TO THE READER.

THat the Doctrine here in this Treatise main∣tained, is not unnecessary, will be easily concluded by all those that are any way concerned in the interest and honour of the blessed Lord Jesus Christ; when they consider how base∣ly is abused, villanously handled, and cruelly mang∣led; what wounds and bruises, what mutibations, and even decollations, and that in the house of his friends, such at least, as pretend themselves Christians, he hath received: we have no comfort donbtless but by Christ; nor by Christ unless it be by whole Christ, sound Christ: Christ divided, maimed, or mutilated, can do us no good: A bone of him must not be broken: nor may an atomical fragment of him be lost. And yet if we ob∣serve, we may find some, not only breaking his bones, or tearing him piece meal one joint from another, but even breaking his heart, by rending his Godhead from his manhood, or nulli•ying one joint, one part, one excel∣lency, one attribute or other, that essentially belonged to one of these. Of old some there were who despoiled him of his body: others indeed allowed him a body, but a body brought from heaven, made of caelestial matter: others but a body framed out of the Elements, not a humane body, or a body partaking any thing of an earth∣ly mother. Some contended his body was meerly a phan∣tasm, Page  [unnumbered]without any reality at all: a delusive apparition. We may not forget the Mono•helites, that would not al∣low him, as man, any Will; nor yet pass over the Apollo∣natists, who though they allowed him a body, denied ut∣terly, that he had any Soul. The Nestorians divided him into two distinct persons each perfectly compleat, subsisting in themselves apart, a God, and a man, without any personal union of the Natures: so making us indeed two Christs (are we not beholding to them?) instead of one; though indeed making us more than one, they left us none at all. But then came Eutiches, and he takes away both Godhead and manhood at once, in a sort: for while he confusedly jumbles both Natures together, he makes him neither God nor man perfectly, but some third thing, though what, they know not, nor any man else, unless it were a confused Chaos; nor flesh nor fish, nor good Red Herring.

But I must not forget the Arians: they seemed in∣deed to deal a little better with him; for as they never denied him to be something; first a man, so they acknow∣ledg him too to be God indeed; but then 'twas but a dei∣fied God, a God by grace and purchase, not by nature and essence; that is, a God, and no God. A Sacrilegist, one that being but a creature in himself, was so bold, as to challenge not the name and title only, but the honour, essence, and incommunicable attributes of the supream Godhead. I need name no more, this is enough to shew, how well they used him of old.

But how is he used now? why truly (which could scarce be thought of) altogether as bad: Christ hath still enemies, and several armies of them that march up to confront him. The first are the Socinians, these lead the van, requiring him to lay by his Godhead, and in Page  [unnumbered]effecth is Priesthood too. This is a blow to the head. Then came the Familists, the spawn of Henry Nicholas, who think to puff him off into meer fume and smoke, as a meer Allegory; these lay their ax to the root of the tree, and endeavour to destroy him root and branch at once, making him scarce any better than a meer nothing. The Antinomians come next, and these deal worse with him than the former: for while they say, He imposeth no Laws, leaving his Proselytes to be lawless and licen∣tious libertines, they make him to be a wicked thing (God, man, or devil, no matter which); a wicked thing, which ever it be) is worse than nothing: this is a deadly thrust too. A fourth sort follows, I know not what to call them, Novalists, Enthusiasts, or Quakers; I know not which term to give them, or whether they may not de∣serve all these: These, as I said follow: for from the wild heterodoxes of the former they have with the addi∣tion of rudeness, impudence, ignorance, and non-sense, patcht up a something or a nothing, — from or with the Socinians they account him but a meer man, at least some calling him, The man that suffered at Jerusa∣lem; and with the Nicholaitans they account him but a Quality, an Ignis fatuus, a meer illusion, a light within them, which is not much better than an Allegory, or rather worse; and with the Antinomians, they respect no laws of King or Keisar, nor Christ neither in his Go∣spel, but the dictates of their own fanatick brains: is not this worse than what Pilate abhorred, Shall I cruci∣fie your King? it is a crucifying or worse, even a mu∣tilating, an annihilating of our King, our Christ, our God. For the Popeling, I need not say any thing, it hath been often enough proved to them, That by their prefer∣ing the Blessed Virgin before him, as to their Addresses to her more than unto him, her compassion and comfort Page  [unnumbered]which they suppose she affords them more than He: while they worship the Picture with the same worship they do the divine person, with many other particulars; they ungod him, and bring him into the condition of a crea∣ture, while they make a creature equal, if not superior to him in any excellency or perfection; their magnifying his body into an immensity sometimes; and then again at the same time minifying him into the smallest atomes of a wafer cake, they nullifie his manhood. As for his King∣ly office, their dispensing with his, and ordaining others, contrary to his Laws; their abrogating his Doctrines, and substituting new and contrary; their offering up a wafer cake for the expiating the sins both of quick and dead, take away all his offices. But it is the Demonolo∣gists I am set against now in special; who notwithstan∣ding all their pretences to the contrary, abuse Christ as much as any of the rest; for while they equalize the De∣vil, yea even Witches with him, for stupendious and mi∣raculous operations, they cut off his head, or ungod him, and what can be worse? He that debaseth a King unto the low degree of a common plebeian, exalting the plebei∣an to an equality of power with the King, maketh a King no King, but a meer pleibeian; and the plebeians no plebeians any longer, but so many Kings: so they that equalize devils with Christ for power, make Christ either no King for power, or at least devils for power Kings equal to Christ. This is not a bruising of his heel only, which is as much as the devil is said to do; but a breaking of his head, nay a crushing of his heel, head, heart, members, body, and all into atomes: are not these cruel handlings, and manglings used against Christ? Sure the Godhead, as in all other Excellencies, so in pow∣er must have the preheminence, and be paramount, or else his power will not answer his other Excellencies (he Page  [unnumbered]should be lame on that side) nor befit the Godhead. But upon the suppositions of the Demonologists, the que∣stion may be justly put, Who the greater Miracler, Christ or Belial, Jesus or Beelzebub? and if equal Miracles, equal Gods, nay doubtless and he the greater God, who is the greater Miracler; which yet it seems may fall to the devils share, and so the devil the only God, Christ none: for his power being gone, or but equalized, much more if exceeded his Godhead is gone doubtless. This is not bruising his heel, nor breaking his head, but a running him quite thorow, bowels, brain, heart and all. I know they dress him a poor, paltry, cold pultise of marks, and intentions, and aims, — but it doth not so much as cool, or cover, much less cure the wound, and thus they leave him. Is not this hard usage? and yet when by their comments they subject him so to the de∣vils insolency, as that he is content it seems with pati∣ence and pusillanimity, or cowardice enough, to be kicks and spurned from post to pillar, from prow to poop, like a football, (though there be nothing imaginable to urge or to answer so great a debasement) from desart to pi∣nacle, from pinacle to peak, and from peak to desart again; me seems they used him worse yet: but I meddle not with this now; to the former only I propose my dis∣sonant sentiments in this Treatise; and is it not needful? for if his enemies be left alone, they will take away at last both name and memory; for what is left of him alrea∣dy, when every of these have taken his bite, his morsel, more than was of Jezabel, the scull, the feet, the palms of the hands? If we will indeed have Christ any longer, 'tis fit we look after him, to preserve what is left, and recover if possible what hath been snatcht off from him; 'tis high time to endeavour this especially when the Chaplains and Champions of his grand enemy are so Page  [unnumbered]numerous, every Pamphleter almost giving a snap, or a snarl to him, but scarce one that so much as takes up a stone to cast at these currs; or if any do, he shall be branded straight for a Somatist, a Saduce, an Anti∣scripturist, yea, an Atheist; but such froth sent up∣wards, returns upon the faces of them that vomit it. I shall say no more in vindication of the undertake, Here is a short extract of what may be more largely exprest hereafter consider and judg, Christian Reader; and if thou be a Reader truly Christian, conclude thou wilt, That the opinion here maintained, is not unnecessary, or unseasonable in these times.