· [autio11s for 'Dijputmzts to ef,ape 'Deceit.. drm for tver, that we may do aV the wordJ of hU Law. There are many rare profound difcovcries much gloryed of by the Mafters of feveral Sects, of "'hieh you may kno"' the fentence of the Holy Ghoft by that inflance, Col. 2· J8. Let no man btg:file y ou of your rtW(lrd, in a voluntary humility and w~rfoippinz of Angclt, intruding into tbofe thing.1 which he bath not {een, 'fhliuly puft up by Hil fi<fhly mind. Reverently withdrawfrom things that are unrcvealed, and difpure them not. ~· 17 • Dire6t. 6. Be a cartful and ~ccurate ( tbougb not a vain ) Diftinguijhcr: and fuffer not ambi· Direl1. 6. gni:y and confufiou to dectiveyou: Sufped every word in your Q;!_cfiion, and anatomize ir, and agree c£l upon the fenfe of all your common terms, before you di[pure with any adverfary : It is not only in many Wflrds, but in one word or [yllable that fo much ambig,uity and confufion may be contained, as ~:cm: ['e.: may make a long difpute to be but a VJin and ridiculous wrangling. Is it not a ridiculous bufinefs tt~e re:~~ to hear men difpute many hours about the Cur credit, and Into JVh3t faith i1 to be rrfolvedl and P:m of tbe in the end come to underHand, thil:t by [Cur J one of them, fpeaks of the Principium or Caufo Ve· Sai;:ts H.e/f. ritaiU and the other of the Principium pJteftJtJi,mif, o-r the Evidemi.t VeritatU, or fomc other caufe? ~du. 3· &,. And ~hen one fpcaks of the R~fo~ution of his faith as. i~to theforr~ul Objeli, and another into the jud;~en~ fubftrvient uftimon)' or meam, or mto the proofs of Dtvme attc:Jlauon, or many orher caufes. Or lluJJ hc:~r ig.: ro hear men difpute whether Chrifl dyed for all: when by [for J one man meaneth [for the benefit n~r~m n1m · of aU J and a110ther means [ in the plaee or jle11J 4 aO, or for the fins Pj aU as the procuring t•ll:er and caufe,' &c. J Yet here is but a fyll~blc to contain this confufion ?. W~at a tedi?us thing ~t is :o read J::Yw•~;:~ one long difpurcs between m~ny Pap1fis and Protc~tants, about J~lhficatlon, whtle by Juftificatzon one rlting: :v1d yer meaneth one th!ng, and another meaneth qu1te another thmg ? He that cannot force every word th~y th~mto make a plain confdfion of its proper fignification, that the 7hing intended may be truly dif- felvenv1J1 ne– cerned in the 1?ord, he will but deceive himfc:lf and others, with a wordy infignificant i~'8~~~~ff.l· dif~~','s. Direc\. 7· '1hmfort be fPrciaVy fufpicioU< of Mrtaphors; as being aU but ambiguitieJ tiU an Dirt{}. 7• txplicatimz hath fixe~ or determined tbefwfe. It is a noifome trying to hear fame difpute upon an un... .,cl explained Mctaphoncal word, "'hen neither of them have enucleated the fenCe, and "'hen there arc proper words enow. ~- I~· Direct. 8. '1ak..e JPecial.notice of whatbJmi of being! your enquiry or difputation i<, and let Dire/:/. 8. a/J your ttrmJ be adapted aJtd interprettd accurding to the 4inds of beiJ~gs you difPute of. As if you ..1;1 be enquiring into the nature of any Grace, as Faith, Repentance, Obedtence, &c. remember that ir is iH genere mori1, a moral ali: And therefore the _terms are not to b: underft:ood as if you difputed about mccr Phyjical a{./1, which are conGdered but in gtnerc enti<. For that OhjeCl: "'hich muft cf. fentiatf one Moral ali, containeth many Phyfical particles, which will make up many Phyfical acts. As I ~~~~e If you tal(,e fuch a man fdr your King, your Commander, your Mafier, your Phyficion, &c. if yuu Ot~wedin my (hould at the Barr when you are queftioncd for unfaithlulnefs, difpute upon the word [ talt,! J whc- D•f~ute of ther it be an act of the phantafie, or fenfc, or intetle~, or ~ill, &c•. would fOl} 1:ot be jullly laught ~vi~h"-i:,;.~~~.; at? So when you askt, What a et Faith or Repentance JS? whtch contam many parucu1ar fhyfical ath. lfrru, ::tnd of when you difpute ofDivinity, Policy, Law, Warr, &c. you mufi not ufe rlie fame terms in the fame Juflification-. fenfe, as when you difpute ofPhyGcks or MctaphyGcks. ~. 20. Direct.~· Bt Jure in aU your difpuw that )IJU jliU lt,!rp diflinguijhrd before your eyu, the Dire{!. 9• Order ofBci~tg, and the Order of Knowing : that the que/lions de effe ly_i1tg ~~~determimd . in yo11r way; ,.e. do }tot frujlrate aU your difpute about the qutftion de cognofcere. As m the queClion, 1Yhtther a ma11 jhould do [ucb or fuch a thing when he think.ftb that it if Godr Command? I-low {a,r Con{cienct. muft be obeJ•ed? lt mufi lirfi be determined de c(Je, whnher indeed tht? tbing be comm.mde'd, or lawful, or not? Before the cafe can be: determined about che obligation that followeth my apptebeufion. For, what ever my Co,nfdence or Opinion fay of it, the Thing either is Lawful, OL it il 11ot : If it be Lawful, or a duty, the cafe is foon decided ; But if it be not Lawful, the error of my Confcience altereth not Gods Law, n0r will it mak.! it lawful unto me. I am bound fidl: to ~{now and then to do what God revealeth and commandtth: and thislj/Jt~ll be bound to, wh~t ever I imagine to rhe contrary ; and to lay by the error which is againft: ir. sS· 21· Direct. 10• Be {ure when yott firjl emer upon a" enquiry or di.fputt, that you well di.fcoverr how Diretl 10 mucb of the comroverfie Uverbal de nomine, ~nd bow much is material de re: And that you fuifer not ~ • your adverfary to go on upon a falf~ fuppofiuon, that the <:;ontroverfie is dt? re, when it is but de Non ex verbis nomine. The difference betwettn namu and thiHgt is fo wide, that you would think no reafonable res, fed ex man fhould. confound thern : And yet fo hecdlefs in this point arc ordinary difpurers, that it .is a reb~s ve~b:s . ufual thing to make a great deal of fiir about a controvedie before they difcern whether it be de notc m9umn~ mine or de re. Man.y a hot, and long difpute I have heard, which was managed as about the very iot £~~.f!~~~ heart of fome.mat:nal caule ( a.s about mans Po"RJer to do good, ~r about the fufficiwcy of Grace, Bajil Edit. or about J:rflificallon, &c.) when the whole conten between the D1fputcrs was only or principally . . de~omine, and ne1ther of them feemed to take nouce of tt. Be furc as foon as you perufe the It Is <1 noble terms of your quefiion, to fift this throughly, and difpute verbal contrOvedics, but as verbal and i:t~k r~/t t not as real and m!lttl'ial. We have teal differences cnow: we need not make rhem feem mo~e by of s;Jau :' fuch a blind or hecd!efs manner of Difputing. about to this purpofe,fiatin' th:m bath yet b~en done all theComrorerfles between us and the PapiAs: which bow c~celtently be is like to perfvrm [n;~fijyc~!j~: Chuc by tbe Difputesof hi' upo_n JuOific:niou, &c. which I kave fecn. · ... A a a a a
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