PART I. Reverend Mr. Richard Baxter. 107 § i 5. The fist Book that ever I publilhed is a fmall one, called, Apboyifms of yuffification in/ the Covenants, &C. I had firft begun my Book, called The Saints Reft ; and coming in it to anfwer the Qpehion , How. inMattb. zy. the reward is adjudged td men .on the accountof their good works ? The chief Propofitions of that Book did fuddenly offer thémfelves tome, in order to that Refolution : ,But I was prepared with much difputing againft Antinomianifm in the Army. At Sir Thomas Rae's Houfe, in my weaknefs, I wrote molt of that Book, and finifhed it when I came to Kidderminfler. I dire&ed it to Mr. Vines and. Mr. Bargeff, put. of my highefteem of them;though my perforial acquaintance with. them was butfinells Mr. Vines wrote to me applaudinglyof it. Mr. Burgoßthought his Name engaged him to write against it. Two Faults I now find in theBook : r. It is defe&ive; and hathTome Propofc- tons thatneed Corre&ion, being not cauteloufly enough expreffed. z. ;I medical too forwardly with Dr.Owen, and one or two more that had written fome Paffa- ges too near to Antinomianifm. For I was young,and a Wenger to mens tempers, and thought others could have born a Confutation as eafily as I could domy felf and I thought that I was bound todo my belt publickly, to fave the World from the hurt of publiflredErrours ; not underftanding how it would provoke men more paffionately to inlift on what they once have Paid. But I havenowlearned tocon- tradi& Errours, and not to meddle with thePerfons that maintain them. But in- deed I was then too raw to be a Writer. This Book was over-much valued by force, and ever-much blamed by others; both contrary to my own efteemof it: It colt me more than any other, that I have written not only by mens offence, but efpecially by putting me upon long and tedious Writings. Some that publickly wrote againft it, I publickly anfwered, And becaufe of the general noife about it, I defired chofe that would have me of their mind, tö fend me their Animadverfions; which proved fo many, that cook me up too much of my time to anfwer them. But it was a great help to my Under, handing : For the Animadverters were of feveral minds; and what one approved another confuted , being further from each other than any of them £roan me. , The fink that I craved Animadverfions fromwas Mr.Burg fl,, andwith much ado extorted only two or three Letters again' Jul}ification by Works (as he called it) which withmy Anfwers were afterward publifhed; when he had proceededto print againit me what hewould not give me in writing. The next (and full) Animadverfions which I received, were from Mr. 5'ohss Warren, an hone', acute, ingenious man; towhom I anfwered in freer Expreffi- ons than toothers, becaufehe was myJunior and familiar Friend; (being a School- Boy at Bridgenortb when I was Preacher there, and his Father being my Neigh- bour.) Next his Ihad Animadverfionsfrom Dr. yobnWallra , very, judicious and mode- rate, to which I began to write a Reply, but broke it off in the middle becaufe he little differed from me. The next I had was from Mr. Chriflopber Cartwright of Tork,. (who defendedthe King againit theMarquefs ofWorcefler) : hewasa man ofgood reading as to our later Divines, and was very well verb in the CommonRoad, ( very like Mr. Bar- ge! a, very good Hebrician., and a very honeft worthy Perlon. His Animadver- fions were moil again' my dilinçiion of Righteoufnefs into Legal and Evangeli- cal, according to the two Covenants. His Anfwer was full of Citations out of Amefeos, Whittaker, Davenant, &c. I wrote him a full Reply ; and he wroteme a' Rejoynder ; to whichmy time not allowing me to write a full Confutation, I took up all the Points ofDifference between him and me, and handled them briefly, confirming my Reafons, for the cafeof the Reader and my felf*. *This is. Thenext Aaimadverter was Mr. George Lawfnn, the ableft Man of,them all, Gnce or ofalmoft any I know in England; efpecially by the Advantage of his Age tra'ed° and very hard Studies, and methodical Head, but above all, by his great skill in Politicks , wherein he is molt exa&, and which contributeth not a little to the understandingof Divinity.Though he was himfelfnear the Arminians(differingfrom them in the Point of Perfeverance as to the Confirmed andfouie littlematter more) and fo went farther than I did from the Antinomians, yet. being converfant with Men of another Mind;' to redeem himfelf from their Offence, he let himfelf againft force Paffages of mine, which others marvelled that heofall Men fhould oppoft, .efpecially about theObjeg of Faith, and yuflifiration.. And afterwardshè, pubüfhed an excellent Summ ofDivinity, called,. Theopolitica ; inwhich he infilt- P
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=