Tbe late Fruits of Cenjot•ioufnejl. effect of much felfrftrangedne[t, r;p~cri(le and pride : Did you ever well ct.nGdcr of the mind of Chrifr, when he bid them that accufed the adulterous woman , John 8. 7· He 'that it withouf fin smo»g you, let him firji c~jf a ]lone at her? Ccrt:~in!y adultery was a heinous crime, and to be punifh– ed with dc:~.!h, and Chr1lt was no P.aron ofuncleannds: But he knew th:~r it was an hypocritical fort of pcrfons whom he fp.akc to, who were bufie in judging others rather than thcmfelv~s. Hive yoll: fludied his words againfi rajb cenfurerJ, Matth. 7· 3, 4· .And why beholdtft thou the mote that il i1J thy brotbcrJ tye. but c!mfidereft 1101 the beam th~t Mittthine own eye? Or hew wilt thou J.ly to tby brother, Let me puU out tbe mote fHtt of thine t}t ; and lnbold a beam ii iu thine onm eye? Thou hypo– crite! Jirft caft out the beam out of tbim own eye, and thptjhalt thou fee clearly to cajl out the mote which U in thy brothers tye. I know well that impenitent £inners, do ufe to pervert all thefe words of Chrifi, againH any tbat would briPg them to repentance for their fin: and account all men rafh cen– furers, who wou1d make them acquainted witb their unfanCtiticd hearts and Jives. But it is no~ their abufe of Scripture, which will juflifie our overplffing it with neglect: Chrifi finke it not for nothing; and it mull be Hudi<d by his Difciples. 9· 5· 5· Cenforioufnefi is inj;iflice, in that the cenfurers would not be fo cenfured themfdves : You will tay, Yes, if we were aJ bad, and. did dejtrve it. Buc though you have not that fame fault, have )'OU no other? Aod are you willing to have it aggravan:d, and be thus ra01ly judged.? Youdo not as you would be done by: yea, commonly cen{urtrs are guilty ofJalfo jud7)n;; ; and whilctt they rake things hafiily upon uu!T, and flay not to hear men fpcak for themfelvc!i, or to enquire throughJy into the caufe, they commonly condemn the innocent; and call good evil, and put light for Ifa. 5, 10, darknefs; and take away the righteoufnefs of the righteous from him, when God hath curled fuch with a woe. 9· 6. 6. And falfe cenfuring is the proper work of the Devil, the accufer of the brethren, Rev. 12. 10. W"ho acc:fctb them before God day and night! And Chrillians thould not bear his Image, uor do his work. §· 7· 7· Cenforioufnr[s is contmy to the Nuture and Office of Jcfus Chrifl : He came to pardon fin, and cover the intirmirics of his fcrvants,i.nd to cafi them behind his back,and into the deprh of the Sea., and to bury them in his grave: And it is rhe cenfurcrs work to rake rhem up, and to make them feem more and greater than they are, and to bring thtip into the open light. 9· 8. 8. Cenforioufnefi caufeth unchariublenefs and finful flparationi in the cenfurers : when they have conceited their brethren to be worfe than they a e, they muH then reproach them or have no communion with them, and avoid them as too bad for the company of fuch as they. Or whm they have ufurp'd the Pafiors work in judging , they begin the execution by Gnful fe– paration. §· 9• 9· Cenforioufnifi is an infectious Gn, which eaGly taketh with the younger and prouder fo1t of Chriflians, and tO fCtteth them on vilifying others: And at thi$ Httlc: gap there cntereth all uncharirablenefs, backbitings) rcvilings, Church-divifions, and, ScCh, yea, and too often rebellious and bloody Wars at !all. · · ' 9· zo. ro. Cenforio«[nr/I is a fore temptatio~ to them that are cen(ured, either to contemn fuch as ccnfUre them, and go on the other hand too far from them ; or e!fe to comply with the errors and {inful humours of the cenfurers, and to llrain their confciences to keep pace with the cenforious. And here 1 mufi leave it on record to pofierity for their warning, that the great and lamentfble atlions, changes and cala.mlti.cs of this age, have arifen ( next to grofs impi~y ) from this fin of :a cenforioufne(s producing thefc tw? .contrary cffect:s, and ther~by dividing men into two contrary parties: The younger fore ofRchg1ous people, and the more 1gnorant, and many women, having more zeal than judgement, placed too much of their Religion in a flurp oppoficion tp all Cer~monics, Foimalitics and Opinions which they thought unlawful ; and we.re much inclined to Schifin and unjuH fepautions upon that account; and therefore cenfurcd fuch thmgs as Amichrifiian, and thOfe that u(ed them as fupcrfiitious o.r temporizers: And no mans learning, piety, wifdome or labpriQut 11 efs in the Miniltry could fave h1m from thefc fuarp rc~roachful cenfures. Hereupon one parry, had not Ht:mility and Patiwce enough to endure to be fo JUdged of; nor love and tendernefs enough for foch pievifh Chriftians, to bear with them in pity, as Parents do with froward Inf3nrs; but becaufe thcfc profdfcd holindS and zeal, even holinefs and zeal were brought under fufpicion for ..their fake;; and they were taken to be perfons intolerable, as unfit to lye in any building, and unmeet to lubmit to Chriftian Governrr.ent; and therefore meet to be ufed accordingly. Another fort were 'ro wearied with the prophancncfs and ungodlinefs of the vu1gar rabble, and faw fo few that V?fr~ judicioltJIJ rcligiow., that they thought .ir their. duty ~o love and chc~i(h.the zeal and piety of their ccnforious weak ones, and to bear pauently with thc11 frowudnefs, tdlnpmefs and experience cured them ( And fo far they were right ). And becaufe they thought that they could do them no good, jfthey once loll their interell in them (and were alfo themfelves too impatient of their cenfi.tre,) fome of them feemcd ( to ph:afe·thcm, ) to be more of their opinion than they were ; and more of them forbore to reprove their pttulancy, bur filenrly fulfercd them to go on; efpccially when the). fell into the Sects of Antinomians, Anabaptifls and Scparatifls, they durfi )lOt reprove them as they de~ fctvcd, l~H they fhould drive tbcm.all out ofthe Hive, to fome of thcfc late fwarn1s• And thus ctn{ori· oufm[s in the ignorant and fllfconcrited, drove away one part to take them as Jheir enemies; and filcnccd or drew on another parry to follow them that led the Vann in fame irrcguh.r violent ad-ions :, and the wife and fober moderators were difregardcd, and in the noife of thc:fc tumulcs and , contentious
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