THE Blinde-Guide GUIDED.
Chapter 1.
Directed more particularly to the reverend and learned subscribers of the late testimony to the truth with-in the Province of London. Shewing the senseless railings, the gross untruths, the shameless boastings; expressed by Master Goodwin in his Pasquil called, The Youngling Elder, With a recital of sundry weak and erroneous passages contained therein.
The reproached in Mr. Goodwins Pamphlets, have more need to be humble under their glory, than to be patient under their disgrace; no scribblings are so scurrilous, and no scurrilities are so honourable, as are those which drop from his pen. ‘Tis rare to meet with that Christian, who doth not more than conjecture that there is much worth in every thing against which he expresseth much wrath. His Antagonists never could do him good with their will, but he hath ever done them good against his will. By writing against his errors they could never make him better, but be hath ever by railing against the truth and them, made both to be better beloved. I suppose
Master Goodwin rather noteth than liketh that abundant estimation which your testimony findeth with the faithfull. The stones that this Shime hath cast against it, God hath turned into pearses, and made of them a Crown of honour for it. Your testimony opposed errour, and God hath made it to vanquish infamy. He who directed you to make it usefull, hath himself made it accepted.
God hath caused your testimony like the sun to rise on the evill and on the good, and rather than it should not refresh them that did desire it, to diffuse its beams on them that did not deserve it. It hath shined upon the unsavoury dunghill as well as the pleasant garden, the close and noysome alley as well as the sweet and open Country. No wonder then if its successe have been as various as its objects. When its welcome warmth visited the Countries, how sweetly fragrant was the savour which instantly they breathed forth? Who hath not gratefully resented the pleasant odours of zeale and learning scattered through the Kingdome by the Ministers of sundry Counties, in the many attestations to, and approbations of your testimony? Some of us have seene the letters of the learned Spanhemius highly approving of it, as an eminent expression of your faithfulnesse to Christ and his truth. And who observeth not the frequent and respectfull mention that the famous and faithfull Generall Assembly of the Church of Scotland maketh of your testimony, in their Declarations of most publique concernment. These indeed were the breathings of the more sweet and open places, when warmed with the zeale of your witnessing to the truth. But who can expect the like from the unsavoury dunghill, or the noysom alley, though joyntly enjoying the same bounty from the beams of your testimony with the other?
Those stinking exhalations, those muddy streames, I meane the suming and foolish pamphlets arising against your testimony, out of that alley of errours, where Master Goodwin lodgeth, (whose composition is mud and blood) are a supersufficient testimony of the contrary. In his other impure pamphlets he outgoeth all his complices in wickednesse. But in his two last, wherein God did leave him to oppose Christ in your testimony, he hath even outgone himselfe. I know not one in the world left him to contend with for mastery in the black arts of lying and reviling, unlesse it be his stygian teather. In which respect as his tearmes of youngling and novice are notes of no disgrace to me, so neither is his hoary and hereticall head found in those wayes of unrighteousnesse an ensigne of over-abundant honour to him. ‘Tis true, his expertnesse in lying speakes him Captain of the Cretian Band, and his skilfulnesse in reviling a Doctor fit for the ducking-stoole, though not for the chaire, hut these preferments rather deserve pitty than provoke envy. As ambitious to give the world a view of his maturity in the forecited sins, he addresseth himself against the reverend subscribers of the late testimony in multitudes of passages, after such an odiously false and reproachfull manner, as thousands of moralliz’d heathens in the world would blush if but desired to do the like. A handfull, in stead of a vast heap which might be given, are these which follow. To this effect he breathes out reproaches.
Master Jenkin his reverend and beloved brethren, are these fals-fingered men, these opprobria & propudia generis humani, The shames and blots of man-kinde, the vilest of men: Their cage is defiled, cleane birds forsake them, and it stands all of this nation in hand whom either the interest of honour or conscience toucheth, speedily to quit communion with them.
In his former pamphlet Syon Colledge was visited, in this latter, ’tis excommunicated, in neither ’tis prejudiced. In casting upon you the names of blots and spots of mankinde, he is but your scullion to make your integrity shine the brighter by all these reproachfull smutchings; and as he willingly detracts from your reputation, so he unwillingly adds to your reward. What he relates of the foule and forsaken cage, clearely shewes that he accounts meetings for prayer, preaching, purity of reformation, alms to the poore, reliefe to the aged, and for increase of brotherly love, to be the foule defilements of a place, of which the Ministers having been guilty in their meetings at Sion Colledge, he knoweth that in stead of shunning communion with you, the faithfull with a holy scorn neglect his excommunioating of you. The truth is, most of those whom he accounts to be of his own party, forsake and abhominate him if they have any thing of God in them; onely they being (I fear) under the tentation of carnall policy, have not (as yet) fully declared against him, for which the Lord pardon them. Master Bridg, lately of Holland, whose judgement in this particular I shall not mention without respect, said but a little while since among sundry Ministers of my intimate acquaintance, That some brethren of them were resolved to repaire to Master Goodwin by way of advising him to desist from maintaining his erroneous opinions touching the Scriptures; and if he refused so to do, they resolved (he said) to quit communion with him; with these or with words to this very purpose did he expresse himself. And I have heard sundry of the Independent judgement speake of this and his other opinions, propagated in the alley against grace, with the height of abhorrence, and with much professed detestation And the truth is, Master Goodwin in his pretended joyning with the conscientious Independent, is lookt upon by the piously prudent but as a scabthat cleaveth to the body. He speakes of clean birds that forsake you. A double mistake; I know but of one that hath forsaken you, and I wish he were not, Master Goodwin, in stead of a cleane bird an unclean heast.
He thus goeth on raving,
There’s an old saw which cuts well:
Non audet stygius Pluto tentare quod aude
Effranis flamen —
Which be thus englisheth:
The Prince himself of the black stygian lake
Dares not attempt what Priests will undertake.
In cutting with this saw he turned the teeth of it the wrong way, I mean from himself toward you, otherwise it would have cut better and quicker thus:
The sins which stygian Pluto dreads
The Priest of Errour-alley spreads.
But let him turn the teeth of the saw his owne way, ’tis no disgrace for you to be taxed with deeds which Satan dares not attempt; and such are those which I mentioned even now to be the deeds of Sion College; nor is it any honour for him to be in harmony with hell, and to conspire in the same performances with Satan.
He saith, his saw cuts well, but whom may he thank? he knowes who it was that did both file the teeth of it, and helpt him to handle it; viz. the prince of styx, in Satans saw pit school’d he was.
In another place, drunk with rage, he thus goeth on, Impiety and opposition to the truth hang upon Sion College, and if Sion College were removed, impiety and opposition to the truth would soone fall to the ground.
What? Si. Col. a prop of all impieties! could more be said for the removall of any stewes or stie of fin? ‘Tis true, there’s much impiety & opposition to the truth in the Kingdom but, Mr Goodwin, suppose impiety and opposition to the truth be Independent, how can they then hang on Sion College? And were that poore College so loaded with impiety, &c. a removall of it might be spared, for it would of itself certainly and suddenly fall to the ground. For his intimation of a removall of Sion College, ’tis but a cast of his Episcopall office. Not long since he visited Sion College, even now he excommunicated it, and now he sues out his Writ de excommunicato capiendo, absolving those from finne that shall remove it; nay he makes it a most meritorious employment, even the taking away of all impiety and opposition to the truth. Mean while let him take heed lest he be translated from his Bishoprick, and removed to his own place, before Sion College be removed out of its place: And truly could all his impious errours that so much oppose the truth be removed with him, his miserably mis-led flock wouldhave a happy change, if his endeavours that they may have his spirit among them when he is gone have not been too effectuall, and his head be not their directory then, as it is their rubrick now.
