulled up with it; and how can the most pious per∣secutors know, that the Saints are not destroyed with the sinners?

It is remarkable, that our Saviour disarmed zealous Peter, even when he was serving Him in person, in His greatest straits, and against the most profligat of His enemies, the Iews: and that to prevent the ir∣regular zeal even of the first and

best of Christians, the blessed Apo∣stles, their divine Master thought it fit to arme them not with swords, but with scrips, and to root out of their hearts all thoughts of violence, did oft inculcat in them, that His King∣dom was not of this world; convince∣ing them by an excellent argument, that He had no need of armes or ar∣mies; for else He could have com∣manded thousands of Angells. Did ever God command the Iews to war against any neighbouring nation be∣cause they were Pagans (a quarrel which would have lasted till all the world had been conquered) Or, did our Saviour leave in legacie to his servants, that they should force others to turn prosylits, which doubtlesse he had done, if he had resolved to allow such a rude mean of conversion? All which makes me admire, why in our late troubles, men really pious, and naturally sober, could have been

so transported, as to destroy whom they could not convince, and to perswade these who were convinced, that Reli∣gion obliged them to destroy others.

My heart bleeds when I consider how scaffolds were dyed with Christi∣an blood, and the fields covered with the carcasses of murthered Christi∣ans; and its probable, that there were more damned by unprepared deaths, in the fields, then were saved by peeping Sermons in incendiary Churches; and in this, I admire the clemency of our Royal Master, who, albeit His cause was more just then theirs, albeit He might have con∣vinced them by obtruding to them their own practices: yet, hath rather chosen to command with His Scepter then His Sword. But, if the glory of God were the mark at which these do levell, Why bestow they not their zeal, rather in converting such as scarce know or acknowledge that there

is a God? And why are they more enraged against these who agree with them in most things, then these who dissent from them in all? Take not Christians more pains to refute one another, then to convince Gentiles? And stand not Episcopists and Pres∣byterians at greater distance, then ei∣ther do with Turks and Pagans? And to evidence, that rather humour then piety occasions our differences, we may easily percieve, that the meaner the subject is, the heat is alwayes the greater.

If I had ever known so much as one whose faith had been the trophy of a debate, I should allow of debates in maters of Religion: but seeing men cannot be convinced by miracles, it were ridiculous to presse conversion by arguments. All the Divines in Europe could not press the best foun∣ded of their contraverted and pole∣mick truths, with so much scripture,

or so many miracles as our bles∣sed Saviour did His own divinity (which is the foundation of all truths) And yet the Iews and all the world besides, slighted this infallible doctrine; And to evidence that there is a season of grace, independent from arguments, did not many thou∣sands turn prosylits at Peters sermon? whom all our Saviours homilies and miracles could not perswade. If one should say, that the testimony of a few fisher-men should not be believed in a mater of so great consequence, as is the salvation of the whole world, especially when they did depone as witnesses, in a matter wherein both their honour and livelyhood was con∣cerned, might not this stagger some mean Christian? And yet I believe these truths so much the more, be∣cause such as these were its first asser∣ters; for, certainly it is one of the greatest of miracles, that so few, and

so illiterate persons were able to con∣vince the whole world. Thus we see, that one may account that a mi∣racle which another looks upon as a folly; and yet, none but Gods Spirit can decide the controversie. Maters of Religion and Faith, resembling some curious Pictures and optick Prismes, which seems to change shapes and colours, according to the several stances from which the asp••cient views them.

The ballance of our judgments hath ••atched such a bruise by Adams fall, that scarce can we by them know the weight of any argument. But, which is worse, there is as great a defect in our partial weighing, as in the scales themselves: For, when we take ei∣ther the pro or con. of any controver∣sie into our Patronage, we throw al∣wayes in arguments into that scale, wherein our own opinion lyes, with∣out ever taking leisure to consider

what may be alledged for the antipode proposition: and then, when we re∣ceive an answer, our invention is bu∣sied, not in pondering how much con∣viction it hath in it, but by what slight it may be answered; and thus either passion, interest or frequent meditation, are still the weights which cast the ballance.

This firy zeal hath likewayes made an other pimple flash out in the face of the phanatick Church, and that is, a conceit that the Saints have the on∣ly right to all Gods creatures, the wicked being only usurpers and not masters of them: But, I have heard this opinion (so beastly is it) con∣futed by Balaam's asse, who could tell it's Master, Am not I thine own asse? When Aaron and the people did co∣venant without Moses, then every man did bring his ear-rings to make up the golden calf. And we have lived in an age, wherein we have seen

our Countrey-men, like the Chalde∣ans, take the furniture both of the Temple and of the Kings House, and carry them away to their Babylon of confusions; and in an age wherein sober men were forced to lend monies, to buy for their own armes the heavy shekles of slavery,

Tantum Religio potuit sua∣dere malorum.

Religion doubtless aims at two great designes, one is like the first Ta∣ble, to perswade us to adore God Al∣mighty. Another is to perswade us, like to the second Table, to love our neighbour, and to be a mean to settle all these jealousies, and compesce all these animosities which interest might occasion; and this appears by the Doxology jubilyed by the Angels at our Saviours birth, Glory to God, and peace and good-will towards men. And therefore, as every pri∣vate Christian should be tollerated by

his fellow subjects, to worship God in∣wardly according to his conscience; So all should conspire in that exteri∣our uniformity of worship, which the Laws of his Countrey injoins. The first remark which God made of us after the Creation, was, that it was not fit for man to be alone; there was on∣ly one Ark amongst the Iews by Gods own appointment. And seing the Gospel tearms the Church Christ's Spouse, it were absurd to think, that He will divorce from her upon every error or escape; especially, seing His blessed mouth hath told us, that under the Gospel it is not lawfull to divorce upon all occasions; and if He will not for these, deny her to be His Spouse, much less should we deny her to be our mother. May not one, who is convinced in his judgment, that Mo∣narchy is the best of Governments, live happily in Venice or Holland? And that traveller were absurd, who

would rather squable with these amongst whom he sojourns, then ob∣serve these rites and solemnities which are required by the Laws of the places where he lives? What is once statuted by a Law, we all con∣sent to, in choosing Commissioners to represent us in these Parliaments where the Laws are made; and so if they ordain us to be decimated, or to leave the Nation if we conform not, we cannot say, when that Law is put to execution, that we are opprest; no more then we could com∣plain, if one did remove us legally from these Lands which he purchas'd from our Trustee, whom we had im∣powered to sell it.

As David said to Saul, 1 Sam. 26. 20. why went the King out to catch a flea? So may I say to our great Divines, why contravert they about shadows? Is it fit that Chri∣stians, who find it too great a task to

govern their private souls, should be so much concerned how the Church is governed by others? Wherefore, seing many have been saved who were most inexpert in these questi∣ons, and that foolish zeal, passion, and too much curiositie therein, hath damned many, I may conclude, that to pry in these, is neither necessary, because of the first, nor expedient, be∣cause of the last.

Since discretion opened my eyes, I have alwayes judg'd it necessar for a Christian, to look oftner to his Practice of Piety, then to his Con∣fession of Faith, and to fear more the crookedness of his will, then the blindness of his judgment, delight∣ing more to walk on from grace to grace, working out the work of his own salvation with fear and tremb∣ling, then to stand still with the Ga∣lileans curiously gazing up to hea∣ven. True Religion and undefiled

is to visit the widow and the father∣less; and the dittay drawn up against the damned spirits shall be, That when our Saviours poor ones were hungry, they did not feed them; when they were naked, they did not cloath them, without mentioning any thing of their unbelief in maters of Contro∣versie or Government. And there∣fore I hope, that these to whom I ad∣dress my self in this Discourse, will rather believe me to be their friend, because of their piety, then their ene∣my, because of their errors.