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Of Reformation touching Church Difcipline in England, and

the CAWSES that hitherto

have hindred it.

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Two BOOKes. Written to a Freind.
SIR,

Midft thofe deepe and retired thoughts, which with every man Chriftianly inftructed, ought to be moft frequent, of God, and of his miraculous ways, and works, amongst men, and of our Religion and Worship, to be perform'd to him; after the ftory of our Saviour Chrift, fuffering to the lowest bent of weakneffe, in the Flesh, and presently triumphing to the highest pitch of glory, in the Spirit, which drew up his body alfo, till we in both be united to him in the Revelation of his Kingdome: I do not know of any thing more worthy to take up the whole paffion of pitty, on the one fide, and joy on the other, then to confider firft, the foule and fudden corruption, and then after many a tedious age, the long-deferr'd, but much more wonderfull and happy reformation of the Church in these latter dayes. Sad it is to thinke how that Doctrine of the Gospel, planted by teachers Divinely infpir'd, and by them winnow'd, and fifted, from the chaffe of overdated

Ceremonies, and refin'd to such a Spirituall height, and temper of purity, and knowledge of the Creator, that the body, with all the circumstances of time and place, were purifi'd by the affections of the regenerat Soule, and nothing left impure, but finne; Faith needing not the weak, and fallible office of the Senfes, to be either the Vihers, or Interpreters of heavenly Mysteries, fave where our Lord himfelfe in his Sacraments ordain'd; that fuch a Doctrine fhould through the groffeneffe, and blindnesse, of her Profeffors, and the fraud of deceivable traditions, drag fo downwards, as to backslide one way into the Jewish beggery of old caft rudiments, and stumble forward another way into the new-vomited Paganisme of fenfual Idolatry, attributing purity, or impurity, to things indifferent, that they might bring the inward acts of the Spirit to the outward, and customary ey-Service of the body, as if they could make God earthly, and fleshly, because they could not make themselves heavenly, and Spirituall: they began to draw downe all the Divine intercours, betwixt God, and the Soule, yea, the very shape of God himselfe, into an exterior, and bodily forme, urgently pretending a neceffity, and obligement of joyning the body in a formall reverence, and Worship circumfcrib'd, they hallow'd it, they fum'd it, they fprincl'd it, they be deck't it, not in robes of pure innocency, but of pure Linnen, with other deformed, and fantaftick dreffes in Palls and Miters, gold, and guegaw's fetcht from Arons old wardrope, or the Flamins veftry: then was the Priest fet to con his motions, and his Poftures his Liturgies, and his Lurries, till the Soule by this meanes of over-bodying her felfe, given up justly to fleshly delights, bated her wing apace downeward: and finding the ease she had from her visible, and sensuous collegue the body in performance of Religious duties, her pineons now broken,

and flagging, shifted off from her felfe, the labour of high foaring any more, forgot her heavenly flight, and left the dull, and droyling carcas to plod on in the old rode, and drudging Trade of outward conformity. And here out of question from her pervers conceiting of God, and holy things, fhe had faln to beleeve no God at all, had not custome and the worme of confcience nipt her incredulity hence to all the duty's of evangelicall grace instead of the adoptive and cheerefull boldneffe which our new alliance with God requires, came Servile, and thrallike feare for in very deed, the fuperftitious man by his good will is an Atheift; but being fcarr'd from thence by the pangs, and gripes of a boyling confcience, all in a pudder fhuffles up to himfelfe fuch a God, and fuch a worship as is most agreeable to remedy his feare, which feare of his, as alfo is his hope, fixt onely upon the Flesh, renders likewife the whole faculty of his apprehenfion, carnall, and all the inward acts of worship iffuing from the native strength of the SoVLE, run out lavishly to the upper fkin, and there harden into a cruft of Formallitie. Hence men came to scan the Scriptures, by the Letter, and in the Covenant of our Redemption, magnifi'd the external figns more then the quickning power of the Spirit, and yet looking on them through their own guiltineffe with a Servile feare, and finding as little comfort, or rather terror from them againe, they knew not how to hide their Slavish approach to Gods behefts by them not understood, nor worthily receav'd, but by cloaking their Servile crouching to all Religious Prefentments, fomtimes lawfull, fometimes Idolatrous, under the name of humility, and terming the Py-bald frippery, and oftentation of Ceremony's, decency.

Then was Baptisme chang'd into a kind of exorcifme, and water Sanctifi'd by Chrifts inftitute,

thought little enough to wash off the originall Spot without the Scratch, or croffe impreffion of a Priests fore-finger and that feast of free grace, and adoption to which Chrift invited his Difciples to fit as Brethren, and coheires of the happy Covenant, which at that Table was to be Seal'd to them, even that Feast of love and heavenly-admitted fellowship, the Seale of filiall grace became the Subject of horror, and glouting adoration, pageanted about, like a dreadfull Idol: which fometimes deceve's wel-meaning men, and beguiles them of their reward, by their voluntary humility, which indeed, is fleshly pride, preferring a foolish Sacrifice, and the rudiments of the world, as Saint Paul to the Coloffians explaineth, before a favory obedience to Christs example. Such was Peters unfeasonable Humilitie, as then his Knowledge was small, when Chrift came to wash his feet; who at an impertinent time would needs straine courtesy with his Master, and falling troublefomly upon the lowly, alwife, and unexaminable intention of Chrift in what he went with refolution to doe, fo provok't by his interruption the meeke Lord, that he threat'nd to exclude him from his heavenly Portion, unleffe he could be content to be leffe arrogant, and stiff neckt in his humility.

But to dwell no longer in characterizing the Depravities of the Church, and how they sprung, and how they tooke increase; when I recall to mind at last, after so many darke Ages, wherein the huge overshadowing traine of Error had almost swept all the Starres out of the Firmament of the Church; how the bright and blissfull Reformation (by Divine Power) ftrook through the black and settled Night of Ignorance and Anti-chriftian Tyranny, me thinks a foveraigne and reviving joy muft needs rush into the bofome of him that reads or heares; and the sweet Odour of the returning Gospell imbath his Soule with

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