A late dialogue betwixt a civilian and a divine concerning the present condition of…

Divine. Though Mr. Prynne be a man much esteemed by me, both for his sufferings, and much good service done by him in the Church, yet I must say, he wrongs both the Truth and himself, in taking upon him to go against the whole current of Interpreters, ancient and modern, without any evidence of reason: and he must remember, that in these particulars, he doth not so much oppose the Independents, as all the Reformed Churches, while as he goeth about to throw out of their hands the chief Scriptures upon which they ground Church Discipline. Now all the circumstances of the Text, make against that Exposition, and prove, That it is not a Civill, but a Spiritual Court, which Christ there establisheth. For 1. those words, If thy Brother trespass against thee, are not meant of personal or civill injuries (of which our Saviour Christ would not be Judge, Luke 12.14.) but as Augustine, Tostatus, and others do rightly expound them, they are to be understood, of all manner of scandals, by which we trespass against our Brother, in as much as we trespass against the law of Charity, which commandeth us to edify one another, and to promote the spiritual good one of another: now when a Christian doth not only not edify, but scandalize, which is a deterioration; yea, (so far as lieth in him) a destruction of his brothers soul; this is undeniably a great trespass against his brother: which kind of trespass, as the King, and head of the Church, Jesus Christ, ⟨p. 27⟩whose Kingdom is not of this World was to take special notice of: so the coherence and dependence of the Text, giveth further evidence, that this, and no other kind of trespasses is here intended, there being so much spoken of scandals in the preceding passages of that Chapter. 2. As the case supposed, so the end proposed is spiritual, that is, that the offended brother should reprove the offending brother; and tell him his fault, and that for the good of his soul: If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother; that is, thou hast rescued his soul by Repentance, from sin, and so from the wrath of God: wherein Christ had respect to that Law. Lev. 19.17. Thou shalt not hate thy Brother in thy heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. 3.

Divine. Though Mr. Prynne be a man much esteemed by me, both for his sufferings, and much good service done by him in the Church, yet I must say, he wrongs both the Truth and himself, in taking upon him to goe against the whole current of Interpreters, antient and moderne, without any evidence of reason: and he must remember, that in these particulars, hee doth not so much oppose the Independents, as all the Reformed Churches, while as he goeth about to throw out of their hands the chief Scriptures upon which they ground Church Discipline. Now all the circumstances of the Text, make against that Exposition, and prove, That it is not a Civill, but a Spirituall Court, which Christ there establisheth. For 1. those words, If thy Brother trespasse against thee, are not ment of personall or civill injuries (of which our Saviour Christ would not be Judge,