The arraignment of errorThe arraignment of errour

2. A second merciful end which God hath to his own people in the permitting errors, viz. to exercise and quicken our graces. As God suffers corruptions in our persons to exercise and quicken us, he could as easily destroy them, as subdue them, unbe• them, as conquer them; so he suffers errors in his Churches, on purpose to exercise and quicken his own people. We had need of quickening: rather then God would suffer his people to be dead, he suffers the Canaanites to be as thorns in their sides: and rather then dead, he suffers errors in the Church, and if there be any life in you, this will quicken, this will raise it. God hath ⟨p. 13⟩on purpose permitted in all ages some error or other on foot, to exercise the graces of that generation; the Fathers were famous in their times for contending against the errors of their days. Augustine was famous in his Contests against Pelagius, Athanasius in his against Arius, Cyril in his against Nestorius, Gregory Nazianzen in his against Macedonius, Leo in his against Eutyches, Hierom in his against Jovinianus, Ruffinus, &c. Every age hath had its poison, and its antidote. There was never any generation, but as there were some suffering truths in it, some truth that perverse generations would not close withal, so there were some infecting and poisoning errors; in former times the abounding errors were the errors on the left hand, and God grant that the spreading errors now be not errors on the right hand: The Devil hath been so long beaten at the other, that now like a wily serpent he will go and change weapons, he hath long been a prince of darkness, who hath ruled in the children of disobedience, and now he would become an Angel of light, if possible to seduce the children of the light. You have something of that insinuated in the text; Deceivers shall come in Christs name, and say of your opinions, lo here is Christ, and this is high deceit. It may be God will exercise this generation with more of this kind then others, because they have learned Christ better, they have more knowledge, he hath done more for this generation then any other, and therefore God may exercise us more then others: And this is another end God hath in permitting errors, to quicken and to exercise the graces of his people.

2. A second mercifull end which God hath to his own people in the permitting errours, viz. to exercise and quicken our graces. As God suffers corruptions in our persons to exercise and quicken us, he could as easily destroy them, as subdue them, unbe them, as conquer them; so he suffers errours in his Churches, on purpose to exercise and quicken his own people. We had need of quickning: rather then God would suffer his people to be dead, he suffers the Canaanites to be as thornes in their sides: and rather then dead, he suffers errours in the Church, and if there be any life in you, this will quicken, this will raise it. God hath