<!DOCTYPE ETS PUBLIC "-//UMDLPS//DTD EEBOPROOF 2.0//EN">
<ETS>
<TEMPHEAD>
<REVDESCR>
<CHANGE>
<DATE>2008-02-20</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Robyn Anspach</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Added TYPEs to DIVs in order to validate. Proofed title page(s). Checked for N=""s. Checked for GROUP tags. Checked ^s. Reviewed structure. Checked division-marking material at heads and feet of divisions (HEADS,  CLOSER, OPENER, ARGUMENT, EPIGRAPH, SIGNED, BYLINE, etc.). </ITEM>
</CHANGE>
</REVDESCR>
</TEMPHEAD>
<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A85712">
<STC T="W">G2023</STC>
<STC T="T">E942_2</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99866621</BIBNO>
<VID>118898</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT>
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>The Quaker's JESUS: OR, The un&s;wadling of that Child <HI>James Nailor,</HI> which a wicked Toleration hath midwiv'd into the World.</P>
<P><HI>DISCOVERING</HI> The Principles of the Quakers in general. IN A <HI>Narrative</HI> of the &s;ub&s;tance of his <HI>Examination,</HI> and his Di&s;ciples, as it was taken from their own mouthes, in their an&s;wer before the Magi&s;trates of the City of <HI>Bri&s;tol</HI>; al&s;o, of his Examinati|on in the Painted Chamber <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter,</HI> and the management of it in Parlia|ment, now publi&s;hed for the &s;atisfaction of him&s;elf and &s;ome Chri&s;tian friends.</P>
<P>By <HI>WILLIAM GRIGGE,</HI> (Citizen of <HI>BRISTOL</HI>) who believes in that Je&s;us (and him alone for &s;alvation) that was crucified at <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> above &s;ixteen hundred years agoe.</P>
<Q><P>There is one evil which I have &s;een under the Sun, as an error which proceedeth from the Ruler.</P>
<BIBL>Eccle&s;. 10.5.</BIBL></Q>
<P>Chri&s;ts Prophe&s;ie.</P>
<Q><P>For many &s;hall come in my name, and &s;hall &s;ay I am Chri&s;t, &amp;c.</P>
<BIBL>Mat. 24.5.</BIBL></Q>
<P>The <HI>Quakers</HI> Practice.</P>
<Q><P>But there were fal&s;e Prophets al&s;o among the people, even as there &s;hall be al&s;o fal&s;e Teachers among you, who privily &s;hall bring in damnable Here&s;ies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and &s;hall bring upon them&s;elves &s;wift de&s;truction; and many &s;hall follow their pernicious wayes by rea&s;on of whom the way of truth&punc; <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<BIBL>2 Pet. 2.1, 2.</BIBL></Q>
<P>The Chri&s;tian's duty.</P>
<Q><P>Look to your &s;elves, that we lo&s;e not tho&s;e things which we have wrought, (<HI>the Margin readst,</HI> which we have gained.)</P>
<BIBL>2 <HI>Epi&s;t.</HI> John 8.</BIBL></Q>
<P>The Apo&s;tle's Imprecation.</P>
<Q><P>Now if any man love not the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, let him be <HI>Anathema Maranatha.</HI></P>
<BIBL>1 Cor. 16.22.</BIBL></Q>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed by <HI>M. Simmons,</HI> and are to be &s;old by <HI>Jo&s;eph Cranford,</HI> at the Sign of the <HI>Kings-Head,</HI> in <HI>Pauls Church-yard,</HI> 1658.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="table of contents">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD><HI>THE</HI> Several Heads of the en&s;uing <HI>NARRATIVE.</HI></HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1.</HI> SOme of <HI>Nailer's</HI> erronious opinions &amp; bla&s;phe|mies declared.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2.</HI> The manner of his riding into <HI>Bri&s;tol.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3.</HI> His Examination before the <HI>Maior</HI> of <HI>Bri&s;tol.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> His Examination before the Committee in the <HI>Paint|ed Chamber We&s;tmin&s;ter.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>5</HI> The Examination of <HI>Dorcas Erbury,</HI> before the Magi&s;trates of <HI>Bri&s;tol.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>6</HI> When <HI>Nailer</HI> was &s;ent for to <HI>London,</HI> and much of what he and his Di&s;ciples confest at <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI> (be|ing deny'd there) made good again&s;t him.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>7 Nailer</HI> &s;ent for by the <HI>Parliament,</HI> to an&s;wer to the Report of the <HI>Committee,</HI> and receive his Sen|tence.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>8</HI> When <HI>Nailer</HI> &s;uffer'd the fir&s;t part of his &s;entence.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>9</HI> The rest put off for a week, by meanes of a Petiti|on.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>10</HI> A Petition to the <HI>Parliament,</HI> for the remitting his puni&s;hment.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>11</HI> A Petition to the <HI>Protector</HI> to that effect.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>12</HI> The <HI>L. Protector's</HI> Letter to the <HI>Parliament.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>13</HI> The <HI>Parliament</HI> orders the remainder of his pun|i&s;hment at <HI>London,</HI> and &s;ends him to <HI>Bri&s;tol.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>14</HI> The manner of his puni&s;hment in <HI>Bri&s;tol.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><PB REF="3"><HI>15</HI> His &s;ending up to <HI>London</HI> again.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>16</HI> Some &s;ad Meditations upon the &s;ufferings of the true <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> (whom this bla&s;phemer did per&s;onate) &s;etting forth no le&s;se then twelve particular bleed|ings, for the &s;ake of his redeemed ones.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>17</HI> The <HI>Cities Petition</HI> (by way of <HI>Remon&s;trance</HI>) to the <HI>Parliament,</HI> in reference to the&s;e bla&s;pheming <HI>Quakers.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>18</HI> Some Cautions, with the humble advice of the <HI>Au|thour,</HI> to his fellow-Citizens, and Chri&s;tians, to take heed of hearing uncalled, unordained, and un|&s;ent teachers, le&s;t they al&s;o be &s;educed.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>19</HI> A Collection of &s;ome few erronious and bla&s;phe|mous Doctrines, vented by &s;ome re-baptized per|&s;ons, which have di&s;cipled the <HI>Quakers</HI> to much of their practice.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>20</HI> A di&s;covery of horrid filthine&s;s, practi&s;ed by &s;ome rebaptized per&s;ons and <HI>Quakers.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>21</HI> A recital of &s;everal Books and Pamphlets (which have pa&s;t the <HI>Pre&s;&s;e,</HI> &s;ince Toleration) denying <HI>God, Chri&s;t, Spirit, Word, Ordinances, Re&s;urrecti|on, Heaven, Hell,</HI> &amp;c. whereby many poor &s;ouls have been &s;educed.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>22</HI> A pretended Epi&s;tle of <HI>P. Lentulus</HI> a <HI>Romane,</HI> written to the Senate of <HI>Rome,</HI> containing a De|&s;cription of the bodily &s;hape and feature of <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t:</HI> a Copy whereof, was found among other papers, (to the number of <HI>21.</HI>) about <HI>Nailers</HI> Di&s;|ciples, at their fir&s;t Examination before the Magi|&s;trates of <HI>Bri&s;tol.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="3">
<HEAD>An Adverti&s;ement to my Chri&s;tian Friends, and Fellow-Citizen, for whom this <HI>Narrative</HI> following is intended.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Chri&s;tian Friends,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>IF ever the Devil transformed him&s;elf into an Angel of light, or his Apo&s;tles and Ministers,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 11.13.14, 15.</NOTE> transformed them&s;elves into the Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t, they have &s;urely now in this apo&s;tatizing and back-&s;liding age, which we (by meanes of a Toleration) have fallen into: And that glorious things, (to wit) liberty abu&s;ed, to the di&s;honour of God, and great &s;candall of the Go&s;pel; Yet &s;incere Christians, (though they mi&s;&s;ed of the Re|formation they hoped, and endeavoured for) have im|proved their Go&s;pel-liberty, from Prelatical tyranny, (to a more humble walking before, and holy Communi|on with their God and Je&s;us Chri&s;t,) under which, many a godly Mini&s;ter and private Chri&s;tian, did &s;uffer trouble as evil doers, and that unto bani&s;hment,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 2.9.</NOTE> confi&s;cation and bonds; but the Word of the Lord is not (cannot be) bound, though in a &s;ence under their Lord&s;hip it was. This is therefore to advi&s;e, yea, and per&s;wade you, that from all Seducers, and whatever tends to &s;eduction, you &s;tand off, and (as the Apo&s;tle &s;aith) turn away,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 3. v. 5.</NOTE> and keep clo&s;e unto your Clo&s;et-du|ties,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 The&s;. 5.12.</NOTE> and tho&s;e publick known Ordinances and Mini|&s;try,
<PB REF="4">
by which your fellow Chri&s;tians, before you have through grace (in &s;ome mea&s;ure) experimented the goodne&s;s of God to their poor &s;ouls.</P>
<P>Now Chri&s;t him&s;elf advi&s;ing, Take heed what, and how you hear: from this is my advice, Take heed whom you hear.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mar. 4.24. Luk. 8.18. 1 The&s;. 5.21.</NOTE> I have &s;adly ob&s;erved the abu&s;e of that Scripture, Prove all things. That is, &s;ay &s;ome, hear all, el&s;e how can we prove it? But this I have more &s;ad|ly ob&s;erved, That contrary to the words following, Hold fa&s;t that which is good, they have let loo&s;e (if not quite lo&s;t) that which is good. You know the Proverb, <HI>A rolling &s;tone, &amp;c.</HI> Sure the&s;e wandring (rolling) Christians, have increa&s;ed but little of what is good. And indeed,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jude 13. ver&s;. 12.</NOTE> the Apo&s;tle, ver&s;. <HI>12.</HI> tells who they are that we &s;hould hear, its tho&s;e that are among you, and over you in the Lord, and admoni&s;h us. I confe&s;s I have heard this oft &s;poke, that I may hear others as gifted men, though not as Mini&s;ters.</P>
<P>I an&s;wer, I &s;uppo&s;e this may hold in Schools for di&s;putation, <HI>Presbyteries</HI> for approbation, but not in Ordinances appointed for Salvation.<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 55.3.</NOTE> In this, I am &s;o to hear, that my Soul may live, I am to con&s;ider when I come to this Ordinance of preaching thus. I am come to hear for my life,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 1.16.</NOTE> that which I hear is the word of God, which is his power to &s;alvation; nay, if it prove not my Salvation, it will my damnation. This being con&s;idered, &s;hall I run to hear everie Fellow, who runs before he is &s;ent,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 2.16. Jer. 23.21.</NOTE> and u&s;eth his gifts before he hath grace? nay, had everie gifted Brother grace to his gifts, that doth not commi&s;&s;ion him to preach. I be&s;eech you therefore, keep clo&s;e to a godly known Ordained Mini|&s;trie. Will it be a plea of anie weight, at the great and terrible day of the Lord, for tho&s;e many poor &s;ouls, that
<PB REF="4">
have ca&s;t off their fir&s;t love to Chri&s;t and his Ordinan|ces, to &s;ay, I was &s;educed by fal&s;e Teachers, <HI>Anabap|ti&s;ts</HI> and <HI>Quakers, Fox</HI> and <HI>Nailor,</HI> &amp;c. I confe&s;&s;e, it will add to the number of the Seducers &s;tripes, but not take off theirs who are &s;educed. When tho&s;e poor deluded and &s;educed Souls, &s;hall crie to <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> their Judge for mercie, may he not then &s;ay to them, <HI>Did I not command, that you &s;hould take heed, what,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mar. 4.24. Luk. 8.18. Cap. 17.23.</NOTE>
<HI>and how, and whom you hear? Did not I com|mand you to hear my Servants whom I &s;ent? Did not my Servant the Apo&s;tle</HI> Paul, <HI>give you a plain Scripture,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 10.14, 15.</NOTE> <HI>How can they preach (&s;avingly) ex|cept they be &s;ent?</HI> May not Chri&s;t &s;ay, <HI>Did I &s;end or bid you hear Je&s;uites, Seducers, fal&s;e Teach|ers, Impo&s;tors,</HI> Fox <HI>and</HI> Nailor, <HI>and &s;uch like?</HI></P>
<P><HI>Friends,</HI> look to it, we &s;hall be all in earne&s;t then: at that great day of account, a Chri&s;tian mu&s;t have his why for his wherefore. Walk therefore by rule, yea, and hear by rule too,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 8.20:</NOTE> <HI>To the Law and to the Te&s;ti|mony, if they &s;peak not according to this word, its becau&s;e there is no light in them.</HI> And am I not to hear then (as well as they to &s;peak) according to this word?</P>
<P>And now Friends, being called by the Magi|&s;trates of this City (as you will &s;ee in the en&s;uing di&s;|cour&s;e) to bear witne&s;s again&s;t (an unheard of Bla&s;|phemer) <HI>James Nailor:</HI> I &s;hall not only give you an account of him and his Bla&s;phemies, his Examinati|ons, Sentence, and (de&s;erved) &s;ufferings, both at <HI>London</HI> and <HI>Bri&s;tol:</HI> but of &s;ome of my own thoughts, in my Journey to <HI>London, We&s;tmin&s;ter,</HI> (where I witne&s;t again&s;t him) which thoughts, though they &s;omewhat &s;adden'd my Journey, yet much &s;weetned my
<PB REF="5">
Soul, and cau&s;ed it to rejoyce; That which much &s;ad|ded me (and oh! that my heart could be more &s;erious in bewailing it) was, that all which you will read of, &s;poke or done (by this Bla&s;phemer and his Di&s;ciples,) was again&s;t the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t: That which &s;weet|ned, and much comforted my Soul was,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 3.8.</NOTE> That (though unworthy, and the lea&s;t of all Saints,) I can in &s;ome mea&s;ure &s;ay,<NOTE PLACE="marg">John 20.28.</NOTE> It was again&s;t him, who is my Lord Je|&s;us, my Lord and my God, all again&s;t him that is mine, that hath dearly bought me to be his.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 6.20.</NOTE></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="5">
<HEAD>THE EPISTLE.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Friends,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>WHen I had compo&s;ed the en&s;uing Narrative, and had fairly tran&s;cribed it for the u&s;e of my &s;elf and Relati|ons (as &s;ome very well know.) Some Chri&s;tian Friends, who peru&s;ed it, know, that I never intended the publi&s;hing of it, and indeed, being con&s;cious to my own weakne&s;s and di&s;a|bility for &s;uch a work, I need not be ambitious to be &s;een in the <HI>Pre&s;&s;e,</HI> It being al&s;o contrary to my judgement, that men (under the notion of gifted Brethren) having not a call to, nor indeed ability for it, &s;hould &s;o oft be &s;een in <HI>Pre&s;&s;e</HI> and <HI>Pulpit:</HI> con&s;idering what the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 2.16.</NOTE> Who is &s;uffi|cient for the&s;e things? But the practice of this pre&s;ent age &s;aith, (&s;uch is the high conceipt that impudence and igno|rance hath of it &s;elf.) Who is not &s;ufficient for the&s;e things? And truly Brethren, That which I &s;hall &s;peak to, in refe|rence to the occa&s;ion of this <HI>Narrative,</HI> will not be by way of teaching, (for I dare not) but only helping my &s;elf and others, to lament the &s;ad effects of Toleration (fal&s;ly call'd liberty of Con&s;cience) which indeed long &s;ince, was moved for by many (and of late years too much yielded unto,) and in a Book called, <HI>The Compa&s;&s;ionate Samaritan,</HI> it was de&s;ired, That the <HI>Parliament</HI> would provide,<NOTE PLACE="marg">pa. 75, 76.</NOTE> that private Congregations might have protection as well as publick, And that all Statutes again&s;t Separatists, might be repealed, and that the <HI>Pre&s;&s;e</HI> might be free for any that writes, &s;o he writes nothing &s;candalous or dangerous to the <HI>State:</HI> you have in it never a <HI>[So]</HI> if they write any thing dangerous. to Religion, and &s;candalous to the Go&s;pel. Ah Brethren! This liberty hath not been (I &s;uppo&s;e) and he that &s;peaks by &s;uppo&s;ition, may &s;ometimes &s;peak truth, <HI>Luk. 7.43.</HI>) the lea&s;t cau&s;e of all our divi&s;ions, nay of all our bla&s;phemies, errors and here&s;ies; nay, of all our loo&s;e principles and practices &s;uitable thereunto at pre&s;ent amongst us: all which is &s;adly to be bewailed and
<PB REF="6">
lamented by all that fear the Lord. For although a rebap|tized man is plea&s;ed (in print) to &s;ay,<NOTE PLACE="marg">R. P. pa. <HI>66.</HI></NOTE> They do but dream, that &s;ay the&s;e are &s;ad times: So he &s;peaking to the <HI>Pre&s;|byterian Mini&s;ters</HI>; yet truly, (by his good leave) there cannot be a Soul, to whom Chri&s;t hath &s;aid in the voice of the Go&s;pel, <HI>Awake thou that &s;leepe&s;t,</HI> but, he being thus awakned,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 5.14.</NOTE> mu&s;t &s;ay, That &s;ince <HI>England</HI> was delivered from <HI>Pagani&s;m</HI> and <HI>Popery,</HI> there were never &s;adder times: If Judgements (and that &s;piritual) upon a Nation, may be a cau&s;e of &s;adne&s;s. God now dealing with us, as with <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> who being not humbled, but hardned under tho&s;e plagues that were upon him and his people, God threatens to &s;end them all (the worst and &s;adde&s;t plague of all) upon his heart.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 9.14. In his Epi&s;tle to the Sepa|rati&s;ts and A|nabapti&s;ts, prefixed to his Quakers Catechi&s;m.</NOTE> <HI>For I will at this time</HI> (&s;aith the Lord) <HI>&s;end all my plagues upon thine heart.</HI> And as that godly &amp; di&s;|cerning Divine, Mr. <HI>Baxter,</HI> certainly (&s;aith he) &s;uch &s;piritual plagues, as our eyes now behold, are as evident notes of Gods heavy di&s;plea&s;ure, as men can expect to &s;ee on earth. Brethren, is not this &s;ad? And is it not &s;ad, that men &s;hould be &s;o Je&s;uited, as to take up &s;uch principles, that (unle&s;&s;e God do mercifully &s;tep in and prevent) will undermine and overthrow the Go&s;pel, Religion, Reformation, and all that is, or &s;hould be dearer to us then our lives? Are not the&s;e &s;ad times? and doth it not call for mourning, and that (if it were po&s;&s;ible) with teares of blood? And is it not &s;ad, when &s;ome that were, and would now be looked upon as high Pro|fe&s;&s;ors above their Brethren, and yet now receive that for a glorious light, and true Doctrine, which before they would have abhorr'd as heatheni&s;h: (as indeed it is) in&s;omuch, that if a Chri&s;tian &s;hould have &s;aid &s;ome years agoe, that they would embrace &s;uch Doctrine, they would have an&s;wer|ed (as <HI>Hazael</HI> did in another ca&s;e.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Ming. 8.13.</NOTE>) <HI>What thinke&s;t thou, thy &s;ervant a Dogge?</HI> And is it not &s;ad then, to con&s;i|der, how many packs there are in the Nation of the&s;e Crea|tures?
<PB REF="6">
Yea, &s;ee one thing more, my Brethren, which to me is very &s;ad, That many of tho&s;e who enjoy ordinances in a reformation way, walk no more holy and humble under them, and thankfully for them then they do. Truly, all the&s;e are &s;ad things. But hath it not been our gifted Brethren, (who&s;e pride (to &s;ay no more) hath led them to that boldne&s;s in <HI>Pre&s;&s;e</HI> and <HI>Pulpit</HI>) who have occa&s;ioned mo&s;t of all this? And good Friends, Do not all that fear the Lord think, (and that truly) that <HI>England</HI> will have cau&s;e to bewail the Toleration given, and the liberty taken in this kind? A|la&s;&s;e Brethren! Is it enough, to make a man a Mini&s;ter, that he can two or three houres in a week <NOTE PLACE="marg">As every &s;ound is not mu&s;ick, &s;o e|very Sermon is not preach|ing.</NOTE> di&s;cour&s;e well (if it be well) and &s;peak Scripture-Language? in which time, many times many &s;peak non-&s;ence fluently (and bla&s;phemy without Book.) Why Brethren, con&s;idering the helps we have by <HI>Engli&s;h Authours,</HI> its an ea&s;ie matter &s;o to do, and its no hard matter to prove it the practice of gifted Brethren (as they are call'd) even among&s;t us: Sometimes to bring &s;ome godly mens Sermons (as Doctor <HI>Sibs,</HI> &amp;c.) in a Pulpit, and with a bold face &s;o deliver it, that the hearers &s;ometimes admire (as well they may) &s;uch matter from &s;uch men. Well Brethren, did our hopeful Plants, fitted in &V;niver&s;ities, receive &s;o much incourage|ment as they ought: Sure the Church of God would not be at &s;uch a lo&s;&s;e for Mini&s;ters, as to be beholden to &s;uch men: and if Learning had that due incouragement it ought to have, through the ble&s;&s;ing of God; from thence might come abroad tho&s;e that may pluck up tho&s;e tares, which this gene|ration hath &s;owed, &amp; &s;ow &s;uch Seed, that may feed the Church of God with good bread, and not with chaffe. Oh &s;hould I &s;peak what I could of &s;ome of the&s;e intruders, (for I know more then a good many) upon that honourable Calling of the Mini&s;try,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 5.4.</NOTE> (which (if we would keep to rule) none &s;hould take upon him, but he that is called of God, as was <HI>Aaron:</HI>)
<PB REF="7">
truly friends, I could tell you of &s;uch gro&s;&s;e ignorance, and that in fundamental catechi&s;tical points, of &s;uch profane|ne&s;&s;e in conver&s;ation, of &s;uch &s;potted dealing in (and with) the world, that a man (as a man, much more a Chri&s;tian man) would cry &s;hame on; But Brethren, I forbear, and &s;hall only give you in&s;tance of two Pulpit-brethren, (whom many of you know) in reference to the fir&s;t, (to wit) igno|rance: the one &s;uppo&s;ed God to be a man, (though more glorious than we) becau&s;e the parts of a man, are attributed to him in Scripture: Another reverend (Doct.) Brother &s;peaking of Circumci&s;ion, &s;aid, That being it was the cut|ting off of the fore-skin it is (&s;aid he) the cutting off of the fore-skin of the fore-head. <HI>Frends,</HI> I do not &s;hoot at rovers, but am able to black the white in my margin in this, as well as in other things;<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 3.1.</NOTE> but I forbear, and do wi&s;h, that if men finde their Spirits drawn out to de&s;ire &s;o great a work, and are godly and &s;ound in the truth; they would &s;ubmit to a try|all, by tho&s;e that are able to judge of their gifts, and &s;o to be &s;eparate to the work, and &s;ent forth according to rule, and then the Lord be with the good.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Obj.</NOTE> But it may be objected, &s;ee|ing I &s;peak &s;o much again&s;t others, why I practice (and that without a call) printing my Self and this (all things con&s;i|dered) a greater work then preaching or publick &s;peaking?</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;w.</NOTE>I an&s;wer, <HI>1. I had a call by the Magi&s;trates of the City, to make good again&s;t</HI> Nailer <HI>and his Di&s;ciples, what bla&s;phemies they and my &s;elf heard delivered in their Examinations, which accordingly I did before the Committee at</HI> We&s;tmin&s;ter.</P>
<P N="2"><HI>2. Noting his Examinations in &s;hort hand there, (as before I did at</HI> Bri&s;tol) <HI>I was able to give &s;ome ac|count to the bu&s;ine&s;s, and the mannagement thereof in</HI> Parliament.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. <HI>R. F.</HI> his Satan in|throned.</NOTE></P>
<P N="3"><HI>3. Could I have prevailed with that godly Mini|&s;ter, that &s;et forth his Examination here, to have for|born
<PB REF="7">
till the bu&s;ine&s;s had been ended, I &s;hould gladly (again) have lent my a&s;&s;i&s;tance unto him, from my notes there, and then you would have had it in better termes (he being far better able) then now you have; but he then being willing to ha&s;ten what he had done to the Pre&s;&s;e, it came forth without it.</HI></P>
<P N="4"><HI>4. I was moved by the earne&s;t reque&s;t of &s;ome godly friends, who had peru&s;ed it (when in a Manu|&s;cript) that I would let the world &s;ee the height of this impo&s;tor's bla&s;phemy, and his puni&s;hment.</HI></P>
<P N="5"><HI>5. I waited above a whole year, hoping &s;ome bet|ter Pen would have done it, but that not appearing, this de&s;ires acceptance. And thus you have &s;een the Rea&s;ons of my taking this boldne&s;s in printing, if they be not of weight, to give &s;atisfaction to all god|ly ordained Mini&s;ters, e&s;pecially tho&s;e to whom I am known, and from who&s;e Mini&s;try, by the ble&s;&s;ing of God I have received grace, (if any) of the&s;e I beg par|don, it being (in this kind) my fir&s;t fault, and to them I promi&s;e &s;hall be my la&s;t,</HI> &amp;c. P&s;al. <HI>141.5. Let the righteous &s;mite me, it &s;hall be a kindne&s;s: and let him reprove me, it &s;hall be,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>As for all others who are godly, (though we may differ in judgement) and yet may di&s;like it, unto them I &s;ay (as</HI> Pilate <HI>of the true Je&s;us (now again truly crucified) &s;o may I of this fal&s;e Je&s;us, ju&s;tly puni&s;hed.) What I have written, I have written; and if they &s;hall demand the cau&s;e of me, for thus writing, I tru&s;t I &s;hall be ready (for their godline&s;s &s;ake) to give them a rea&s;on,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 3.15.</NOTE> <HI>and that with meekne&s;s and fear. But then for all others, who&s;e ranting principles lead them to damnable practices, who haply may &s;ee &s;ome weakne&s;s in it, both for &s;tile and method, and &s;o may &s;corn and reproach both it and me, unto all &s;uch my an&s;wer is, whatever they
<PB REF="8">
&s;peak of it, its under foot, and all the &s;hame that &s;uch black mouths can foam out, I have learnt from my dear</HI> Je&s;us <HI>(whom they daily crucifie) to de&s;pi&s;e,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 12.2.</NOTE> <HI>and &s;hall &s;ay as</HI> David, <HI>P&s;al. 119.42. So &s;hall I have where|with to an&s;wer him that reproacheth me, for I tru&s;t in thy Word.</HI> And thus now being per&s;waded by &s;ome godly Chri&s;tians, that God would have glory by it, I have put it to the adventure, and &s;hall leave it to him, who can bring glory to him&s;elf, by what meanes he plea&s;eth: and if by this di&s;|covery of bla&s;phemy and filthine&s;s, (and that by profe&s;&s;ors) <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> or any of his Ordinances, may be but one foot exalted, I &s;hall take it as an honour to be trod upon.</P>
<P>My Fellow Citizens, If you con&s;ider but that one peece of <HI>Bla&s;phemy</HI> which was in one of the papers found about <HI>Nailer,</HI> (to wit) That <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> that died at <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> was but a figure of that Chri&s;t in them; and from this it's &s;aid, <HI>Nailer</HI> is Chri&s;t: So you will &s;ee in Doroth. <HI>Erbury,</HI> her An&s;wer to the Magi&s;trates, and upon this followeth, he mu&s;t be honoured and owned as Chri&s;t: whereupon this wretch <HI>Nailor,</HI> takes and accepts of this honour from his Di&s;ciples, contrary to that we find in Scripture, <HI>Matth. 21.15.</HI> For the Argument was right by the <HI>Phari&s;ees,</HI> That none ought to have <HI>Ho&s;anna</HI> cryed to him, but the true <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> either by old or young only,<NOTE PLACE="marg">His Exami|nation before the Magi|&s;trates of <HI>Bri&s;tol.</HI></NOTE> the application they made is denyed; he being the true <HI>Me&s;&s;ias</HI> 'twas due to him. But what &s;hall we &s;ay? with what words or teares &s;hall we bewail it? that a wicked, vitious, and bla&s;pheming wretch, (a <HI>Jam. Nailor</HI>) &s;hould give an An&s;wer thus; <HI>If it come of God, I can|not refu&s;e it.</HI></P>
<P>But Brethren, you &s;hall &s;ee the contrary practi&s;ed by <HI>John</HI> the <HI>Bapti&s;t,</HI> when he was &s;ent unto, and had a fair opportunity to be cryed up for a <HI>Je&s;us</HI>; when they put it un|to him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 1.19, 20, 21.</NOTE> and a&s;ked him, <HI>Who art thou?</HI> He confe&s;&s;ed and denyed not, but confe&s;&s;ed I am not the Chri&s;t. And they ask|ed
<PB REF="8">
him, <HI>What then? Art thou Elias?</HI> And he &s;aith, I am not. <HI>Art thou that Prophet?</HI> And he an&s;wered, No. (Al&s;o you may con&s;ider that of <HI>Peter</HI> his practice, <HI>Acts 10.25, 16.</HI> But my work will not be Confutation, but de&s;ire la|mentation.) Now <HI>John</HI> an&s;wering No, though I would not be critical upon words, yet con&s;idering this <HI>Bla&s;phemer</HI> and his <HI>Di&s;ciples</HI> are &s;o &s;ingular, and do &s;o tye them&s;elves to <HI>Yea</HI> and <HI>Nay</HI>; as if <HI>Yes</HI> and <HI>No</HI> were not &s;ometimes tran|&s;lated in Scripture as well as the other; For as <HI>John</HI> an|&s;wers <HI>No,</HI> &s;o <HI>Peter</HI> an&s;wers <HI>Yes,</HI> Matth. <HI>17.24, 25.</HI> And the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul,</HI> Rom. <HI>10.18,</HI> &amp;c. I would not quarrel with words, but leave it as one evil mark of Seducers,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 6.4.</NOTE> (&s;trifes of words.) But becau&s;e they make &s;o much of it, and place much of their Religion in it, I offer to con&s;ideration, that in <HI>1 Kings, 3</HI>d Chapter, from the <HI>16</HI>th ver&s;e, to the end, where we have a Relation of two Women, that came to <HI>Solomon</HI> about a Child, and both lay claim to it; (but to the thing in hand) in ver. <HI>22.</HI> you have both words <HI>Nay</HI> and <HI>No,</HI> and it is ob&s;ervable, its the fal&s;e Mother hath her <HI>[Nay.]</HI> Now you know that Scripture-Proverb. As is the Mother, &s;o is her Daughter, and this you &s;hall &s;ee made good by an in|&s;tance in the New Te&s;tament, like Mother like Daughter;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezek. 16.44.</NOTE> <HI>Saphira,</HI> who was privy to that hypocri&s;ie of her Husband, in keeping back part of the price they &s;old their po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion for; when the Apo&s;tle asked her, Tell me (&s;aith he) whe|ther ye &s;old the Land for &s;o much? And &s;he &s;aid <HI>[Yea]</HI> for &s;o much. So then here you have a fit pair of hypocrites, to make <HI>Quakers</HI>; and &s;eeing the Scripture doth thus match them, let them go together. Well, here you &s;ee &s;omething a|bout words, but in my <HI>Narrative,</HI> you will &s;ee &s;omething bad enough in practice: Therefore Friends, keep to hearing as be|fore was advi&s;ed, And beloved, &s;eeing you know the&s;e things before,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 3.17, 18.</NOTE> beware lest ye al&s;o being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own &s;tedfa&s;tne&s;&s;e, but grow in
<PB REF="9">
grace,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 20.32.</NOTE> and in the knowledge of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t. And &s;o I commend you to God, and to the Word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an Inheritance among all them which are &s;anctified, and the very God of peace &s;anctifie you wholly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 The&s;. 5.23.</NOTE> and I pray God your whole Spirit, and Soul and Body be pre&s;erved blamele&s;&s;e, unto the comming of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, <HI>Amen,</HI> and <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="9">
<HEAD>The Quaker's <HI>JES&V;S.</HI></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><P>The Lord is known by the Judgement which he execu|teth: the wicked is &s;nared in the work of his own hands.</P>
<BIBL>P&s;al. 9.16. <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><Q><P>A whip for the Hor&s;e, a bridle for the A&s;&s;e, and a rod for the fools back.</P>
<BIBL>Prov. 26.3.</BIBL></Q></NOTE></BIBL></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_BEfore I come to the Narrative it &s;elf, I think it good to put down &s;ome opinions and po&s;itions this Bla&s;phemer held, which I have gleaned out of that hone&s;t and &s;ober confutation of them in a Book entituled, <HI>The Perfect Phari&s;ee,</HI> and out of a Book of his own, lent me by <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">A Quaker.</NOTE> <HI>Dennis Holli&s;ter,</HI> he telling me that <HI>Nailer</HI> had an&s;wered that pack of lies, (meaning The per|fect Phari&s;ee.) When I had read his Book, I return'd it to him, being in his Shop, walking with <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">A Quaker.</NOTE> <HI>Thomas Gouldney,</HI> &s;aith he, Now you have read &s;ome truths after your lies, &s;et forth by the Prie&s;ts, I an&s;wered, That was truth before, but now I had read a pack of lies. He told me, that &s;ome would believe nothing but lies, I an&s;wered,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 28.15.</NOTE> that there was a genera|tion of men, that made lies their refuge, and they were Qua|kers, and &s;o left them.</P>
<P>I heartily wi&s;h, (for old acquaintance &s;ake) that this man <HI>D. H.</HI> may have repentance given him, and turn again to his old puritanical principles, from whence he is deeply fallen, that he may not go on to this Bla&s;phemer's height, le&s;t he de&s;ervedly meet with this bla&s;phemers doom from men, or from God, with wor&s;e.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="questions and answers">
<HEAD>Some few of <HI>Nailer's</HI> erroneous opinions and Doctrines follow.</HEAD>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Whether any could be as holy, ju&s;t, and good,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Perfect Pha|ri&s;ee. p. 1.</NOTE> as God him&s;elf?</P>
<P><PB N="2" REF="10"><NOTE PLACE="marg">Pag. 4.</NOTE><HI>An&s;w.</HI> That he did witne&s;s him&s;elf, that he him&s;elf was as holy, ju&s;t, and good as God.</P>
<P><HI>Nailer</HI> being in conference with a godly Mini&s;ter, &s;aid, that he wonder'd God &s;hould reveal any thing to him, and he not know it.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Pag. 7.</NOTE><HI>Nailer</HI> did affirm, that Chri&s;t is in every man, and in the Reprobate, he is held under corruption, and &s;o extended the indwellings of Chri&s;t to Indians that never heard the Go|&s;pel.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Pag. 8.</NOTE>In a letter wrote by <HI>Nailer,</HI> were the&s;e two horrid bla|phemies, 1. That Chri&s;t in the fle&s;h, with all he did and &s;uf|fered therein, was but a figure, and nothing but an example. 2. That he that expecteth to be &s;aved by him that died at <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> &s;hould be deceived.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">T. P.</NOTE>As to this la&s;t, it was &s;poken by another of them, to a &s;o|lid godly Chri&s;tian of this City: and al&s;o delivered here, by another,<NOTE PLACE="marg">L. Raymond.</NOTE> at their publick meeting place, where was neer two hundred people, this was &s;worn before the Magi&s;trates, by a man of Mr. <HI>Walter Stephen's.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Pa.</HI> 22.</NOTE><HI>Quest.</HI> Whether the Scriptures be the Word of God?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> That the Scriptures are not the Word of God, but a declaration of the conditions of them that &s;peak them forth.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">His own Book pa. 2.</NOTE><HI>Nailer</HI> bids all people turn from their out&s;ide lights, and turn to the light of God within you; for every man in the world, had a light within him, &s;ufficient to guide him to &s;al|vation.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">pa. 25, 26.</NOTE><HI>Nailer</HI> &s;aith, That men are ju&s;tified by an inherent holi|ne&s;s, and that we are not reconciled to God, till we be per|fectly holy, and able to &s;tand &s;o in our own power: and that no man that commits &s;in, or that is not perfectly holy, can enter into the Kingdom of Heaven,<NOTE PLACE="marg">pa. 22.</NOTE> unle&s;s there be a Purga+tory, and that there is no real Saint, but he that is perfectly holy in this life, and doth not &s;in.</P>
<P>Thus we have &s;een &s;ome of his erronious and damnable opinions. He is al&s;o reported to be one vicious in his life, it being offer'd to be proved, that he hath been &s;een often (la&s;|civiou&s;ly) to ki&s;&s;e and dance upon his knee, one Mrs. <HI>Roper,</HI> and that he had a child by her.</P>
<P><PB N="3" REF="10">But to leave this, and &s;et forth his higher impudence then all before (which was enough, and too much,) <HI>viz.</HI> his per|&s;onating of the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, when upon the 24. day of <HI>Octob.</HI> 1656. he came into <HI>Bri&s;tol.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="narration">
<HEAD>The manner of the riding of <HI>James Nailor</HI> into <HI>Bri&s;tol, 24.</HI> Octob. <HI>1656.</HI></HEAD>
<P>He rode on Hor&s;eback in at <HI>Redcliff-gate,</HI> with one bare before him, (namely, <HI>Timothy Wedlock,</HI> of the County of <HI>Devon</HI>) and two Women leading his Hor&s;e, with the Reyns in their hands, one on each &s;ide: <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Si&s;ter to (that &s;eller of irreligious Books) <HI>Giles Galvert.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Martha Symonds,</HI> the wife of <HI>Thomas Symonds</HI> of <HI>London,</HI> and <HI>Hannah Stanger,</HI> the wife of <HI>John Stanger</HI> of <HI>London</HI>: the&s;e came before him &s;ing|ing, Holy, holy, holy Lord God of I&s;rael.</P>
<P>Thus he rode to the high Cro&s;&s;e of the City, and to the White heart in Broad&s;treet, being the hou&s;e of <HI>Dennis Hol|li&s;ter,</HI> and <HI>Hen, Row,</HI> both eminent Quakers.</P>
<P>The Magi&s;trates being informed hereof, &s;ent for <HI>Ja. Nailor,</HI> (the Quakers Je&s;us) and his Di&s;ciples, <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Tim: Wedlock Sam: Carter, John Stanger, Rob: Crab, Marth. Symonds Han: Stanger, Doroth: Erbury</HI> Among many papers and letters (to the number of 21.) which were found a|bout <HI>Nailer,</HI> and the&s;e his Di&s;ciples, at their fir&s;t ex|amination, I have in&s;erted only one, which you &s;hall find at the latter end of my Book. I&s;a. 28.15. Ho&s;. 7.12.</NOTE> (&s;even in number) before them, but &s;uch was their &s;inging <HI>Ho&s;anna,</HI> and holy, holy, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and the great concour&s;e of people, that their ex|amination that night was not much, &s;o they were committed to <HI>Newgate,</HI> (as well worthy) till the next day.</P>
<P><HI>Saturday</HI> the 25 of <HI>Octob.</HI> being the next day, <HI>Nailer</HI> was &s;ent for, and, before the Magi&s;trates being examined, was ve|ry ready in his an&s;wers to circum&s;tances, but wherein he thought the Que&s;tion put to him, might di&s;cover him, either would be &s;ilent, or el&s;e an&s;wer with &s;ubtilty, (like his older Brethren the Je&s;uites,) and al&s;o denying &s;ome things that were put to him, out of his own Book; but its no wonder, for this generation &s;o to do, who make lies their refuge, and u&s;e it, as if lying were a vertue.</P>
<P>Now (for the lenity &s;hewn unto them) God is puni&s;hing, as our Congregations have heard, and if they were let alone to &s;pread this error, of making the light within them the only rule (as they do) it would make them ca&s;t off Scripture,
<PB N="4" REF="11">
Ordinances, Mini&s;try, and look upon them&s;elves godified, and to &s;ay what this Bla&s;phemer &s;aith, I am Chri&s;t.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 23:15.</NOTE>For although their work by their pro&s;elytes (whom they make twofold more the Children of the Devil then them|&s;elves) be, to oppo&s;e the faithful Mini&s;ters of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, with &s;uch impudence, when about their Ma&s;ters work, to the di&s;turbing of the people of God, in their &s;olemn publick wor|&s;hip of God; yet this will be an everla&s;ting truth, (and we &s;ee it made good in this Impo&s;tor) which the Prophet &s;peaks with an a&s;&s;everation. Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his &s;ecrets to his Servants the Prophets.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Amos 3.7.</NOTE> And &s;uch is the good wi&s;dom of our God, that when Sathan thinks to appear mo&s;t like an Angel of light,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 11.14. Iudg. 14, 18.</NOTE> then &s;hall the&s;e Phili&s;tims (without ploughing with anothers Heifer) un|riddle them&s;elves, that thereby Sathan's cloven foot, may be the more vi&s;ibly di&s;cerned, 2 <HI>Tim,</HI> 3.9.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="interrogation">
<HEAD>The Examination of <HI>James Nailer</HI> of <HI>Wakefield,</HI> in the County of <HI>York,</HI> taken before the Magi|&s;trates, the <HI>25.</HI> of <HI>Octob. 1656.</HI></HEAD>
<P>I &s;hall here bring in tho&s;e Que&s;tions and An&s;wers that were of mo&s;t concernment.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> What his name was?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> That the name given him by the world, was <HI>James Nailer.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> How he lived, and was maintained?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> He lived without care, as the Lillies, and was main|tained by his Father.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Who is your Father?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Him whom you call your God.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> What was your bu&s;ine&s;s to <HI>Bri&s;tol?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> I came, as I was guided by my Father, in my way to <HI>London.</HI></P>
<P>Being asked as to the &s;ub&s;tance of &s;ome letters found a|bout him, attributing &s;everal Titles unto him, which belong to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, calling him a Prophet, and being que&s;tion'd whether he were a Prophet?</P>
<P><PB N="5" REF="11"><HI>An&s;.</HI> That he is the Prophet of the mo&s;t high God.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Why that Title is given him to be a judge to try the cau&s;e of <HI>I&s;rael?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Nothing to this, nor to many other Que&s;tions.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Whether he knew <HI>Hannah Stanger</HI> (and how long) which wrote to him?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> He had known her &s;ome moneths, and that he re|ceived the letters from her in <HI>Exeter</HI> Goal.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Are you the only begotten Son of God?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> I am the Son of God, and the Son of God is but one.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Whether his name was Je&s;us, (as in the Po&s;t&s;cript written by <HI>Hannah Stranger's</HI> Husband) and how long he had been called &s;o, and whether there were any other Je&s;us? To the&s;e things would not an&s;wer.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Whether he be the everla&s;ting Son of righteou&s;|ne&s;s.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> That he is the Son of God, and the everla&s;ting righ|teou&s;ne&s;s is wrought in him, and &s;aid, if we had known the Father, we would have known him al&s;o.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Whether any of the expre&s;&s;ions in the &s;aid letter, were bla&s;phemy or no?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> That which is received of the Lord is truth.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Who&s;e letter was that markt <HI>T. S?</HI></P>
<P>An&s;. <HI>Thomas Symonds</HI> &s;ent it to him, to <HI>Exeter</HI> Goal.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Whether he were the King of <HI>I&s;rael?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Thou ha&s;t &s;aid it, and he hath no Kingdom in the world, but reigneth in the Father.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Are you the Lamb of God (as &s;tyled in the letter) in whom the hopes of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> &s;tands?</P>
<P>An&s;. That if he were not his Lamb, he &s;hould not be thus &s;ought for to be devoured, and that the hope of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> &s;tands in the righteou&s;ne&s;s of the Father, in whom&s;oever it is.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Whether <HI>I&s;raels</HI> hopes be in any mea&s;ure in him?</P>
<P>An&s;. Yea.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Whether any of the expre&s;&s;ions in the letter, were bla&s;phemy?</P>
<P>An&s;. Who made thee a Judge over them?</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Why came you into the City, in &s;uch an univer&s;al
<PB N="6" REF="12">
manner, two Women leading your Hor&s;e, and &s;inging Holy, holy, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> with one bare before you?</P>
<P>An&s;. It was for the prai&s;es of his Father, and &s;aid, he may not refu&s;e any thing that is moved of the Lord, and that their Father commanded them to do it.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Do&s;t thou think the Father commanded them?</P>
<P>An&s;. Yea.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Whom did they mean, by Holy, holy, <HI>&amp;c?</HI></P>
<P>An&s;. They are of age to an&s;wer for them&s;elves.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Whether as he rode through <HI>Gla&s;enbury</HI> and <HI>Wells,</HI> &s;ome did not &s;pread their cloathes on the ground be|fore him, and &s;ing Holy, holy, <HI>&amp;c?</HI></P>
<P>An&s;. He believed they did.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Have you call'd <HI>Martha Symond's</HI> Mother, as in <HI>G. Fox's</HI> letter (wrote by <HI>G. Bi&s;hop?</HI>)</P>
<P>An&s;. <HI>G. Fox</HI> did he, &s;he was neither called Mother by him, nor any with him.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Whether he had a Wife?</P>
<P>An&s;. That there is a Woman, whom the world calleth his Wife.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="interrogation">
<HEAD>I &s;hall now give &s;ome account of his Examination in the <HI>Painted Chamber</HI> at <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter,</HI> before the Committee of <HI>Parliament,</HI> the <HI>15th</HI> of <HI>Novemb. 1656.</HI></HEAD>
<P>For though he denyed part of what he confe&s;t here, <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Bri&s;tol.</NOTE> and juggled in much, yet he owned bla&s;phemy in the height there, as well as here.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Did any &s;ing before you, when you rode into <HI>Bri&s;tol</HI>?</P>
<P>An&s;w. They &s;ang a P&s;alm. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> What P&s;alm? An&s;. Such as the words was. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Was not the words Holy, holy, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> An&s;. It may be it was. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Did any Women lead your Hor&s;e? An&s;w. There was &s;ome did hold the Bridle. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Did you reprove them for &s;o doing? An&s;w. Nay, but I &s;pake to them about it; and they &s;aid, they were moved of the Lord to it. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Its laid to your charge, that you did a&s;|&s;ume to your &s;elf, the faire&s;t of ten thou&s;ands, did any give
<PB N="7" REF="12">
you that Attribute? An&s;w. In words they did not. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Did they any other way by letter, or &s;o? An&s;w. You have the letter. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> But I do ask you? An&s;. If they &s;pake it to that of the Father in me, I dare not deny it, for its beau|tiful, in whom&s;oever its begotten. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Do you own that attribute of being the only begotten Son of God? An&s;w. I do not deny but I am the Son of God, and have many Bre|thren. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Are you the only begotten Son of <HI>God</HI>? An&s;. I have an&s;wered. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Have any given you the title of be|ing the King of I&s;rael? An&s;w. I think its in the letter. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Do you own it? An&s;w. I have no Kingdom in this world, but a Kingdom I have. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Do you own the title of the King of I&s;rael, and Prince of peace? An&s;w. It is but one, and that of <HI>God</HI> born in me, is the King of I&s;rael, Je&s;us Chri&s;t, who is the King of I&s;rael, is manife&s;ted in me, and that I own. <HI>Qu.</HI> Have any called you the Prophet of the mo&s;t high <HI>God</HI>? An&s;w. Yea, I am a Prophet of the mo&s;t high <HI>God. Que&s;t.</HI> Are you the Prophet? An&s;w. I have &s;aid. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Are you a judge &s;ent to try the cau&s;e of <HI>I&s;rael</HI>? An&s;. The Judge of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> is but one. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Do you in any re&s;pect judge the cau&s;e of I&s;rael? <HI>An&s;w.</HI> No other way then as God is manife&s;ted in the fle&s;h. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Then that way you are that Judge? <HI>An&s;.</HI> I own it. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> How do you execute the office of a Judge? <HI>An&s;w.</HI> No other way then as the Father in me. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> By whom are you &s;ent to do it? <HI>An&s;.</HI> By him that hath made all creatures, he hath &s;ent his Son into me, to try the cau&s;e of I&s;rael. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> In what manner do you judge the cau&s;e of I&s;rael? <HI>An&s;.</HI> If they be brought before me in the coun&s;el of my Father, I do judge it, but not in carnal things. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> In what matters are you made a judge, if not in carnal things? <HI>An&s;.</HI> In matters belonging to the Kingdom of God. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> By what &s;pirit do you judge? <HI>An&s;.</HI> By the indwellings of the Father, and the Son. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> By what &s;pirit are you guided to be Judge? <HI>An&s;.</HI> Its the Judge of all Spirits, and not to be guided by any but him&s;elf. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Is not the word of God the rule of the Spirit? <HI>An&s;.</HI> The word of God and the Spi|rit is one. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Is not the written word of <HI>God</HI> that Rule? An&s;w. Its that which doth declare of that Spirit. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Are you more &s;ent then another man to do this? An&s;w. No o|therwi&s;e,
<PB N="8" REF="13">
but as the Father and the Lord is manife&s;ted in me, and to no other but him that knowes the indwellings of <HI>God. Que&s;t.</HI> Have any per&s;ons &s;aid or written, that your Mother is a Virgin, and your birth immortal? An&s;. I remember &s;uch expre&s;&s;ions. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Do you own this? An&s;. Not according to the natural birth. <HI>Que&s;t</HI> Do you own it according to the &s;piritual? An. I am born of the immortal &s;eed. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Who was your Mother according to your &s;piritual birth? An. No man knowes, but he that hath it. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> You can tell who was your Mother? To this no an&s;wer. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Do you own your birth immortal? An. Yea, according to the &s;pirit. Q Had your birth any beginning? you &s;ay it is immortal. An. If thou &s;peake&s;t to the vi&s;ible I had, but not otherwi&s;e. Q. Who is the Father of your &s;piritual birth? <HI>An.</HI> I have told you. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Who is your Mother, the Virgin <HI>Mary</HI>? <HI>An.</HI> I have not &s;aid I was born of the Virgin <HI>Mary,</HI> but there is a womb that you know not of. <HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Do you own the title to be him in whom the hope of I&s;rael &s;tands? An. As Chri&s;t is in me. <HI>Qu</HI>^n. As Chri&s;t is in you, are you he in whom the hope of I&s;rael &s;tands? An. Yea. <HI>Qu.</HI> What are tho&s;e hopes that I&s;rael have in you, more then another? An. None but tho&s;e that have it, can give account of it. <HI>Qu.</HI> What hope is it that they can give account of? An&s;wered not. <HI>Qu.</HI> Have any called you the everla&s;ting Son of righteou&s;ne&s;s, is he mani|fe&s;ted in thy fle&s;h? An. He is manife&s;ted in the fle&s;h, I do not deny. <HI>Qu.</HI> Are you the Prince of peace? An. I own him the everla&s;ting Prince of peace, begotten in me. <HI>Qu.</HI> When tho&s;e titles were given to you, did you reprove them? An. I &s;pake not to tho&s;e that did it, but to the Letter, I know it would not bear with &s;ome. <HI>Qu.</HI> Have any call'd you by the name of Je&s;us? An. Not as unto the vi&s;ible, but as to Je&s;us the Chri&s;t that is in me. <HI>Qu.</HI> Do&s;t thou own that name King of I&s;rael? An. Not as a creature, but if they give it Chri&s;t with|in me, he hath a Kingdom, of which thou wotte&s;t not. <HI>Q.</HI> Did any wor&s;hip you, and ki&s;&s;e your feet in the pri&s;on? An I do not mind it. <HI>Qu.</HI> Do you remember it? An. I may be they might. <HI>Qu.</HI> Is there that wor&s;hip due to you, which was to Chri&s;t? An. If they did it to the vi&s;ible, they were too blame, but if to the invi&s;ible, that wor&s;hip is due to me, ac|cording
<PB N="9" REF="13">
to my mea&s;ure, as was due <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Oh the heighth of horrid bla&s;|phemy!</NOTE> to Chri&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Then you &s;ay, that wor&s;hip was due (to that which you call the invi&s;ible in you) to you as was given to Chri&s;t at <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI>? <HI>An&s;.</HI> Yea.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> When you were askt at <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI> are you the King of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> did you &s;ay thou ha&s;t &s;aid it?</P>
<P><HI>An.</HI> I cannot tell whether I &s;aid it there, but I do &s;ay it here, if they had known the Father, they had known me al&s;o.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> What e&s;tate have you, how are you maintained in your Travels?</P>
<P><HI>An.</HI> I take little care for that.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> Who provides for you?</P>
<P><HI>An.</HI> Him that clothes the Lillies.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> How do&s;t thou live? by bread?</P>
<P><HI>An.</HI> I live by the word of the Lord. <HI>Qu.</HI> Do you live by that only? <HI>An.</HI> So long as it plea&s;eth the Father, I do.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> How long have you fa&s;ted without bread?</P>
<P>An. Some weeks.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> How many weeks?</P>
<P>An. Two or three.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> Did you live without any food all that time?</P>
<P>An. Yea.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> Did any offer you any food in that time?</P>
<P>An. Yea, many did, but I refu&s;ed and lived by the word of the Lord.</P>
<P>Here I have only given account briefly of his Examinati|ons at <HI>London,</HI> which I hoped would at large have come forth by &s;ome faithful hand, it being pre&s;ented to the Hou&s;e, by the Committee in fifteen &s;heets of paper, as then taken from his own mouth, but waiting a full year, and no &s;uch thing appearing, I have the ea&s;ier been per&s;waded to pub|li&s;h it.</P>
<P>I &s;hall here in&s;ert the Examination (only) of <HI>Dorcas Er|bury,</HI> (one of his Di&s;ciples) who indeed &s;pake without jug|gling downright the &s;en&s;e of them all.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<PB N="10" REF="14">
<HEAD>The Examination of <HI>Dorcas Erbury,</HI> before the Ma|gistrates of <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI> Octob. <HI>27. 1656.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Where do you live? <HI>An&s;.</HI> With <HI>Margaret Thomas</HI> of <HI>Bri&s;tol.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Why did you &s;ing Holy, holy, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> before <HI>James Nailer</HI> when he rode in?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> I did not &s;ing then, but they that did were call'd to it by the Lord.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> They call'd him that rode on the Hor&s;e, the holy one of <HI>I&s;rael.</HI> Is he &s;o?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Yea, he is &s;o, and I will &s;eal it with my blood.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> And is he the only begotten Son of God?</P>
<P>&rindx; An&s;w. He is the only begotten Son of God.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Why did you &s;o honour him, as to pull off his &s;tockins, and put your Cloathes under his feet?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Becau&s;e he is the Lord of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and is worthy of it.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Do you know no other Je&s;us the only begotten Son of God but him?</P>
<P>An&s;. He hath declared him to be the Son, and I know (no other Saviour) but him.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Je&s;us Chri&s;t was crucified upon the Cro&s;&s;e, and how is this he?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> He is manife&s;ted in him.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Do you believe in <HI>James Nailor</HI>?</P>
<P>An&s;. Yea, I do believe in him, whom thou calle&s;t &s;o.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> What name do you give him?</P>
<P>An&s;. The Son of God.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> What do you call him u&s;ually?</P>
<P>An&s;. I am commanded to call him Lord and Ma&s;ter, and I am to &s;erve him.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Who commands you to call him &s;o?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> The Spirit of the Lord which is within me doth command me.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Je&s;us Chri&s;t is dead, <HI>Nailor</HI> is alive.</P>
<P><PB N="11" REF="14">An&s;. He hath laid down his natural body.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> What body is that he hath?</P>
<P>An. That body which he hath is by the power of the Lord. Doth not the Scripture &s;ay, I will change thy natural body, and it &s;hall be a &s;piritual body.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> He hath fle&s;h and bones, which a Spirit hath not.</P>
<P><HI>An.</HI> He hath new fle&s;h and new bones.</P>
<P>Qu. Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath rai&s;ed from the dead, hath <HI>Nailor</HI> done &s;o?</P>
<P>An. Yea, he rai&s;ed me from the dead.</P>
<P>Qu. How &s;o?</P>
<P>An. I was dead two dayes, and he laid his hands upon my head, and &s;aid, <HI>Dorcas</HI> ari&s;e, and from that day to this, I am alive.</P>
<P>Qu. Where was this done?</P>
<P>An. In <HI>Exeter</HI> Goal.</P>
<P>Qu. Who was witne&s;s to this?</P>
<P>An. My Mother did bear witne&s;s to it; (&s;he &s;tanding by.)</P>
<P>Qu. If he hath &s;uch power, why doth he not open the Pri&s;on-doors, and come forth?</P>
<P>An. When the work of the Lord is done in the Pri&s;on, the doors &s;hall open before him.</P>
<P>Qu. Je&s;us Chri&s;t had Apo&s;tles and Di&s;ciples, hath he any?</P>
<P>An. Yea.</P>
<P>Qu. Where are they?</P>
<P>An. Some are with him, and &s;ome abroad.</P>
<P>Qu. Je&s;us Chri&s;t doth &s;it at the right hand of God, and &s;hall judge the world, doth <HI>Nailer</HI> thus?</P>
<P>An. <HI>Nailer</HI> &s;hall &s;it at the right hand of the Father, and &s;hall judge the world.</P>
<P>Here we &s;ee Bla&s;phemy in the highe&s;t: and now the Ma|gi&s;trates &s;ending a Letter to Mr. R. A. (their godly Town-Clark, and honourable Burge&s;&s;e of Parliament) of the&s;e wretches Examinations: upon his report to the Hou&s;e, the Parliament cho&s;e a Committee from among&s;t them&s;elves to take notice of it, and &s;ent a Me&s;&s;enger for <HI>Nailor</HI>: two of his Company, <HI>viz. Sam. Cater,</HI> and <HI>Rob. Crab,</HI> the la&s;t of <HI>October,</HI> were di&s;charged (their examinations amounting not
<PB N="12" REF="15">
to much,) and were &s;een that day to come to the <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">In Broad|meddow at <HI>Bri&s;tol.</HI></NOTE> Syna|gogue of Satan, where the Quakers meet.</P>
<P>The Magi&s;trates &s;ent <HI>Nailor</HI> for <HI>London,</HI> the 10th of <HI>No|vember,</HI> with 4 of his Di&s;ciples, <HI>viz. Stanger</HI> and his Wife, <HI>Martha Symonds,</HI> and <HI>Dorcas Erbury.</HI></P>
<P>Now le&s;t they &s;hould deny (as much they did) what they confe&s;t here, Mr. <HI>Phil. Dorney</HI> their Clark, and (upon the re|que&s;t of the Magi&s;trates) another with him, to evidence what here they &s;aid, went for <HI>London,</HI> and upon the 15th of <HI>No|vember</HI> (being the fir&s;t day of their hearing before the Com|mittee in the Painted Chamber) made good again&s;t them what they here owned.</P>
<P>Upon <HI>Wedne&s;day</HI> following, the Committee met again, and then agreed upon &s;ome Reports to be made to the Hou&s;e, but being not fully &s;atisfied, upon <HI>Saturday</HI> following, &s;ent for <HI>Nailor</HI> again, and examined him fuller, &s;hewing much patience in hearing his long-winded an&s;wers, which were framed with much craft and &s;ubtilty, and though he deny'd much of what he &s;aid at <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI> yet owned there greater Bla&s;|phemy than before.</P>
<P>At that time was one of the Witne&s;&s;es call'd again, to ma|nife&s;t the manner of his comming into <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI> and what he there confe&s;t before the Magi&s;trates; upon this, when he that was call'd began to &s;peak, a Member of the Committee &s;pake &s;omething in <HI>Nailors</HI> behalf, but being &s;atisfied by the re&s;t, the party call'd upon then to &s;peak, being de&s;ir'd to &s;peak on, he directing his &s;peech to the Chairman, &s;pake as followeth.</P>
<P><HI>Sir,</HI> If any Gentleman here pre&s;ent be not &s;atisfied to what I &s;hall &s;peak, becau&s;e I am not upon my Oath, I do here tender my &s;elf to be &s;worn, that what I &s;hall &s;peak, &s;hall be nothing but the truth: they an&s;wered, they &s;hould be|lieve him without an Oath: he then &s;aid,</P>
<P><HI>Gentlemen,</HI> Upon the reque&s;t of the Magi&s;trates of <HI>Bri|&s;toll,</HI> I do here appear, and the bu&s;ine&s;s I am now upon, is the Cau&s;e of God, yet I &s;hall &s;peak to you in Scripture-Lan|guage,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Job 13.7.8.</NOTE> If I tell you I dare not lie for God (being bid to &s;peak on, did) <HI>Sir,</HI> As to this wretche's comming in, I was not an
<PB N="13" REF="15">
eye-witne&s;s. But that Te&s;timony which the Magi&s;trates have &s;ent up to your Honours, was affirmed by two Gentlemen, that were members of the Common-Councel of <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI> who were eye-witne&s;&s;es thereof.</P>
<P>The Chair-man (who was godly Mr. <HI>Bamfield,</HI> Recorder of <HI>Exeter</HI>) de&s;iring him to &s;peak on, he told them, he was pre&s;ent at the examination of this Bla&s;phemer, before the Maior of <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI> and noted his an&s;wers to what was there put to him in &s;hort hand, and after tran&s;cribed them, and compared them with tho&s;e &s;ent up to your Honours (which the Maior hath firmed) and found them to agree.</P>
<P><HI>Sir,</HI> The comming of this Bla&s;phemer into <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI> in &s;uch a manner, per&s;onating the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, did &s;o take with tho&s;e that fear the Lord (however others may deem it) that (to my knowledge) it did co&s;t many teares: and I do not know (in the&s;e dividing times) what did better take among&s;t us then this, when we heard, that upon our Bur|ge&s;&s;es Report of it to the Hou&s;e, the Parliament &s;o re&s;ented it, as to choo&s;e out from among&s;t them&s;elves, your Honours to take notice of it. And truly Sir, though it be very &s;ad to us, that we are the Head Quarters of this generation of Quakers, that hath brought forth &s;uch an Impo&s;tor, yet we look upon it as a providence, that it is in time of Parliament. And we have thus far witne&s;t again&s;t it, and &s;hall leave it to your Honours wi&s;dom, to do as God &s;hall direct you.</P>
<P>Upon <HI>Wedne&s;day</HI> the 25. of <HI>Novemb.</HI> the Committee met again, and then agreed to deliver their Report to the Hou&s;e, which they did upon the 4th of <HI>Decemb.</HI> in 15 &s;heets of paper. It being read in the Hou&s;e, not one Member ex|cepted again&s;t any thing in it; but upon debate, not know|ing but it might concern his life, they generally agreed to hear him them&s;elves fir&s;t.</P>
<P>The &s;ixth of <HI>Decemb. Nailer</HI> was &s;ent for, and called to the Barre, the Report of the Committee was particularly read in parts, and his an&s;wer required to each Head.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Whether his an&s;wer before the Committee to the&s;e things, were thus? He an&s;wered to every head yea, and denyed not any part thereof.</P>
<P><PB N="41" REF="16">Whereupon the Hou&s;e agreed upon all the matter of fact reported by the Committee, and adjudged it horrid Bla&s;phe|my, and he a Grand Impo&s;tor and deceiver of the people, and ordered him clo&s;e pri&s;oner.</P>
<P>After 8. or 9. dayes debate, upon the 16th of <HI>December,</HI> the Hou&s;e came to a Re&s;olution in <HI>Nailers</HI> bu&s;ine&s;s, and up|on a divi&s;ion of the Hou&s;e, it being carried in the Negative, that the que&s;tion for death &s;hould not be put; The Hou&s;e then con&s;idered what the puni&s;hment &s;hould be, if not death: So they voted his puni&s;hment to be as followeth.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Nailor's</HI> Sen|tence.</NOTE>That upon <HI>Thur&s;day</HI> next, the 18th of <HI>Decemb.</HI> he &s;tand in the Pillory two houres, in the new Pallace yard, with a paper of his offence and crime in his brea&s;t. And then pre|&s;ently to be whipt by the Hangman, to the old Exchange: upon <HI>Saturday</HI> following, to be put in the Pillory for two houres, before the Exchange; and then bored through the tongue with a hot Iron, and &s;tigmatized with the letter <HI>B.</HI> in his fore-head: And afterwards, be by the Sheriffs of <HI>Lon|don,</HI> conveyed to <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI> and there ride through the City up|on a Hor&s;e, with his face to the Hor&s;e tail, and then publick|ly whipt through the Town: And then by the Sheriffs of <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI> to be conveyed to <HI>Bridewel</HI> in <HI>London,</HI> there to be kept clo&s;e Pri&s;oner, from all &s;ociety of people, from pen, ink and paper, kept to hard labour, and to eat no more than he yearns by his labour, and not to be relea&s;ed till further order from the Parliament.</P>
<P>The next day being the 17th of <HI>December, Nailor</HI> was brought to the Barre, to receive his &s;entence agreed upon.</P>
<P>The next day, <HI>Thur&s;day</HI> the 18th of Decemb. <HI>Nailor</HI> ac|cording to his &s;entence, &s;tood in the Pillory in the new Pal|lace yard two houres, and immediately after, was from thence whipt by the Hangman to the old Exchange.</P>
<P>Upon <HI>Saturday</HI> following, being to receive the remain|der of his puni&s;hment there (<HI>London</HI>) in the morning was a Petition &s;ent in to the Parliament, to de&s;ire the re&s;piting of his puni&s;hment for a few dayes (he being not well) lea&s;t it &s;hould endanger his life.</P>
<Q><TEXT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="petition">
<PB N="15" REF="16">
<HEAD>To the Parliament of the Common-wealth of <HI>England, Scotland,</HI> and <HI>Ireland.</HI></HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">The humble Petition of the per&s;ons, who&s;e names are underwritten.</HEAD>
<OPENER>Humbly Sheweth,</OPENER>
<P>THat we are credibly informed, (by tho&s;e eyes that have &s;een it) that <HI>James Nailor</HI> is in a very ill and dangerous condition of body, not fit to undergo that part of your &s;en|tence he is adjudged unto this day, and were de&s;ired to ac|quaint this Honourable Hou&s;e &s;o much, And to beg the re&s;pite of a week, or &s;ome &s;mall time, as to your wi&s;dom and goodne&s;s &s;hall &s;eem meet, that he may recover a little &s;trength, before he be called forth again: Which office of charity we could not refu&s;e, though we are not partakers with him, nor abettors of him, in any things that have occa|&s;ioned this &s;entence.</P>
<P>Therefore &s;ince we believe, it is not your intent to de&s;troy that life which you &s;pared in your &s;entence. We humbly pray, an Order of Reprieve may be granted for a few dayes, and it will be accepted as an Act of your Chri&s;tian modera|tion and clemency.</P>
<CLOSER><HI>And we &s;hall pray, &amp;c.</HI>
<SIGNED><LIST>
<ITEM><HI>T.Z. J. S.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>J. W. C. H.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT></Q>
<P>This Petition occa&s;ioned this Order following.</P>
<Q><TEXT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="order">
<OPENER>Ordered,</OPENER>
<P>That the further puni&s;hment of <HI>James Nailor,</HI> which &s;hould have been on this day, &s;hall be &s;u&s;pended till this day &s;evenight, and be executed on him then, and that the She|riffs of <HI>London</HI> and <HI>Middle&s;ex,</HI> do ob&s;erve the Order accor|dingly.</P>
<CLOSER><DATE><HI>Tue&s;day</HI></DATE></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT></Q>
<P><PB N="16" REF="17"><HI>Tue&s;day</HI> after being the 23. of <HI>Decemb.</HI> there came near about an hundred men, with a Petition to the Parliament door, for the remitting the re&s;t of <HI>Nailors</HI> puni&s;hment, The Hou&s;e under&s;tanding of it, many worthy Members would have had it rejected, but the Hou&s;e was divided, and at la&s;t, put to the Vote, whether to be admitted or no, which was carried in the Affirmative; whereupon, the Petition was call|ed in, and one Mr. <HI>Jo&s;hua Sprigg,</HI> (formerly an Indepen|dent Mini&s;ter) pre&s;ented it at the Barre before the Hou&s;e, and made a &s;hort Speech before the delivery of it, the Speech I could not get, but the Petition was as followeth.</P>
<Q><TEXT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="petition">
<HEAD>To the Parliament of the Common-wealth of <HI>England, Scotland,</HI> and <HI>Ireland,</HI> &amp;c.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">The humble Petition of divers peaceable and well af|fected per&s;ons, in the Cities of <HI>London</HI> and <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter,</HI> in behalf of them&s;elves and many others.</HEAD>
<OPENER>SHEWETH,</OPENER>
<P>THat your moderation and clemency, in re&s;piting the pun|i&s;hment of <HI>James Nailor,</HI> in con&s;ideration of his illne&s;s of body, hath refre&s;hed the hearts of many thou&s;ands in the&s;e Cities, altogether unconcerned in his practice, And hath opened their eyes to &s;ee &s;omething more than the ter|rors of Mount <HI>Sinai,</HI> to dwell upon your Honourable Hou&s;e, and hath likewi&s;e given them &s;ome hopes, to &s;ee you come forth in the Spirit of our Lord Je&s;us, yet more and more, to the convincement of tho&s;e that erre, and are out of the way.</P>
<P>Wherefore we mo&s;t humbly beg your pardon, that are con|&s;trained to appear before you in &s;uch a &s;uit, (not daring to do otherwi&s;e) that you would remit the remaining part of your &s;entence, again&s;t the &s;aid <HI>James Nailor,</HI> leaving him to the Lord, and to &s;uch Go&s;pel remedies, as he hath &s;ancti|fied.</P>
<P><PB N="17" REF="17">And we are per&s;waded, you will find &s;uch a cour&s;e of love and forbearance more effectual to reclaim, and will leave a Seal of your love and tenderne&s;s upon our Spirits.</P>
<CLOSER>And we &s;hall pray, &amp;c.</CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT></Q>
<P>The &s;ub&s;tance of the Petition was for the remitting and pardoning of the re&s;idue of <HI>Nailors</HI> puni&s;hment; the Par|liament that day came to no re&s;ult about it, but broke up.</P>
<P>This Petition was in the fir&s;t place &s;ub&s;cribed by Col. <HI>Scrope,</HI> &s;ometimes Governour of the Ca&s;tle and Fort of <HI>Bri&s;tol.</HI></P>
<P>The Petition to the Parliament, being not like to take that effect they hoped, they made their addre&s;s to the Protector, as followeth.</P>
<Q><TEXT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="petition">
<HEAD>To his Highne&s;s, <HI>Oliver</HI> Lord Protector of the Com|mon-wealth of <HI>England,</HI> S. and J. and the Dominions thereunto belonging.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">The humble Petition, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>SHEWETH,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>THat your Petitioners (having out of tenderne&s;s to the good cau&s;e of our &s;piritual and civil Liberties) concern|ed in &s;ome late proceedings of the Hou&s;e of Parliament, and to the good of the&s;e Nations, and the government thereof, appeared in a Petition to the Parliament, (a Copy whereof, is hereunto annexed) for the remitting the remaining pun|i&s;hment of <HI>James Nailor:</HI> which Petition, is received into the Hou&s;e, and re&s;teth there; We humbly conceive it our duty al&s;o, in con&s;ideration of the joint intere&s;t, which your Highne&s;s with the Parliament hath, by the In&s;trument of Government in the Legi&s;lative power, to make our humble addre&s;s and reque&s;t to your Highne&s;s.</P>
<P>That you will be plea&s;ed, according to all former Decla|rations,
<PB N="18" REF="18">
and the experience we have had, of your Highne&s;&s;es care of this tender intere&s;t of Liberty of Con&s;cience, to weigh the con&s;equence of the&s;e late proceedings, and, ac|cording to the 37th Article of the In&s;trument afore&s;aid, and one of the grounds you declare upon in the Warre with <HI>Spain,</HI> your Highne&s;s will &s;tand up for the poor people of God in this day.</P>
<P>Wherein your Highne&s;s will not do more right to your Petitioners, than to your &s;elf and the&s;e Nations.</P>
<CLOSER>And we &s;hall pray, &amp;c.</CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT></Q>
<P><HI>Fryday</HI> being the 26. of <HI>December,</HI> his Highne&s;s the Lord Protector &s;ent a Letter to the Hou&s;e, about the bu&s;ine&s;s of <HI>Nailer,</HI> as followeth,</P>
<LETTER>
<OPENER><SIGNED>Oliver P.</SIGNED></OPENER>
<P>RIght tru&s;ty, and right well beloved, We greet you well, Having taken notice of a Judgement, lately given by your &s;elves, again&s;t one <HI>James Nailer,</HI> Although we de|te&s;t and abhorre the giving or occa&s;ioning the lea&s;t counte|nance to per&s;ons of &s;uch opinions or practi&s;es, who are un|der guilt of &s;uch crimes, as are commonly imputed to the &s;aid per&s;on: Yet, We being intere&s;&s;ed in the pre&s;ent Govern|ment, on the behalf of the people of the e Nations, and not knowing how far &s;uch a proceeding, wholly without us, might extend in the con&s;equences of it, do de&s;ire, that the Hou&s;e will let us know the grounds and the Rea&s;ons, where|upon they have proceeded.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE>Given at <HI>White-hall</HI> <DATE><HI>the</HI> 25. <HI>of Decemb.</HI> 1656.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
<TRAILER>To our Right tru&s;ty and well beloved, Sir <HI>Tho: Widdrington,</HI> Knight, Speaker of the Parliament.</TRAILER>
</LETTER>
<P>This Letter occa&s;ioned a great Debate in the Hou&s;e, to con&s;ider, what An&s;wer &s;hould be returned to it.</P>
<P>An An&s;wer was not agreed upon, but another day ap|pointed, <HI>viz. Tue&s;day</HI> following, mean while, the Parlia|ment
<PB N="19" REF="18">
(like them&s;elves) orders <HI>Nailor</HI> to receive the remain|der of his puni&s;hment, (according to his &s;entence) which up|on <HI>Saturday</HI> the 27. of <HI>December,</HI> was executed upon him, &s;tanding in the Pillory before the <HI>Exchange</HI> two houres, and after that, was bored through the tongue with a hot Iron: And then &s;tigmatized with the letter <HI>B.</HI> in his fore-head, and &s;o &s;ent again to pri&s;on.</P>
<P>At this time, <HI>Nailor</HI> receiving the &s;econd part of his pun|i&s;hment, there was one <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">A Quaker.</NOTE> <HI>Robert Rich,</HI> a Merchant, &s;uffer'd to &s;tand on the &s;tage with him by the Pillory, who took a pa|per out of his pocket, and placed it over his head, whereon was written, It is written, <HI>Luke</HI> 23.38. <HI>This is the King of the Jewes.</HI> Oh wretched impudency, and horrid Bla&s;phe|my! and yet this wretch never que&s;tion'd; only an Officer &s;tept up, and pull'd it down.</P>
<P>The 16th of Jan. <HI>Nailor</HI> came to <HI>Lawfords</HI> gate at <HI>Bri|&s;toll,</HI> and there lay that night, being &s;ent by the Sheriffs of <HI>London,</HI> to the Sheriffs of <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI> to be deliver'd to them, who before had received this Order, as followeth.</P>
<LETTER>
<P>Whereas <HI>James Nailor</HI> is by Parliament adjudged, to be guilty of Horrid Bla&s;phemy, and a Grand Impo&s;tor, and a great Seducer of the people, whereupon Judgement was given, and in that Judgement it is, among&s;t other things, ad|judged, that the &s;aid <HI>James Nailor</HI> be &s;ent to the City of <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI> and conveyed into, and through the &s;ame City, on a Hor&s;e bare ridged, with his face backwards, and there al&s;o publickly whipped, the next Market day after he comes thi|ther, And that after the execution of this puni&s;hment, he be committed to pri&s;on in <HI>Bridewell London.</HI></P>
<P>The&s;e are therefore, by vertue of an Order of Parliament, to require you, to receive the &s;aid <HI>James Nailor,</HI> from the hands of the Sheriffs of <HI>London</HI> and <HI>Middle&s;ex,</HI> or their De|puties, and that you do execute, or cau&s;e the &s;aid Judgement, in all and every the particulars afore&s;aid, to be duly executed and performed, And that thereupon, you convey, or cau&s;e the &s;aid <HI>James Nailor</HI> to be &s;afely conveyed from <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI> to the City of <HI>London,</HI> and there to be delivered unto the Go|vernours of <HI>Bridewell London,</HI> there to be dealt withall, accor|ding
<PB N="20" REF="19">
to the &s;aid Judgement. Whereof you are not to fail. And for doing whereof, this &s;hall be your Warrant in that behalf.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE>Dated <DATE>the 7th <HI>of Jan</HI> 1656.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED>Tho: Widdrington, Speaker.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
<TRAILER>To the Sheriffs of the City of Bri&s;tol.</TRAILER>
</LETTER>
<P>The 17th of <HI>Jan</HI> (according to his &s;entence) <HI>Nailor</HI> took Hor&s;e at <HI>Lawford&s;gate,</HI> the entrance into the City, and rode with his face to the hor&s;e tail, through the City, with|out <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">The place of his fir&s;t riding in.</NOTE> <HI>Redcliffe gate,</HI> and there alighted, and brought to the middle of <HI>Thomas Street,</HI> and there &s;tript, and then tyed to the hor&s;e, to be whipt from thence back again to the middle of <HI>Broadstreet.</HI></P>
<P>Now in this Bla&s;phemer's puni&s;hment, that Proverb [of <HI>Ki&s;&s;ing goes by favour</HI>] is alter'd: For with the Hangman at <HI>London,</HI> and (I will not &s;ay whom) here at <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI> whip|ping goes by favour: but this Order following, was given to Mr. <HI>Roch,</HI> the Keeper of <HI>Newgate,</HI> in reference to the favou|ring of him.</P>
<LETTER>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Mr. Roch,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>CAu&s;e <HI>James Nailor</HI> to ride in at <HI>Lawford&s;gate,</HI> upon a Hor&s;e bare ridg'd, with his face backwards, from thence along <HI>Wine&s;treet,</HI> to the <HI>Tol&s;ey,</HI> thence down <HI>High &s;treet,</HI> over the Bridge, and out at <HI>Redcliffe gate,</HI> there let him alight, and bring him into St. <HI>Thomas &s;treet,</HI> and cau&s;e him to be &s;tript, and made fa&s;t to the Cart hor&s;e, and there in the Market fir&s;t whipped, from thence to the foot of the Bridge, there whipt; thence to the end of the Bridge, there whipt; thence to the middle of <HI>High&s;treet,</HI> there whipt; thence to the <HI>Tol&s;ey,</HI> there whipt; thence to the middle of <HI>Broad&s;treet,</HI> there whipt; And then turn into the <HI>Taylors Hall,</HI> there relea&s;e him from the Cart-hor&s;e, and let him put on his Clothes, and carry him from thence to Newgate, by Tower lane, the back way.</P>
</LETTER>
<P>Now whereas cu&s;tommarily the Bellman goes before, and
<PB N="21" REF="19">
makes Proclamation of the offence of the offendor, yet this unparalleld Bla&s;phemer (though as vitious as erronious) the Keeper commands the Bellman to the contrary, and &s;uffers one <HI>Jones</HI> a Copper&s;mith, and an ugly Quaker to hold back the Beadle's Arm, when &s;triking, and in all the way the Bell rang but &s;ix times, which, according to cu&s;tom of &s;uch cor|rection, &s;hould have been more, for farre le&s;&s;er, (nay no) fault in compari&s;on to this; But which is wor&s;e, and more &s;ad, there was one <HI>Robert Rich,</HI> a mon&s;trous wretch, having a Mairmaids head (&s;uch was the length of his hair) that did ride bare before, &s;inging, Holy, holy, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> This <HI>Rich,</HI> the 15th of <HI>Decemb.</HI> &s;ent in to the Speaker of the Parliament a letter, with this impudent Challenge.</P>
<P>If I may have liberty of tho&s;e that &s;it in the Parliament, I do here at their door attend, and am ready, out of the Scriptures of truth, to &s;hew, that not any thing <HI>James Nailor</HI> hath &s;aid or done, is Bla&s;phemy, or worthy either of death or bonds; but to return,</P>
<P>Ah poor &s;illy <HI>Bri&s;tol</HI>! How hath the imprudent neglect or timorou&s;ne&s;s of &s;ome in thee, in not cru&s;hing the &s;hell, and the &s;otti&s;h &s;educed credulity or indulgence of other &s;ome, in nouri&s;hing the brood of this Serpentine Generation of Qua|kers, given them too much advantage, to fulfill among us, that infallible prediction of the Apo&s;tle, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.13. Evil men and &s;educers &s;hall wax wor&s;e and wor&s;e, deceiving, and being deceived. For that <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ezek. 8.23.</NOTE> behind is wor&s;e yet: The&s;e wretch|ed Quakers that would &s;carce &s;eem to own <HI>Nailor</HI> at his comming in the 24. of <HI>Octob.</HI> yet now many accompanie him, and when he was going to hor&s;e at the gate, though in that &s;hameful manner (as before) yet u&s;e the&s;e expre&s;&s;ions which follow.</P>
<P>Behold the Lamb of God, &s;aith one, This is the corner|&s;tone which the builders refu&s;ed; another:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sworn by <HI>John Iones,</HI> Ship-wright.</NOTE> They &s;hall look upon him whom they have pierced (and wept) another. Let all the Angels in Heaven wor&s;hip him, a fifth, Give honour to whom honour belongeth. The&s;e wretches wept, but &s;ure he hath a hard heart, that doth not weep in earne&s;t, to hear and &s;ee &s;uch Bla&s;phemies again&s;t the true Je&s;us (as the&s;e are)
<PB N="22" REF="20">
and tho&s;e Titles that belong unto him, to be attributed to &s;uch a bla&s;phemous wretch as this is; who upon Fryday night lying at the Lamb without <HI>Lawfords gate,</HI> (being the night he came thither,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sworn by <HI>Tho. Jeffries,</HI> and <HI>Ruth Harris.</HI></NOTE> Jan. 16.) had a woman in bed with him, (I &s;ay in bed) by this circum&s;tance, in the Oath taken before the Maior. [The Maid and Tap&s;ter, &s;aw a woman at 10. of the Clock at night, on the farther &s;ide of the bed, and covered, lying with her arms over the rug] and though they would not &s;wear &s;he was naked, and in the bed, yet the Maid did &s;wear, that about 5 of the Clock the next morning, this (whori&s;h) woman, was lying in the &s;ame place and manner. One &s;uch action you have before in the third page, offer'd to be &s;worn but enough and too much.</P>
<P>After this, the Sheriffs of <HI>Bri&s;tol</HI> &s;ent him up to the Go|vernour of <HI>Bridewell London,</HI> who had received this Order, as followeth.</P>
<Q><TEXT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="order">
<P>Whereas <HI>James Nailor</HI> is by Parliament, adjudged to be guilty of horrid bla&s;phemy, and a grand Impo&s;tor, and a great Seducer of the People, whereupon Judge|ment was this day given, and in that Judgement it is (among&s;t other things) adjudged, That the &s;aid <HI>James Nailor</HI> be &s;ent from <HI>Bri&s;tol</HI> to <HI>London,</HI> and commit|ted to pri&s;on in <HI>Bridewel</HI> there, and re&s;trained there from the &s;ociety of all people, and kept to hard labour, till he &s;hall be relea&s;ed by Parliament. And during that time, be debarred from the u&s;e of pen, ink and paper, and &s;hall have no relief but what he earnes by daily la|bour.</P>
<P>The&s;e are therefore by vertue of an Order of <HI>Parlia|ment,</HI> to require you, or your Deputy, to receive from the Sheriffs of <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI> or their Deputies, the &s;aid <HI>James Nailor,</HI> and that you do execute, or cau&s;e the &s;aid Judgement, in all and every the particulars afore|&s;aid, to be duly executed and performed. Whereof you
<PB N="23" REF="20">
are not to fail; for doing whereof, this &s;hall be your Warrant in that behalf.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE>Dated <DATE>the 16th of Decemb. 1656.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED>Tho. Widrington, Speaker.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
<TRAILER>To the Governour of <HI>Bridewel-London.</HI></TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT></Q>
<P>Now &s;ome mercy it is in the&s;e evil times (wherein every man almo&s;t doth what is right in his own eyes) that there are &s;ome Magi&s;trates who have endeavoured (though in Parliament, and, you &s;ee el&s;e-where,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iudg. 17.6. &amp; 18.7.</NOTE> with great oppo&s;ition) to put offendors to open &s;hame. But though Ju&s;tice, and Ju|&s;tices here, may be mock'd, God is not,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 6.7.</NOTE> (and men &s;hall one day know) will not be mockt. What an&s;wer will the&s;e wretches make,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 4.2.</NOTE> when God &s;hall put this Que&s;t <HI>O ye Sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into &s;hame?</HI> For God him&s;elf hath &s;aid, <HI>I am the Lord, that is my name,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 42.8.</NOTE> <HI>and my glory will I not give to another.</HI> And though wretches would take it, yet they mu&s;t &s;tand off, they &s;hall not have it; nay, they cannot have it. For upon all the glory &s;hall be a defence. If upon the Church the body,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 4. v. 5.</NOTE> much more on Chri&s;t the Head.</P>
<P>I have now done as to this Impo&s;tor, and his deluded ones: And &s;hall &s;ay as the Apo&s;tle did to that Sorcerer (&s;o to him.) Thy heart is not right in the &s;ight of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 8.21, 22, 23.</NOTE> Repent therefore of this thy wickedne&s;s, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee, for I per|ceive that thou art in the gall of bitterne&s;s, and in the bond of iniquity. See <HI>Mat.</HI> 12.31, 32.</P>
<P>Here you have had a &s;ad, but a true account of Bla&s;phe|my in the highe&s;t, and though <HI>Nailor</HI> him&s;elf, and &s;ome of the others, did juggle in their an&s;wers, yet <HI>Dorcas Erbury</HI> &s;peaks the &s;en&s;e of them all.</P>
<P>Now though the times may be &s;uch as to que&s;tion, whether there be any Bla&s;phemy or no; yet God will one day &s;ay, I know the Bla&s;phemy of them which &s;ay they are Jewes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 2.9.</NOTE> and are not, but are the Synagogue of Satan: Will he not much
<PB N="24" REF="21">
more &s;ay it of this wretch, that &s;aith he, is Je&s;us, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>This is a Bla&s;phemy to be bewailed, if po&s;&s;ible, with teares of blood;<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 73.9. Ephe&s;. 4.10.</NOTE> for it reacheth to the Heavens, nay, to him that is exalted above the Heavens (I &s;uppo&s;e in dignity.)</P>
<P>And that my heart may be the more affected with him, my dear Lord and Saviour, again&s;t whom all this is, I &s;hall de&s;ire to call to mind two things.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. His Relation to me.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. His &s;ufferings for me, and both upon the account of free grace.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>And oh that my heart might, not only be affected with, but my &s;oul afflicted for it, That all this &s;hould be &s;aid and done again&s;t him who is my head, the Lord my Righteou&s;|ne&s;s, my Advocate, my Mediator, my Saviour, my Chri&s;t, my Je&s;us, my continual Interce&s;&s;or, my Wi&s;dom, Sanctification, and Redemption, my All in all.</P>
<P>Now con&s;idering our Relation, methinks it &s;hould &s;often the harde&s;t heart, to wear it &s;elf out with melting teares, What, is all this again&s;t my elder Brother? yea, my Lord and my God? What, all done again&s;t my loving and lovely Je&s;us?</P>
<P>But that it may (if po&s;&s;ible) be more affected (as I am &s;ure it ought to be) let us con&s;ider, And methinks Chri&s;t is now &s;peaking from Heaven to us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 6.67.</NOTE> in the&s;e apo&s;tatizing dayes, as he did to his Di&s;ciples. Will ye al&s;o go away? And may not Chri&s;t &s;ay, as the Lord doth, wherein have I wearied you? te|&s;tifie again&s;t me.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mica. 6.3.</NOTE></P>
<P>He can &s;ay to us, I have unthroned my &s;elf of my glory with my Father, and took upon me your nature, and &s;o came in it nearer to you then others, and will ye go away? What you? If I had done no more, this had been enough to have kept you to me for ever, and not look after another. I took your nature upon me, not for any plea&s;ure I had in it, or ea&s;e by it: but that by &s;uffering in it, you might be pre|&s;erved.</P>
<P>What had I done might our dear Je&s;us &s;ay, who can charge me with &s;in? the Devil him&s;elf cannot do it, the
<PB N="25" REF="21">
Prince of this world commeth, and hath nothing in me.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 14.30.</NOTE> If all I did &s;uffer was for you, &s;tanding in your room, &s;o to &s;uf|fer, will you thus requite me? May not Chri&s;t &s;ay, as the Lord doth by <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>? Do ye thus requite the Lord? Oh fooli&s;h people and unwi&s;e! Is not he thy Father,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 32.6.</NOTE> (Saviour) that hath bought thee? Hath he not made thee, and e&s;ta|bli&s;hed thee? Surely we may &s;ay as in the ver&s;e before,<NOTE PLACE="marg">ver&s;. 5.</NOTE> Their &s;pot is not the &s;pot of his children, that thus bla&s;pheme him, or, as it is (more emphatical) in the Margin, That they are not his children, that is their blot.</P>
<P>But now &s;ay &s;ome of the&s;e &s;potted and blotted ones, what is Chri&s;t? what did this Chri&s;t at <HI>Jeru&s;alem?</HI> We have an an&s;wer at hand, out of the word of truth (if you had grace to believe it.)</P>
<P>As to what he is, I an&s;wer, He is the only begotten Son of God: and yet the Son of man, in this one Scripture both, And the Word is made fle&s;h, and dwelt among us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 1.14.</NOTE> and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.</P>
<P>As to what he did?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> But this man, after he had offered one Sacrifice for ever, &s;at down at the right hand of God.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 10.12.</NOTE></P>
<P>But believing &s;oul (to thee I de&s;ire to &s;peak) &s;ee and be|hold what he did, when he &s;tood in our &s;tead, to grapple with his Fathers wrath for us, And all we &s;hall &s;ee it out of that Go&s;pel already preached and received; And if an An|gel from Heaven,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 1.8.</NOTE> preach any other (Go&s;pel) let him be ac|cur&s;ed.</P>
<P>Con&s;ider we then his fir&s;t bleeding,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Bleeding. Luk. 2.21.</NOTE> when for our &s;akes he &s;ubmitted to (the painful Ordinance of) Circumci&s;ion,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Bleeding. Luk. 2.21.</NOTE> where|by al&s;o we may receive much benefit, it by faith &amp; the opera|tion of the holy Spirit in our hearts (being circumci&s;ed by the circumci&s;ion made without hands:) we apply it to our &s;elves, in putting off the body of the &s;ins of the fle&s;h, by the circum|ci&s;ion of Chri&s;t. <HI>Colo&s;.</HI> 2.11. But I &s;hall by and by let you &s;ee, no le&s;&s;e then eleven particular bleedings more, which I tru&s;t, will help affect our hearts, and con&s;train us the more to love and obey him.</P>
<P><PB N="26" REF="22"><NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk 22.39. compared with 44. Mat. 26.39.42.44.</NOTE>Let us in the next place, con&s;ider his bleeding at the Mount of <HI>Olives:</HI> And O that we could con&s;ider (as we &s;hould) his Agony there! This, this was his &s;oul afflicting pa&s;&s;ion, praying, <HI>If thou be willing, let this Cup pa&s;&s;e from me</HI> (three times) And being in an Agony (&s;aith the Text) he prayed more earne&s;tly, and his &s;weat (Mark O &s;oul) was as it were great drops of blood,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Bleeding.</NOTE> falling down to the ground. This ear|ne&s;tne&s;s in prayer, was a wre&s;tling to purpo&s;e (even beyond <HI>Jacob's,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 32.24.28.</NOTE> though he prevailed with God.)</P>
<P>Con&s;ider O my &s;oul, al&s;o the willingne&s;s of thy Saviour, after this deep Agony, and great conflict with his Father, he knowing all things that &s;hould come upon him, goes forth, and meets the traytor and his company, and &s;aid unto them, <HI>Whom &s;eek ye?</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 18.4.</NOTE></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 22.66.</NOTE>Now as thou &s;ee&s;t the readine&s;s of thy Saviour, &s;o be|hold al&s;o the malice of the enemy, their readine&s;s (&s;aith the Text.) And as &s;oon as it was day, the Elders of the people, and the chief Prie&s;ts and Scribes came together, and led him into their Coun&s;el (As &s;oon as it was day they did it) Here was no Re&s;pite to the true Je&s;us.</P>
<P>Then if we con&s;ider his Executioners, they are not men of an effeminate &s;pirit; but &s;aith the Text, The&s;e things there|fore the Souldiers did,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 19.24. Ezek. 21.31.</NOTE> who (as the Prophet hath it) are men bruti&s;h and skilful to de&s;troy; yea, and to deceive too; who are men burning (&s;aith the Margin) their rage and malice &s;ets them on fire, and then who can &s;tand before it?</P>
<P>Oh &s;oul! to help thee, yet further to mourn over thy dear Saviour, con&s;ider the&s;e men, (Souldiers) are not only skilful to de&s;troy, but its a pa&s;&s;e-time to them, witne&s;s that &s;aying of two great Souldiers, <HI>Abner</HI> and <HI>Joab</HI>; And <HI>Abner</HI> &s;aid to <HI>Joab,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Sam. 2.14.</NOTE> Let the young men now ari&s;e, and play before us, And <HI>Joab</HI> &s;aid, Let them ari&s;e, and they did, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>And now oh my &s;oul! look upon thy dear Je&s;us, this true Je&s;us is &s;courged indeed,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 27.26. 3. Bleeding.</NOTE> in earne&s;t, it was not a mock-pun|i&s;hment, his &s;acred body was whipt to purpo&s;e, &s;o that if the Spou&s;e &s;hould be asken, What is thy beloved more than ano|ther beloved?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cant. 5.9.</NOTE> &s;he might an&s;wer, Now my beloved is black and blew (not white and ruddy.) And after this, none comes
<PB N="27" REF="22">
to wa&s;h &amp; &s;upple his &s;tripes; but immediately delivered into the hands of the&s;e mercile&s;s men (Souldiers.) And concerning his whipping, Hi&s;tories tell us, That their whips were of &s;mall cord &amp; wires, that &s;o every &s;troak might tear the fle&s;h. (Ah my dear Je&s;us) Soul, can&s;t thou think his &s;weet body was not torn to purpo&s;e by them, when that wretch (<HI>Pilate</HI>) deli|vered him up to their will? Do what you will with him: was ever any Malefactor &s;o delivered up? Mark what St. <HI>Luke</HI> &s;aith, And he relea&s;ed unto them, him that for &s;edition and murder was ca&s;t into pri&s;on, whom they had de&s;ired,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 23.25.</NOTE> but he delivered Je&s;us to their will, to do with him what they would. (So one Tran&s;lation.)</P>
<P>After this, the Souldiers took Je&s;us into the Common Hall, and they &s;tript him (the Souldiers did.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 27.27, 28. 4 Bleeding.</NOTE>) Soul do&s;t thou think it was gently done? no, no, this fetcht (I &s;uppo&s;e) bloud, Holy Je&s;us! from thy &s;weet (but very &s;ore) body again.</P>
<P>After this, they put on him a Roab (as they call it) and when they had platted a Crown of thorns, they, (the Soul|diers) put it upon his head: Soul,<NOTE PLACE="marg">ver&s;. 29.</NOTE> do&s;t thou think it was ten|derly done? It may be they handled it &s;o, but they did not head it &s;o. Now behold the bloud of thy Saviour,<NOTE PLACE="marg">5. Bleeding.</NOTE> from his &s;acred head (thy head) running down every way. And when they had fa&s;tned the Crown, then they put a Reed in his right hand, and they bowed the knee before him, (who in|deed was worthy to be wor&s;hipped, though they mocked him,) &s;aying, Hail King of the Jewes, And they &s;pat upon him (the Souldiers did) and &s;mote him with their hands,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 19.3. Mat. 27.30.</NOTE> and took the Reed, and &s;mote him on the head. Ah dear &s;oul, fre&s;h bleeding with a witne&s;s;<NOTE PLACE="marg">6. Bleeding.</NOTE> for &s;uch mens blowes (when enraged) are not light, his &s;weet cheeks, and &s;acred head, felt the weight of their fingers. Now Soul, look into the face of thy dear Saviour, and &s;ee how tho&s;e &s;weet Cheeks are be|&s;meared with bloud and &s;pitting: will not this draw teares? (oh heart, harder than the neather Mill-&s;tone) again.</P>
<P>After they had mocked him, they took the Roab off from him, Gently? no,<NOTE PLACE="marg">ver&s;. 31.</NOTE> no (the Souldiers did it) and did not the plucking off of this woollen Garment (by &s;uch men)
<PB N="28" REF="23">
fetch blood again?<NOTE PLACE="marg">7. Bleeding. I &s;uppo&s;e the plucking off this Roab, fetcht blood al&s;o, becau&s;e we finde, v. 28. they &s;tript him be|fore they put it on. Iohn 19.17.</NOTE> doubtle&s;s O &s;oul! thy Saviour bled a fre&s;h, do not we know how tedious it is to have a little woollen cling but to a &s;mall &s;oare? Oh! How was then the plucking off that coat from my Saviours body, &s;o gored in blood by &s;uch mercile&s;s men? And yet all this is but pre|paration to crucifixion.</P>
<P>Now my &s;oul, now eye thy Saviour, in this pickle bear|ing (that which after bore him) his Cro&s;&s;e; (&s;o St. <HI>John</HI> hath it) que&s;tionle&s;s, bleeding as he went, with drops to the ground; for though they took the Reed out of his hand, and &s;mote him therewith, and that on the head, and took off their mocking Roab, yet we do not read, that they took off his real Crown of thorns, which cau&s;ed a continual bleeding. Well now he comes to his crucifying.</P>
<P>And when Chri&s;t was on the Cro&s;&s;e, he &s;aid to his Mo|ther, Woman,<NOTE PLACE="marg">ver&s;. 26.8. Bleeding. 9. Bleeding. 10 &amp; 11 Blee+ding.</NOTE> behold thy Son: &s;o &s;ay I, oh my &s;oul I Soul, behold thy Saviour, layd upon his Cro&s;&s;e, and behold one hand nayled, and by and by thou &s;halt &s;ee another harmle&s;s hand nayled, and then his lovely feet &s;ucce&s;&s;ively.</P>
<P>Mark oh &s;oul, not feet making ha&s;te to &s;hed innocent blood:<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 59.7. compared with Iohn 18.4.</NOTE> but tho&s;e feet of his were pierced, that were inno|cent, and yet readily carried him to &s;hed his own blood for others that were guilty; indeed &s;oul! Is this a truth? did his lovely feet thus carry him to that place where (for thee) they were thus pierced? then oh my &s;oul! learn to make this u&s;e of thy feet, the feet of thy body; or (thy affections) the feet of thy &s;oul, oh be thou, one of them that follow the Lamb (this Lamb) whither ever he goeth, &s;tep by &s;tep, oh my Soul!<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 41.2.</NOTE> be thou ready at his call (as that righteous man <HI>Abraham</HI> was) in all obedience to come up to his foot.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">12 Bleeding.</NOTE>And now Soul, Behold his 12th and la&s;t bleeding, when lifted up upon the Cro&s;&s;e, and his &s;acred &s;ide was pierced; cau&s;ing him to bleed to purpo&s;e, to the fini&s;hing of his own life, and accompli&s;hing of thy &s;alvation. Oh therefore, let him have thy heart in &s;ervice,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 19.34.</NOTE> for thou ha&s;t his blood in &s;a|crifice; and his heart blood might (forthwith as in the text) come out well enough for this al&s;o the Souldier did.</P>
<P><PB N="29" REF="23">Now &s;oul look up, and hear what thy Je&s;us &s;aid, It is fi|ni&s;hed: And behold what thy Je&s;us did (&s;aith the Text.<NOTE PLACE="marg">ver&s;. 30.</NOTE>) He bowed his head, and gave up the Gho&s;t.</P>
<P>The people hearing what was to be done,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 23.48.</NOTE> came together (&s;aith the Text) to &s;ee that &s;ight, And all the people that came together to that &s;ight, beholding the things which were done, &s;mote their brea&s;ts, and returned. Oh for an eye of Faith! to &s;ee thy Saviour, this ble&s;&s;ed &s;ight indeed, thy Je&s;us thus bowing down his bleeding head, and fini&s;hing the great work of Redemption for us. May we not &s;mite upon our hearts, and &s;ay, what have we done? What a bloudy &s;ight have my &s;ins made? And cry out,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 116.12.</NOTE> what &s;hall I render to this my Lord, for all the benefits I have gained by all the&s;e his &s;ufferings? oh let us lay a charge upon our &s;ouls!<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 103.1, 2, 3, 4.</NOTE> and &s;ay, <HI>Ble&s;&s;e the Lord O my Soul, and all that is within me, ble&s;&s;e his holy name: Ble&s;&s;e the Lord O my &s;oul, and forget not all his benefits.</HI> Who forgiveth all thine iniquities? who heal|eth all thy Di&s;ea&s;es? who redeemeth thy life from de&s;tructi|on? who crowneth thee (not with thorns, but) with loving kindne&s;s, and tender mercies? And all this gained to us, by this his bleeding, and that unto death.</P>
<P>Thus, oh Soul!<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 5.8, 10. 2 Cor. 5.14. Zach. 12.10.</NOTE> thou ha&s;t &s;een Chri&s;t's love &s;ealed with his blood, who when we were enemies, thus bled and died for us. Oh then! let the love of Chri&s;t con&s;train us to mourn over him, that was thus for us pierced: that is (among&s;t us) thus bla&s;phemed. Let it con&s;train us to love him again, to love his Word, (all his Ordinances, Saints; e&s;pecially his Mini&s;ters, and the more them,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 52.7.</NOTE> becau&s;e by Impo&s;tors and Se|ducers &s;o much maligned: now let their feet be more beauti|ful than ever, and that for their tidings &s;ake, as the Prophet faith.</P>
<P>And that we may &s;ee its a Go&s;pel-text and duty, the A|po&s;tle makes u&s;e of it from the Prophet, to be our duty thus to love and honour tho&s;e Teachers that are &s;ent (that have Commi&s;&s;ion, for its confined to them.) How &s;hall they preach except they be &s;ent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Go&s;pel of peace,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 10.15.</NOTE> and bring glad tidings of good things?</P>
<P><PB N="30" REF="24"><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3.5 ver&s;. 6.</NOTE>Now the Apo&s;tle &s;peaking, that in the la&s;t dayes, perilous times &s;hall come; among&s;t other &s;inners, brings in Bla&s;phe|mers, and they have al&s;o their form of godline&s;s. But the precept is, from &s;uch turn away, (not turn unto.) And the Apo&s;tle gives them this Character, They creep into Hou&s;es, and lead captive &s;illy <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Silly women are ea&s;ily led captive by <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ubtle men.</NOTE> women, (and men too, but) laden with &s;in.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Jud. 1 3.4.</NOTE>And we &s;hall &s;ee the Apo&s;tle <HI>Jude,</HI> directing his Epi&s;tle, not only to them that are &s;anctified by God the Father, but to the pre&s;erved in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and called; tells them, (though yet pre&s;erved) it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you, that you &s;hould earne&s;tly contend for the faith once delivered to the Saints. (Why all this, what's the matter?) The Rea&s;on is, for there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old, ordained to this con|demnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into la&s;civiou&s;ne&s;s, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t. Now doth not this Text &s;et forth this Impo&s;tor (<HI>Nailor</HI>) being &s;o exceeding vicious and erronious?</P>
<P>Ah poor <HI>Bri&s;tol</HI>! that thou mu&s;t (for indeed thou can'&s;t) witne&s;s this more then any. Thou maye&s;t &s;ay indeed, this is a day of trouble and rebuke,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 37.3, 4.</NOTE> and of Bla&s;phemy, it may be, the Lord our God will hear the words of <HI>Rab&s;hekah</HI> (this <HI>Nailor</HI>) and will reprove the words which the Lord our God hath heard; wherefore, lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left. What <HI>Hezekiah</HI> &s;aid to the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> do we that remnant that is yet left, &s;ay to you, all you de&s;pi&s;ed, contemned oppo&s;ed Prophets. For though the&s;e Seducers and their Pro&s;elytes deal &s;o with you, yet unto us that fear the Lord,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 4.1.</NOTE> you are in our account, the Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t, and Stewards of the My&s;teries of God: therefore for the Lords &s;ake, lift up your prayers for us, do not only preach to us, but make con&s;cience (in your private devotions) of praying for us;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 20.7.</NOTE> for that Text is an everla&s;ting truth. He is a Prophet, and &s;hall pray for thee. If you ask why we are &s;o earne&s;t? I'le tell you.</P>
<P>That remnant that is left, is but a remnant out of a rem|nant, and even in them (and me) are the &s;eeds of Apo&s;ta&s;ie;
<PB N="31" REF="24">
for Here&s;ie is a work of the fle&s;h, therefore pray for us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 5.20.</NOTE> pray that we al&s;o may perform our duty, which is, to pray for you.</P>
<P>And oh that the Spirit of prayer were recovered again in us! I do &s;omewhat remember, when the Sword was fir&s;t drawn in <HI>Ireland,</HI> how we were affected, con&s;idering our Brethren, and their leading the way to our own troubles, how this &s;tir'd up a &s;pirit of prayer, when we con&s;idered the Concomitants of Warre, and tho&s;e de&s;troying in&s;truments, which (as one &s;aith) made many times a harve&s;t for the De|vil) as glittering Swords, roaring Cannons, Skul-dividing Holberts, murdering Muskets; that while one is di&s;charging his Gun, another di&s;charges him of his life, and that [it may be] one Brother another; This did then &s;o put us a weep|ing and praying, that it could not be &s;aid,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 64.7.</NOTE> as the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> there is none that &s;tirreth up him&s;elf to take hold of thee. O you Teachers! pray your hearers into a praying po&s;ture: But it will be &s;aid, this is over now. I would it were, &s;uppo&s;e it be, is there no cau&s;e of weeping and praying Con|&s;ider.</P>
<P>When the Que&s;tion was put to <HI>Mary,</HI> Woman, why weepe&s;t thou? Oh &s;aith &s;he!<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 20.11, 13.</NOTE> (&s;peaking as a woman undon) they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.</P>
<P>Now though Warre be gone, and what the Souldiers have not taken away, we yet keep, yet do not men (Devils incar|nate) &s;eek to take away Sabbaths, Scriptures, Ordinances, Mini&s;ters, yea, our Lord Je&s;us his per&s;on, were he within their reach? and we know not where they would lay him. And may not we &s;ay again, the&s;e things the Souldiers did. And one of the Souldiers pierced his &s;ide,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 19.24, 34.</NOTE>) and was not <HI>Nailor</HI> a Souldier, as well as a famous infamous Quaker and Bla&s;phemer?</P>
<P>And now Brethren, let none take offence, before it be given, becau&s;e I have in &s;etting forth the &s;ufferings of Chri&s;t, the Captain of our Salvation, &s;o oft mentioned the word Souldier; for its frequent in all our four Evangeli&s;ts, and my practice hath declared, that I own Warre, as an Ordinance
<PB N="32" REF="25">
of God, when rightly &s;tated, but let me &s;ay this to them, and to my own &s;oul, to help us to lament, let us look upon <HI>Da|vid,</HI> an eminent in&s;tance, who, though he was a Souldier, a man of much bloud; he was al&s;o a Saint, a real Saint, a man of many teares,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 119.136</NOTE> (&s;aith he) Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, becau&s;e they keep not thy Law.</P>
<P>Truly, if we can &s;ay as <HI>Nehemiah</HI> (that good man) did of him&s;elf (as to the Kings Di&s;cerning) I had not [&s;aith he] been before time &s;ad in his pre&s;ence.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Nehem. 2.1, 2, 3, 4.</NOTE> Yet now [if ever] we have cau&s;e of &s;orrow of heart, and &s;adne&s;s of countenance, as he had.</P>
<P>Con&s;ider we <HI>Nehemiah's</HI> cau&s;e of that &s;adne&s;s, which oc|ca&s;ioned the &s;peech of the King. Wherefore the King &s;aid unto me, Why is thy countenance &s;ad, &s;eeing thou art not &s;ick? this is nothing el&s;e but &s;orrow of heart, oh that it were &s;o with us! Then I was very &s;ore afraid, and &s;aid unto the King, Let the King live for ever. Why &s;hould not my countenance be &s;ad, when the City, the place of my Fathers Sepulchers lyeth wa&s;te, and the Gates thereof are con&s;umed with fire? Then the King &s;aid unto me, For what do&s;t thou make reque&s;t? So I prayed to the God of Heaven [I &s;uppo&s;e &s;ome &s;ecret ejaculation at that time] the application I leave to tho&s;e to whom more properly it belongs; the per&s;ons, Mini&s;ters, whom we are now &s;peaking of, and calling upon our &s;elves, more to pray for. But to return,</P>
<P>O that we could pray more! Yea, and methinks we &s;hould, you &s;tanding in &s;o much need of prayer, as indeed you do, For, you, you who are the Mini&s;ters of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, are the mark &s;hot at, its you who are the more able, and more god|ly, among&s;t you, which is the white in that mark, at which they aim, and level their malice.</P>
<P>And then con&s;idering how earne&s;tly you beg it of us, as you do,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 The&s;. 3.1.</NOTE> in one place Brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free cour&s;e, and be glorified. And the A|po&s;tle <HI>Paul,</HI> we &s;hall &s;ee, Never did any man beg for an Alms,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 15.30.</NOTE> with more earne&s;t intreaties, than he did for the Saints prayers, Now I be&s;eech you Brethren, for the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;ts &s;ake, and for the love of the Spirit, that you &s;trive to|gether
<PB N="33" REF="25">
with me, in your prayers to God for me. And Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath not only taught us to pray,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 22.44.</NOTE> but by his own ex|ample hath taught us to put up earne&s;t Supplications, He being in an Agony, prayed more earne&s;tly. And this was a little before his &s;ufferings, a little before his lifting up upon the Cro&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>Now this lifting up, was to draw all men unto him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 12 32.</NOTE> and the Pole, upon which our Lord Je&s;us is thus lifted up, is the Go&s;pel. (He is the true Serpent indeed lifted up, that who|&s;oever believeth on him, &s;hould not peri&s;h, but have eternal life.) <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">As a godly Divine ob|&s;erves.</NOTE> Now tho&s;e that do bear this Pole, or Standard, whereby we come to &s;ee what he hath done, and how he hath bled for us, were the four Evangeli&s;ts, and then the A|po&s;tles, and &s;o onward their &s;ucce&s;&s;ive Brethren the Mini|&s;ters, with whom he hath promi&s;ed to be always,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 28.19, 20</NOTE> even to the end of the world.</P>
<P>So then, by vertue of this promi&s;e, we have encourage|ment to pray; for though men and Devils band together a|gain&s;t them, yet a &s;tanding Mini&s;try he will bear up, and that to the end, (not of that age, as &s;ome would have it, but) of the World; And bear them up he will &s;ure, for they are Stars, and that in his right hand, and who &s;hall, nay, who can,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 1.2.</NOTE> pluck them thence?</P>
<P>But now that we may make up what, and wherein we have been wanting in this duty, we have a promi&s;e al&s;o to enable us, and let us turn that promi&s;e into a prayer, and earne&s;tly beg of God to make it good, which is, That he will poure down the Spirit of grace and Supplication upon us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Zech. 12.10.</NOTE> and then &s;hall prayers and teares be poured out from us with accep|tation. Which that we may, let us talk le&s;&s;e of them, le&s;&s;e then that again&s;t them, and let us up, and be doing, in pray|ing more frequent, and earne&s;t for them. And let one and the other put up this joynt prayer, as <HI>Nehemiah</HI> did,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 1.11.</NOTE> O Lord I be&s;eech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy Servant, and to the prayer of thy Servants, who de&s;ire to fear thy name; And pro&s;per good Lord the &s;tudies and labours of thy Servants, that all error and bla&s;phemy, and
<PB N="34" REF="26">
what&s;oever is contrary to &s;ound Doctrine, may fall before them, Amen.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 6.24.</NOTE>Grace be with all them that love our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t in &s;incerity, <HI>Amen</HI> and <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
<P>The Magi&s;trates and Mini&s;ters of the City, taking into con&s;ideration the heighth of this wretches bla&s;phemy, before treated of: And the great di&s;turbance, and oppo&s;ition the Mini&s;ters and people have in the time of their publick wor|&s;hip of God, made their addre&s;s to the Parliament, then &s;it|ting at <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter,</HI> by way of <HI>Remon&s;trance</HI> and <HI>Petition,</HI> as followeth.</P>
<Q><TEXT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="petition">
<HEAD>The humble <HI>Remon&s;trance</HI> and <HI>Petition</HI> of the <HI>Mayor, Aldermen,</HI> and <HI>Common Councel</HI> of the City of <HI>Bri&s;tol:</HI> Together, with the Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel, and other chief Inhabitants, who de&s;ire to fear God, and &s;erve our Lord Je|&s;us, in &s;incerity, in the &s;ame City.</HEAD>
<P>THat we (e&s;pecially the Magi&s;trates) have with much regret and &s;adne&s;s of &s;pirit) lyen long un|der much reproach &amp; ignominy, occa&s;ioned by the in|crea&s;e of a Generation of &s;educed, and &s;educing per|&s;ons among us, called <HI>Quakers,</HI> who at fir&s;t were &s;up|ported and upheld by &s;ome Souldiers,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cap. <HI>Beal,</HI> and Cap. <HI>Wat&s;on.</HI></NOTE> then in chief com|mand, in the ab&s;ence of the Governour of the Gari&s;on: The wickedne&s;s of which &s;ect of men, hath not in our Nation (as we know of) been formerly heard of: And &s;o de&s;titute of a Law, to puni&s;h and restrain, and therefore have not been able to &s;uppre&s;s; And where|as we have waited long for &s;ome directions to that pur|po&s;e, being unwilling to run upon unknown precipices, the&s;e people have &s;trengthned and incouraged them|&s;elves in their iniquities, upon &s;ome pretended counte|nance
<PB N="35" REF="26">
from thence, whence we cannot &s;uppo&s;e it; &s;o that al&s;o we could, and did (yet with &s;ome difficulty) puni&s;h, and thereby in &s;ome mea&s;ure hinder their open and frequent di&s;turbances of our publick wor&s;hip, We had not power to &s;ilence their Bla&s;phemies, nor re&s;train their confu&s;ed and tumultuous meetings, although to the high di&s;honour of God, in their unchri&s;tian princi|ples and practi&s;es (too well known) and in prophaning the Sabbath, by multitudes of their Pro&s;elytes, flocking from all parts of the Countrey round about us, upon that day. But now &s;o it is, that one <HI>James Naylor,</HI> a mo&s;t eminent Ring leader, and head of that Faction, hath lately appeared here among&s;t us, more high then ever, in horrid and open Bla&s;phemies, expre&s;ly avowed and owned by his neare&s;t followers, as that he is the only begotten Son of God, And that there is none o|ther then he, That he is the everla&s;ting Son of righte|ou&s;ne&s;s; And that in him the hopes of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> &s;tand; That he is the King of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and Prince of Peace, And calling him Lord and Master, &s;aying, his name &s;hall be no more call'd <HI>James,</HI> but <HI>Je&s;us.</HI></P>
<P>All which are no other, then the natural i&s;&s;ue of their Scripture denying principles. And now we de&s;i|ring to follow the ductures of Divine providence, which hath brought their iniquity to a heighth, at &s;uch a time as this is, when the Legi&s;lative power of the Na|tion is &s;itting, in whom it is to provide whol&s;om and good Lawes, again&s;t the growing evils of the times, wherein the Lord eminently (in our apprehen&s;ions) calls for your zeal for his glory; We humbly make our ap|plications to your Honours, and with profe&s;&s;ion of our abhorrency, and utter dete&s;tation of the damnable and bla&s;phemous Doctrines of the <HI>Quakers,</HI> which tend in
<PB N="36" REF="27">
their own nature, to the utter ruine of the true Chri&s;ti|an Religion, and Civil Government, both in Cities, Fa|milies, and all Relations, as would too &s;oon appear, had they power in their hands; And who now, not as here|tofore tacitely, and by way of implication; but openly and expre&s;ly di&s;honour that &s;acred name, by which we are called, and trample upon that blood by which we are ju&s;tified, by making others &s;harers with him in his in|communicable excellencies.</P>
<P>And do therefore humbly pray, that your Honours would now take up the reines of Government into your hands, which have too long layen loo&s;e in this particu|lar, and to curb the in&s;olencies of all ungodly per&s;ons, who in this, or any other way, do, or may eclip&s;e the glory of our Chri&s;tian Profe&s;&s;ion, by their unbridled and licentious liberties, that &s;o the reproach not only of this City, but of the whole Nation and Government, may be rowled away, and the glory of this work, being acted by your hands, might render your name worthy to be inrolled, among&s;t the number of tho&s;e faithful Confe&s;|&s;ors, to whom the honour of our deare&s;t Lord, hath bin more precious then their lives, and all worldly enjoy|ments.</P>
<CLOSER><HI>And we &s;hall daily pray,</HI> &amp;c.</CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT></Q>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">That Com|mittee which was appoin|ted for the hearing of <HI>Nailor.</HI></NOTE>This Petition being read in the Hou&s;e, the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> of <HI>January,</HI> 1656. with other Petitions of the like nature, from &s;everal places of the Nation, there was a Committee appointed to take them into con&s;ideration, and to prepare a Bill again&s;t Bla&s;phemy.</P>
<P>Now my Fellow Citizens and Chri&s;tian Friends, and all you that are &s;anctified by God the Father, and pre&s;erved in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and called, even you that are called, and yet pre|&s;erved:
<PB N="37" REF="27">
The Apo&s;tle <HI>Jude</HI> exhorts you earne&s;tly to contend for the faith, which was once delivered to the Saints,<NOTE PLACE="marg">ver&s;. 3, 4.</NOTE> And the rea&s;on he gives of your &s;tanding to, and earne&s;t conten|ding for that faith, is in ver&s;e 4. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old, ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into la&s;civiou&s;ne&s;s, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>My beloved Friends, the Coun&s;el I gave in my Epi&s;tle, is, that I do now give again, and be&s;eech you to take: its from Chri&s;t him&s;elf, Take heed how, and what you hear (then I may &s;ay whom you hear.) For what the Apo&s;tle &s;aid will come, I may now &s;ay, is come, When &s;ome will not indure &s;ound Doctrine, but after their own lu&s;ts,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 4 3.</NOTE> &s;hall they heap to them&s;elves teachers, having itching eares: And hath not this infectious Di&s;ea&s;e &s;o &s;pread, that many profe&s;&s;ors have been &s;o &s;cabby, that they are very &s;cabs in Religion? Bre|thren, I know &s;omething, and &s;ome &s;uch ones, and I believe &s;ome of you know more. Well then, take heed, and beware, let men have a Scripture-call to teach, before we have a call to hear, le&s;t we be &s;educed.</P>
<P>Tho&s;e &s;educers, who formerly came creeping in among&s;t us, have (&s;ince a wicked Toleration given) &s;o increa&s;ed, and now got to that heighth of impudence, that not only hou&s;es, but Churches, Pre&s;&s;e and Pulpit, have &s;ounded too loud of helli&s;h Bla&s;phemies.</P>
<P>I heartily wi&s;h, that that Epi&s;tle of Mr. <HI>R. Baxter,</HI> (pre|fixed to his Quakers Catechi&s;m) to the Separati&s;ts, and A|nabapti&s;ts in <HI>England,</HI> were by them laid to heart: And that the Anabapti&s;ts e&s;pecially, would &s;eriou&s;ly con&s;ider it: For the Quakers practice is what their Doctrines hold out; for though every Anabapti&s;t be not a Quaker, yet every Qua|ker is a Non-bapti&s;t, if not rebaptized: one of their Queries to Mr. <HI>Baxter,</HI> being this,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Quakers Ca|techi&s;m their 3d Query.</NOTE> what expre&s;s Scripture have you for Infant-bapti&s;m? And oh that &s;ome able pen, would in the &s;pirit of meekne&s;s, hold forth the ri&s;e of our Ranting Bla&s;pheming Tenents and practi&s;es, which I &s;uppo&s;e, would ea&s;ily be made appear, to be from the Anabapti&s;ts Doctrines.</P>
<P><PB N="38" REF="28">I &s;hall give in &s;omething of my low ob&s;ervation, and go no farther then my own knowledge, nor from tho&s;e I know, that have either printed, preacht, or practi&s;ed that which is abo|minable, even in <HI>Bristol,</HI> (at pre&s;ent the Receptacle of Bla&s;|phemers, and ba&s;e men) and parts adjacent; &s;ome Speakers to the Anabapti&s;t Church in <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI> that have in Pre&s;&s;e and Pulpit, held forth &s;uch Doctrines, that tend to what is abo|minable, both in principle and practice, and that in, and near the &s;aid City.</P>
<P>One, an Anabapti&s;t, or rebaptized man, blames Mini|&s;ters for &s;peaking from but one Text, in one Sermon, &s;aying, Did ever the Prophets and Apo&s;tles do &s;o? (whither tends this?) in a little thing, called, <HI>A Word to the World,</HI> p. 56. Again, If you have been in the Pulpit, to deliver the Me&s;&s;age of Chri&s;t, why are you afraid to have your Doctrine que&s;ti|oned? p. 64. (what meanes this?) The Devil hath as great Rhetorick and Logick, as the Heathen, or the national Mini|&s;ters. A little thing called <HI>P. No power,</HI> p. 4. In his Dialogue between Law and Go&s;pel, brings in the Law querying, Wilt thou not own me for Rule of life? And the Go&s;pel an&s;wer|ing, No, by no meanes, p. 110. In his Book entituled, <HI>A word to the pretended Mini&s;try,</HI> (meaning the National Mi|ni&s;try.) He advi&s;eth Mini&s;ters to declare to their Congrega|tions, their di&s;owning their Ordination, and that &s;peedily, el&s;e they will be laid a&s;ide, p. 169. In his Epi&s;tle to the World, He tells the Mini&s;ters, that what they yet &s;uffer, is but the beginning of &s;orrow, p. 186. And though he gives 13. Characters of a true Go&s;pel Mini&s;ter, and they be all found in each of them; yet if they renounce not their Call|ing, they will be laid a&s;ide, both by God and man, p. 189. 190. Whither tends all this? Do not the Quakers practices in oppo&s;ing and que&s;tioning the Mini&s;ters in their Congre|gations (and that with &s;uch impudence, and much di&s;tur|bance) declare them&s;elves to be di&s;cipled by the Anabapti&s;ts Doctrines? But oh that this were all! It may be this man's weakne&s;s, but you will &s;ee anon others wickedne&s;s.</P>
<P>Con&s;ider we al&s;o tho&s;e Doctrines of <HI>T. C.</HI> Speaker to the Anabapti&s;t Church (&s;o called) in <HI>Wells,</HI> Sworn again&s;t him,
<PB N="39" REF="28">
before the Mayor of <HI>Axbridge,</HI> in the County of <HI>Somer&s;et,</HI> by Mr. <HI>Carlile,</HI> Mini&s;ter of <HI>Biddi&s;ham,</HI> and Mr. <HI>Smith,</HI> Mini&s;ter of <HI>Badgeworth, viz.</HI></P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. That he deny'd Je&s;us Chri&s;t to be the eternal Sonne of God.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. That he deny'd any local Heaven.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. That he denyed the equality of the Son with the Fa|ther.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. That he deny'd the Trinity.</ITEM>
<ITEM>5. That he affirmed the Saints to be the Sons of God, in the &s;ame manner as Chri&s;t him&s;elf.</ITEM>
<ITEM>6. That he affirmed the Law to be abrogated.</ITEM>
<ITEM>7. That he affirmed, the bodies of the Saints &s;hould here|after be turned into Spirits.</ITEM>
<ITEM>8. That he affirmed the Divine e&s;&s;ence, to be communi|cated to the Saints.</ITEM>
<ITEM>9. That he deny'd Je&s;us Chri&s;t, by his death on the Cro&s;&s;e, to &s;atisfie divine Ju&s;tice. The&s;e things you have in print be|fore.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>Farther, this <HI>T. C.</HI> in his Book (&s;ubtly) &s;tyled, <HI>The Marrow of Chri&s;tianity.</HI> (The very <HI>Title</HI> whereof, cau&s;ed me to &s;pend (or rather mi&s;. &s;pend) &s;o much time, as to read it, ha|ving taken it from a friend, a godly Maid: when I &s;aw the Authour's name, left &s;he &s;hould be &s;educed) hath this pa&s;|&s;age, &s;peaking of Satan, &s;aith he,<NOTE PLACE="marg">pag. 12.</NOTE> When down right Papacy will not &s;erve, he will turn him&s;elf into a Prelatical &s;hape; and then when once Prelacy growes out of date, he can change him&s;elf into other &s;hapes. But let me &s;peak plainly, into an Anabapti&s;tical &s;hape, Do not tho&s;e Doctrines be|fore recited, &s;peak full enough to it? If not, you &s;hall &s;ee an|other piece of his helli&s;h Doctrine, and then you will believe it; For in the &s;ame Book, &s;peaking of that Go&s;pel Ordi|nance,<NOTE PLACE="marg">pag. 122.</NOTE> and gracious priviledge to the Infants of all Be|lievers, to wit, Infant-Bapti&s;m, he &s;aith thus, That it is a My&s;tery of Iniquity, and one of the mo&s;t &s;oul ruining My&s;te|ries of Iniquity, that ever came from Hell. And in the year, 1656. preaching for Mr. <HI>Tho: Ewin,</HI> (an Anabapti&s;t-Lectu|rer in <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI>) he &s;econded, and, as he thought, farther con|firmed
<PB N="40" REF="29">
that helli&s;h Doctrine thus; That who&s;oever pleaded for Infants Bapti&s;m, are no better than tho&s;e Jewes that plea|ded for <HI>Barabbas,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. <HI>R. H.</HI></NOTE> a murderer, and refu&s;ed Chri&s;t. This given to me under the band of a godly Chri&s;tian old Di&s;ci|ple, that heard him: Friends, remember Chri&s;t's Coun&s;el, Take heed what you hear, and that again&s;t Chri&s;ts Ordi|nances, This of Infant-Bapti&s;m for one For,</P>
<P>Surely, where Bapti&s;m comes, its a &s;aving Ordinance, or carries and offers &s;alvation, in the in&s;titution of it, to the Hou&s;e, though every one that is baptized, is not &s;aved: as <HI>Noah's</HI> Ark was a type of Bapti&s;m, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 3.21. and that was the &s;aving of his Hou&s;e, <HI>Heb.</HI> 11.7. as (and by) a temporal deliverance; and &s;o Bapti&s;m, as to an outward &s;ign: though &s;ome baptized Cham's be in, and of the Hou&s;e, as of old, one was in the Ark.</P>
<P>And therefore Friends, this con&s;idered, you that are bet|ter &s;atisfied with the&s;e men's Call, Doctrine and practice, then other Chri&s;tians, who (being un&s;atisfied therewith) cannot hear them: yet you may rea&s;on with your gifted Brother of <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI> and know of him (if he can tell you) why mi&s;-baptized? For if ami&s;&s;e, you cannot be right, till you are re-baptized, as he is; But why ami&s;&s;e? becau&s;e</P>
<P N="1">1. Baptized by a lawful ordained Mini&s;ter, and not by, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Or why? 2dly, Becau&s;e the Element of water is apply|ed only to &s;ome part of the body, and not to the Cloathes, as in his pool-&s;willing.</P>
<P>Or why? 3dly, Becau&s;e with a little water out of a <NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Not &s;uper|&s;titiou&s;ly, but conveniently placed.</NOTE> Font, and not in a River: (A poor ground,) Is not a little Font-water, as true water as the Ocean?</P>
<P>Or why? 4thly, Becau&s;e &s;prinkled only on the face, and not dou&s;ed over head and eares: Hath not &s;prinkling a more fit re&s;emblance to tho&s;e Texts, <HI>Heb.</HI> 12.24. 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1, 2. then this immode&s;t dipping?</P>
<P>Or why? La&s;tly, Why you are ami&s;&s;e in the Subject; for you were baptized an Infant: And may not this be ami&s;&s;e for him to &s;ay &s;o? Why did the Apo&s;tle baptize <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Acts 10.22.24, 33, 44, 47, 48 compared with 11.14. with Mark 16.16. Acts 16.14, 15, 31, 33. Chap. 18.8. 1 Cor. 1.14.16.</NOTE> five Hou&s;holds, and was there in none of them a Child, or Children?</P>
<P><PB N="41" REF="29">I &s;hall tell you what <NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg"><HI>Mr.</HI> Con&s;t. Je&s;up.</NOTE> a godly Mini&s;ter preached unto us, for right Doctrine, (though others may call it ami&s;&s;e) about Infant-Bapti&s;m, opening this Text, <HI>Acts</HI> 16.31. <HI>&amp;c.</HI> &s;aid that in the Greek, Faith is applyed only to the Jaylor, and moreover he &s;aid, That the <HI>Syriack</HI> reads the&s;e words, v. 33. He was baptized, he, and all his &s;traight way thus. [He, and the Children of his Hou&s;e were baptized.] But this godly Mini&s;ter of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, by a <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Den. Holli&s;ter</HI> (now no &s;mall Quaker) told a god|ly Mini&s;ter of <HI>Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> That he had a plot that &s;hould &s;hortly ca&s;t out <HI>Je&s;up</HI> and <HI>Paul</HI> both. This was but a little before Mr. <HI>Je&s;ups</HI> putting forth.</NOTE> Plot of &s;ome (of whom &s;everal are &s;ince turn'd Quakers) was put by his Mini&s;try, as to <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI> (to the grief of all that fear'd the Lord in it,) whereby the City quite lo&s;t him.</P>
<P><HI>My Chri&s;tian Friends,</HI> You have about this their practice, the&s;e three things to ob&s;erve,</P>
<P N="1">1. Its a very improbable opinion, to &s;ay or think &s;o.</P>
<P N="2">2. Where in Scripture, the Hou&s;hold is mentioned, and the Children excluded, there are Children by name excepted, as <HI>Gen.</HI> 50.8. but in neither of the&s;e Texts, which &s;peaks of the Apo&s;tles baptizing the whole Hou&s;e, are Children ex|cepted, therefore they (if any were there) are included.</P>
<P N="3">3. Until it be proved (as it concerns the&s;e Adver&s;aries, and Infant-Bapti&s;m dangers,) that there were in tho&s;e Hou&s;holds no Children, the enemies to this truth, and ble&s;|&s;ed Ordinance of Infant Bapti&s;m, have &s;aid nothing; And therefore I &s;uppo&s;e, you of right may &s;ay he is mi&s;taken.</P>
<P>And now to retutn.</P>
<P>Another Speaker &s;ometime to the Anabapti&s;t people in <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">J. B.</NOTE> (that I may come to &s;peak &s;omething of their prac|tice) when this pool &s;willing, or re-baptizing, began fir&s;t a|mong&s;t us) though he had a Wife of his own, yet &s;ome of their fraternity meeting together, and di&s;cour&s;ing of their experiences and liberties, how their &s;pirits were drawn forth to act their loo&s;e principles, in as loo&s;e practices, confe&s;&s;ed how he had enjoyed his liberty, (rather wicked lu&s;t) with &s;uch a woman, and &s;he, proving with Child by him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Wid. M.</NOTE> poor &s;oul, when &s;he could no longer hide it from the eye of the
<PB N="42" REF="30">
world, becomes her own Executioner, and the Childs both, by drowning her &s;elf in that water, wherein before &s;he was re-baptized.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. J. P.</NOTE> This wretch, being &s;poken with by a godly Mi|ni&s;ter, acknowledged the thing, that he had enjoyed his li|berty, or rather lu&s;t: and al&s;o, that, among other Tenents that they held, this was one, Community of women: But (I confe&s;s) he &s;aid, that the &s;ad accident that befel the poor Creature, had convinced him (if you will believe him) of that tenent. Friends, take heed whom you hear.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">T. T. F. Y. T. A.</NOTE>Another Speaker to the Anabapti&s;t People (but now a per|fect Quaker) was &s;o accu&s;tomed to this gro&s;&s;e and filthy &s;in, that he did lie in bed with a whore on each &s;ide of him; for though they were both re-baptized, (whatever you call them) I do call them whores; for from one of their own mouthes (glorying of her liberty, in what they did) was heard, that which I tremble to think on, and am a&s;hamed to write, it being not fit for a mode&s;t tongue to &s;peak, nor cha&s;t eares to hear, and therefore &s;hall abruptly leave it.</P>
<P>The&s;e people require an expre&s;s Text for Infant-Bapti&s;m, which need not, it being proved by undenyable con&s;equen|ces;) but here you &s;ee by this bea&s;tly practice, an expre&s;&s;e text, fulfilled in the very letter, 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.22. But it is hap|pened unto them, according to the true Proverb, <HI>The Dog is turned to his own vomit again, and the Sow that was wa&s;hed, to her wallowing in the mire.</HI> And here you have &s;een a Boar and two Sowes, wallowing in the mire, and that after wa&s;hing. Friends, be not offended, for its all Scripture-Lan|guage.</P>
<P>I had thought to have given a brief Account of (that Taylor) <HI>John A Leyden,</HI> and that Rebaptized Crew, and A|nabapti&s;tical Fryery of <HI>Mun&s;ter,</HI> but I refer the Reader, to the Hi&s;tory it &s;elf, and &s;hall only give you one Relation, of the folly of two Si&s;ters, after they were &s;educed (and &s;o re|baptized) in <HI>Germany,</HI> citing the very words of the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">A &s;hort Hi&s;tory of the Anabapti&s;ts.</NOTE> Authour: It was (&s;aith he) &s;peaking of the Anabapti&s;ts in <HI>Germany,</HI>) their con&s;tant Doctrine every where, that Women mu&s;t be common. Three Rea&s;ons they had, (well worthy to be re|gi&s;tred to po&s;terity) to per&s;wade hone&s;t women to
<PB N="43" REF="30">
pro&s;titute their bodies, if they would be &s;aved.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t was, That Chri&s;tians mu&s;t renounce tho&s;e things which they love be&s;t, and therefore Women mu&s;t renounce their beloved hone&s;ty.</P>
<P>The &s;econd, That for Chri&s;t's &s;ake, we mu&s;t undergo a|ny kind of infamy.</P>
<P>The third Rea&s;on was; That the Publicans and Harlots, &s;hall go before the Phari&s;ees into the Kingdom of Heaven. Lying with other women then their Wives, they called Spi|ritual Marriages, and under that title, they would lye with Neeces and Si&s;ters. They had (&s;aith the Authour) a main Rea&s;on for community of Women, that as Chri&s;tians are all one Spirit, they mu&s;t al&s;o be all one body. The&s;e two Maiden Si&s;ters (&s;poken of before) before they were re-baptized, &s;aith the Authour) had been much &s;olicited, and could never be won, till they were per&s;waded to be whores for con&s;cience &s;ake. I dare &s;ay as much for the two re-baptized Creatures before mentioned, p 51. for I knew their Conver&s;ation, for &s;ome years. <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">On a civil account wo|men have wo|men-guides, upon a (pre|tended) &s;a|cred account, women have men dippers.</NOTE> Let women therefore, if they will be wa&s;hed, have women-guides, and take heed of that immode&s;t action, for men to dip them. Its the Apo&s;tles coun&s;el, avoid all ap|pearance of evil. If there be but a &s;hew of evil, Chri&s;tians are to avoid it.</P>
<P>But of this &s;ort of people, among&s;t us now, you have a character given by <HI>Dennis Holli&s;ter,</HI> (who was &s;ome years an Elder over them, and a Speaker to them) in his Book &s;ent to the Independent-baptized people, who call them&s;elves a Church of Chri&s;t in <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI> but are found to be a Synagogue of Satan. Title page, and in p. 14. He telleth them, he is con&s;trained to bear witne&s;s, that they are no Church of Chri&s;t, (neither know the name of Chri&s;t) but a Synagogue of Satan, and a cage of unclean and hateful Spirits, in which lodgeth pride, hypocri&s;ie, envy, &s;landering, backbiting, rail|ing, lying, love to this pre&s;ent world, and conformity to the fa&s;hions, cu&s;toms, and conver&s;ation of the &s;ame. And of the&s;e I may &s;ay, as the Apo&s;tle doth, the&s;e are they,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tit. 1.12.12, 13.</NOTE> who&s;e mouthes mu&s;t be &s;topped, who &s;ubvert whole Hou&s;es, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's &s;ake: For you &s;ee one
<PB N="44" REF="31">
of them&s;elves, even a Prophet of their own &s;aith they are lyars; this witne&s;s is true.</P>
<P>And now Brethren, the&s;e things I relate, not becau&s;e I would priviledge or excu&s;e any Church or member thereof, (even the pure&s;t) as being altogether free from faults, (yea, &s;ometimes &s;candalous.) But then fir&s;t we mu&s;t enquire, what are the principles that &s;uch do hold out; For if they hold out &s;ound principles in Doctrine, that &s;uch things ought not to be done,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 2.20.</NOTE> (which Phari&s;ees and other Sectaries do not, but teach men &s;o, <HI>Mat.</HI> 5.19.) Then cannot the&s;e things be ju&s;tly charged on them. And then 2dly, We are to con&s;ider, who are the Societies and &s;uppo&s;ed Churches, we have to deal with in this Charge; for if they are &s;uch who pretend to higher l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ght, greater refining and reformation; yea, (as &s;ome of them do) to &s;inle&s;s perfection, then they may be ju&s;tly minded of their &s;pots and blots, their blemi&s;hes and imperfections: And &s;o there cannot be any retortion upon them, who, holding out &s;ound Doctrine, contend for a &s;trict Di&s;cipline, which would help the&s;e things. And let it be ob|&s;erved. La&s;tly, That as for the&s;e Sectaries, Quakers, Ana|bapti&s;ts, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> (Among&s;t whom commonly, are &s;uch things:) there is openly by &s;ome, and &s;ecretly by others, an oppo&s;ing and undermining of tho&s;e great Ordinances of God, a right Magi&s;tracy and Mini&s;try, who in a civil and eccle&s;ia&s;tical way do, or would carry on Government in Church and Common|wealth, whereby &s;uch wicked per&s;ons and practices might be &s;hamed and puni&s;hed;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jude 8.</NOTE> and now dealing with them who are found to de&s;pi&s;e Government, we may well reprove them, (and that without reproach) that &s;o many among them, do defile the fle&s;h. Likewi&s;e al&s;o, the&s;e filthy dreamers, defile the fle&s;h, de&s;pi&s;e dominion, and &s;peak evil of dignities.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. <HI>R. T.</HI></NOTE>And now Friends, I &s;hall tell ye &s;omewhat of a Sermon, that I heard &s;ome years &s;ince, from an able and godly Di|vine, who was then Mini&s;ter of St. <HI>Nicholas</HI> in <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI> (who was well known to us, and in tho&s;e dayes, oft heard by us,) he then, pre&s;&s;ing the power of godline&s;s, and &s;trict walking in the wayes of holine&s;s and purity, had this pa&s;&s;age, &s;aith he, If there be any other way to Heaven, then purity (mark) then burn the Bible, renounce thy Bapti&s;m, tell God he lyes to his
<PB N="45" REF="31">
face. Oh lamentation, Brethren lamentation! What times are we fallen upon? Burn the Bible? Why,<NOTE PLACE="marg">In Mr. <HI>Ewins</HI> his an&s;wer to <HI>D. Holli&s;ter,</HI> p. 17. &amp; 68.</NOTE> &s;aith one Sedu|cer, he thanks God he hath done it already, as pa. 63.</P>
<P>Another (<HI>Dennis Holli&s;ter</HI>) at a meeting of the Indepen|dent Anabapti&s;t people &s;aid, That the Scripture was the greate&s;t blind and plague to mens &s;ouls, this day in <HI>England.</HI></P>
<P>Another <HI>J. W.</HI> &s;aid to a godly Divine Mr. <HI>P.</HI> That the Scripture was the cau&s;e of all the divi&s;ions and di&s;tractions in the Nation. Renounce thy Bapti&s;m. Why, what is't worth? its null, its void, its worth nothing, you mu&s;t re|nounce it, and be rebaptized, Why? Why, your Infant Bapti&s;m, is a misbapti&s;m, &s;aith Mr. <HI>Ewins,</HI> (in that An&s;wer to <HI>Holli&s;ter,</HI> pa. 59.) Tell God he lyes to his face. Why, &s;aith another, nay, many others, &s;o we do. The Scripture, the Bible, the Word of God, what word of God? what Bible? bibble babble, its as an old Almanack out of date, its a blind and plague to the Nation (as before) therefore we never u&s;e it, we need it not, we &s;peak the dictates of the Spirit. Ah my Brethren, remember the Word was, Take heed whom you hear, you ought to remember it, its the Word of him that is the Captain of your &s;alvation the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, <HI>Heb.</HI> 2.10. You know the forgetting of the Word (among&s;t Soul|diers in time of danger) may loo&s;e thy life, and that by thy friend, he may not know thee; nay, Chri&s;t him&s;elf will one day &s;ay, for want of remembring this word (take heed) De|part from me, I know you not. To forget the word, it may overthrow a Gari&s;on, ruine an Army, loo&s;e a Kingdom; nay, to forget this word, may loo&s;e thy &s;oul,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat 16.26.</NOTE> which is of more worth then all the Kingdoms of the World; nay, the world it &s;elf, will thy Chri&s;t tell thee.</P>
<P>Friends, my advice is &s;till the &s;ame, remember the Word, take heed whom you hear; And now to as many of my fel|low Chri&s;tians and Citizens, as have forgot it: the word to them is, faces about, and you know all Military termes, when the word is, faces about, &amp; no hand mentioned; it is to be un|der&s;tood, to the right. So the word now is, to the right about, unto thy keeping clo&s;e to publick Ordinances again: to thy old puritanical principles again: to thy con&s;tant Fa|mily duties again: to thy hearing (and that only) of tho&s;e
<PB N="46" REF="32">
that are &s;ent, ordained Mini&s;ters again: Although Seducers (to make parties, and carry on their de&s;ignes, who would &s;et us in a flame again if they could) quarrel at Ordination (though Scripture be clear for it, and as clear again&s;t u&s;ur|pers and Seducers,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 4.14.</NOTE> that run before they are bid to go.) And quarrel at laying on of hands, &s;aying, its a Ceremony (which if &s;o, yet by their leave, its a Go&s;pel Ceremony.) And at Presbytery; yet that al&s;o hath an expre&s;&s;e text of Scripture, which is a part of the everla&s;ting Go&s;pel.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 14.6.</NOTE>Well dear Friends, about to Infant bapti&s;m, own that Or|dinance in publick, let's walk (our &s;elves) more worthy of it, and an&s;werable unto it; ble&s;&s;e God for thy priviledge, that he will admit thy Child, thy Infant, to be a member of his Church vi&s;ible. Oh be not &s;o hard hearted! as to deny that to thy Child which God doth offer thee, thou being a Be|liever, do not &s;o ea&s;ily part with thy priviledge, and that which is thy Child's due. Read godly Mr. <HI>Thomas</HI> his An|&s;wer to Mr. <HI>Speed,</HI> p. 23.29. The Title of the Book is, <HI>A Vindication of Scripture and Mini&s;try.</HI></P>
<P>Brethren, the advice is again, take heed how, and what you hear. And had you not need &s;o to do? I &s;uppo&s;e, that when you fir&s;t heard &s;ome of your uncall'd Teachers, their &s;mooth Doctrine &s;o plea&s;ed you, that you would labour to ju&s;tifie your practice in &s;o doing (though &s;ince, many of you are of another mind) and you little thought, that they them|&s;elves would be rebaptized, and turn rebaptizers; and &s;o bring in another Bapti&s;m,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 4, 5.</NOTE> when the Apo&s;tle &s;aith there is but one: And you le&s;&s;e thought they would unchri&s;ten you, and &s;o (as much as in them lyeth) make you Heathens, telling you, that you are misbaptized: but you &s;ee the nature of er|ror. And as for this ugly immode&s;t action of dipping, or re|baptizing, (for I dare not call it an Ordinance without &s;in) it doth not only make null, and overthrow the Ordinance (as before:) but calls in que&s;tion the judgement and practice of all tho&s;e grave, able, and godly Divines, who have in the&s;e <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">See Mr. <HI>Philpots</HI> letter hereafter cited.</NOTE> &s;ixteen hundred years, received thou&s;ands of Infants, as Members into the vi&s;ible Church, by Bapti&s;m, (and are now Saints in the Church triumphant) and yet now mu&s;t be que|&s;tioned,
<PB N="47" REF="32">
and made void with a word, to call it misbapti&s;m; and thus nullifie the Ordinance of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, Infant bapti&s;m.</P>
<P>And Brethren, I call this dipping, or Rebaptizing, an im|mode&s;t action, becau&s;e I could tell you (the name) of a Gentleman of credit, who by accident, comming by the Ri|ver (at <HI>Stony-Wear</HI>) where a Woman was to be rebaptized, &s;tayed to &s;ee the manner (or rather immode&s;ty) of it, and did in the action, &s;ee her nakedne&s;s. And upon <HI>Thur&s;day</HI> the 18 th of <HI>June,</HI> 1657. When Mr. <HI>Ewin</HI> and Mr. <HI>Sym&s;on,</HI> dipped two men and five Women, the nakedne&s;s of one of the women, in this action of dipping, was &s;een above her knees. For this there are many witne&s;&s;es. Is this an Ordi|nance? Its an uncivil immode&s;t action, let us abhorre it; and let us all take heed, that we be not by <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Con&s;ider, that Seducers have not only a faculty to deceive us, but there is in their flatte|ries a power to force, <HI>Prov</HI> 7.21. with much fair &s;peech, &s;he cau&s;ed him to yield, with the flat|tering of her lips &s;he for|ced him.</NOTE> drawing words, and fair &s;peeches, cheated of our Religion.</P>
<P>Well Friends, let us about again, and take that coun&s;el from the Lord him&s;elf, <HI>Jer.</HI> 6.16. Thus &s;aith the Lord, &s;tand you in the wayes and &s;ee, and ask for the old paths, which is the good way, and walk therein, and you &s;hall find re&s;t for your &s;ouls.</P>
<P>Friends, take heed, and be not deceived by this Sect. For its the ob&s;ervation of many godly Divines, that where this prevaileth, God doth u&s;ually follow it with &s;ome &s;ad Judge|ments. The &s;tory of <HI>Mun&s;ter,</HI> hath &s;ufficiently &s;et them forth. Oh! the Rapes, the Poligamy, the murders that were there committed, which I thought to make &s;ome brief Relation of, but I would avoid tediou&s;ne&s;s, and, to help you further to lamentation, &s;hall leave the Reader to the Story it &s;elf. For though an Anabapti&s;t in print tells you, the Argument of <HI>Mun&s;ter</HI> hath been &s;o oft pre&s;t, that its wore thred-bare, (he dares not &s;ay, 'tis not true) yet let me tell you, that its to be feared, had the&s;e men power, they would make this thred-bare Argument cotton again. And they begin to talk al|ready, <HI>A</HI> Commi&s;&s;ion-Officer in <HI>Ireland</HI> (and that no mean one neither, but now out of Commi&s;&s;ion) told a per&s;on of quality of this City, (he di&s;cour&s;ing with him, about their dipping or rebaptizing there in that Nation) that though
<PB N="48" REF="33">
for a while they did forbear, yet, if we did not come about to them, to be rebaptized, they &s;hould look upon us, as they did upon the Rebels of <HI>Ireland.</HI></P>
<P>Brethren, you &s;ee what is &s;poken, and one man may &s;peak the &s;ence of a great many, and its no hard matter to in&s;tance action (towards it) as well as words <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">See the Pa|rallel of <HI>Mun|&s;ter</HI> and <HI>A|bingdon,</HI> by <HI>W. H. Oxon.</HI> 1657. 1 Sam. 11.2.</NOTE> but a few moneths &s;ince, but I forbear. And truly, &s;ome are of opinion, (and that not a few) that had this Generation power, their quarter and termes might be as bad (if not wor&s;e) as what <HI>Naha&s;h</HI> offer'd the men of <HI>Jabe&s;h Gilead,</HI> which was to thru&s;t out all their right eyes.</P>
<P>And now truly I think, if there be any &s;uch nece&s;&s;ity of dipping, it may be to cool the heat of tho&s;e, who are exerci|&s;ed with &s;uch an immode&s;t action, I judge not how cha&s;t their thoughts are at &s;uch a time, but leave it to him that knowes them, but I know they are but men.</P>
<P>But Brethren, that we may be e&s;tabli&s;hed in this ble&s;&s;ed truth, and Go&s;pel-Ordinance of Infant Bapti&s;m, let us read and con&s;ider that unan&s;werable Treati&s;e of Godly Mr. <HI>Bax|ter</HI> about it: and I al&s;o recommend Mr. <HI>Sydenham</HI> his Trea|ti&s;e of Infant Bapti&s;m, and another Go&s;pel-Ordinance (in which they that fear the Lord, have much communion with him) to wit, &s;inging of P&s;alms. The Book is of no great price, I de&s;ire a &s;erious reading of the 10, 11, 12, &amp; 15 Chapters, where this godly man, though dead, yet &s;peaketh, to the &s;a|tisfaction (I &s;uppo&s;e) of every &s;ober Chri&s;tian.</P>
<P>And Brethren, I &s;hall to this, clo&s;e with de&s;iring a judi|cious reading of a letter, of that eminent Chri&s;tian, and god|ly Martyr of the Lord, Mr. <HI>John Philpot,</HI> who &s;ealed, among&s;t other truths, this (truth al&s;o) of Infant Bapti&s;m.</P>
<P>The Letter is an An&s;wer to a young man, that &s;eemed to &s;tumble at Infant Bapti&s;m, where you have in &s;hort, Argu|ments &s;ufficient, again&s;t all the Adver&s;aries of this truth: And in this Letter, he proveth the Bapti&s;m of Infants, from the Apo&s;tles practice; and tells us of one <HI>Auxentius,</HI> who was one of the <HI>Arian</HI> Sect, that fir&s;t deny'd the Bapti&s;m of In|fants; and next after him, <HI>Pelagius</HI> the Heretick; and in our dayes (&s;aith he) the Anabapti&s;ts (be not offended, its
<PB N="49" REF="33">
the words of this Saint and Martyr of the Lord, Mr. <HI>Philpot</HI>) who are an inordinate kind of men, &s;tirred up by the Devil, to the de&s;truction of the Go&s;pel. His letter is thus &s;ub&s;cri|bed, Your yoak-fellow in Captivity,<NOTE PLACE="marg">His la&s;t letter in <HI>Foxes</HI> Acts and Monu|ments. Pag. 1670. or la&s;t Editi|on. Vol. 3.606. Col. 2.</NOTE> for the verity of Chri&s;ts Go&s;pel, to live and die with you in the unity of faith, <HI>John Philpot.</HI></P>
<P>Brethren, I do not undertake di&s;putation (but I de&s;ire la|mentation) ble&s;&s;ed be God, that is done already to our hands (and this truth maintained and defended by grave, able, and godly men, (yea Martyrs) let us then put it to heart, and bewail this al&s;o, with Rivers of teares,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 119.136.</NOTE> that an Ordinance of Je&s;us Chri&s;t (to wit, Infant Bapti&s;m) &s;hould be thus ju&s;tled out by &s;uch immode&s;t action, in Rivers of water.</P>
<P>Friends, keep to hearing, as before advi&s;ed, and take that coun&s;el, that the Prophet gives to the people:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 27.9, 10. Jude 8.</NOTE> <HI>therefore hear|ken not you to your Prophets, nor to your Diviners, nor to your filthy dreamers,</HI> (&s;o Jude hath it) <HI>nor to your Inchanters, nor to your Sorcerers, which &s;peak unto you, &s;aying,</HI> (Look to the light within you) <HI>you &s;hall not &s;erve the King of</HI> Babylon, <HI>for they prophe&s;ie a lye unto you.</HI></P>
<P>Now that you may be prevailed with, to keep clo&s;e to your own and known godly Mini&s;ters,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 The&s;. 5.12, 13. Gal. 3.1.</NOTE> (le&s;t you come to be be|witched, as the <HI>Gallathians</HI> then were, and many poor &s;ouls now are) take heed and beware of the occa&s;ions. Providence having ordered my habitation in that Pari&s;h and &s;treet, where the Synagogue of Satan is, (I mean the Quakers meeting-place) I may happily ob&s;erve &s;omething more than you, though con&s;idering my Pa&s;tor over me, and my Ordinance enjoyments, I de&s;ire to ble&s;&s;e God, and can &s;ay,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 16.6. Rev. 2.13.</NOTE> <HI>My lot is fallen in a goodly Heritage:</HI> and though God may have his <HI>Antipas,</HI> even where Satans &s;eat is: yet its &s;ad, to &s;peak of the knowledge of &s;uch things (of which we tremble to &s;peak) and that of tho&s;e that promi&s;ed better.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 5.1.</NOTE> <HI>But oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a Fountain of teares! that I might weep day and night for the&s;e things,</HI> that people (by taking li|berty to hear any) &s;hould be &s;o &s;educed, as to hold forth &s;uch deeds of darkne&s;s, in&s;tead of light.</P>
<P><PB N="50" REF="34"><NOTE PLACE="marg">J. W.</NOTE>What &s;aith one? Do you look to be &s;aved by the boy that was born at <HI>Jeru&s;alem?</HI> Oh my Soul! its that holy Child <HI>Je&s;us,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 4.27. P&s;al. 1.1. <HI>E. E. S. T. J. D. D. W. J. C.</HI></NOTE> that the&s;e wretches (who are now got up to &s;it in the &s;eat of the &s;cornful) do thus jeer. Others buy and &s;ell on the Lords day, and (being &s;poken with thereabout) tell you, all dayes are alike: Some work, water Gardens, dry cloathes, travel and ride upon that day, <HI>viz.</HI> a perfect Quaker, who&s;e Maid-Servant went &s;ome moneths with Child by him, before he married her, (a ble&s;&s;ed perfection among them.)</P>
<P>Another eminent Quaker, who had a Child by his wives Si&s;ter, as appeared by his running away after &s;he was deli|vered, (and that by her &s;elf.) and then the Child being put to her Si&s;ter to nur&s;e, in &s;ome few dayes died, (but how I know not,) and then he returned again. And that you may &s;ee Hell broke loo&s;e upon us, <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ezek. 8.15. <HI>T. E. J. J.</HI></NOTE> mark further, and if the&s;e things bring not teares from thee, beg of God to &s;often thy heart, and mourn that thou can&s;t not mourn.</P>
<P>The 10th of <HI>July,</HI> 1656. an hone&s;t young man, rea&s;oned with a perfect Quaker, who told him, That he did thank God he had burnt the Bible, and di&s;&s;waded the &s;aid young man, from reading it any more, or praying any more, but to hear|ken to the light within him.</P>
<P>Oh my Soul! its the ble&s;&s;ed Book, that God by his good providence hath pre&s;erved, and handed over to us, from one Generation to another, and, if thou ha&s;t any comfort here, or hopes of any hereafter, thou ha&s;t it thence. And my &s;oul, do thou keep clo&s;e to God in prayer.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 119.126, 127, 128.</NOTE>And Friends, let us be of <HI>Davids</HI> mind, and tell the Lord, <HI>It is time Lord, for thee to work, for they have made void thy Law; therefore</HI> (oh beg for <HI>David's</HI> heart,) <HI>I love thy Com|mandements above gold, yea, above fine gold</HI>: therefore (again) <HI>I e&s;teem all thy precepts,</HI> (mark) <HI>concerning all things to be right, and I hate every fal&s;e way.</HI> Why my Brethren, every word of God is pure,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 30.5.</NOTE> what ever men and Devils &s;ay to the contrary.</P>
<P>One thing more, Con&s;ider this Examination following, and then tell me what you think of Toleration; mean while, I &s;hall tell you what a grave and able Divine &s;aid, and preach|ed
<PB N="51" REF="34">
of it (when the Warre was between us and the <HI>Dutch,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. <HI>J. K.</HI></NOTE>) That we, like them, tolerating all Religions among&s;t us, God, in his Judgement at pre&s;ent upon us, will not &s;uffer us to to|lerate one another.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>At the general Se&s;&s;ions of the Peace, held in the City of <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI> the <HI>17th</HI> of <HI>February, 1656.</HI></HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">The Examination of <HI>Thomas Peacock.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THis <HI>Peacock</HI> asked one that was with him, this Que&s;tion, Do&s;t thou believe on that Thief that was hanged at <HI>Je|ru&s;alem</HI>?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sworn by <HI>John Taylor.</HI></NOTE> It is that doth delude thee and all the World: and the Prie&s;ts do preach up this Fellow.</P>
<P>Another depo&s;eth, that the &s;aid <HI>Peacock</HI> asked the &s;aid In|formant, whether he knew that there was a God and a De|vil, and &s;wore &s;everal Oaths, in a ranting manner,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sworn by <HI>Edw. Lock&s;tone</HI></NOTE> and yet ju|&s;tified him&s;elf to be without &s;in. Saith the Informant, do you ju&s;tifie <HI>God</HI> your &s;elf to be without &s;in? To which, <HI>Peacock</HI> an|&s;wered, That he did not &s;in, neither could he &s;in. Saith the Informant, Is not this your &s;wearing in this manner a &s;in? And if you couzen, and cheat, or be drunk, is not that &s;in? No, &s;aith <HI>Peacock,</HI> its no &s;in; and then the &s;aid <HI>Peacock,</HI> brought a place of Scripture, <HI>There is no evil in the City, but God is the Authour of it.</HI> And declared, that God was the Authour of all &s;in. Then the Informant told the &s;aid <HI>Pea|cock,</HI> that he was mi&s;taken, That God did &s;uffer &s;in, but was not the Authour of &s;in. Then <HI>Peacock</HI> reply'd, That God and the Devil were Brothers, and did act one with ano|ther: And as touching &s;wearing, the &s;aid <HI>Peacock</HI> &s;aid, The greater his Oath was, the greater was his glory.</P>
<P>Another depo&s;eth, that he asked the &s;aid <HI>Peacock,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Thomas Harding.</NOTE> why he did not ob&s;erve the Sabbath day, and go to Church? He re|plyed, That he knew not the Sabbath, neither would he hear <HI>Baal's</HI> Prie&s;ts. And the Informant at another time, heard
<PB N="52" REF="35">
him &s;ay, That there was no Devil, and that the Devil was a poor Rogue, and did nothing but wa&s;h the di&s;hes, and &s;weep the hou&s;e, and run on an errant, when one would &s;end him.</P>
<P><HI>Peter Poul&s;ton</HI> and <HI>Humphry Wall, both depo&s;e as followeth.</HI></P>
<P>That upon <HI>Whit-Tue&s;day,</HI> 1656. This Informant <HI>Wall,</HI> &s;peaking of God and Chri&s;t, The &s;aid <HI>Peacock</HI> an&s;wered, What, do&s;t thou talk of a God? there is no &s;uch thing as thou talke&s;t of. The Informant asked him, How was then the World created? To which the &s;aid <HI>Peacock</HI> an&s;wered, Thou talke&s;t of what thou knowe&s;t not. Then the Informant ask|ed him, What do&s;t thou make of our Saviour Chri&s;t? I am a&s;hamed to expre&s;s the An&s;wer in my own Language, it be|ing &s;o filthy; but it was &s;worn to, therefore take this Bea&s;t's bea&s;tly an&s;wer (of a Friend) in another Tongue, <HI>E podice meo, Chri&s;tum aeque bonum egerere po&s;&s;um.</HI></P>
<P>Brethren, I could further tell ye the place where, the time when, the parties whom (but I forbear) being a Company of Anabapti&s;ts and Quakers &s;itting together, and di&s;cour&s;ing of God and Chri&s;t, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and look as that great Bla&s;phemer <HI>Peacock</HI> (before) &s;pake &s;o abominable filthy of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 28.58.</NOTE> &s;o one of the&s;e &s;pake as abominable filthy, of that glorious and fearful name of the Lord our God, (as thus,) one of this &s;weet Company, when they were &s;peak|ing of God, [to &s;peak as mode&s;tly as I can] broke wind, and &s;aid, there goes your God.</P>
<P>Oh Brethren! who&s;e hair is not an end, and heart trem|bling, to hear &s;uch horrid filthine&s;s, and unheard of Bla&s;phe|my, that we cannot &s;ufficiently bewail? Truly, if ever we had need,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 9.17, 18.</NOTE> now is the time as the Prophet &s;peaks, to call for the mourning women [who&s;e affections being tender, may help as to lamentation] that they may come, and let them make ha&s;te, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with teares; and our eye lids gu&s;h out with waters.
<PB N="53" REF="35">
And oh! that our &s;oules could bewail the&s;e things!</P>
<P>Brethren, God hath his mourners in &s;ecret, (though but few.) Oh let God &s;ee (though none el&s;e do) by our practice,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezek. 9.4.</NOTE> that we are of that number, and then happily we may be marked in the day of the Lord's vengeance. Go, &s;aith God to the Prophet, &s;et a mark upon the fore-head of the men, that &s;igh, and that cry for all the abominations that are done in the mid&s;t of them: And methinks, God &s;peaks to Prophets in the&s;e dayes, as to <HI>Ezekiel.</HI> Sigh therefore, thou Son of man, with the breaking of thy loynes, and with bit|terne&s;s &s;igh before their eyes. (And oh!<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 21. ver 6, 7.</NOTE> that we could &s;ee more affection in Prophets, before and over their Congrega|tions, then there is, &s;uch, as we &s;ee <HI>Paul</HI> had, <HI>Phil.</HI> 3.18. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you, even weeping, that they are the enemies of the Cro&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t,) and it &s;hall be, when they &s;ay unto thee, Why &s;ighe&s;t thou? That thou &s;halt an&s;wer. For the tydings, be|cau&s;e it commeth, and every heart &s;hall melt, and all hands &s;hall be feeble, and every &s;pirit &s;hall faint, and all knees &s;hall be weak as water. Behold it commeth, and &s;hall be brought to pa&s;&s;e &s;aith the Lord God. You the Lords Prophets, reve|rend Fathers, and our dear Pa&s;tors over us in the Lord, if your people ask you, why &s;igh you? Oh that you had not matter to an&s;wer them! It was the Judgement of the Sword, that was comming upon <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> and in a fearful manner, with &s;uch expre&s;&s;ions from God, that I am &s;ure we &s;eldom hear of; but in this place God did lay about him to purpo&s;e, and therefore &s;aith the Lord, ver&s;. 16, 17. <HI>Go thee one way or other, forward or backward, either on the right hand, or on the left, whether on the right hand, or on the left, whither &s;oe|ver thy face is &s;et, I will &s;mite my hands together, and I will cau&s;e my furie to re&s;t,</HI> (mark) <HI>I the Lord have &s;aid it.</HI> Its true and to our comfort,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 125.3.</NOTE> <HI>The Rod of the wicked &s;hall not re&s;t on the back of the Righteous; but</HI> (if the righteous tran&s;gre&s;s). <HI>the Rod of God may.</HI> And the Prophet tells us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 41.2.</NOTE> <HI>That the Lord will not deliver his people unto the will of his enemies</HI>; (but let me tell you, he did deliver his Son up to their will, as hath been already &s;hewed; but this by the way.) But do people
<PB N="54" REF="36">
ask, Why do Mini&s;ters weep and &s;igh &s;o bitterly? you, the Lords Prophets, can tell them better than I, you can tell us, its for tho&s;e hideous unheard of Bla&s;phemies, not to be pa|ralleld, which are bringing upon us unknown, unheard of, and (which is yet wor&s;e) Spiritual Judgements. Nay, do we not read of Judgements, that the Lord threatens that we ne|ver read of?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 28.61.</NOTE> <HI>The Lord will bring upon thee every plague, that is not written in the Book of this Law.</HI> And if we &s;hould think of e&s;caping, The Text tells us, that tho&s;e cur&s;es &s;hall pur&s;ue and overtake us, ver&s;. 45. Well, as we are free from oppo|&s;ing Prophets, let us take heed we do not &s;light their &s;ay|ings.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Zech. 1.4, 5, 6</NOTE>Con&s;ider we that place, <HI>Be ye not, as your Fathers, unto whom the former Prophets have cryed, &s;aying, Thus &s;aith the Lord of Ho&s;ts, Turn ye now from your evil wayes, and from your evil doings; but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, &s;aith the Lord.</HI> (mark) <HI>God takes our not hearkening unto his Prophets, a not hearkening unto him. Well, your Fathers, where are they? and the Prophets, Do they live for ever? But my words and my Statutes, which</HI> I <HI>commanded my Servants the Prophets, did they not take hold of your Fathers? And they returned and &s;aid, Like as the Lord of Hosts thought to do unto us, according to our wayes, and according to our doings, &s;o hath he dealt with us.</HI></P>
<P>And truly Brethren, it were no hard thing to trace out, how the Lord hath been, and is fulfilling this Text upon us. Since we let fall the fir&s;t cau&s;e we ingaged in (for &s;ome men have &s;hewed them&s;elves,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 7.12.</NOTE> as skilful to deceive, as to de&s;troy.) <HI>I will cha&s;tize them as their Congregations have heard.</HI></P>
<P>But Brethren, I intend not Confutation of error, (ha|ving neither time nor ability &s;o to do,) but Lamen|tation.</P>
<P>But ble&s;&s;ed be God, we have a con&s;iderable number of godly able Mini&s;ters, that have born their Te&s;timony to the truth of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and to their &s;olemn League and Cove|nant. As al&s;o again&s;t the Errors, Here&s;ies, and Bla&s;phemies of the&s;e times, and the toleration of them, which is the title of their Book, printed in 1647. And that the World may
<PB N="55" REF="36">
&s;ee, they are neither afraid, nor a&s;hamed to own what they have done, its &s;ub&s;cribed by no le&s;&s;e then 52 Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t, within the Province <HI>London.</HI> And many fifties,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 King. 18.4.</NOTE> I doubt not but, there are in the Nation of the &s;ame mind, though they may &s;eem caved, to many of us, as the prophets of God in hone&s;t <HI>Obadiah's</HI> time &s;o covered.</P>
<P>And my Brethren, what ever others do, the&s;e I look upon to be to <HI>England</HI> (as <HI>Eli&s;ha</HI> &s;aid of <HI>Elijah.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 King. 2.12.</NOTE>) The Chariots of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and the Hor&s;emen thereof. And further let me &s;ay, Ble&s;&s;ed be God, the&s;e Bla&s;phemies and Errors are well an&s;wered and confuted by &s;ome able godly Mini&s;ters, who&s;e Doctrine and manner of life we have known. As by tho&s;e 5.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim 3.10.</NOTE> godly Mini&s;ters of <HI>New Ca&s;tle,</HI> in a Book called, <HI>The Perfect Phari&s;ee.</HI> Al&s;o Mr. <HI>William Thomas,</HI> Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;|pel at <HI>Ubley,</HI> And by Mr. <HI>Chri&s;topher Fowler,</HI> and Mr. <HI>Symon Ford</HI> of <HI>Reading,</HI> Mr. <HI>Ralph Farmer</HI> of <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI> and Mr. <HI>Bax|ter</HI> of <HI>Kiddermin&s;ter,</HI> who&s;e &s;olid &s;harp (yet &s;weet) Epi&s;tle to the Separati&s;ts and Anabapti&s;ts in <HI>England,</HI> is worthy &s;e|rious ob&s;ervation in his Book called, <HI>The Quakers Catechi&s;m.</HI> Now of tho&s;e &s;olid judicious An&s;wers of the&s;e holy men of God; we may truly &s;ay (as <HI>Job</HI> &s;peaks.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Job 6.25.</NOTE>) <HI>How forcible are right words</HI>? And as truly of their Adver&s;aries, the words fol|lowing. <HI>But what doth your arguing reprove</HI>? And indeed Brethren, &s;ome had need undertake it; For I dare &s;ay, If all the errors, that proceeded from all the Hereticks &s;ince Chri&s;t's incarnation, did appear together, we &s;hould &s;ee this our Toleration have produced them, as may be &s;een in <HI>James Nailor</HI> and his Di&s;ciples: let him therefore be <HI>Jezabel</HI> (if you will) not Je&s;us, as they bla&s;phemou&s;ly call him. And that you may &s;ee &s;omewhat more of their wickedne&s;s, I &s;hall here in&s;ert a pa&s;&s;age, which doth declare, not only their acti|ons de&s;erving, but al&s;o their expre&s;&s;ions reproaching, the due execution of Ju&s;tice upon them.</P>
<P>Upon the 5th of <HI>February,</HI> 1656. one <HI>Lewes Harris,</HI> a Quaker, having been in the Countrey, came home to his Hou&s;e in <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI> and there meets with one <HI>William Hill,</HI> a Brother of that Fryery, who (among&s;t other di&s;cour&s;e, askt the &s;aid <HI>Harris,</HI> why he &s;ell from his principles (meaning as
<PB N="56" REF="37">
he was a Quaker.) He an&s;wers, that he &s;hould not account for him; but they further di&s;cour&s;ing of their pure Religi|on, Ranting and quaking, at la&s;t their words came to blowes, and <HI>Harris</HI> murders <HI>Hill</HI>; for which murder he was (<HI>Aug.</HI> 13th, 1657. in <HI>Bri&s;tol</HI>) arraigned and condemned, and the 31. day executed. Thus having &s;uch wicked principles, they both came to this untimely and &s;hameful end. This <HI>Harris</HI> had a Letter from &s;ome Quakers, which he when he was up|on the Gallowes, convey'd to a godly Mini&s;ter, there atten|ding to exhort him to mind his condition; the Mini&s;ter, ha|ving received it, tore it pre&s;ently in pieces: upon which, &s;ome Quakers that were then pre&s;ent, &s;aid, What, will ye per&s;ecute to the death? Thus calling this ju&s;t execution for murder per|&s;ecution. And my Brethren,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr <HI>R. F.</HI></NOTE> Is not this al&s;o to be bewailed, that &s;uch liberty &s;hould be given to a people of &s;uch princi|ples, who would not have murderers executed, but call it per|&s;ecution?</P>
<P>When the Government by Bi&s;hops was taken away, (though its &s;uppo&s;ed, it would have been better for the Na|tion, if that coun&s;el given, by that Reverend Father, and learned Doctor of our Church, Bi&s;hop <HI>U&s;her,</HI> Primate of <HI>Ireland,</HI> had been taken, as it was tendered in 4. Propo&s;iti|ons to the Parliament, in the year 1641 for the reduction of Epi&s;copacy, into the form of Synodical Government) Af|ter that time, there came forth a little thing, called <HI>Lambeth Fair,</HI> where you might have bought many Surplices, Hoods, Coapes, Caps, and variety of &s;uch knacks and need-nots, ve|ry rea&s;onable. I confe&s;s; that in that Government, there were many things, which my low apprehen&s;ion &s;aw no need of, As, that there &s;hould be 24. Dioce&s;an Lord Bi&s;hops, that they &s;hould have 24 Chancellors, 24 Regi&s;ters, with their men, 48. Proctors, 120. Apparitors at leaft, and many more then a good many: The whole number appertaining to Arch-bi&s;hops, Bi&s;hops, Arch-deacons, with the re&s;t belong|ing to them, are judged to be no fewer than ten thou&s;and per&s;ons, which at but 20<HI>li. per Annum</HI> a man, is two hundred thou&s;and pounds, and to maintain the Bi&s;hops Courts, and their greatne&s;s, was at lea&s;t four hundred and fifty thou&s;and
<PB N="57" REF="37">
pounds <HI>per Annum</HI> more, be&s;ides the Charges of the 24. Deanes to the great Churches, and 544 Canons Re&s;idents, and Prebendaries; be&s;ides many Petty Canons, Vicars, Sing|ing-men and Boyes, Organi&s;ts, Go&s;pellers, &amp; Epi&s;tlers, which took up in Lands, three or four thou&s;and pounds yearly. All this you have more largely &s;et forth in a Book, entituled, <HI>A &s;hort View of the Prelatical Church of England.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mr.</HI> Bernard.</NOTE> At this Fair of <HI>Lambeth,</HI> things being &s;old cheap, were &s;oon bought, and the great Revenue of the Prelates and Collegiat Churches (which would have given a comfortable &s;ub&s;i&s;tance to a god|ly Mini&s;try) was put off by &s;uch whole-&s;ale peny worhs, that it was quickly di&s;tributed, by tho&s;e that knew well enough, how to divide the Spoil: Well, you are deceived, the good Lord give repentance to the deceivers.</P>
<P>Friends, <HI>Lambeth-Fair</HI> is at an end, and you know, Fairs do not u&s;e to belong, but Markets are more frequent; and &s;ince <HI>Lambeth Fair,</HI> hath been down, there hath been a Market up, called <HI>Toleration,</HI> and &s;uch Commodities are to be &s;old at the Sign of the <HI>Black-&s;pread Eagle,</HI> near <HI>Pauls,</HI> by <HI>Giles Calvert,</HI> where you may be furni&s;hed with &s;uch Wri|tings, Books and Pamphlets, that &s;hall deny God, Chri&s;t, Spi|rit, Word, Ordinances, Re&s;urrection, Heaven, Hell, what not? Brethren, I &s;hall give you a &s;ad view of &s;ome of tho&s;e Wares, though I do not advi&s;e the buying any of them, but be&s;eech you to abhorre and dete&s;t them, Touch not, ta&s;t not,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Colo&s;. 2&punc;2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> handle not, (for they &s;hall all peri&s;h, and they that walk by them.) And, as I &s;aid, take heed what you hear; &s;o al&s;o what you read: But that we may the more bewail the abu&s;e of liber|ty, and the &s;ad effects of Toleration, whereby our God hath been &s;o di&s;honoured, the Go&s;pel &s;candalized, and the truth of our Profe&s;&s;ion ju&s;tly que&s;tioned, con&s;ider the Wares here &s;uffered to be &s;old, which are &s;uch, as though we counted Hell a fable, or to endeavour the filling it our duty.</P>
<P>One comes, Sir, Have you a Book that declares the Bible not to be the Word of God, and that it is but humane? Yea, here it is called, <HI>The Pilgrimage of Saints.</HI> p. 4. By <HI>Lawrence Clearkson.</HI> Sir, you may have two or three more.</P>
<P><PB N="58" REF="38"><HI>Sir,</HI> Have you any again&s;t the Nature and E&s;&s;ence of God? Yea, Arguments by <HI>John Biddle.</HI> p. 7. Saith he, Its a wretch|ed di&s;tinction, to di&s;tingui&s;h between E&s;&s;ence and Per&s;on. And that God hath more hand in mens &s;infulne&s;s than them|elves, in a Book &s;tiled <HI>Comfort for Believers.</HI> p 36.37 you may have 3 or 4 more.</P>
<P><HI>Sir,</HI> Have you any thing again&s;t the Trinity of per&s;ons in unity of E&s;&s;ence? Yea, That the Son to be co equal with the Father, or the Holy Spirit, to be a di&s;tinct co-equal per|&s;on, is from the Chappel of <HI>Rome. Paul Bea&s;t.</HI> p. 4.5.</P>
<P><HI>Sir,</HI> Have you any Book to declare that Chri&s;t is not God? Yea, The better part of Chri&s;t's per&s;on is man, there being but a gradual difference betwixt him and <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and us: And to make Chri&s;t co-equal with his Father, is to make a fal&s;e Chri&s;t, or two Gods. My&s;teries di&s;covered by <HI>Paul Bea&s;t.</HI> p. 6.</P>
<P><HI>Sir,</HI> Sir, Have you any Book again&s;t the Deity of the Holy Gho&s;t? Yea, The Holy gho&s;t is no more omnipre|&s;ent than the Devil. Arguments by <HI>John Biddle.</HI> p 18.</P>
<P><HI>Sir,</HI> Have you any Book again&s;t <HI>Gods Election</HI>? Yea, They who preach, that none &s;hall be &s;aved but the Elect and prede&s;tinate, are notable lyars. <HI>Divine light.</HI> p. 15.</P>
<P><HI>Sir,</HI> Have you any Book again&s;t Original &s;in? Yea, If we had been to &s;uffer in Hell, in relation to <HI>Adam,</HI> or the Law, then Chri&s;t al&s;o &s;hould have &s;uffered in Hell for us, which he did not. <HI>Fulne&s;s of Gods love.</HI> p. 56.</P>
<P><HI>Sir,</HI> Have you any Book again&s;t Chri&s;t as Mediator? Yea, Chri&s;t came not to reconcile <HI>God</HI> to men, but men to <HI>God.</HI> For though Chri&s;t do hold forth love and life, yet he did not purcha&s;e it, but was purcha&s;ed by it. <HI>Paul Hob&s;on.</HI> p. 4.7.</P>
<P><HI>Sir,</HI> Have you any <HI>Book</HI> to maintain univer&s;al Redempti|on? Yea, If <HI>God</HI> commanded the Go&s;pel to be preached to all, and Chri&s;t died only for &s;ome, then <HI>God</HI> commands a lye to be preached to the mo&s;t part of men. <HI>Fulne&s;s of Gods love.</HI> p. 15. The damned &s;hall be &s;aved, for Chri&s;t de&s;cended into Hell to break their bonds, preaching peace to them. <HI>Divine light.</HI> p. 8. Heathens, Hypocrites, and Devils, have for a
<PB N="59" REF="38">
time damned them&s;elves, but will be delivered. p. 19.20. That they are Devils incarnate, who are, or &s;hall be found to deny the Covenant of general redemption. <HI>Divine light the Epi&s;tle to the Reader.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Sir,</HI> Have you any <HI>Book</HI> that doth deny the immortality of the Soul, Re&s;urrection, <HI>Heaven, Hell</HI>? Yea, many that deny all and &s;ay, That man (as a rational Creature) is a com|pound, wholly mortal, contrary to the common di&s;tinction of &s;oul and body; and that the pre&s;ent going of the Soul, into Heaven or Hell, is a meer fiction. <HI>Man's mortality</HI> by <HI>R. O.</HI> Title page. Its al&s;o called the Hell-hatched Doctrine of the immortal Soul. That none ever enter into Heaven, &s;ince the Creation. p. 8. That it is clear in Scripture, there is no Re&s;urrection of the natural body, but its to be under|&s;tood of the body my&s;tical, Scripture Prophecies opened by <HI>E. Avery.</HI> p. 8. That that rea&s;onable Soul, which is in all mankind, is <HI>God</HI> him&s;elf, who is in a wicked man, as well as in the Saints. p. 38. That no man is yet in Hell. <HI>Fulne&s;s of Gods love.</HI> 1. <HI>L.S.</HI> p. 29. That all other Creatures, as well as man, &s;hall be rai&s;ed, and delivered from death at the Re&s;urrecti|on. <HI>Mans mortality.</HI> p. 50.51.</P>
<P>Well Brethren, black wares, and helli&s;h commodities, many more of which, you have &s;et down in that <HI>Book</HI> before mentioned, (<HI>viz. The Ministers of London, their bearing Te|&s;timony to the truth</HI>) which I de&s;ire every &s;tayd and well prin|cipled Chri&s;tian to have by him.</P>
<P>And that this Market may be kept up, &s;aith one, no detri|ment can redound either to Church or Common-wealth, by the Toleration of Religions, in My&s;teries di&s;covered by the afore&s;aid <HI>Paul Be&s;t</HI> (<HI>Bea&s;t.</HI>) p. 14.</P>
<P>Brethren, I &s;hould not de&s;cant upon any mans name,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 2.12. Jude 10.</NOTE> but that two Apo&s;tles &s;peaking of Seducers, are full to it. But the&s;e, as natural bruit [bea&s;ts] made to be taken, and de|&s;troyed, &s;peak evil of the things that they under&s;tand not, and &s;hall utterly peri&s;h in their own corruption, and &s;hall receive the reward of unrighteou&s;ne&s;s, &s;porting them&s;elves with their own deceivings. Bea&s;ts (&s;aith the Apo&s;tle) made to be taken and de&s;troyed; not as Chri&s;tians, but as Here|ticks,
<PB N="60" REF="39">
if not as men, yet as Bea&s;ts; if not de&s;troyed, yet taken, that is re&s;trained which may be be&s;t.</P>
<P>Another, &s;peaking of errors that may be preached by guifted Brethren, &s;aith, The more publickly they are, the le&s;&s;e harm they will do. In Mr. <HI>Shepheard's</HI> Book, called <HI>The peoples privil<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">dge and duty guarded again&s;t the Pulpit and Preachers incroachment</HI> p. 69 But if Mr. <HI>Shepard</HI> &s;hould be asked, whether it hath &s;o proved? If he &s;ay yea, I think the helli&s;h bla&s;phemies, that have made our eares to tingle, (and &s;hould make our hearts to ake) would give him the lye. Heretical things (as a godly Divine ob&s;erves) are like the roots of thorns,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mr</HI> William Thomos.</NOTE> that are in them&s;elves &s;oft; but from that &s;oftne&s;s, they bring forth pricking and piercing things; And as that godly Mini&s;ter further ob&s;erves; though liberty in it &s;elf be a good thing, yet its weaklings temptation, and Se|ducers advantage, And I am &s;ure it hath &s;adly proved &s;o, and that to the tearing to pieces of <HI>God</HI> and <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> and all that is (and &s;hould be) dearer to us then our very lives.</P>
<P>Well, if you will buy further, <HI>Giles Calvert</HI> will fit you.</P>
<P><HI>Sir,</HI> Have you any Book again&s;t the Mini&s;ters? Yea, a|gain&s;t all the Teachers in the Nation as Mini&s;ters of Anti|chri&s;t, by <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">This man being a Scho|lar, I heartily de&s;ire, that he may not car<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">y about him his learning and parts, as <HI>&V;|riah</HI> did <HI>Da|vids</HI> letters&punc;</NOTE> <HI>Thomas Speed</HI> a Merchant in <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI> as appeares by his Epi&s;tle to all the publick teachers in the Nation, pre|fixed to his Book, called, <HI>A brief and plain Reply unto certain papers received from</HI> William Thomas, <HI>called a Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel at Ubley in Somer&s;et&s;hire.</HI> And indeed is not only called &s;o, but by all that fear the Lord, (who know him) owned to be &s;o, being a ble&s;&s;ed In&s;trument in the hand of the Lord Je&s;us, for the converting, confirming and comforting of many Saints at <HI>Ubley,</HI> and the places adjacent; and for the confirming of this truth, I de&s;ire all my Chri&s;tian Friends to read, and con&s;ider his &s;olid and &s;ober An&s;wers to Mr. <HI>Speeds</HI> Epi&s;tle, and to his Book.</P>
<P><HI>Sir,</HI> I &s;ee you are furni&s;ht with &s;uch choice, that you can &s;upply any, if they come from Hell, you can fit them, and indeed you have (I &s;uppo&s;e) from all Nations Chapmen; but Sir, I am of <HI>Turkey,</HI> and from <HI>Mahomet,</HI> can you &s;upply me al&s;o?</P>
<P><PB N="61" REF="39">Yea <HI>Sir,</HI> I can help you to the <HI>Alcoran</HI> (it &s;elf) of <HI>Maho|met,</HI> tran&s;lated out of <HI>Arabick</HI> into <HI>French,</HI> and &s;ince our (ble&s;&s;ed) liberty, into <HI>English.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Sir,</HI> Have you a <HI>Catechi&s;me</HI> for Children, that they may learn to know that principle the light within them? Yea <HI>Sir,</HI> and this Catechi&s;m is &s;o approved, that its (already) the &s;e|cond Edition, enlarged by <HI>George Fox,</HI> and printed for <HI>Giles Calvert,</HI> at the <HI>Black-&s;pread Eagle,</HI> at the We&s;t end of <HI>Pauls.</HI></P>
<P>My Brethren, though this Book be for little ones, yet its not the lea&s;t to be bewailed by us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. <HI>J. K.</HI></NOTE> and we may with grief of heart, call this liberty (as a grave Divine doth.) An intole|rable Toleration, that there &s;hould be a a printing, and re|printing of that, which may teach the Children of Chri&s;tian Parents, Heatheni&s;h principles (to wit) to look only to the light within them; and that this principle may be the better fa&s;tened into their memories, the Word lighteth, inlightneth, and light is u&s;ed (at lea&s;t) &s;ix hundred times, and it teacheth them that the Scripture is no light; one of the Que&s;tions be|ing thus, Is the Scripture the light?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Nay, Thus an&s;wer the&s;e perfect &s;inners (though humble Saints &s;ay as <HI>David</HI> did,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 119.105 Prov 6.23.</NOTE> <HI>Thy Word is a Lanthorn to my feet, and a light to my &s;teps.</HI> And <HI>Solomon</HI> tells us, <HI>The Commandement is a Lamp, and the Law is light.</HI>) And teach|ing tho&s;e little ones al&s;o to deny the Sabbath, the Que&s;tion being thus, Is the fir&s;t day the Sabbath?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Nay, teaching them al&s;o, that the Mini&s;ters of the Nation are of <HI>Babylon, Antichri&s;t,</HI> fal&s;e Prophets and Se|ducers: thus endeavouring to train them up &s;o, that their practice may be like to tho&s;e wicked prophane Children, that mocked the Prophet <HI>Eli&s;ha</HI>; in&s;omuch,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 King. 2.34.</NOTE> that the Lord &s;ent two Beares out of the Wood, and de&s;troyed two and forty of them. Let Children (as an Antidote again&s;t this,) take that into their Catechi&s;m. And let me &s;ay to this Authour <HI>Fox,</HI> (and his Companions) who&s;e &s;ubtilty (and craft) is u&s;ed (by the help of Satan) to convey poy&s;on into our little ones, that although the Almighty God do not &s;end Beares out of the Wood to de&s;troy them (as tho&s;e prophane Children) yet,
<PB N="62" REF="40">
(with reverence let me &s;ay) he may one day &s;o play the Bear, with tho&s;e that forget the Lord (in oppo&s;ing and contem|ning his Servants, and teach others &s;o) as once he threatned to do with tho&s;e that forgat him, &s;aying, their heart was ex|alted, therefore have they forgotten me, <HI>I will meet them,</HI> (&s;aith the Lord) <HI>as a Bear that is robbed of her Whelps, I will rent the caul of their heart.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 13.8.</NOTE> Truly Friends, unle&s;&s;e the&s;e wretches meet God timely by repentance, his meeting them thus will make them quake indeed.</P>
<P>But Sir, I have heard of one <HI>James Nailor,</HI> to be accu|&s;ed for horrid Bla&s;phemy, and per&s;onating the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and that &s;ome did own him as their Saviour, and that one of his Di&s;ciples &s;aid, <HI>That &s;he did look to be &s;aved by no o|ther but him,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Dorot. Erbury. <HI>pa. 12.</HI></NOTE> I &s;uppo&s;e, you have no &s;uch thing as to ju&s;tifie him; for I am told, the Parliament pa&s;&s;ed a &s;evere &s;entence upon him, and that its executed.</P>
<P>Oh Sir, I'le tell you, its nothing but the Prie&s;ts malice, and Sir, here is a Book of little price (for &s;o the good people may have them; (I'le not get by them) where you &s;hall &s;ee his innocency cleared by two eminent men (wicked Seducers) who told <HI>Nailors</HI> Judges (many Parliament men) to their faces, of his innocency: nay, <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">A Quaker.</NOTE> <HI>Robert Rich</HI> chalenged them at the Parliament door, That whatever <HI>Nailor</HI> did, or &s;pake, he was at their door ready to make it good out of Scripture; and that nothing he did or &s;pake, was worthy of death or bonds. And that tho&s;e Books may &s;pread in the Nation, there are &s;tore at <HI>Bri&s;tol,</HI> &s;old by <HI>Nicholas Jorden</HI> (a perfect Qua|ker, if common drunkenne&s;s and perfection may &s;tand toge|ther) and that at 3. farthings a peece.</P>
<P>Now among other things, that are reckoned in the Mer|chandize of <HI>Babylon,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev 18.13.</NOTE> are the &s;ouls of men; and to the end, poor &s;ouls may be the better fitted for <HI>Babylon</HI>; yea, for Hell it &s;elf: you &s;ee &s;ome part (and but a part) of what this tolerating Market doth hold forth, and that very cheap.</P>
<P>O my Friends! Take heed and beware who you hear, how you read, and what you buy: And why will you lay out your money for that which is not bread (but Bla&s;phemy,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 55.1, 2.</NOTE>) when you may have wine and milk without money, and without
<PB N="63" REF="40">
price? Friends, there is a Di&s;ea&s;e we are all infected with, its hereditary from our fir&s;t Parents [pride] you know who &s;aid to <HI>Eve, You &s;hall be as Gods, knowing good and evil,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 3.5.6.</NOTE> (mark) <HI>And when &s;he &s;aw</HI> (&s;aith the Text) <HI>it was a Tree to be de&s;ired, to make one wi&s;e, &s;he took of the fruit thereof, and did eat.</HI> And &s;o now, we mu&s;t hear all, try all, read all; we &s;hall thereby be wi&s;e, and get knowledge. (Ah white Devil!) Knowledge (&s;aith the Apo&s;tle) puffeth up;<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 8.1.</NOTE> and hath it not done &s;o? &s;peak Chri&s;tian. Is not that Text &s;adly fulfilled. <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 3.5. <HI>The Child &s;hall behave him&s;elf proudly again&s;t the ancient, &amp;c.</HI> godly Mr. <HI>Baxter.</HI></P>
<P>Ah my Friends, keep to your known Teachers, and labour for humility; for (&s;aith one) None are more like to Chri&s;t, then the humble, that are low in their own eyes, and compa&s;|&s;ionate of others: &s;o none are more like to the Devil, then the proud, that think highly of them&s;elves, and contemptu|ou&s;ly of others. The&s;e men by their teachings, by their printings, by their travels, from one end of the Land to the other; yea, from one Nation to another, from Sea to Sea; yea, and beyond the Seas they act, as Satans factors to make Pro&s;elytes, and, when made,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 23 15.</NOTE> <HI>They make them twofold more the Children of the Devil than them&s;elves.</HI> Abhorre therefore, and dete&s;t the Phari&s;ees (and Quakers) &s;ingularity. God I thank thee, I am not as other men, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> but if they be not as other men (I &s;uppo&s;e) they (the Quakers) are as other Hea|thens, who walk by the light within them, as well as (yea far better then) they; for they (to wit the Heathen) cannot &s;o bla&s;pheme our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t (as the&s;e do) who&s;e relation to us, and &s;uffering for us, &s;hould move us to bewail it: and oh! that we could bewail his oft bleeding (if it were po&s;&s;ible) with teares of blood.</P>
<P>And that we may &s;hun the condition of the&s;e &s;educed &s;ouls; lets us con&s;ider this Text, <HI>For its impo&s;&s;ible for tho&s;e,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 6.4, 5, 6.</NOTE>
<HI>who were once enlightned, and have ta&s;ted of the Heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Gho&s;t, and have ta&s;ted the good word of God, and the powers of the World to come: if they &s;hall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance, &s;eeing they crucifie to them&s;elves the Son of God afre&s;h,</HI> (Mark, its to them|&s;elves)
<PB N="64" REF="41">
<HI>and put him to an open &s;hame.</HI> Was ever this Text &s;o fulfilled as now it is in the&s;e wretches? who &s;peak &s;o &s;hame|fully of our Lord Je&s;us, that we (tremble and) are a&s;hamed to name it in our own Language.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezek. 19.14. Chap. 7. ver&s;. 16.</NOTE> <HI>The&s;e things are a Lamen|tation, and &s;hall be for a Lamentation.</HI> And oh! that we could mourn therefore, as tho&s;e Doves in the valley, every one for his iniquity!</P>
<P>The Prophet &s;peaking of &s;everal plagues (as Famine, drought, dearth, Pe&s;tilence, the Sword; nay, he overthrew &s;ome of them, as <HI>Sodom</HI>) that were brought upon <HI>I&s;rael</HI>; he by way of complaint, tells them no le&s;&s;e then five times; <HI>Yet have ye not returned unto me,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Amos 4.6. to 13.</NOTE> <HI>&s;aith the Lord.</HI> At la&s;t, the Lord comes in with this &s;ad threatning, (a hidden judgement.) Therefore thus will I do unto thee oh <HI>I&s;rael</HI>! (Thus, what thus, who knowes? and becau&s;e I will do thus unto thee, prepare to meet thy God oh <HI>I&s;rael</HI>! oh! that <HI>England</HI> would prepare to meet the Lord! Why? Becau&s;e he will do thus, what thus? He will bring, &s;hall I &s;ay? Nay, he hath brought, not bodily (that's too little, it hath done no good upon <HI>England,</HI> as it did not upon <HI>I&s;rael</HI>) but &s;piritual Judge|ments; and certainly, &s;uch &s;piritual plagues, that neither we nor our Fathers ever beheld the like, and are (as Mr. <HI>Baxter</HI> ob&s;erves) as evident notes of Gods heavy di&s;plea&s;ure, as men can expect to &s;ee on earth. And is not that text now fulfilled, <HI>viz.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 The&s;. 2.11, 12.</NOTE> <HI>And for this cau&s;e, God &s;hall &s;end them &s;trong delu&s;ions, that they &s;hall believe a lye</HI>: (mark, &s;end Seducers) <HI>That they all might be damned, who believe not the truth, but had plea|&s;ure in unrighteou&s;ne&s;s.</HI> Ah poor &s;educed &s;ouls! they cry up Heathen principles (a light within them, ca&s;ting off the light the word of God without them:) and &s;ee how the Lord in judgement, doth give them up to their Brethren, (the Hea|thens) practices. <HI>They changed the truth of God into a lye, for this cau&s;e</HI> (&s;aith the Text) <HI>God gave them up to vile affections,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 2.25.26, 29, 30, 31.</NOTE>
<HI>and to a reprobate mind, and to an abominable conver&s;ation, be|ing filled with all unrighteou&s;ne&s;s, fornication, wickedne&s;s, co|vetou&s;ne&s;s, maliciou&s;ne&s;s; full of envy, murder, debate, deceipt, malignity, whi&s;perers, back-biters, haters of God, de&s;piteful, proud, boa&s;ters, inventers of evil things, di&s;obedient to Parents,
<PB N="65" REF="41">
without under&s;tanding, Covenant-breakers, without natural af|fection, implacable, unmerciful.</HI> Here is a ble&s;&s;ed pack of Qua|kers; I &s;o &s;ay, becau&s;e among&s;t them in this Synagogue of Satan (&s;o near me) without wrong (for I would not wrong the Devil) there might be drawn out &s;uch per&s;ons, in whom the&s;e black <HI>Ethiopian</HI> &s;pots are.</P>
<P>Ah poor <HI>England</HI>! (ah hypocritical Nation!) may not <HI>God</HI> plead with us, as once with his people? pa&s;&s;e over the I&s;&s;es,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 2.9, 10, 11</NOTE> go beyond the Seas, among&s;t the very Heathen, and con&s;ider diligently, and &s;ee if there be &s;uch a thing. Hath a Nation changed their Gods, which yet are no Gods? But my People have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 1. ver&s;. 4.</NOTE> Have we not (&s;ince this wretched Toleration) changed (nay lo&s;t) the glory of our Go&s;pel-profe&s;&s;ion? and is not that of the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> a right character upon us? Ah &s;inful Na|tion, a people laden with iniquity, a &s;eed of evil doers, Chil|dren that are corrupters, (mark) they have for&s;aken the Lord, they have provoked the holy one of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> to anger, they are gone away backward. And may not this provoca|tion of the Lord cau&s;e him to &s;ay, Shall not my &s;oul be a|venged on &s;uch a Nation as this? (that did,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 5.9.</NOTE> with their hands lifted up to the mo&s;t high God, Covenant for Reformation) who by a Toleration,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 10 6.</NOTE> are become an hypocritical and fal&s;e Nation?</P>
<P>Oh my Brethren! my councel is &s;till the &s;ame. Take heed how you hear, for we &s;hall one day give account for what we hear. And that we may take the more heed, con&s;ider what fal&s;ene&s;s the Book of God di&s;covers unto us for our caution, <HI>viz.</HI> A fal&s;e Nation (as before.) Fal&s;e Chri&s;ts (the occa&s;ion of my Narrative) you have al&s;o fal&s;e &s;pirits, &s;educing &s;pirits,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 24 4, 5. 1 Tim. 4.1. 2 Pet. 2.1. 2 Cor. 11.26. Jam. 2.19, 20.</NOTE> then fal&s;e Prophets, and fal&s;e Apo&s;tles, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.13. Fal&s;e Teachers in the forecited place of <HI>Peter,</HI> then fal&s;e Brethren; then you have fal&s;e faith. And la&s;t of all (which is wor&s;t of all) a fal&s;e heart, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4.2. Speaking lies in hypocri&s;ie, ha|ving their Con&s;cience &s;eared with a hot Iron.</P>
<P>Now Brethren, there being &s;o much fal&s;ene&s;s in all the&s;e particulars, how much doth it concern us, what, whom,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Chron. 17 3</NOTE> and how we hear? Its &s;aid, the Lord was with <HI>Jeho&s;aphat,</HI> becau&s;e
<PB N="64" REF="42">
he walked in the fir&s;t wayes of his Father <HI>David</HI>: Ah Bre|thren, the fir&s;t wayes of profe&s;&s;ors, when they kept clo&s;e to their known Mini&s;ters, then they kept clo&s;e to God and Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 6.16. 2 Chron 19.11.</NOTE> Sabbaths, Ordinances, Duties; the&s;e good old wayes, were the fir&s;t and be&s;t wayes. Let us walk coura|giou&s;ly in this way, &amp; the Lord &s;hall be with the good. And however the Prophets of God are oppo&s;ed &amp; contemned, let us keep to rule, we &s;hal never el&s;e be e&s;tabli&s;hed, either Nation or Kingdom (what rule? mark) <HI>Believe in the Lord your God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 20. ver&s;. 20.</NOTE> <HI>&s;o &s;hall ye be e&s;tabli&s;hed, believe his Prophets, &s;o &s;hall ye pro&s;per.</HI> Ah &s;ad Toleration! the Lord give repentance to <HI>England,</HI> for all tho&s;e abominations it hath u&s;her'd in, and protected among us. The good Lord, after they in power o|ver us, have repented (of whom we may &s;ay as <HI>Ezra</HI> 9.2. yea, the hand of the Princes and Rulers, hath bin chief in this tre&s;pa&s;s) give them further grace, to make a Law of re&s;traint, le&s;t the judgement of God, (which is ju&s;tly to be feared) break in upon them and us, without remedy. But they mock|ed the Me&s;&s;engers of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap 36. ver&s;. 16. Gen <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">0.7.</NOTE> and de&s;pi&s;ed his words, and mi&s;u|&s;ed his Prophets, until the wrath of the Lord aro&s;e again&s;t his people, till there was no remedy. Well, however let us honour them, for that is an everla&s;ting truth, He is a Prophet, and &s;hall pray for thee. And, had we not their prayers, it would be &s;ad with <HI>England:</HI> nay, God forbid they &s;hould &s;o &s;in,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Sam. 12, 23.</NOTE> as not to pray for us; well, then let us make con&s;ci|ence of praying for them, and there is this rea&s;on for it; for if all e&s;tates and ranks among&s;t as &s;hould de&s;ert profe&s;&s;ion, and de&s;pi&s;e the Go&s;pel, yet they are &s;et for the defence of it; and therefore (hear them) pray for them:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 1.17. Neh. 1.11.</NOTE> to which I &s;hall add this prayer, <HI>The good Lord be attentive to the prayer of thy Servant, and the prayer of thy Servants (both Prophets and People) that de&s;ire to fear thy name.</HI></P>
<P>And Brethren, is not this to be bewailed, that there &s;hould be &s;uch calling for Toleration, the mi&s;chiefs and &s;ad effects of it being &s;o many, and &s;o great, that they cannot be afore|hand imagined; be&s;ides the further di&s;turbance of the peace, by different factions, and making the divi&s;ions in Families, to be almo&s;t as many as per&s;ons; &s;uppo&s;e the Husband a good
<PB N="65" REF="42">
Prote&s;tant, it may be the Wife an Independent, the Children Anabapti&s;ts, the Servants Quakers.</P>
<P>Oh Brethren! how &s;ad is this? And moreover, that there &s;hould be a conniving at tho&s;e ranting opinions that tend to all manner of ungodline&s;s,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><P>See Doctor <HI>Cawdry,</HI> his Sermon upon <HI>Jo|&s;hua 24.15. pa. 28.</HI></P>
<P>In the Reign of <HI>Henry</HI> the third, one pretending him&s;elf to be Chri&s;t, was by the Magi&s;trates, then immured between two walls, and there peri&s;hed, as being thought unworthy to dye by the hands of a|ny man. <HI>Speed's</HI> Hi|&s;tory. <HI>p. 522, 523.</HI></P>
<P>If a <HI>Nebuchad.</HI> did make &s;uch a Law, as to tye up the tongues of all in his Domini|ons, not to &s;peak a word against the God of, &amp;c. <HI>Dan. 3.29.</HI> Oh how doth it con|cern Chri&s;tian Ma|gi&s;trates much more.</P>
<P>This would be a compa&s;&s;ionate com|pul&s;ion.</P>
<P>Mr. <HI>W. T.</HI></P></NOTE> which have &s;o &s;pread, that it hath infected the Nation from head to foot. Witne&s;s the great friends Bla&s;phemy, and this unparalleld Bla&s;phe|mer had, that put the Parliament to &s;o much ex|pence of time, before that honourable &s;entence was given again&s;t him (death it &s;elf being his de|&s;ert.) This con&s;idered, O that tho&s;e in power o|ver us, would at la&s;t prove &s;uch happy Reformers to the Nation, and &s;hew &s;uch pitty to the &s;ouls of their poor Brethren, as to put a re&s;traint upon all &s;oul-infecting per&s;ons, and &s;et on fire all tho&s;e &s;oul-poy&s;oning and bla&s;pheming Pamphlets that are abroad, (which would be an acceptable &s;a|crifice.) For its to be feared, that Chri&s;tians may have ju&s;t cau&s;e to rue the liberty given (to Pre&s;&s;e and Pulpit) in the&s;e dayes: Now that people might have &s;ome &s;top, when tumbling headlong into Hell, being &s;o principled, that they think it their duty to do Hell &s;ervice.</P>
<P>Oh! that the Parliament (who had &s;uch an Impo&s;tor and Bla&s;phemer brought before them, (that their Predece&s;&s;ors never heard of the like) had made the Nation &s;o happy, as to compel people (as one &s;aith well) to Ordinances, though unwillingly that &s;o (if po&s;&s;ible) they might be brought to God, and goodne&s;s willingly! And for their incouragement, they had in holy writ, a very imitable pattern, <HI>Jo&s;iah</HI> by name, And <HI>Jo|&s;iah</HI> took away all the abominations:<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 34.33.</NOTE> (many Pamphlets abroad are abominable things) out of all the Countries that pertained to the Children of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and made all that were pre&s;ent in <HI>I&s;rael</HI> to &s;erve (made them to &s;erve) even to &s;erve the Lord their God, and
<PB N="68" REF="43">
all his dayes they departed not from following the Lord, the God of their Fathers. And a good effect it had upon them; for all his dayes they kept clo&s;e to God. Thus to appear and act for the good of &s;ouls,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Chron. 22.16. 2 Chron. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">5.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> will be your Crown. Ari&s;e there|fore and be doing, and the Lord be with you Now the Lord is with you, while you be with him, and if you &s;eek (and act for) him, he will be found of you; but if you for&s;ake him, he will for&s;ake you. Ari&s;e therefore, for this matter belongeth unto you, we al&s;o (&s;ay they that fear the Lord) will be with you,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezra 10.4, 5.</NOTE> be of good courage and do it. Then aro&s;e <HI>Ezra</HI> and did it, <HI>Go ye and do likewi&s;e, and the Lord be with the ju&s;t, Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="letter">
<HEAD>An Epistle of <HI>Publius Lentulus,</HI> (found in the <HI>Romane Annals</HI>) at that time Pre&s;ident in <HI>Judea,</HI> un|der <HI>Tiberius</HI> the Emperour,) written to the Senate of <HI>Rome:</HI> (A Copy whereof was found (among other papers, to the number of <HI>21.</HI>) about <HI>Nailor's</HI> Di&s;ciples, at their fir&s;t Ex|amination before the Magi&s;trates of <HI>Bri&s;tol.</HI>)</HEAD>
<P>THere appeared in the&s;e our dayes, a man of great vertue, named <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> who is yet living among&s;t us, and of the Gentiles, is accepted for a Prophet of truth, but his own Di&s;ciples call him the Son of God. He rai&s;eth the dead, and cureth all manner of Di&s;ea&s;es. A man of &s;tature, &s;ome|what tall and comely, with a very reverend countenance, &s;uch as the beholders may both love and fear; his hair of the co|lour of a <HI>Philbert</HI> full ripe, and plain almo&s;t down to his eares, from the eares downwards, &s;omewhat curled, and more orient of colour, waving about his &s;houlders; in the mid&s;t of his Head goeth a &s;eam, or partition of his hair, after the manner of the <HI>Nazarites</HI>; his fore-head very plain and &s;mooth, his face without &s;pot or wrinckle, beautified with a comly red: his no&s;e and mouth &s;o formed, as nothing can be reprehended; his beard &s;omewhat thick, agreeable in colour, to the hair of his head, not of any great length, but forked in the mid&s;t, of an innocent and mature look; his eyes gray clear and quick; in reproving, he is terrible; in admoni&s;h|ing,
<PB N="69" REF="43">
courteous, and fair &s;poken, plea&s;ant in &s;peech, mixed with gravity; it cannot be remembred, that any have &s;een him laugh, but many have &s;een him weep; in proportion of Bo|dy well &s;haped and &s;traight; his hands and arms right de|lectable to behold, in &s;peaking very temperate, mode&s;t, and wi&s;e; a man for his &s;ingular beauty &s;urpa&s;&s;ing the Children of men.</P>
<P>To &s;ome particulars in this de&s;cription (that wicked Im|po&s;tor) <HI>James Nailor,</HI> bearing &s;ome &s;mall natural re&s;em|blance, <HI>viz.</HI> in &s;hape of body and colour, of hair, he (cun|ningly like him&s;elf) endeavours to an&s;wer the re&s;t, (where|unto he was much unlike by nature) by an artificial compo|&s;ure of his countenance, to an affected gravity, parting the hair of his head, wearing his beard forked, and the like; the better to carry on his damnable juggling and impo&s;ture, a|mong tho&s;e poor deluded wretches, that were given up to believe lies; that &s;o they might take him to be the per&s;on there de&s;cribed, and be drawn the more ea&s;ily to give him that honour and wor&s;hip that doth of right belong to the true Je&s;us.</P>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>AN END.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
