Doct. 1. That it is the Duty of Christians to be settled in the Doctrine of Faith: It is the Apostle's Prayer, 1 Pet. 5.10. The God of all grace stablish, strengthen, settle you. That they might not be Meteors in the Air, but fixed Stars. The Apostle Jude speaks of wandering Stars, Verse 13. They are called wandering Stars, because as Aristotle saith, they do saltare, leap up and down and wander into several parts of the Heaven; and being but dry Exhalations, not made of that pure Celestial Matter as the fixed Stars are, they often fall to the Earth. Now such as are not settled in Religion will at one time or other prove wandering Stars, they will lose their former Strictness, and wander from one Opinion to another. Such as are unsettled are of the Tribe of Reuben, Unstable as water, Gen. 49.4. Like a Ship without a Ballast, overturned with every Wind of Doctrine. Beza writes of one Bolsectius, whose Religion changed as the Moon. The Arians had Annuam Fidem, every Year a new Faith. These are not Pillars in the Temple of God, but Reeds shaken every way. The Apostle calls them damnable Heresies, 2 Pet. 2.1. A Man may go to Hell as well for Heresy as Adultery. To be unsettled in Religion argues want of Judgment: if their Heads were not giddy, they would not reel so fast from one Opinion to another. It argues Lightness; Feathers will be blown any way; so will feathery Christians: Triticum non rapit. ventus, inanes paleae jactantur, Cypr. Therefore such are compared to Children, Eph. 4.14. That we be no more children tossed to and fro. Children are fickle, sometimes of one mind, sometimes of another, nothing pleaseth them long: So unsettled Christians are childish, those Truths they embrace at one time, they reject at another; sometimes they like the Protestant Religion, and soon after they have a good mind to turn Papists. Now that you may labour to be settled, [Greek or Hebrew], (as Ignatius) in the Faith, in unsettled Times of settled Judgments.
Doct. 1. That it is the Duty of Christians to be setled in the Doctrine of Faith: It is the Apostle's Prayer, 1 Pet. 5.10. The God of all grace stablish, strengthen, settle you. That they might not be Meteors in the Air, but fixed Stars. The Apostle Iude speaks of wandring Stars, Verse 13. They are called wandring Stars, because as Aristotle saith, they do saltare, leap up and down and wander into several parts of the Heaven; and being but dry Exhalations, not made of that pure Coelestial Matter as the fixed Stars are, they often fall to the Earth. Now such as are not setled in Religion will at one time or other prove wandring Stars, they will lose their former Strictness, and wander from one Opinion to another. Such as are unsetled are of the Tribe of Reuben, Unstable as water, Gen. 49.4. Like a Ship without a Ballast, overturn'd with every Wind of Doctrine. Beza writes of one Bolsectius, whose Religion chang'd as the Moon. The Arians had Annuam Fidem, every Year a new Faith. These are not Pillars in the Temple of God, but Reeds shaken every way. The Apostle calls them damnable Heresies, 2 Pet. 2.1. A Man may go to Hell as well for Heresie as Adultery. To be unsetled in Religion argues want of Judgment: if their Heads were not giddy, they would not reel so fast from one Opinion to another. It argues Lightness; Feathers will be blown any way; so will feathery Christians: Triticum non rapit. ventus, inanes paleae jactantur, Cypr. Therefore such are compar'd to Children, Eph. 4.14. That we be no more children tossed to and fro. Children are fickle, sometimes of one mind, sometimes of another, nothing pleaseth them long: So unsetled Christians are childish, those Truths they embrace at one time, they reject at another; sometimes they like the Protestant Religion, and soon after they have a good mind to turn Papists. Now that you may labour to be setled, 〈non-Latin alphabet〉, (as Ignatius) in the Faith, in unsetled Times of setled Judgments.
