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<DATE>2012-07-23</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Judith Siefring</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch Z120610.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="OX" ID="A75311">
<STC T="W">A3041</STC>
<STC T="T">E383_11</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99861944</BIBNO>
<VID>160179</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P><HI>The Anabapti&s;ts late Protestation.</HI> Or, their RESOLVTION To depart the City of LONDON. <HI>Wherein is &s;et forth,</HI> The full proceedings of a great number of Anabapti&s;ts, at a late Conventicle neere Old-&s;treet. Together, with their &s;everall Debates, and Con&s;ul|tations at the &s;aid Meeting, concerning the City of London, and the Kingdome of ENGLAND.</P>
<LG>
<L><HI>Printed in the happy Yeare,</HI></L>
<L><HI>When Sectaries durst not appear.</HI></L>
</LG>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD><HI>The Anabapti&s;ts la&s;t Good-night.</HI> BEING A RELATION OF The proceedings of divers Anabapti&s;ts at their late Meeting neer Old-&s;treet, <HI>March</HI> 18. 1647.</HEAD>
<P>UPon the 28. day of the la&s;t Moneth, there were a&s;&s;embled together neere Old-&s;treet (at a zealous Conventicle) divers per&s;ons, of &s;everall degrees and functions, for the laying open their &s;ad grievance, and
<PB REF="3">heavie <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ppre&s;&s;ions (as they tearm them) oc|ca&s;ioned by the late good Votes of the ho|nourable Hou&s;es of Parliament, for the putting downe, and aboli&s;hing of all Sects and Sectaries, within the Realm of <HI>Eng|land,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>And after &s;ome houres &s;pent in di&s;pu|tation, they generally re&s;olved to per&s;i&s;t on, and adhere to the Rules of the<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> owne reformed Churches, prote&s;ting and (inge|niou&s;ly profe&s;&s;ing) not to revo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> in the lea&s;t from their Opinions which they were now grounded in; &s;aying, that if Li|berty of Con&s;cience would not be allow|ed of with in this Kingdome, they would become Strangers to Forreign Princes; and take their leave of this their native Soyle, But notwith&s;tanding the late Ordinance of Parliament, they &s;till proceed on in their Meetings and Conventicles, u&s;ing their own Form of Wor&s;hip, contrary to the Di&s;cipline of the Church of England.</P>
<P>But (indeed) they are up-held by many &s;trong Agents, and animated and incoura|ged on by tho&s;e who have broached mo&s;t <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ntollerable thins of late yeares again&s;t the
<PB REF="3">high and honourable Court of Parlia|ment; the grand and chiefe Ring-leaders being now in cu&s;tody, for endeavouring to &s;ow the Seed of Di&s;cord within the Bow|els of this Kingdome, both by their &s;everall Writings, and printed Papers, which hath enflamed the hearts of many thou&s;ands within this Kingdome: therefore, I may &s;ay, <HI>A lame Hand, is better then a lewd Pen:</HI> Therefore to &s;hew much courage in a bad matter, is rather a token of a de&s;perate fol|ly, then any badg of a magnanimous mind. For, is it not apparent, to all true Chri&s;ti|ans, that this kind of people hath for the&s;e two or three yeares practi&s;ed and endea|voured to rai&s;e a divi&s;ion, and to &s;tirre up &s;trife and envie in the hearts of the people, again&s;t the mo&s;t high and &s;upreame Coun|cel of this Kingdome.</P>
<P>Therefore, what a wofull cour&s;e hath this people ran into, not only through their own lewd practice, but al&s;o their infecting of others; &s;o that even the &s;innes of thou|&s;ands they mu&s;t give a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> acco<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">t for.</P>
<PB REF="4">
<P>But it is apparent, that &s;ince the creeping in of &s;o many Sects within the Church of England, many &s;ad di&s;a&s;ters have aro&s;e ther|by; for where there is tolleration of too many &s;orts of Opinions, there ari&s;eth no|thing but &s;trife and contention for &s;uperi|ority, and every one that hath gained a lit|tle experience in the Scriptures, takes upon him the great Office of a Mini&s;ter, and ad|mi&s;ti&s;ters the Word; by which meanes, too many poor &s;oules are en&s;nared and deluded: therefore, beleeve not every one that taketh upon him to be a Preacher, but try the Preachers, whether they are of God, &s;earch the Scriptures dayly, and &s;ee whether tho&s;e things are &s;o, that &s;uch preachers &s;ay, prove all things, and receive that which is good, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> John. 4.1.</P>
<P>Chri&s;t him&s;elf &s;aith, that if the blind doth lead the blind, both &s;hal fall into the ditch, Matth. 15.14.</P>
<P>Nay further, the Lord him&s;elf &s;aith, the Leaders of this people, that teacheth them Errours and fal&s;e Doctrines &s;hal cau&s;e them to erre, and they that are led of them are de&s;troyed, E&s;a 9.14, 15.</P>
<PB REF="4">
<P>And ver&s;. 16, Therefore &s;hall the Lord have no plea&s;ure in their young men, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">|ther have pitty of their fatherle&s;&s;e and wi|dowes; for they are altogether Hypo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">s, and wicked, and all their mouthes &s;peake follie: After all this, is not the Lords wrath cea&s;ed, but yet his band is &s;tretched out &s;till.</P>
<P>Thus may we &s;ee, and plainly di&s;cerne the wonderfull and horrible things which hath been done in this Land, by the wicked Seducers of our times, by their fal&s;e and er|roneous Doctrines, and their changing and altering of the &s;acred Scriptures.</P>
<P>Oh the &s;ad things which are now bro|ched: How is the Church of England defi|led, She is become black and be&s;potted; nay her beauty which formerly &s;hined through|out all Europe, is now eclip&s;ed, becau&s;e of the too many diver&s;ity of Opinions, which are crept within her very bowels.</P>
<P>But now the beauty of our Church be|ginneth (once again) to &s;hine in its full lu&s;tre, the Curtain is drawn, the Clouds are di&s;&s;olving, and all Sects and Schi&s;mes now vanqui&s;hing.</P>
<PB REF="5">
<P>So that now it is hoped, the Church wil enjoy her former purity, and that by the vanqui&s;hing of the&s;e Sects and Here&s;ies, &s;he will become undefiled, and without &s;po<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> or blemi&s;h, and appear in the full beauty of al her Members.</P>
<P>God grant that all &s;uch wicked Seducers of the people may become new Chri&s;tians, and reformed; and if not, God give the peo|ple grace to know them, to &s;hun them, and to fly from them.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
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</TEXT>
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