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This feems to be the thing which led thofe poor diftreffed wretches, intimated Micah vi. 6. into their grofs mistakes and errors, about the method of the remiffion of their fins. "Wherewith fhall I come before the Lord, and bow myself "before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt"offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleaf"ed with thousands of rams, or with ten thousand of rivers of "oil? Shall I give my firft-born for my tranfgreffion, the fruit "of my body for the fin of my foul?" They were ready to purchase inward peace, and buy out their pardon at any rate. Nothing but the twinges of confcience could have extorted these things from them. Great is the efficacy and torment of a guilty confcience.

Satan, who feels more of this in himself than any other creatüre in the world, and knows how ready poor ignorant, but diftreffed finners, are to catch at any thing that looks like eafe, or comfort, and being jealous what thefe troubles of confcience may iffue into, prepares for them fuch erroneous doctrines, and opinions, under the names of anodines, and quieting recipe's, by fwallowing of which they feel fome prefent eafe; but their disease is thereby made fo much the more incurable.

* It is upon this account he hath found fuch vent in the world for his penances, pilgrimages, and indulgences among the Papifts. But feeing this ware will not go off among the reformed, and more enlightened profeffors of Chriftianity, he changeth his hand, and fitteth other dofes under other names, to quiet fick and diftreffed fouls, before ever their frights of confcience come to fettle into true repentance and faith, in the blood of Chrift, by dreffing up, and prefenting to them fuch opinions as thefe, viz.

That they may boldly apply to themfelves all the promises of pardon and peace, without any respect at all to repentance or faith in themselves; that it is not at all needful, nay, that it is illegal and finful to have any respect to these things, forafmuch as their fins were pardoned, and they justified from eternity; and that the covenant of grace is in all respects absolute, and is made to finners, as finners, without any regard to their faith or

* Mr. Gataker, in his book against Saltmarth, p. 27. tells us of one that had taken ill courfes, and being under much trouble of mind, could not be quiet till he turned Papift, and had been shrieved and abfolved by a priest.

VOL. IV.

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repentance; and whatever fins there be in them, God fees them not §.

To fuch a charm of troubles as this, how earnestly doth the ear of a distressed confcience liften? how greedily doth it fuck in fuch pleafing words? Are all fins that are pardoned, pardoned before they are committed? and, Does the covenant of grace require neither repentance nor faith antecedently to the application of the promises? How groundless then are all my fears and troubles? This, like a dofe of opium, quiets, or rather stupifies the raging confcience; for, even an error in judgment, till it be detected and difcovered to be fo, quiets and comforts the heart, as well as principles of truth; but, whenever the fallacy fhall be detected, whether here or hereafter, the anguish of confcience must be increased, or (which is worfe) left defperate.

The remedies.

To prevent and cure this mistake and error in the foul, by which it is fitted and prepared to catch any erroneous principle (which is but plaufible) for its prefent relief and ease, I shall defire my reader feriously to ponder and confider the following queries upon this cafe.

Query 1. Whether, by the vote of the whole rational world, a good trouble be not better than a falfe peace? Present cafe is defirable, but eternal fafety is much more fo: and, if thefe two cannot confist under the prefent circumstances of the foul, Whether it be not better to endure for a time those painful pangs, than feel more acute and eternal ones, by quieting confcience with false remedies before the time?

It is bad to ly toffing a few days under a laborious fever; but far worse to have that fever turned into a lethargy, or fatal apoplexy. Erroneous principles may rid the foul of its prefent pain, and eternal hopes and fafety together. Acute pains are better than a fenfelefs ftupidity. Though the present rage of confcience be not a right and kindly conviction, yet it may lead to it, and terminate in faith and union with Christ at last; if Satan do not this way practise upon it, and quench it before its time.

Query 2. Bethink yourselves feriously, whether troubles fo quieted and laid afleep, will not revive and turn again upon thee with a double force, as foon as the virtue of the drug (I mean the erroneous principle) hath spent itself?

Saltmarfh, in the title-page of his book called Free-grace, fhews you the fovereign virtue of Antinomian principles, to quiet troubles of confcience of twelve years growth.

The efficacy of truth is eternal, and will maintain the peace it gives for ever; but all delufions muft vanish, and the troubles which they dammed up for a time, break out with a greater force. Satan employs two forts of witches, fome to torment the bodies of men with grievous pain and anguish: but then he hath his white witches at hand, to relieve and cafe them. And, have thefe poor wretches any great caufe, think you, to boast of the cure, who are eased of their pains at the price of their fouls?

Much like unto this, are the cures of inward troubles by er roneous principles. I lament the cafe of blinded Papists, who by pilgrimages, and offerings to the fhrines of titular faints, attempt the cure of a leffer fin by committing a greater: is it because there is not a God in Ifrael, who is able in due feafon to pacify confcience with proper and durable gofpel-remedies, that we fuffer our troubles thus to precipitate us into the fnares of Satan, for the fake of prefent ease?

Query 3. Read the Scriptures, and enquire, Whether God's people, who have lain long under sharp inward terrors, have not, at last, found fettlement and inward peace by those very methods which the principles that quiet you do utterly exclude?

If you will fetch your peace from a groundless notion, that your fins were pardoned, and your perfons juftified from all eternity, and therefore you may apply boldly and confidently to yourselves the choiceft promises and privileges in the gospel, without any regard to faith or repentance wrought by the Spirit in your fouls. I am fure holy David took another course for the fettlement of his confcience, Pfal. li. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. And it hath been the conftant practice of the faints, in all ages, to clear their title to the righteoufnefs of Chrift, wrought without them, by the works of his Spirit wrought within them.

Caufe 6. The next evil temper in the fubject, preparing and difpofing it for error, is an easy CREDULITY, or fequacious humour in men, rendering them apt to receive things upon trust from others, without due and thorough examination of the grounds and reasons of them themfelves.

This is a difpofition fitted to receive any impreffion feduGers please to make upon them; they are faid to deceive the hearts of the fimple, dxanai, i. c. credulous, but well meaning people that suspect no harm. It is faid, Prov. xiv. 15. "The "fimple believeth every word." Through this fluice, or floodgate, what a multitude of errors in Popery have overflowed

the people! They are told, they are not able to judgefor thems felves, but must take the matters of their falvation upon truft from their fpiritual guides; and fo the filly people are easily. feduced, and made easily receptive of the groffeft abfurdities their ignorant leaders please to impofe upon them.

And it were to be wished, that those two points, viz. Miniftrorum muta officia, et populi cæca obfequia, the dumb fervices of their minifters, and the blind obedience of the people had ftaid within the Popish confines. But, alas, alas! how many fimple Proteftants be there, who may be faid to carry their brains in other mens heads; and, like filly sheep, follow the next in the track before them; especially if their leaders have but wit and art enough to hide their errors under specious and plaufible pretences. How many poisonous drugs hath Satan put off under the gilded titles of antiquity, zeal for God, higher attainments in godliness, new lights, &c.? How natural is it for men to follow in the track, and be tenacious of the prin ciples and practices of their progenitors? Multitudes seem to hold their opinions jure hæreditario, by an hereditary right, as if their faith defcended to them the fame way their eftates do.

The emperor of Morocco told king John's ambaffador, that he had lately read St. Paul's epiftles; and truly, (faid he) were I now to chufe my religion, I would embrace Christianity before any religion in the world; but every man ought to ⚫ die in that religion he received from his ancestors.'

Many honeft, well-meaning, but weak Chriftians, are also eafily beguiled by fpecious pretences of new light, and higher attainments in reformation. This makes the weaker fort of Chriftians pliable to many dangerous errors, cunningly infinuated under fuch taking titles. What are most of the erroneous opinions now vogued in the world, but old errors, under new pames and titles?

The remedies.

The remedies and preventions in this cafe, are fuch as fol low:

Remedy 1. It is beneath a man to profefs any opinion to be his own, whilst the grounds and reafons of it are in other mens keeping, and wholly unknown to himself.

If a man may tell gold after his father, then fure he may, and ought to try and examine doctrines and points of faith af ter him. We are commanded to be ready to give an account of the hope that is in us, and not to fay, This or that is my judgment or opinion, but let others give an account of the ground and reafon of it.

I confefs, if he that leads me into an error were alone expofed to the hazard, and I quit and free, whatever become of him, it were quite another thing; but when our Saviour tells us Matth. xv. 14. that both (that is, the follower as well as the leader) fall into the ditch; at my peril be it, if I follow without eyes of my own: that's but a weak building that is fhored up by a prop from a neighbour's wall. How many men have ruined their eftates by furetifhip for others? but of all furetiship, none fo dangerous as fpiritual furetifhip. We neither ought (as a late Worthy fpeaks) to defy the judgment of the weak⚫ eft, nor yet, on the other fide, to deify the judgment of the • strongest Christian: He that pins his faith upon another man's fleeve, knows not whither he will carry it.

Remedy 2. As you ought not to abufe your Chriftian privilege and liberty, to try all things, 1 Theff. v. 21. fo neither on the other fide to undervalue or part with it. See the things that fo much concern your eternal peace with your own eyes.

I fhewed you before, this liberty is abused by extending it too far; and under the notion of proving all things, many embolden themselves to innovate and entertain any thing: yet, beware of bartering fuch a precious privilege for the fairest promifes others can make in lieu of it. I would not flight, nor undervalue the piety and learning of others, nor yet put out my own eyes to fee by theirs.

Remedy 3. Before you adventure to espouse the opinions of others, diligently obferve and mark the fruits and confequences of thofe opinions in the lives of the zealous abettors and propagators of them: By their fruits (faith Chrift) ye shall know them.

When the opinion or doctrine naturally tends to looseness, or when it fucks and draws away all a man's zeal, to maintain and diffuse it, and practical religion thereby vifibly languishes in their converfations; it is time for you to make a paufe, before you advance one step farther towards it.

• Caufe 7. The next evil difpofition that I fhall note in the fubject, is a vain CURIOSITY of mind, or an itching defire to pry into things unrevealed; at leaft, above our ability to fearch out and difcover.

Of

It is an obfervation, as true as antient, Pruritus aurium fcabies ecclefiae, itching ears come to a fcab upon the face of the church. The itch of novelty produceth the fcab of error, this disease the apostle warns us, 2 Tim. iv. 3. "For the time "will come, when they will not endure found Doctrine; but

after their own lufts fhall they heap to themselves teachers,