A23636:210
The principles of the Protestant religion maintained, and churches of New-England, in the profession…
The principles of the Protestant religion maintained, and churches of New-England, in the profession and exercise thereof defended against all the calumnies of one George Keith, a Quaker, in a book lately published at Pennsylvania, to undermine them both / by the ministers of the Gospel in Boston.The principles of the Protestant religion maintained, and churches of New-England, in the profession and exercise thereof defended against all the calumnies of one George Keith, a Quaker, in a book lately published at Pensilvania, to undermine them both / by the ministers of the Gospel in Boston.
printed by Richard Pierce, 1690
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
In his Examen of the Scriptures alleged by the Assembly, he plays foul with them: he first points to three places, where he says they speak of this matter: Confess. cap. 16. sect. 5. Larger Catech. Q. 149. 89. tho' this last is on another subject. Secondly, he gathers up diverse matters in one, endeavouring to express them in as harsh words & sense as he can. Thirdly in p. 155. 156. he gathers up the the whole, and saith, they expressly so word it in Q. 39. which is utterly false, & indeed, he hath so worded it for them, that there are two things Charged on them which they say not: viz. 1. That that they must sin as long as they live; as if there were a fatal ⟨p. 121⟩necessity that God laid them under of so doing. 2. That they are only free from sinning after death; whereas they say At their death. 3. he mischievously perverts the design of the Scriptures alleged by them. All the Scriptures he animadverts upon, are only those which they annex to Q. 49. (omitting those added in the other places.) Let us observe, There were two things they had to prove, 1st. That no man can in himself perfectly keep the law, 2. Nor by the Grace of God; and from these principles they infer these Conclusions, That they daily break the Commands in thought, word and deed: and how pertinent these Scriptures are to prove these two Positions may be judged. That Man cannot do it in himself, one would think that the description given of his natural state, Rom. 3.9. &c. & Gen. 6.5. is sufficient to demonstrate. That (as to the latter) he cannot do it by Grace received, doth not intend that God cannot give them grace enough, but that He doth not, & therefore their imperfect grace cannot attain it. And surely that is sufficiently proved by such Scriptures as, 1. tell us, That in many things all do offend, for which, Jam. 3.2. Ezek. 7.20. 2. That every Believers grace depends for its exercise upon the help of Christ, without which they can do no gracious ⟨p. 122⟩thing, for which,