THE PREFACE. never lofejru advitar,z, hisright toHeaven, what fins foever he wallows in : 'I fay, whilft men teach fuch doctrines, and yet cry out againft Anti- nomians, Libertines, andother Sectaries, what do they in judgingothers, but oidemnthemièlves, for theygrant the premilès, and deny only the conclufîon. If finch doêtrines were as true as they are common, this Author, and all others, that have written on this fubjecti might have fpared their pains, and thereforewe may fay with thePfalmiff, It is timepw. , 9. tt6 fór thee Lard to work, for they have deftroyed thy Law. Thefe men are like to Lyc:r o ( who being calf into a frenzy by Dionifru ) in4. ar 13. that diflempes thinking tohave cut down a Vine, with the.fame Hat-P. 57 chet flewhis own Son; fo thefe being poffeft with a fpiritual frenzy, which they call zeal, when they lift up their Hatchet to cut off fame er- rors, which like luxuriant branches have fprung up about the Law, they do nnawares cut down the Law it felf, both root and branch, making the obfervation of itarbitrary in refpeét of Salvation, or as aParenthefis ina fentence, where the fenfè maybe perfect without it. Such Errors are farmore dangerous, than many that were held by the oldHerettcks, which were chiefly about matters fpeculative, whereas therereflect upon mattters of praétife, and whileft they ftrike at the root of obedience to the Lawsof Chriff, they do directly takeaway the very way of Salvation, to the certain ruine of peoples Souls, and doutterly overthrow the foundation bothof Church andCommon-wealth ; fo that where fuch doctrines prevail, nothing but confufion, and diflólution ofall Govermentcan follow, as fadexperience in too many places íhews ; where the genuine fruits offuch doctrines, appear to beno other, than to rob the Prieft of his Honour, the Princeof his power, thepeople of their Difei pline arid Government, Paffors oftheir Flocks, andSheepoftheir Paffors, Preachers of their Churches, Churches of their Reverence, Religionof its Power, and theWorld ofall Religion. St. gameswould have us to try our Faithby our Works, butdiefe men will have their works tryed by their Faith. To the pure all things are pure ; if withbe in their Heart, God can feeno fin in their actions. We readof the Scholars of one Al- rnaricas of Paris, who held, that what was deadly fin in others, yet if itwere donebyone, that wasin Charity, orthe Rate of Grace, it was no fin, or not imputed to him, for, which they were condemned as Hereticks. Thefe men Teem to be fpit out of their mouths, for they would have fins diffinguiíhed not by their natureor object, but by the tub-. jeft in v,, homthey are : and hence theyhold, that all their own fins, though never fo great ( theybeing believers and eleft ) are at the moll but infirmi- ties, which cannot endanger their Salvation, but thefins of all others are mortal and damnable, which impious doctrine with thereff above-menti- oned from which It flows, howfoever they be vanifhtover with fair thews of advancing the free grace of God, andthe merits of Chrift, and the deprefling of manspower, yet are indeed no other than the old damned Herefieof Simon Magus, who, as Theodoret faith, taughthis Difciples, they were free from the obedience of the law, and was condemned by the Ancient ChurchinBafilides, Carpocrates, Epiphanes, Prodicus, Eunomims, and other impure wretches, and is call'd by Luther himfelf (whofe un- wary fpeeches have given toomuch occafion to thefe doctrines, ultimas Diaboti flatus Thelafl blaft of the Devil. Againft thefe and fuch like doctrines, which make this and all other a 2 books
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=