Sirs, the peace, safety and honour of the dissenting interest, are things of too great value to be hazarded amongst the hands of our common enemies. You may fancy they will neglect the advantage you give them, but if they do, the Devil will call them fools for it. Mr. Herle tells us of a Kings fool, who wrote down the King himself in his Table among his brother fools, because he had trusted an African Stranger with 4000 l. to buy Barbary Horses. The King asked him how he would make him amends, if the Stranger should come again? why then (said he) I'll blot your name out of my Table of ⟨image 5⟩Fools, and write down the African in your stead. Think not our Enemies are such Fools to neglect the advantage we cast into their hands. 'Tis a weighty note that of Livy, Consilia non dant homines rebus, sed res hominibus. Men don't counsel things, but times and things counsel men. Methinks the postures of times and affairs give us better counsel than we seem to be go• verned by in such work as this. Divisions of forty years standing and more, about Infants Baptism, have eaten up the times, wasted the spirits, and alienated the hearts of English Professors; divided them both in Society, and Love; by reason whereof Gods pleasant Plant in this resembles the Bramble, which taking root at both ends by reason of the rencounters of the sap; commonly withers in the middle. Your Brethren in their Narrative from their general Assembly, make a sad and sensible complaint of withering in the power of Godliness. And truly we ⟨image 6⟩as well as they may complain with the Church, We do all fade as a Leaf: the Lord help us to discern the true cause, whether it be not the mis-placing of our Zeal, our being cold where we should be fervent, and fervent hot where we should be cool; & whether the eating up of so much time and study about Baptizing of Infants, have not kept us these forty years in the Infancy of our Graces?
Sirs, the peace, safety and honour of the dissenting interest, are things of too great value to be hazarded amongst the hands of our common enemies. You may fancy they will neglect the advantage you give them, but if they do, the Devil will call them fools for it. Mr. Herle tells us of a Kings fool, who wrote down the King himself in his Table among his brother fools, because he had trusted an African Stranger with 4000 l. to buy Barbary Horses. The King asked him how he would make him amends, if the Stranger should come again? why then (said he) I'le blot your name out of my Table of ⟨image 5⟩Fools, and write down the African in your stead. Think not our Enemies are such Fools to neglect the advantage we cast into their hands. 'Tis a weighty note that of Livy, Consilia non dant homines rebus, sed res hominibus. Men don't counsel things, but times and things counsel men. Methink• the postures of times and affairs giv• us better counsel than we seem to be go• verned by in such work as this. Divisions of forty years standing and more, about Infants Baptism, have eaten up the times, wasted the spirits, and alienated the hearts of English Professors; divided them both in Society, and Love; by reason whereof Gods pleasant Plant in this resembles the Bramble, which taking root at both ends by reason of the rancounters of the sap; commonly withers in the middle. Your Brethren in their Narrative from their general Assembly, make a sad and sensible complaint of withering in the power of Godliness. And truly we ⟨image 6⟩as well as they may complain with the Church, We do all fade as a Leaf: the Lord help us to discern the true cause, whether it be not the mis-placing of our Zeal, our being cold where we should be fervent, and fervent hot where we should be cool; & whether the eating up of so much time and study about Baptizing of Infants, have not kept us these forty years in the Infancy of our Graces?
