179 / 846
PA
AT
II.
Reverend
Mr.
Richard
Baxter;
145
in
peace, James
;.
rß,18. I
began by
experience to underhand the meaning
of
thofe words
of
Sr. Paul,
r
Tim.;.
6.
[
Not a
Novice,
left being
lifted
up
with
pride,
befall into the
condemnation
of
the
Devil.] Novices,
that
is,
young, raw, unexperien-
ced Chriftians,are much apter to
be
proud,
and cenforious,and
factious,
than old
experienced, judicious Chriftians.
§
21.
But the Difference between the
Godly
and the
Ungodly,
the
Spiritual
and the
Carnal worshippers
of
God;
was
here the moft conuderable
of
all. An
humble,
holy,
upright
Soul
is
fenlible
of the intereft
of
Chriff and
Souls
;
and a,
gracious
Perfon
is
ever a
charitable
Perfon, and loveth
his
Neighbour as'himfelf;
and
there-
fore
judgeth
of
him,
as
he would
be
judged
of
himfel
f
and fpeaketh
of
him
as
he
would
be fpoken
of
himlèlf, and uleth him
as
he would be ufèd
himfelf
:
And it
is
as
much againft
his
charitable inclination to difagree or feparate from
his
Brethren,
much more
to
profecute
them
or
cuff
them out,
as
it
is
againff the
nature
of the
body
to difinember
it
felf,
by
cutting
off
any of the
parrs.
And
it
is
eafie
to
bring
Perlons to Agreement,
at
leaft
to
live
in Charitable Communion.
But
on the
other
fide
the Carnal,
Selfith
and Unfan6tified,
(
of what
Party or Opinion
foever)
have
a
Nature that
is
quite
againft holy
Concord and
Peace.
They want that
love
which
is
the natural
Balfom
for the Churches wounds
:
They
are every
one
Seljifh,
and
ruled
byiSelf-Intereft,
and have
as
many
Ends
and Centres
of
their
Delires
and
A
&ions,
as
they
are individual Men.
They
are
eafily deceived
and led into
Er-
rour,
efpecially
in
Pratticals, and againtt Spiritual
Truths,
for
want
of
Divine Il-
lamination, and Experience
of
the Things
of
God, and
a
Nature fuitable there-
to.
Their
Defigns
are Carnal, Ambitious, Covetous,as Worldly Felicity
is
their I-
dol and their End
:
God
is
not
taken for their higheft Governour,
his
Laws
mull
give place
"to
the
Defires
of
their Flefh
:
Their
very
Religion
is
but
Pride and
Worldlinefs,
or
fubjeCt
to it.
They
have a
fecret Enmity againft
a
holy, fpiritual
Life,
and therefore againfi the People
that
are holy
:
They
love
not
them that are
ferious
in their own Religion, and that
go beyond
their
dead
Formality
:
Thisirn-
mity, provoked
by
Selfintereft
or Reproof,
loth
eafily
make them Perfecutors
of
the
Godly,
if
they
have
but
power.
And their carnalworldly
hearts incline
them
to
the carnal worldly
fide
in any Controverfies about Religion, and
to
Corrupt
it,
and make
it
a
carnal thing. Thefe Hypocrites in the
Church
do betray its
Purity
and Peace, and
fell
Chrilt's Intereff and
the
Gofpel for
as
fmall a
price
as
Judas
fold
his
Lord
for.
And though in
a
time, when
Gods
Providence letreth
his
own
Caufe on
the
higher ground, and giveth it the advantage
of
holy Governours,thefe
Men
may pofibly
be ferviceable to its welfare,
as
finding
it
to
ferve
their
carnal
Ends
;
yet
ordinarily they will
fell
the Peace of
the
Church for Preferment; and
are either
impoJng perfecaring
Dividers,
or
difiontented
humorous
Dividers; and
hardly
brought to
the neceffary terms
of
a
jolt and holy and durable Peace,
(of
whom
I
have more largely
written
in my Book called
Catbolick
Unity).
Thefe,
and ma-
ny
more Impediments do
rife
up againftall conciliatory
endeavours.
§
22.
But I found not
all thefe alike in all
the
difagreeing Parties,
though fome
of
both
Sorts
in every Party.
The
Era/turn
Party
is
molt
compofed
Of
Lawyers
and other
Secular Perfons,
who better underhand the Nature
of
Civil Govern-
ment, than the
Nature, Form
and Ends
of
the Church, and
of
thofe
Offices
ap-
pointed
by
Chriftfor Men's Spiritual Edification
and Salvation.
The
Diocefan Party.
( with
us
)'
confifted
of
force grave, learned, godly
Bithops ,
andforce lober godly
People
of
their
mind;
and withal
of
almoft
all
the carnal
Politicians,Tempotizers,
Prophane,
and Haters
of
Godlinefs
in the Land
;
and all the Rabble
of
the igno-
rant, ungodly Vulgar: Whether this
carne
to
pats
from
any thing in
the
Nature
of
their
Diocefan Government,
or
from
their accommodating the ungodly
Sort
by
the
formal way
of
their
Publick
Worlltip;
or
from their heading
and
pleating
them
by running
down the ftrieter
fort
of
People whom
they hated
;
or
all there
together;
and
alto becaufe
the
warp and
muff
do always
fall
in with the Party that
is uppermoft,
I
leave
to the Judgment
of
the confiderate Reader.
The Presbyte-
rian Party
confifted
of
grave,
orthodox,
godly Minitiers, together with
the hope
-
fulleft
of
the
Students and young Minitters, and
the
fobereff,
godly, ancient Chri-
ftians, who were'equally averfe
to
Perfecution
and to
Scbifm";
and of thofe
young
ones
who wereeducated and ruled by theft
:
As
alfo
in thofe
places
where
they
molt prevailed,
of
the
foberehfort
of
the
well
-
meaning
Vulgar,
who
liked a
god-
ly
Life, though
they had no great knowledge
of
it
:
And
this
Party
was
motidefi-
rous
of
Peace.
The
Independant Party hadmany
very godly Mini tiersand
People,
but
with them many
young
injudicious perfons
, inclined
much to Noveltiesand
Separations, and abounding more in
Zeal ,than
Knowledge
; ufually
doing more
V
fo,