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<DATE>2008-01-09</DATE>
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<NAME>Emma Leeson Huber</NAME>
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<ITEM>Corrected 3 illegibles of 7. Converted 4 illegibles To GAP DESC="illegible RESP="oxf".</ITEM>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>TRUTHS DEFENDER, AND ERRORS REPROVER: OR A Briefe Di&s;coverie of feined Presbyte|rie dilated and unfolded in 3. di&s;tinct Chapters.<LIST>
<ITEM>The fir&s;t, &s;hewing what Engli&s;h Presbyterie is.</ITEM>
<ITEM>The &s;econd declareth what the failings and errings are, in the practi&s;e of tho&s;e that have con&s;titution by Ordinance of Parliament.</ITEM>
<ITEM>The Third Chapter di&s;covereth the conceited fancies, of &s;uch as minde not Parliamentary directions, either for their con&s;titution or execution and yet denominate them&s;elves Presbyterians.</ITEM>
</LIST> And both Parties being found guilty of tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, are admoni&s;hed to repentance, according to the rule of the word of the Lord, that commandeth his &s;ervants, &s;aying, <Q>Thou &s;halt in any wi&s;e rebuke thy Neighbour, and not &s;uffer &s;inne upon him, <HI>or as it is in the Margent,</HI> Or thou beare not &s;inne for him</Q><BIBL>Levit. 19. 17.</BIBL></P>
<P>And al&s;o Capt. <HI>Norwoods</HI> Declaration, proved an Abnegation of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>By <HI>J. G.</HI> a &s;ervant to, and lover of the TRVTH.</P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed by <HI>Matthew Simmons,</HI> next doore to the <HI>golden Lyon</HI> in <HI>Alder&s;gate&s;treet,</HI> 1651.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>TO THE Right Honourable JOHN BRADSHAW LORD PRESIDENT of the COUNSEL of the STATE of <HI>ENGLAND.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_MEeting of late (my Lord) with &s;ome &s;trange undertakers in point of Church-Governe|ment, who thought they had done well, and yet mi&s;&s;ed at a great di&s;tance the marks both divin and humane, not onely in that which concerned their impowerment, but al&s;o thier direction for government, and finding my Brethren injuriou&s;ly dealt withall, and over-ma&s;tered by more then ordinarie in&s;ultation, I could do no le&s;&s;e there &amp; then, but defend them by my advice and coun&s;ell, which did &s;o &s;ea&s;onably relieve and refre&s;h them, as that they earne&s;tly de&s;ired, that I would &s;end them the like in writing, for their better &s;atisfaction, and ve&s;oluton in future times, who&s;e Chri&s;tian importunity, hath &s;o prevailed with
<PB REF="3">
my weake abilitie, as that I have made a briefe, yet a true di&s;co|verie of fained Presbyterie: And notwith&s;tanding your Lord|&s;hip, hath formerly taken notice, of the contents of the two fir&s;t Chapters, yet that experience I have had of your ready eare for hearing, and &s;oundne&s;&s;e of judgement in knowing, makes me bold to acquaint your honour with the whole di&s;coverie, and therein e&s;pecially with the contents of the third Chapter, in which are &s;uch &s;trang and new things, as I pre&s;ume your Lord|&s;hip never read the like, and I humbly be&s;eech, that my bold|ne&s;&s;e may finde pardon of your goodne&s;&s;e, &amp; among&s;t your great Offerings let this mite of mine receive acceptance from him whom the Lord hath made his &s;ervant and yours, to &s;erve him the great God of Heaven and earth, and your Lord&s;hip in a higher imployment.</P>
<P>My Lord, no &s;ooner had I thought thus to conclude this &s;hort Epi&s;tle: but pre&s;ently was given me a gro&s;&s;e delu&s;ion of Captain <HI>Norwoods</HI> a&s;&s;erted under his owne hand. And wondring that &s;uch an impudent fal&s;hood &s;hould put on a face of confidence and boldne&s;&s;e, I thought it my duty to the Common-wealth in a few words, to breake his bands of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ruths re&s;traint a&s;under, as <HI>Samp&s;on</HI> aro&s;e, and ca&s;t away the Strumpets intanglements: And becau&s;e I have declared before again&s;t the&s;e approbrious injuries offered to the mi&s;terie of godline&s;&s;e, touching our Lords per&s;onall death and re&s;urrection, I thought good to add them, and this to the afore&s;aid di&s;coverie, commending all to your Honours meditations, Who am alwayes ready to &s;erve you,</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>John Graunt.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<PB N="1" REF="3">
<HEAD>A Di&s;coverie of fained PRESBITERIE.</HEAD>
<P>_FIr&s;t, Presbyterie is that regulate way of a religious Chri&s;tian profe&s;&s;ion, that is declared by the Parliament. And Se|condly, feigned Presbyterie is &s;omething denominated like it, being taken up at the plea&s;ure and will of diver&s;e Chri&s;tians, carrying on thereby an arbitrary way of bon|dage and &s;laverie towards their weake Brethren, who give them&s;elves up to the will and plea&s;ure of &s;uch as erre, not knowing the Scriptures, notwith&s;tanding their pretence of Church-government.</P>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>The fir&s;t Chapter, &s;hewing what Engli&s;h Presbyterie is.</HEAD>
<P>FOr the fir&s;t &s;ort of Presbyterie, it is &s;uch as Authority in&s;tituted <HI>in anno</HI> 1645. 1646. and 1647. by the power and vertue of divers Ordinances of Parliament: And fir&s;t, we mu&s;t take notice of &s;uch rules and directions, as doe enable each Pari&s;h, to make choice of Elders, and that is when a Coun|ty or Country is made a Province by Authority of Parliament, that Pro|vince divided by them into <HI>Cla&s;&s;is,</HI> in which Cla&s;&s;is re&s;pectively there are no|minated Mini&s;ters and others to be Judges and Triers, who are authorized to trie and examine the elected Elders, which the Pari&s;hes in the &s;aid Cla&s;&s;is &s;hall pre&s;ent unto them, under the hands of the Mini&s;ter and Church-War|dens, and within 14 dayes after Election, to heare the exceptions again&s;t them, made and exhibited by any Pari&s;hioner or others, in matters of igno|rance or &s;candall committed within 12. moneths before, according to the de&s;criptions of both enumerated in Ordinance of Parliament, <HI>October</HI> 20. 1645. and as the Triers &s;hall judge, either to approve, or di&s;approve, the &s;aid Elective Elders, and when the convenient number, more or le&s;&s;e, cho|&s;en by the Pari&s;hioners, be approved of, then and not before, are they in ca|pacity to act, that is to meet once a weeke or oftner; and the Congregati|onall Elder&s;hip, con&s;i&s;ting of Mini&s;ter and Elders, or the major part of them are impowred to &s;ummon before them, the Pari&s;hioners or any part of them, to examination in maters of ignorance and &s;candal, according to the particular heads, of each enumerated, in the Ordinance before mentioned, and they are impowered further, to take an Oath of &s;uch witne&s;&s;es, as &s;hall
<PB N="2" REF="4">
accu&s;e the examined; and as the Elder&s;hip &s;hall judge, to admit, and &s;u&s;pend them from the Lords-Supper, and further it is ordained, that of the Con|gregationall Elder&s;hips, are made and con&s;tituted all other degrees of Pres|byterian government, for by one Mini&s;ter at the lea&s;t, and two ruling El|ders, &s;ent from each Congregation, is made and con&s;tituted the Cla&s;&s;icall Elder&s;hips, who are to meet once a moneth, and by two Mini&s;ters, and foure Elders &s;ent from each Cla&s;&s;is, is made and con&s;tituted the Provincial-A&s;&s;embly, who are ordered to meet twi&s;e a yeare, and &s;o by the like &s;ent from the Provinciall, is the Nationall A&s;&s;embly made and con&s;tituted, who are alwayes to attend the High Court of Parliament. And it is al&s;o provi|ded, that for the reliefe and righting of &s;uch as &s;hall thinke them&s;elves wronged in the Congregationall Elder&s;hips, that &s;uch &s;hall have liberty to appeale from them to the Cla&s;&s;is, from the Cla&s;&s;is, to the Provinciall, from the Provinciall, to the Nationall, and from them to the Parliament, if right may not be had otherwi&s;e: And further, each Cla&s;&s;is being con&s;titu|ted, they are al&s;o impowered for examination and ordination of Mini&s;ters.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>The &s;econd Chapter &s;hews the errours and failings of this fir&s;t, which is the be&s;t &s;ort of Engl&s;h Presbitery.</HEAD>
<P>FOr although this way and order was fir&s;t ordained for the good and bettering of Chri&s;tian Congregrations, yet wofull experience hath proved it to be very prejudicious and injurious, through the ignorance of &s;ome, and malice of others, again&s;t the &s;treight way of the Lord, and the Children thereof, for whereas the Elder&s;hips ought to have proceeded ac|cording to the rule, for the increa&s;e of grace, love and knowledge, and the maintenance of peace and amitie, for the flouri&s;hing of true and pure religi|on, in&s;tead thereof, they have acted by their owne corrupt mindes and wils, and vented their hatred and &s;pleen, and have prevented truth, and promo|moted fal&s;hood, and where there was quiet and peace before, they have now rai&s;ed up di&s;cord and di&s;&s;ention, and in&s;tead of denying them&s;elves, and bearing with, and edifying one another, they have de&s;troyed and devoured each other, witne&s;&s;e the third Cla&s;&s;is of <HI>London,</HI> and the a&s;&s;emby of <HI>Syon-</HI>Colledge, which Committee as they call them&s;elves, did declare in print to all the world, that this forementioned government was the will and ap|pointment of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and avouched it to be <HI>jure divino,</HI> and of them|&s;elves made additionall Orders, without notice to, or leave given them by the Parliament: That all Elected Elders of every Pari&s;h, &s;hould have their names very fairely written, and &s;et upon the Church doore, de&s;iring any whom&s;oever, that could make exception again&s;t any thre mentioned they &s;hould be heard, at &s;uch a time and place, where the Triers would &s;it and
<PB N="3" REF="4">
receive all &s;uch accu&s;ations, they ob&s;erving no rule or directions therein, provided by the Ordinance of Parliament, neither for the time limited, nor the particulars enumerated, nor the competetency or number of witne&s;&s;es required, whereby illimited Juri&s;dictions, innovations, and arbitrary proceedings may be avoided, and as this lawle&s;&s;e Committee then, and the Triers afterwards declared their owne wils, &s;o they all acted as corruptly; for I knew a man then cho&s;en an Elder in one of the pari&s;hes of the third Cla&s;&s;is, who&s;e election was with the greate&s;t freedome and affection of the Pari&s;hioners, as any that hath been cho&s;en, the man being auntient in the Congregation, and had gone through mo&s;t Offices among&s;t them, and it &s;o fel out at the &s;ame time, there was another younger, yet a richer Pari&s;hioner, cho&s;en al&s;o, that was one of the Triers nominated in the Ordinance, who cau&s;ele&s;ly, divers times before had declared him&s;elfe an oppo&s;er, of the for|mer, and in the Ve&s;try he affirmed, the Party they had cho&s;en &s;hould never be allowed of, and pre&s;ently u&s;ed all his endeavour, to finde cau&s;e of excep|tion, in &s;uch a malicious and inveterate manner, as the whole Pari&s;h tooke notice of it, &s;o that at the next Ve&s;try, &s;ome of them blamed him, that the State having appointed him a Judge, he &s;hould &s;o maliciou&s;ly make him|&s;elfe the Accu&s;er, the Pro&s;ecutor, the Condemner, and Executioner and all: To whom he made this an&s;wer againe, he whom you have cho&s;en &s;hall ne|ver be allowed of, and I will never give him the right hand of Fellow&s;hip, nor be reconciled unto him; upon his thus &s;peaking, the oppo&s;ed Elder de&s;ired the Pari&s;h to take notice of two things, in his implacable adver&s;a|rie; Fir&s;t, That he &s;ets up his owne will, above the Ordinances of Parlia|ment, which gives you power to choo&s;e your owne Elders, and leaves it not to his perver&s;e will and plea&s;ure, and againe he &s;uper&s;edes all the re&s;t of the Triers and Judges, for the Ordinance refers the Tryall and approba|tion to nine men, or any fix of them. And Secondly, he exalts him&s;elfe above God, and his Ordinances, in &s;aying peremptorily againe and againe, I will never be reconciled; for Gods word commands, and his &s;ervants be|&s;eech the contrary; wherefore I pray (&s;aid he) ob&s;erve what an unworthy Elder, and Judge you have cho&s;en to governe you, for his oppo&s;ition is not &s;o much again&s;t me, as again&s;t you all, for your yea, is his nay, and you claime a Publique intere&s;t in me, but he denies it you, from the which to be excu&s;ed, tends to my particular ea&s;e and freedome; and truly, as this his beginning was vile and corrupt, &s;o his pro&s;ecution abundantly exceeded in hatred and malice, for in all ha&s;t, he cau&s;ed divers exceptions to be drawn up again&s;t him, which he pretended to be &s;candalous, both in practi&s;e and Judgement, and upon &s;ummons, the accu&s;ed appeared, and after their Clerk had read the exceptions, he required a Copy of them, which being denyed by the <HI>Prolocutor,</HI> (which afterwards through much importunitie was obtained) he then pre&s;ently di&s;claimed and di&s;avowed &s;o many of
<PB N="4" REF="5">
them as tended to practi&s;e, and that mo&s;t of them were fal&s;e in many re&s;|pects, and requiring them to proceed, by the rule limited to a year before, for the time, the enumeration in the Ordinance for the particular matters, and two hone&s;t Chri&s;tians at lea&s;t for evidence? doe you tell us of the rule wee &s;hould walk by (&s;ay they) we would have you know we are not tyed to the letter of the rule, but the meaning of it, is left to our judgements: I hear you, &s;aid he, but I never heard before of a my&s;tical humane Law, &amp; I tel you all plainly, that if you wave the letter of the Ordinance of Parliament, which is your direction to trie me by, then I would have you know, I have as much power to try you all, as you all have to trie me; and added that he was &s;or|ry to finde them &s;o unlimited and arbitrary in their proceedings; and be|cau&s;e the exceptions in practi&s;e were vaine and frivolous, and no way or|dered by the Ordinance, I will not now mention them, but referre them to another day of hearing, and proceed to give you a Breviate of the Ex|ceptions touching &s;candalous judgement: The fir&s;t was that he had affirm|ed, That the fir&s;t day of the weeke was not commanded in Gods word to be a Sabbaoth. He an&s;wered, I have &s;o affirmed, and if it be an errour &s;o to &s;ay, then &s;hew me it commanded in the word of God, to which they did not reply, but proceeded and &s;aid, it was further objected again&s;t him, that he denied the moralitie of the Sabbaoth. He &s;aid, before I can properly and clearely an&s;wer you, I mu&s;t aske you a que&s;tion, what you meane by Sab|baoth, whether the &s;igne or the thing &s;ignified? And al&s;o what you meane by moralitie, becau&s;e, I do not finde the terme in our Engli&s;h tongue, u&s;ed in the Scripture? The <HI>Prolocutor</HI> or <HI>Moderator,</HI> being at a pau&s;e, I an&s;wered, I affirme that the command of the &s;eventh day, extended not to the Chri&s;ti|an Gentiles, and I think you are all of my mind, or el&s;e you would ob&s;erve, and not prophane it as you doe.</P>
<P>Secondly, I do hold that which the &s;eventh dayes re&s;t did &s;ignifie, doth remaine and continue to the end of the world, and in &s;ome re&s;pects forever al&s;o, and pulling out a Bible out of my pocket, read part the of third and fourth Chapters of the <HI>Hebrews,</HI> and opened to them tho&s;e Scriptures, that &s;peak of the Sabbaoth, or re&s;t of God, before mentioned, al&s;o by the Pro|phets <HI>David</HI> and <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> &s;aying, <HI>To day if you will heare his voice, harden not your hearts, lea&s;t you enter not into his re&s;t,</HI> &amp;c. And againe, <HI>Wee that have belie|ved, have entred into his re&s;t, and have cea&s;ed from our workes, as God did from his,</HI> proving to them by the Scriptures, that the re&s;t that remained unto the peo|ple of God, was a &s;pirituall re&s;t, and not a corporall, and you that are Mi|ni&s;ters here, &s;aid he, know well enough, that it is concluded in the harmo|ny of all Chri&s;tian Churches, their confe&s;&s;ions, that the command for &s;an|ctifying the fir&s;t day of the weeke, is an Ordinance of the Church, but they being weary of his expo&s;ition and exhortation, they replyed little, and le&s;s
<PB N="5" REF="5">
to the purpo&s;e, but proceeded to further exceptions, and &s;aid, that he was accu&s;ed for affirming, that divine examples, doe not alwayes binde the con|&s;cience of a Chri&s;tian, to which he an&s;werered, that in &s;aying &s;o, he &s;aid no more, then what them&s;elves ju&s;tified, for &s;aid he, there is a divine example, that the baptizer and the baptized, de&s;cended per&s;onally into the water to|gether, and you baptizers follow not this holy example; they replyed, it was not the cu&s;tome of this Country: Behold &s;aid he, your hands and your tongue, and all that you doe, is again&s;t you, to ju&s;tifie that to be lawfull in your &s;elves, which very thing, you accu&s;e in me for a &s;candalous excep|tion; The&s;e and &s;uch like, they debated &s;ome three or foure houres, but I will not tell you for &s;hame, how &s;hamefully they parted from my Friend, lea&s;t you &s;hould be a&s;hamed to heare it: But to put a face upon the bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, they &s;ummoned him twi&s;e or thri&s;e afterwards, to make him wait, but they dur&s;t not di&s;pute, and he finding their delayes, were to the Pari&s;hes preju|dice, in their right, and for their &s;atisfaction, he made the ca&s;e knowne to that worthy, and now Right Honourable Coun&s;ellour, who&s;e place is too high to declare his name, in &s;o low a di&s;coverie as this; yet I cannot doe le&s;&s;e, then tell you his judgement was, that the Triers had much wronged the accu&s;ed, in not bringing his accu&s;ers, face to face, according to Ordi|nance of Parliament, in &s;uch ca&s;es provided, and commanded him to tell them &s;o from him, which Me&s;&s;age he delivered to them, the next time they &s;ate; which when they heard, they told him they did not believe him, wher|upon he required them as they had power to take an Oath, &s;o they would give him his Oath to confirme the truth of it, and when they would not, required what an&s;wer he &s;hould returne to him that &s;ent him, they &s;aid, that they could not approve of him to be an Elder, he de&s;ired their rea&s;ons, and their hands for his removing, that the Pari&s;h might choo&s;e another, all which they unworthily denyed him, notwith&s;tanding the Ordinance re|quired them.</P>
<P>If &s;uch gro&s;&s;e injuries as the&s;e, through &s;elfi&s;hne&s;&s;e and carnalitie, have been done by the be&s;t and choice&s;t Pre&s;byters, by the Judgers and Triers, &s;uch as were heedfully and con&s;ideratly appointed, by immediate Authori|ty of Parliament, and if it be &s;o with the be&s;t, what can wee expect from the choice of the multitude, both Parochiall and Cla&s;&s;icall, of which if I had but time to tell you, would make both your eares to tingle, to heare what ignorance, contradictions, non&s;en&s;e &amp; impentenency they are guilty of, be|&s;ides their Pride, vaine glorie and hypocri&s;ie: yet a hint of it you &s;hall have in the Chapter following.
<Q><P>The &s;econd &s;ort of Engli&s;h Presbyters, are &s;uch as take upon them the name of the for|mer, and are in &s;ome practi&s;es like them, but wholly without in&s;titution by Authority
<PB N="6" REF="6">
of Parliament, who in their practi&s;e heed not, but are oppo&s;ers both of the Law of God and Man. therefore</P></Q></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>The third Chapter di&s;covereth the conceited fancies of &s;uch as have no autho|rity for their practi&s;e, but their owne inventions.</HEAD>
<P>FIr&s;t, for the con&s;titution of their Church-Officers, they minde not the Ordinances before mentioned, thereby to be made capeable for election, nor to be impowered being elected, and allowed, but according to their owne inventions, goe on in the name of Presbyterians, and choo&s;e Elders and Deacons, whereas the Parliament knew well, that the Office of Dea|cons was &s;ufficiently already provided for, by divers Acts and Statutes un|der the name of Church-Wardens, and Over-&s;eers for the poore, and there|fore have wholly left out, that &s;ort of Church-Officers, in their Ordinances, thereby giving us a cleare evidence, that they never intended to de&s;troy Pa|rochiall Congregations, as the&s;e men unwarily doe but to reedefie and re|paire them, by adding a helpfull, carefull, and watchfull Office of Elders, to tho&s;e Officers that were formerly, although they prove not as they were intended, and &s;uch as doe thus practi&s;e a Presbyterian way in the Parochi|all Congregations, not authori&s;ed as afore&s;aid, it is &s;o farre from being be|neficiall, as that it will prove wholly prejudiciall, and it tends more to a Teaching &s;en&s;e of the &s;upreame Judicature of this Common-wealth, then of obedience, Of &s;elfi&s;hne&s;&s;e in judgement, then of &s;incerity of Engagement, for if &s;uch as were ordained prove not to the purpo&s;e, what can we expected of them that ordaine them&s;elves? and if tho&s;e faile that are regulated, what can wee looke for from &s;uch, who&s;e rule is their will? how helple&s;&s;e are the people that &s;ubmit to them, that are not provided for to appeale from them, to free them from the wrongs they &s;hall doe them? what de|fence &s;hall a Chri&s;tian have from among&s;t them, for &s;peaking the truth in reproofe of their fal&s;e Doctrine, you may judge what they will doe with you hereafter, by what they doe, and have done heretofore; have they cho|&s;en them&s;elves? have they &s;et up them&s;elves above their Brethren? what good fruit can you expect from &s;uch evill Plants? and the choice they made was &s;o &s;trange and new, that as there is no example to Paralell it, &s;o there is &s;carce a dialect to expre&s;&s;e it, without &s;miling at it; that &s;uch an unanimous people, &s;uch a great corporation, and con&s;tant communi|cants, &s;o that I know not a more fuller, or willing Congregation in this Common-wealth, for frequenting Gods publique Ordinances, for the&s;e to be denyed the Lords Supper, for five yeares together by the &s;ame Teacher, that all on a &s;udden, through impo&s;ing a new fancie of his owne devi&s;ing, neither warranted by the Law of God or man, but de&s;tructive to both, yet
<PB N="7" REF="6">
all that now would follow, and daunce after his pipe, &s;hould be admitted to that he had &s;o long time detained, &amp; yet now al&s;o pub|liquely declared that all that would not ob<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">y his humane invention &s;hould not pre&s;ume to come to the communion, and thus he con|ceived and brought forth vanity, for being in the pulpit, de&s;iring the people to meet him next morning in the Church, and &s;ome four&s;core of many hundreds appearing to him, he then taught them a nece&s;&s;ity of believing his humane conceiving, to be &s;ound do|ctrine and then and there, to choo&s;e a Mini&s;ter, and Church-Officers of their own devi&s;ing. And the fir&s;t que&s;tion he askt them, was, who they would choo&s;e for their Mini&s;ter, and with one voice they cho&s;e him&s;elf, a fair Election to choo&s;e one out of one, and he being cho&s;en in &s;uch an unwarantable manner as this, and accepting thereof he told them that as they had made choice of their Mini&s;ter, &s;o now they mu&s;t proceed to choo&s;e other Church-Officers, and for my A&s;&s;i&s;tant, I choo&s;e Mr. Maior &s;aid he, and Mr Mayor pre&s;ently cho&s;e for his A&s;&s;i&s;tant, an Alderman, then the Alderman cho&s;e A. and A. cho&s;e B. and B. cho&s;e C. and C. cho&s;e D. and &s;o one cho&s;e another, till eight Elders were cho&s;en to the Mini&s;ter, or rather cho&s;e them&s;elves, and then by their Teachers direction, the la&s;t Elder cho&s;e the fir&s;t Deacon, and &s;o from the fir&s;t, one cho&s;e another, till there was as many Deacons begat as there were Elders, and Officers multiplying &s;o fa&s;t, from &s;o &s;mall a num|ber a&s;&s;embled, they pre&s;ently tooke Coun&s;ell together, how to Offi|ciate, and &s;o at that in&s;tant, appointed two weeke dayes, before the next Lords day, to give attendance to examine Communicants, and &s;ome did come and were admitted, but others who better knew the difference betweene will-wor&s;hip, and true wor&s;hip, forbore, and heard them&s;elves forbidden that, by man, which Gods word did allow them: Now in this re&s;pect, tho&s;e you have for &s;o long time heretofore condemned, &s;hall ri&s;e up in judgement again&s;t you, and be ju&s;tified in compari&s;on of you, for as they wave the rules of Authori|ty, and in that are blameable, as you are, yet they doe it without doores, and not within, they leave all quiet at home, from whence they goe, what&s;oever they doe abroad where they are, but you be|foul your own ne&s;t, &s;et fire of your own hou&s;e, cau&s;e divi&s;ions and di&s;&s;entions in your owne Congregation, that before was quiet, &s;o that nothing can be expected from you, by your owne doings, but confu&s;ion and de&s;truction; wherefore I advi&s;e my Friends that are free, not to medle with &s;uch as are &s;ubject to change. And the&s;e
<PB N="8" REF="7">
things being &s;o, for my Brethrens cau&s;e I mu&s;t &s;peake, and for the truths &s;ake, I cannot keep &s;ilent; my Brethren are captivated and in|&s;laved, and the truth is with-held in unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, by &s;uch as ex|alt them&s;elves above all authority, that is, all that are called God, for as their Di&s;cipline, as they call it, is warrantle&s;&s;e both for mat|ter and frame, &s;o are their doctrines, which forces me by way of di&s;|coverie, thus to di&s;&s;ect and anatomize the whole body, or rather a Mon&s;ter of this fained Presbyterie. Not long &s;ince it is that I heard this Mini&s;ter on <HI>Mich.</HI> 4. 3. in the&s;e words, <HI>And they &s;hall breakr their &s;words into ploug-&s;heares, and their &s;peares into pruning-hoocks.</HI> Affirming the Prophet in the&s;e words, prophe&s;ied of the Churches &s;tate and condition under the Go&s;pel, before the Lords comming or generall re&s;urrection, on whom &s;hould be poured forth &s;uch great gifts of the Spirit, that they &s;hould in converting men unto God, turne their finnes into graces, and their wickedne&s;&s;es into rightou&s;nes O &s;trange ignorant unheard of expre&s;&s;ion! not only contrary to di|vine, but naturall principles, how will this Teacher prove, that that evill mu&s;t be turned to good, which God commands to be ca&s;t away, broken off, killed, and forgotten, a thing &s;o contsary to grace, that the fountaine thereof wa&s;hes it away,, from the truly converted, the Mini&s;ter endeavoured to prove this doctirne by a Paralell Scripture where Wolve are turned into Lambs, and &s;marling dogs into harme|le&s;&s;e &s;heepe, as he &s;aid, alluding to <HI>I&s;aiah 11. 6. The Wolfe &s;hall dwell with the Lamb, and the Leopard &s;hall lye down with the Ktd,</HI> &amp;c. Now the Gentleman is not alone in this la&s;t Expo&s;ition, for many others be|&s;ides him, have declared the &s;ame mi&s;take, neither is this la&s;t Scrip|ture paralel to the fir&s;t, for this la&s;t proves evill creatures &s;hall be made good, but not as you expound the fir&s;t, that wickedne&s;&s;e &s;hall be converted and turned into goodne&s;&s;e: Sir, I dare not u&s;e my &s;trength, now I have you at an advantage, through your own weak|ne&s;&s;e, but for your further information, I affirme, that neither of the&s;e places are figurative, but both litterall expre&s;&s;ions, and teach not the doctrine of mans conver&s;ion, but the whole Creations re&s;ti|tution, holding forth the &s;tate of perfection, and not that of regene|ration, according to <HI>Rom.</HI> 8. that when he &s;onnes of God &s;hall be re|vealed or manife&s;ted, then al&s;o &s;hall the whole Creation in the Apo|&s;tles meaning, participate according to their abilitie and capacity, in the glorious liberty of the Inheritours of &s;alvation. And I fur|ther affirme, that the Elect of God are never called in the Scripture Dogs and Swine, as the Reprobates are, becau&s;e the truly &s;anctified <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 2. 22.</NOTE>
<PB N="9" REF="7">
never returne to their loath&s;ome vomit againe, nor the purely wa&s;h|ed, to wallow againe in their filthy mire, nor after putting their hand to the plough, to turne back, nor never &s;hall tread the blood of the holy Covenant under their feet, after they are throughly &s;ancti|fied thereby, nor &s;inne willingly, in hating and de&s;pi&s;ing the ble&s;|&s;ing after the true knowledge of it, and in this re&s;pect only, it cannot be &s;aid of the Saints, as of the wicked, but &s;uch were &s;ome of yee, al|though in other re&s;pects it may be &s;o &s;aid.</P>
<P>Now my conclu&s;ion &s;hall be an exhortation to repentance, for when we have done, that we &s;hould not have done, the next way we are to take is to repent of it, therefore &s;ee how you have tran&s;gre&s;&s;ed the rule, which &s;aith, <HI>Give unto God the things that are Gods, and unto Ce|&s;ar the things which are Ce&s;ars;</HI> that is, to the &s;upream power, whether it be in one or many, the things that pertaine to them, now both the Law-givers require &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion to their directions, that &s;o there may be quiet and order in the Common-wealth, without which you are not true thereunto, &amp; &s;o walk not according to your engagement, &amp; for you to rai&s;e up a &s;elect Congregation out of an authorized or legal one, it tends rather to &s;trife and di&s;&s;ention, then peace and unity, and thereby as much as is in your power, deny that to <HI>Ce&s;ar</HI> which be|longs to him, and in &s;o doing you deny God his due al&s;o who com|mands obedience to every ordinance of man for his &s;ake, and for your con&s;cience &s;ake al&s;o. And for a&s;much as you are all before na|med, faulty in one re&s;pect or other, I admoni&s;h you all to repent, and advi&s;e you to looke higher, then the&s;e outward externall ad|mini&s;trations, which are common as well to outward Chri&s;tians, as to tho&s;e that are inward, and labour for that holy-eye-&s;alve, which will enable you to &s;ee and di&s;cerne tho&s;e &s;pirituall high and heavenly admini&s;trations, that none but the <HI>Elect, called&punc;</HI> and <HI>&s;an|ctified,</HI> can under&s;tand or participate in &s;uch peculiar trea&s;ures, and priviledges, that the world can neither give nor take away, which will make us Chri&s;tians indeed, and Members of the Church of Chri&s;t indeed, and true wor&s;hippers of God indeed, and to be approved (though not of wicked men, yet) of God, in whom I am</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Yours to be commanded in defence of the Truth. J. G.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<PB N="4" REF="8">
<HEAD>Captain NOR WOODS Declara|tion, proved an abhegation of the truth of Chri&s;ts incarnation, di&s;covering therby tho&s;e &s;trong Satanical delu&s;ions, to which he is given up, even to the beliefe of lyes, in oppo&s;ing the Author of &s;alvation the Doctrine of regeneration, the hope of the &s;e|cond and better re&s;urrection, and the glorious and endle&s;&s;e reward in the world to come.</HEAD>
<P>_ANd becau&s;e wee are to deale with the old Nicholitan Do|ctrines which alwayes hath been and now are the Depths of Sathan, we mu&s;t fir&s;t premi&s;e &s;uch Tenets of his, which are plainely avowed, or el&s;e from what he hath written, nece&s;&s;arily or ab&s;olutely concluded, remembring al&s;o that he will yeild to all manner of Scripture readings, although never heeding their proper and di&s;tinct meanings, and I marvaile to finde this Declaration in Scripture expre&s;&s;ion, for as much as he and his have mo&s;t wickedly affirmed, that the Scriptures the Old and New-Te&s;tament is Ante-Chri&s;t, even that Scarlet cloathed whore, which hath made the Nations drunke with the wine of her fornications, now you &s;hall finde this abhominable boldne&s;&s;e accompanyed with mi&s;erable ignorance, of the faith the ju&s;t doe live by, in that he knows not what the hope of true believers is they &s;tand by.</P>
<P>For page 5. and the la&s;t line, he is as corrupt in his expre&s;&s;ions, as he is in his delu&s;ions, for the Apo&s;tle doth not &s;peake in his language of the Saints bodies in the re&s;urrection of the ju&s;t to call them earth|ly, and bea&s;tiall, like the bea&s;tly Spirit he is lead by, but being guided by the holy Spirit of truth, cals them incorruptible, immortall, &s;pi|rituall bodies <HI>&amp;c. 1 Cor.</HI> 15. and proves plainely that the re&s;urrecti|on of the body (that which the Captaine denyes) to be an unque|&s;tionable truth, by the common and dayly experience of the &s;owing and growing of &s;eed, ver&s;. 37, 38. thou &s;owe&s;t &s;ome bare graine of wheate or other <HI>(which is not quickned except it dye)</HI> but every &s;eed
<PB N="1" REF="8">
comes up with its owne body, not bare, as it was &s;owne, but glori|ous or cloathed upon, &s;o al&s;o is the re&s;urrection of the dead, &s;aith he, meaning man, its &s;owne in corruption, it is rai&s;ed in incorruption, it is in di&s;honour when it is &s;owne, but it is glorious when it is rai|&s;ed, ver&s;e 43, 44. A more cleerer and fuller manife&s;tation of this I made to Mr <HI>Royle</HI> in my defence following, in the 5, 6, 7, and 8. pa|ges of <HI>Lamp of light,</HI> as al&s;o in my fir&s;t an&s;wer to him, <HI>The Cure of deadly Doctrine,</HI> page 4, 5.</P>
<P>Furthermore as Capt. <HI>Norwood</HI> doth in his Confe&s;&s;ion of Faith, pag. 1. in words acknowledge the divine nature of the &s;econd Per&s;on in the Trinity, as giving to him the name and title of infinite power and wi&s;dome in Creation, according to that which is written, <HI>By it all things were made, and without it, was made nothing that was made:</HI> &s;o farr his expre&s;&s;ion is true, what ever his meaning be of the divine na|ture, but whereas he further &s;aith, which is al&s;o called Chri&s;t the fir&s;t borne, or only begotten of the Father, or the annointed, the&s;e titles or appellations cannot relate to his divine nature alone, but his hu|mane, as the name Je&s;us or Chri&s;t was given to his per&s;on, when he was circumci&s;ed, his proper name by which he was known from other men So the Prophet <HI>David</HI> in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 89. 27. applies the appellation of the fir&s;t borne, to Chri&s;ts humane nature; as a King in his glorious Kingdome (and yet not divided from his divine) <HI>I will make him my fir&s;t borne higher then the Kings of the earth, pointing to the time when he &s;hall take unto him&s;elfe his great power and per&s;onall reigne:</HI> Agreeing with an|other expre&s;&s;ion of his, in the <HI>P&s;al. 2. 6. I have &s;et my King upon my holy hill of Zion;</HI> that is, Chri&s;t per&s;onally and not my&s;tically, and by this name he cals his Church and Kingdome, al&s;o <HI>Ephraim</HI> (&s;aith the Lord by <HI>Jeremiah</HI> the Prophet) <HI>is my fir&s;t borne, Jer.</HI> 31. 9. Likewi&s;e the Capt. applies the terme only begotten of the Father to the divine, which mo&s;t properly is applyable to Chri&s;ts human nature, his incar|nation, and &s;o doe the Prophets and Apo&s;tles &s;peake P&s;al. 2. <HI>This day have I begotten thee,</HI> God the Father &s;peaking to God the Sonne, in and by <HI>David,</HI> and &s;o the Apo&s;tles te&s;tifying to Chri&s;ts incarnation, death and re&s;urection, <HI>Acts</HI> 13. 30. they prove it by the &s;ame Pro|pheticall words, foreteling of Chri&s;ts comming in the fle&s;h, <HI>Thou art my Sonne, this day have I begotten thee,</HI> and they add for further proof of Chri&s;ts humanity, ver&s;. 35. wherefore he &s;aith al&s;o in an other P&s;alme, <HI>Thou &s;halt not &s;uffer thy holy one to &s;ee corruption, P&s;al.</HI> 16. which words point plainly to Chri&s;ts body in the Sepulcher, and in proofe hereof the Author to the Hebrews is beyond all exception, for in this
<PB N="12" REF="9">
re&s;pect only of the per&s;onall &s;uffering of death, he was made a little lower then the Angels, who as touching his divine nature, he was a|bove them, but in regard of his humanitie in &s;uffering inferiour, now &s;ee (mo&s;t ignoble Captaine) how your oppo&s;ition exceeds the cur&s;ed Jewes crucifixion, for they did but kill that body of his which through the power of God was rai&s;ed the third day, but you utterly de&s;troy, deny, &amp; annihilat that body, and roared it out dayly to your deluded Di&s;ciples, that Je&s;us Chri&s;t is a quallitie, and no way to be conceived or under&s;tood per&s;onally for that you make an Allegorie.</P>
<P>Ob&s;erve further, that whereas this Captaine unwarily hath joynd the&s;e termes annoynting and annointed together, thereby as he &s;aith to declare the &s;econd glorie or manife&s;tation of one Unitie in the Trinitie, and yet plainely abnegating and denying the humane na|ture of Chri&s;t, how the infinitene&s;&s;e of unction, in any true con&s;ide|ration can be &s;aid to be annointed within it &s;elfe, implies finitene&s;&s;e, and for as much as the finite annointed is inferiour to the fulne&s;&s;e of annointing being infinite, I know not how he will cleere his owne words from ob&s;urditie, but in this gro&s;&s;e mi&s;tak he concurreth with his Friend Mr. <HI>Royle,</HI> which makes the letter of the Scriptures, that &s;peake of Chri&s;ts humane nature, to be but figurative expre&s;&s;ions, and fulfild in every one of them by &s;everall removes and degrees of di&s;pen&s;ations, as you may &s;ee more cleerely opened in the 4. and 8. pages in the <HI>Lamp of Light</HI> following. Againe, the Capt. in page the &s;econd hath the&s;e words, the &s;ame Chri&s;t I &s;tedfa&s;tly believe to be my only and alone right, and life, and &s;alvation, and &s;o much, and &s;o farre as I have attain'd him or it, or rather he or it is ri&s;en up or brought forth it or him&s;elfe in me, &s;o farre I judge my &s;elfe to live or be alive, or &s;aved,, or to have attaind &s;alvation, &amp;c. under which plau&s;ible words of his, lyes abundance of corruption and rotten|ne&s;&s;e, for he intends by the Partie &s;poken of, not only him&s;elf, but e|very man al&s;o, and by him or it the light or life before mentioned, which he &s;aith is inherently in all man-kind, as the &s;oule in the bo|dy, and when he that is his fancied Chri&s;t Je&s;us, is manife&s;ted and re|vealed or rai&s;ed, then is this &s;alvation accompli&s;hed, the re&s;urrection at the la&s;t day fini&s;hed, and the world to come po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed, and all what glorie &s;oever the Scriptures &s;peake of, or the Saints of God hope for, is now compleated and perfecteded in men, in which in&s;ertion is in|cluded many gro&s;&s;e fal&s;hoods and ab&s;urd contradictions of the truth of God. Fir&s;t, That a mans happine&s;&s;e and &s;alvation proceeds from &s;omething within man, as he is man, and not from &s;ome one thing
<PB N="13" REF="9">
without him, and &s;o becomes happy, by him&s;elfe, or by &s;omething of him&s;elfe, which was borne with him, and not by imputation of anothers righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e from without him. And Secondly, he overthrowes all future hopes what&s;oever, and affirmes there is no other re&s;urrection, glorie, or happine&s;&s;e then what is enjoyed in men, in this cur&s;ed world, in this vild and cor|ruptible body, by which it plainly appeares the man is both ignorant and de&s;titute of the lively faith, and a&s;&s;ured hope of Gods elect, for which there needs no greater proofe again&s;t him then his owne con|fe&s;&s;ion, which wild and mad doctrine, is further di&s;covered and con|demed in the Lamp and cure following.</P>
<P>Againe, the Capt. &s;eemes to vaunt much of his knowledge of hea|ven and hell, and &s;aith that there is no other of neither, but what is now in mens bodies, a thing as &s;trange as the re&s;t, yet that he may be prov'd deluded, we mu&s;t fir&s;t con&s;ider that the terme heaven is vari|ou&s;ly taken, and hath different meanings in the Scripture: fir&s;t in a &s;trict, &s;econdly in a more generall &s;ence; in a &s;trict &s;en&s;e, is &s;ome|times meant the doctrine and beginning of the Kingdome of Heaven &s;ometimes the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the Kingdome, &s;ometimes the Chil|dren of the Kingdome, &s;ometimes the glorious Kingdome it &s;elf al|together con&s;idered, &s;ometimes the contenent and place of this King|domes perfection. And &s;econdly, in a more generall &s;en&s;e, the pro|fe&s;&s;ion of the doctrine, and place of the Kingdomes regeneration, now as I formerly told your Brother Royle, in <HI>Cure of deadly doctrine, pag.</HI> 4. that the truth of tearmes is the pre&s;ervation of proprieties, which here now I &s;hall more cleerely open to you; And Sir, I pray take no|tice, for you to &s;peake indefinitely, as you have done of a tearme, which admits of &s;uch different exceptions, in &s;o doing you have &s;po|ken altogether unprofitable, becau&s;e in &s;uch ca&s;es, the definition &s;hews the meaning, not the tearme, &s;o that in the rule of rea&s;on, no man can expect a full an&s;wer to a doubtfull a&s;&s;ertion, yet that you may be an&s;wered we will pre&s;ume your intention that, by the tearm Heaven, you meane the place, and everla&s;ting glorious &s;alvation of the Saints, now the Scripture &s;hews the place, in which they &s;hall injoy eternall &s;alvation to be without them, <HI>I go to prepare a place for you,</HI> (&s;aith their Lord) again <HI>I wil prepare a place for my people, &amp; they &s;hal be removed no more,</HI> now this holie place promi&s;ed, is the new heavens, and new earth, in which dwelleth righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, in which place there &s;hall be no evill nor &s;inne, nor cur&s;e, nor death nor &s;orrowing, nor crying, even &s;uch a place of holine&s;&s;e and perfection, as Adam injoyed in his innocencie, which place was not contained within his body, but his body with|in
<PB N="14" REF="10">
it, he per&s;onally had dominion over all the whole cr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">tion, and not all the whole glorious creation contained within his per&s;on, but as it was without the holy man in his innocencie, &s;o it &s;hal be with Chri&s;t their King, &amp; the whole hou&s;e of <HI>Jacob</HI> in their excellencie in the world to come, whereof the Prophets &s;peake, in which all things; that is, all created things &s;hall be &s;ubjected and &s;ubdued under Chri&s;ts and his Saints feet, <HI>Heb.</HI> 2. and then al&s;o &s;hall the Kingdomes of this world, become the Kingdoms of our Lord and his Chri&s;ts, where he and his Saints &s;hall reigne per&s;onally for ever and ever, and then all Kings and Kings Subjects &s;hall feare and fall downe to him, for all Nations &s;hall &s;erve and wor&s;hip him.</P>
<P>Con&s;ider likewi&s;e how the Saints de&s;ired expectation is to be cloathed upon with their hou&s;e that is from Heaven, which is &s;uch an extraordinary glorie as <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &amp; <HI>Elias</HI> was cloathed with in the holy Mount, which were vi&s;ible and tran&s;parent beauties as wel as internal: And in the morning of the Saints awaking, at the general re&s;urrection they &s;hal &s;hine (&s;aith the Prophet) as the brightnes of the Firmament, and as the Stars for ever and ever. and &s;o &s;aith our Saviour and <HI>Emanuel, As truly God, &s;o truly man, whom you de&s;pi&s;e and &s;corne, thus under&s;tood and acknowledged, neverthele&s;&s;e at the end of this world, when the time of &s;eparation &s;hall be betweene the Children of the Kingdome, and the Children of the wicked one, Then &s;hall the righteous &s;hine forth as the Sun, in the King|dome of their Father,</HI> and this is added, <HI>Who hath eares, let him heare,</HI> which hearing eare, your Declaration &s;hews you have not, as certainely as any thing you want in the world be&s;ides, and when the&s;e things come to pa&s;&s;e, as truly &s;peedily they &s;hall, then &s;hall you be forced to confe&s;&s;e a Hell without you al&s;o, as well as a Hell within you, and condemned with &s;hame, and cloathed with confu&s;ion, as with a mantle, when the undying worme is &s;pread under you, which &s;hall al&s;o cover you; then &s;hall you &s;ee him and his, whom you now bla&s;pheme and per&s;ecute, to be per&s;onally glorified, but your &s;elfe ju&s;tly and everla&s;tingly tormented and condemned except you repent: in the meane while I leave it to all people, to whom the&s;e pre&s;ents &s;hall come, to judge if you be not a lying deluded Prophet.</P>
<P>And as I feare not to undertake the Captaine of my Lords enemies, although he be an uncircumci&s;ed Goliah, and&punc; a leader of the hoa&s;t of the huge Camp of the Phili&s;tims, the Lords adver&s;aries: &s;o I feare not likewi&s;e to reprove all &s;uch Mini&s;ters, of all de|nominations, that pretend to feed and lead the Lambs Army, and to be Shepheards of Gods holy flock, and yet doe let &s;uch Wolves as the&s;e, to worrie and de&s;troy the harmele&s;&s;e &s;heep, and &s;o &s;mite the Shepheard, as to kill and crucifie him the &s;econd time, and this done, not in a corner but in the &s;heepfold, before all their faces, and yet not one of you have had a word to &s;peake, for your pretended Ma|&s;ter, nor his faithful Servants, I could tell you where in <HI>London</HI> and <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter,</HI> both publiquely and privately, by men of your owne coate as you call them, as well as by others at <HI>Yorke</HI> and <HI>Canterbury</HI> and all over the Nation, of which the cure behinde will tell you more, how the&s;e corrupt, abhominable and rotten doctrines have been plain|ly advanced and put to &s;ale, to the killing of the head of Chri&s;ts Church, and the poy&s;o|ning of the Members thereof, and yet not one of you all as I know of, have appeared in the cau&s;e of truth again&s;t them; now how will you acquit your &s;elves from that wofull &s;entence, and lamentable reward of unprofitable Servants, without repentance I cannot tell you, but I admoni&s;h you all to looke about you, for the houre of account and reckoning is very nere comming, of which &s;aith he that is your Friend, <HI>Come Lord Je&s;us, come quickly.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>J. G.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<PB N="15" REF="10">
<HEAD>The&s;e two letters came to my hands af|ter I had fully concluded the pre|mi&s;&s;es, which in regard they concerne the &s;aid Capt. and his bla&s;phemy, are thought fit to be here annexed.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="letter">
<OPENER><SALUTE>SIR,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_MY due re&s;pects pre&s;ented unto you; whereas I under&s;tood by a friend of yours, by accident, that you are now about or intend &s;hortly to write, (and that ju&s;tly) again&s;t one Capt. <HI>Norwood,</HI> a notorious bla&s;phemer in our age, I could not choo&s;e but acquaint you with my thoughts upon this &s;ubject, viz. That without controver&s;ie, 'twill be a very &s;hame to the Rabbies of this time, Presbyterians &amp; Independents both, I meane, that pretend &s;o highly on all &s;ides to the truth of their Ma&s;ter (as they &s;ay) and yet leave (like hirelings as for the mo&s;t they are) his truth and poore flock, to be torne, and rent by ravenous wolves, and not once appeare, or &s;o much as open their mouthes in publique, to &s;peak a word in their behalfe: Sir, the word long before declared is now fulfilled, that <HI>grievous wolves &s;hould enter, &amp;c. men &s;peaking perver&s;e things, <GAP DESC="foreign">, &amp;c. Lovers of plea|&s;ure rather then of God, &amp;c. <GAP DESC="foreign">. Who&s;e God is their belly, who&s;e glorie is in their &s;hame, who minde earthly things;</HI> to their &s;hame be it &s;po|ken; Sir I have herein &s;ent you a Coppy of a Letter writ to a Schollar, Mr <HI>Simp&s;on</HI> by name, by &s;ome &s;irnamed of <HI>Holland,</HI> of who&s;e Congregation the &s;aid Capt. was &s;ometimes one, and by him excommunicated, as 'tis reported: the language for &s;ome rea&s;ons is lattin as you &s;ee, the effects to delare &s;ome hor|rid bla&s;phemies maintained by a Gold&s;mith (who&s;e name I know not) and the &s;aid Capt. <HI>Norwood:</HI> and in the conclu&s;ion a &s;ecret check to Mr. <HI>Simp&s;on,</HI> as (by his not preaching repentance) being occa&s;ion to the &s;aid Captaines Apo|&s;ta&s;ie, after whom it is ju&s;tly feared, many blind (their Leaders being blinde) will draw back and fall into perdition. Sir, I have no more to &s;ay but this, that if the thing be true, then goe on carefully and pro&s;per, and let this letter in|clo&s;ed (if you thinke good) be added to your paper, and the Printer will give you thankes, by which meanes this and the en&s;uing, and la&s;t age, may better di&s;cerne and reject the &s;aid Captaines bla&s;phemies which is the chiefe thing herein de&s;ired by</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE>London <DATE>10. <HI>June</HI> 1651.</DATE></DATELINE>

<SIGNED>Your Friend, Philalethes.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="letter">
<PB N="16" REF="11">
<P>_NUdius terti&ugrave;s (Dom.) Conventui, cui pre&s;ui&s;ti, &s;uper in&s;ignis ob Apo|&s;ta&s;iam tantum i&s;tius ad exitium u&s;que &amp; tenebras aeternas &s;eip&s;um &amp; alios ducentis <HI>Norwooodi</HI> erroribus &s;eu blaphemi&acirc; poti&ugrave;s &amp; in Deum &s;ua&abque; &s;cripturarum eloquia &s;acra, te&s;timonia veritatis aeternae certi&s;&s;ima, Tabernacula at&abque; &s;ua, &amp; illa habitantes nefariis convitiis &amp; execran|dis accito, fort&egrave; quid&egrave;m ad&s;ui; contra ip&s;um, at&abque; nil cert&egrave; ni&s;i verum referentes (de erroribus innuo tant&ugrave;m rebus de navis venditione tunc, memoratis mihi penit&ugrave;s ignotis) quo&s;dam audivi; audita, veri&s;&s;im&egrave; prolata ac te&s;tata e&s;&s;e cognovi.</P>
<P>Sep&egrave; enim (amici cuju&s;dam prim&ugrave;m rogatu, ducis praedicti domi die domi|nic&acirc;, quam plurimis undi&abque; ill&ugrave;c conglomerantibus interfui. <HI>Aurifabrum</HI> at&abque; <HI>Quendam</HI> effrontem admod&ugrave;m ore at&abque; impio qua&s;i tenebrarum &s;piritu inflatum, tibi audita, alia &amp; in &s;uper quam plurima, e faene&s;tr&acirc; capite exerto, effutientem, inter quae &s;ae|pi&s;&s;im&egrave;, &amp; deum e&s;&s;e omnia, &amp; omnia e&s;&s;e deum, animam at&abque; ip&s;i&s;&s;imam e&s;&s;e <GAP DESC="foreign">, im&ograve; &amp; Deum ip&s;um e&s;&s;e, impudenti blaterantem ore, verbis praeterea concep|tis, penultim&acirc; die dominic&acirc;, talia evomuit, &s;cil. <HI>Hic</HI> (inquit) <HI>peccatum AntiChri|&s;tum e&s;&s;e, ille Romanum pontificem (vel Romanorum &s;ummorum pontificum &s;ucce&s;&s;io nem) magnam illam meretricem Babylonicam (Johanni, in Apocalyp&s;i per&s;pectam) e&s;&s;e dicit, alii at|que alia de ill&acirc; &s;omniant, A&s;&s;ero autem ego (inquit) Evangelium (te&s;timonia nemp&egrave; divina) magnam illam meretricem Babylonicam e&s;&s;e, cum qu&acirc; &s;cortati &s;unt Reges terrae, quae at&abque; Natione: omnes &amp; totius pene orbis terrarum populor &s;cortationis &s;uae vino &s;opitos inebriavit.</HI></P>
<P>Plura in&s;uper hi&s;ce non di&s;&s;imilia, audaci admod&ugrave;m ac fronte perfricti balbutire nequaquam horrentem, vel refugientem, audivi; <HI>Norwoodum</HI> at&abque; ip&s;um in &s;ui magi&s;tri, aurifabri nimir&ugrave;m verba effutititia et&s;i, &amp; horrenda, vel jurare tunc paratum fui&s;&s;e, omnibus a&s;tantibus, luce meridian&acirc; clarius per&s;pectum e&s;&s;e con&s;tat.</P>
<P>Infanda haec tibi (Dom.) &s;uper illis (opinor) dolenti, inaudita ip&s;a adh&ugrave;c, &amp; ne|oterica ratus, &s;cribendo retuli, te at&abque; &amp; tuos, de praefato &agrave; vobis de&s;cito ejiciendo &s;olici|tudine haudquaquam ob&s;trictos e&s;&s;e volo; qu&ugrave;m ip&s;um jamjam, deum in notiti&acirc; re|tinere nolentem, refipi&s;centi&acirc;, humilium nemp&egrave; ac pauperum, &s;piritu &s;cilicet &amp; cor|de contritorum dei &s;ervorum tenui quid&egrave;m &s;tatu &amp; implacido, &s;ibi jamdud&ugrave;m &amp; aliis quam plurimis hodi&egrave; delitentibus &s;pret&acirc; &amp; po&s;thabit&acirc;, &agrave; Deo in mentem judicii om|nis &amp; veritatis expertem mendacia at&abque; obcaecatum ab&s;orbere inhiantem, traditum penes &s;atanam, prae&s;enti clari&s;&s;im&egrave; con&s;tet.</P>
<P>Plura nolo, ni&s;i quod te, (Dom.) execranda i&s;ta praefata, odio habere, &amp; in aeternum rejicere, &amp; refipi&s;centiam (cujus expers omnis, qui&s;quis &s;it ille vel illa mor|talium, adventu Chri&s;ti domini no&s;tri novi&s;&s;imo, re&s;urrectionis nimirum die omnibus divitiarum, voluptatum, requiei at&abque; pre&s;entis &s;catentibus, quibus cordis praeputium non circunci&s;um e&s;t, &s;oporis &s;piritu &s;emper torpentibus, &amp; callo obductis, otio &amp; mun|di prae&s;entis perituri deliciis diffluere poti&ugrave;s quam re&s;ipi&s;cere, eligentibus, &s;ingulis atque cervice dur&acirc; &amp; &s;piritu infracto, timend&acirc; vald&egrave;, ac tremend&acirc;, mundo &amp; &s;ecuro impendenti, celeri at&abque; admodum nunc gre&s;&s;u advenienti, cert&egrave; peribit) tuos po&s;t|hac, ut iram effugiant venturam aeternam, <HI>docere admonet</HI></P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE>London <DATE>23. die Aprilis 1651.</DATE></DATELINE>
Penitus tibi ignotus</CLOSER>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
