<!DOCTYPE ETS PUBLIC "-//UMDLPS//DTD EEBOPROOF 2.0//EN">
<ETS>
<TEMPHEAD>
<REVDESCR>
<CHANGE>
<DATE>2010-06-01</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Olivia Bottum</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Did text and markup review.</ITEM>
</CHANGE>
</REVDESCR>
</TEMPHEAD>
<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A81728">
<STC T="W">D2140</STC>
<STC T="T">E350_22</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99861630</BIBNO>
<VID>113769</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P><HI>A Plain AND FAITHFVLL DISCOVERY OF A BEAME In Ma&s;ter</HI> EDWARDS <HI>his Eye. OR A MODERATE ANSVVER to the &s;ub&s;tance of the fir&s;t and &s;econd part of</HI> Gangrena. <HI>E&s;pecially to his Prophe&s;ie; Where|in &s;ome of his &s;tories are refuted; The manner of his comming by them que&s;tioned. His double dealing detected. Capt.</HI> Paul Hob&s;on <HI>with &s;ome others, Vin|dicated. Mr.</HI> Jo&s;iah Rycraft <HI>Examined. Mr.</HI> Edwards <HI>unparraleld partiallity is impartially declared, And his Prophe&s;ie truly reflected</HI></P>
<P><HI>By</HI> EDWARD DRAPES.</P>
<Q><BIBL><HI>JER. 5.30, 31,</HI></BIBL>
<P>A wonderfull and horrible thing is committed in the land.</P>
<P>The Prophets prophe&s;ie fal&s;ely, and the Prie&s;ts beare rule by their meanes, and my People love to have it &s;o: And what will ye doe in the end thereof?</P>
<BIBL><HI>Matth. 7.3, 4, 5,</HI></BIBL>
<P>And why beholde&s;t thou the mote that is in thy brothers eye, but con&s;idere&s;t not the beam that is in thine own eye?</P>
<P>Or how wilt thou &s;ay to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thy eye, and behold, a beam is in thine own eye?</P>
<P>Thou hipocrite, fir&s;t ca&s;t out the beam out of thine own eye: And then &s;halt thou &s;ee clearely to ca&s;t out the mote out of thy brothers eye.</P></Q>
<P><HI>Printed. And are to be &s;old by</HI> William Larner, at his &s;hop, at the &s;igne of the Blackmore in Bi&s;hops-gate-&s;treete <HI>1646.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>To the Impartiall Reader.</HEAD>
<P>_HAD not truth been more engaged in this following di&s;cour&s;e then my &s;elfe, I &s;hould have rejoyced in the continuing of my ac|cu&s;tomed &s;ilence. But &s;eeing Ma&s;ter <HI>Ed|wards Goliah</HI> like, comming forth, de|fying the Hoa&s;ts of the living God, li|centiou&s;ly a&s;&s;uming to &s;tamp the Super|&s;cription of truth upon tho&s;e many <HI>Apocryphall</HI> &s;tories, faign|ed tales, and forged relations, contained in his <HI>Gangrena</HI> &s;trengthning the hands of the wicked, and &s;adning the hearts of the Godly, and yet notwith&s;tanding crying out with great zeale <HI>the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord.</HI> For Sions &s;ake, I could <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">o longer hold my peace, but was con&s;trained within me, to pre&s;ent this in&s;uing &s;earch, of a <HI>Phari&s;aical</HI> &s;pirit, and an infectious <HI>Gangrena,</HI> that is &s;o much ju&s;tified by her Children, to thy &s;erious peru&s;all, and judicious con&s;ideration; that if thy judgement hath been captivated, to give credit to it, it may at length be rectified. Or if thou art yet in doubt, not da|ring like a wi&s;e man) to pa&s;&s;e cen&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">re, before thou ha&s;t heard what the accu&s;ed can &s;ay for th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">m&s;evles I hope (through the ble&s;|&s;ing of God) what I have written, will prove &s;atisfactory to thee, and be a light to regulate thy judgement, by who&s;e information (according to my own knowledge is my endevour which <HI>I</HI> have pro&s;ecuted, not with words to delight thy eare, but to profit thy inward man: I love to plea&s;e no man beyond, and yet all &s;o farre as may tend to their edification.</P>
<P>Plain dealing without the lea&s;t flattery, is the true language
<PB N="3" REF="3">
of a faithfull friend, that is like the oyle, that doth not make, but heale wounds. The deri&s;ion and reproaches of unrea&s;onable men, is my expectation: However I doubt not, but that truth which commands me to write, will &s;ecure me, and cau&s;e thee to accept it, though rejected by others, and me patiently to under|goe any thing for it, and learne me to ble&s;&s;e them that cur&s;e me, and pray for them that di&s;pitefully u&s;e me.</P>
<P>It was not my thoughts to an&s;wer all his &s;tories, being a work impos&s;ible for any one man, except he had the knowledge of the whole proceedings of every one of them, from the beginning to the ending of them, but rather to &s;hew the untruth of tho&s;e &s;tories I had knowledge of, and the &s;trange phara&s;aical over&s;ight of Mr. <HI>Edwards,</HI> his dwelling &s;o much a broad, and &s;o litle at home that &s;o by &s;ome fruits, thou maie&s;t the better judge of the whole Tree.</P>
<P>Some things M. <HI>Edwards</HI> chargeth Captain <HI>Hob&s;on</HI> with concerning his doctrine, which I have not particularly replyed to, becau&s;e I heare it will be abroad before long, to &s;peake for it &s;elfe.</P>
<P>Reader, one thing <HI>I</HI> crave at thy hands, that thou wilt reade &s;eriou&s;ly, judge faithfully, not with a criticall eye, but with a ju|dicious heart, and reprove me, wherein <HI>I</HI> doe a mi&s;&s;e charitably, &s;o &s;halt thou truly engage him to thee, that loves thee in the truth, and the truth as it is in Je&s;us.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Edward Drapes</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB REF="3">
<HEAD><HI>A</HI> Plain and faithfull di&s;covery of <HI>A BEAM IN Ma&s;ter</HI> Edwards his Eye.</HEAD>
<P>_IT is very remarkeable, that whe~ the woman was in the wil|dernes, the Serpent ca&s;t out of his mouthwater, as a floud after the woman, that he might cau&s;e her to be carryed a|way of the floud, <HI>Rev.</HI> 12.14, 15. The condition of the Saints in this world, is mo&s;t commonly very low: for while they are here, they are not at home, but wandring up and down &s;eeking an honourable Country, dignifyed with immutable glory; but in the time of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">hi their voyage to that eternall <HI>Canaan,</HI> Sathan through his inveterate hatred, ca&s;ts out of his mouth flouds of water, viz. re|viling accu&s;ations, oprobious &s;candals, horrid reproaches, and &s;corching per&s;ecutions that (if po&s;&s;ible) he may de&s;troy them. For the end of all his motions, whether &s;ecret or more open, is, <HI>the Saints ruine;</HI> For the effecting of which <HI>De&s;ign,</HI> he hath many in|&s;truments, great <HI>Pollititians,</HI> in&s;tilling into them Le&s;&s;ons full of blood, that when they &s;eem mo&s;t to &s;mile, then is the greate&s;t mi&s;chiefe by them intended, when <HI>Sathan</HI> transformes him&s;elfe into an Angell of Light, then is mo&s;t danger; when he intended to deceive our fir&s;t Parents, he told them that they &s;hould be wi&s;e, even like unto God, when he per&s;wades men to kill the Saints, he tels them they &s;hall doe God good &s;er|vice, he &s;uits his actions to the Saints conditions; if they appeare to be but few, weake, or fearefull, he &s;ets upon them in the open field, withall his might and power, to &s;up|pre&s;&s;e them; if he findes them too &s;trong for him in the mountaines, he will a&s;&s;ault them in the valleys; if open force prevaile not. he will take another cour&s;e, he will di&s;gui&s;e himelfe; The <HI>Woolfe doth mo&s;t harm when in &s;heepes cloathing, Sathan</HI> hurts mo&s;t, when he comes under the veile of piety, <HI>Learning and rich rewards</HI> to en&s;nare pore men; the Snake lyes hid oft-times in the gra&s;&s;e, <HI>Sathan, Antichri&s;t,</HI> that man of &s;i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">, oftenlye lurking many in Books, Pulpits, Sermons, Fa&s;ts, legall conformityes, and &s;o are <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">onveyed into the hearts and &s;pirits of men, like poy&s;on in a Cup of wine, &s;ince my
<PB N="2" REF="4">
eyes was through the power of God, a little opened, I have di&s;cerned &s;omething of the <HI>My&s;tery of iniquity</HI> yet working, and that in many mens writings; but I can trul<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;ay, I never &s;aw more in any one, then in M. <HI>Edwards his Gangren<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">,</HI> both fir&s;t and &s;econd part, the Streames of which are &s;urely <HI>Wormewood,</HI> all the waters thereof bitter, and the Fountain I feare Gall; The whole <HI>Di&s;cour&s;e</HI> foames forth big &s;welling words, and proud waves, threatning the &s;uddaine and inevitable ruine of many Saints, veil'd with the name of <HI>Schi&s;mat qu s, Sectaryes, H retiques,</HI> and <HI>Bla&s;phemers,</HI> (reproachfull tearms as old as <HI>Antichri&s;t,</HI> w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">o was the fir&s;t author and inventer of them, and is the conti|nuer of them again&s;t tho&s;e that have &s;een his nakednes, and departed from him)</P>
<P>There are two things endeavoured to be effected by tho&s;e Book; The one, to ren|der all tho&s;e whom M. <HI>Edwards</HI> &s;tiles <HI>Independants, Anabapti&s;ts, Separati&s;ts,</HI> odious in the eyes of the Magi&s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ate and People.</P>
<P>The other, to ex<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">lt him&s;elfe, and his <HI>Presbyterian Bretheren;</HI> in which he &s;o inordi|nately g<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">ryes That this De&s;ign of his may be effected the &s;tronger, and ha&s;tened the &s;ooner, he prophe&s;ies the certain downfall, ruin, and de&s;truction, of all tho&s;e, he calles, <HI>Independants, Anabapti&s;ts, Separati&s;ts, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word">.</HI> lu&s;t like the Prophets that endea|voured to deter<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">e <HI>N h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">miah,</HI> from the worke of the Lord in his hands, <HI>Nehemiah</HI> 6.12, 13.14. Are not all the Letters in his <HI>Gangrenous Bookes.</HI> written by the Copy of <HI>Re|bum's</HI> the Chancellour, and <HI>Sh <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">s</HI> the S<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ribe, to the King to hinder the advance|ment of the Temple of the Lord, <HI>Ezzra</HI> 4.12. to the end of the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">6 ver&s;e; &s;aying, <HI>Be it known unto thee</HI> O Kings <HI>unto you</HI> O Parliament,, <HI>that th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;e People have been a rebell|ous People, if you &s;uffer them to incre<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;e, or to l ve at peace among&s;t you, they will be Kings them&s;elve, rebell, pay you no</HI> Toll <HI>nor</HI> Tribute, <HI>for they are a heady People, nemyes to Go|vernment, to Magi&s;tracy&punc; therefore &s;uppre&s;&s;e them, command them to de&s;i&s;t and to preach no more, le&s;t</HI> England <HI>be filled with their Doctrines, and wee lo&s;e our</HI> Names, <HI>our</HI> Livings, <HI>our</HI> Tythes, <HI>and</HI> Offerings, <HI>and then what will become of us,</HI> for no man will buy our Merchandi&s;e <HI>any more, Rev,</HI> 18.11.</P>
<P>I earne&s;tly de&s;ire, that no man whom God hath called to worke&punc; may be di&s;couraged by this Prophe&s;ie, and that the Magi&s;trates might not &s;o li&s;ten to tho&s;e &s;tories, letters, and bloody accu&s;ations, preferred again&s;t a generation of ju&s;t men, as to command them to forbeare the building, repayring and adorning the Temple of God, with new and living Stones, built upon a &s;ure foundation, b lieving all things which their ene|mies accu&s;e them of, &s;o as to &s;light, di&s;regard, di&s;countenance, and de&s;troy them as enemyes, who have hitherto approved them&s;elves, in all their Straits, their clo&s;e&s;t friends; But that they, and all people, would &s;eriou&s;ly weigh&punc; from whence this pro|phe&s;ie came, whether from a vi&s;ion or divine revelation, or whether the ground of it is not <HI>An I would have <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> &s;o, I de&s;ire it may be &s;o, and long till it is &s;o, I &s;hall never be con|tented til then, th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">y &s;tand in my light, and keepe the Sunne of preferment from &s;hining on me.</HI> As for the eight Symptoms layd own by him, and applyed to tho&s;e that in his dialect are <HI>Independ<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">nts, Anabapti&s;ts, Sectaryes, &amp;c.</HI> They are to me the cleare&s;t di&s;|covery of his, and his Bretherens nakednes, that can be, and were they impartially re|flected, they would conf<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;e it, and if they are infallible &s;ignes of ruin, they would ac|knowledge their own at hand; I &s;hall briefly rehear&s;e the &s;ub&s;tance of them all in or|der as they are &s;et down, and faithfully reflect them, that M. <HI>Edwards</HI> and his Bre|theren may &s;ee, and be a&s;hamed.</P>
<P N="1">1. The fir&s;t Symptom (as M. <HI>Edwards</HI> &s;aith, of the Independants ruine) <HI>is their
<PB N="3" REF="4">
horrible pride, in&s;olency, and arrogancy, extolling them&s;elves to the heavens, de&s;pi&s;ing all others, trampling upon them, yea, upon Kings, and Parliaments, the Kingdome of</HI> Scotland, <HI>A&s;&s;embly of Divines, and the Common Councell of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">he City of London, which p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> of theirs appeares in their writing, Speeches, ge&s;tures and actions, in endeavouring to breake all, that will not da<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ce after thei<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> P<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">pe;</HI> from which he conclude<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> this, their Prid<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> having gone before, their de&s;truction will follow &s;uddenly after. Here is a high accu&s;ation, foule crimes layd to the charge of all tho&s;e whom he &s;til<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">s <HI>Independants,</HI> had he as truly proved them as boldly affi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">med them, I had never dared to have app<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ared for them, neither do I &s;eeke the vindication of any mans pride or arrogancie, though he may be va<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">ed with the name of an <HI>Independant,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>But that M. <HI>Edwards</HI> &s;hould charge the crimes of one or two, upon all that are cal|led <HI>Independants,</HI> &s;eemes to me to be both uncharitable and unr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">&s;onable: did I not k<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ow that envy makes wi&s;e men to forget them&s;elves, to doe they kno<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> not what, and runne they know not whether, from one extream into another: I &s;hould &s;carcely have b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">n <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">nduced to believe, that M. <HI>Edwards</HI> had forgotten the old rule, <HI>ex particulari non e&s;t concludendum,</HI> as I now &s;ee and know he hath if him&s;elfe knoweth what his Pen hath written. If one be proud, in&s;olent and arrogant, mu&s;t all be &s;o too? If one be a Heretique mu&s;t all be Heretiques? If <HI>Iudas</HI> one of the twelve, veil'd with the name of a Di&s;ciple, be a Devill, mu&s;t all the eleven be Devils too? I<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> one Profe&s;&s;or be a <HI>Si|mon Magus,</HI> a <HI>D<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">mas Hymeneus</HI> or <HI>Philetus,</HI> mu&s;t all the Profe&s;&s;ors of Chri&s;t be &s;uch? If one that is &s;tiled by M <HI>Edwards</HI> or him&s;ele, to be an <HI>Independant, Anabap|ti&s;t, or the l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ke?</HI> &s;hould be in the g<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ll of bitterne&s;&s;e, mu&s;t all be &s;o too, that go under that name? I de&s;ire M <HI>Edwards</HI> would tell me what con&s;equence this is, whether it be good rea&s;oning, whether the grounds of it flowes from Religion or rea&s;on, from a plain demon&s;tration, or from a rea&s;onable &s;uppo&s;ition: &s;urely all the&s;e reject and ab|horre it as &s;purious, contradicting the lawes of God and man. I am very confident if one &s;hould &s;c<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ape off the filth, &s;oil, and dirt, that is to be found amid&s;t the refu&s;e of their Congregations, and throw it in his own face&punc; and the face of the re&s;t of his Bre|theren that abhorrs their Egyptian darknes; he would be very angry, cry out of per&s;e|cution: I<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> he &s;hall hereafter &s;ay, he accu&s;ed not all but &s;ome: then &s;urely he hath dealt very maliciou&s;ly and hipocritically, to make the world believe one thing in his Books, and himelfe to intend another&punc; Is not this equivocation? &amp; Mentall re&s;ervation? But if he &s;ti<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">k to his principles, to con<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">emn all he had done well to have named more, for as yet he hath named but few, and &s;ome of them are never the wor&s;e, for being named b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> him, their holyne&s;&s;e, integrity and hone&s;ty, &s;tanding &s;till un&s;haken and unmoveable; &s;ome of them being &s;o farre from pride, arrogancy, and &s;eeking his or hi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> bretherens ruine, de&s;olation and de&s;truction, th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">t I know would rejoyce to become his and their &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">rvants in the Lord Chri&s;t, <HI>though not in Antichri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>Had but M. <HI>Edwards</HI> taken &s;uch a &s;trict &s;urvey, and made &s;uch a through inqui&s;ition into the Parochiall a&s;&s;emblyes, yea, into the very Angels and M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ni&s;ter o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">em as it &s;eemes <HI>by h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">s Epi&s;tle to his G<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ngrena</HI> he hath done into the <HI>INDEPENDENTS &amp; their A&s;&s;embl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">es,</HI> he would have found a taske hard enough, an inco<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">nter &s;harpe e|nough to have rooted out the pride, arrogancy, and in&s;olency that is between the Presbyterian Church walles, before he had &s;o de&s;perately adventured to charge the guiltle&s;&s; in the open field, had he lookt well before he had leapt he had &s;aved him|&s;elfe much labour; my &s;oule de&s;ires his in&s;truction, not his de&s;truction; Therefore I
<PB N="4" REF="5">
de&s;ire he would &s;it down a little while, and con&s;ider, what the Words of our Saviour meaneth, and faithfully apply the &s;ame, <HI>Math</HI> 7. <HI>ver.</HI> 1.2, 3, 4, 5. and &s;ee whether there is not &s;pirituall abominations &s;et up in high places among&s;t them? Whether there is not darknes that may be felt among&s;t them? Whether a &s;pirit of <HI>Pride</HI> and <HI>Prelacy,</HI> rules not even in them, who love the name, (oh that they had the nature) of Di<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ines; Who extols them&s;elves more then the <HI>Presbyterians?</HI> Who makes &s;o much <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">oa&s;t of their wit, wi&s;dome, pyety, learning, reading, writing, rea&s;oning, as they, e&s;teeming all Ideots, Dunces and Fooles but them&s;elves, as if, with, and in them, and not in Ie&s;us, was the trea&s;ures of wi&s;dome and knowledge centred.</P>
<P>If this be not true, let &s;ome man (if he can) tell me what the meaning is, of their <HI>&s;trange Petitions, invective Sermons, rancorus Di&s;cour&s;es, mal<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ciou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> Tre<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ti&s;es, bitter threats,</HI> and endeavours to &s;ilence the mouthes of Lay men (as they term them) from declaring the &s;weet injoyments of the tran&s;cendant excellencies of their beloved, of their God, of their King and of their Ie&s;us, communicated to them, rayling again&s;t them, with reviling, villifying &s;peeches, calling them di&s;gracefully <HI>illiterate, mecha|nicke, Taylors, Pedlers, Tinkers Coblers, and the like,</HI> carnally &s;uppo&s;ing (&s;o far as I am able to &s;pell their meaning) the gifts of the &s;pirit to be centred in, and confined to the members of an <HI>Vn<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ver&s;ity,</HI> to humane learning, naturall education, acquired parts, &amp; the like, forgetting that it is the u&s;uall method of God, to invite the &s;imple into Wi&s;|domes Palaces, and to cau&s;e the weake and de&s;pi&s;ed things of this world, to confound the wi&s;e, even &s;hutting it out of their thoughts, or at lea&s;t out of their mouthes, <HI>that God hath cho&s;en the weake things of the world to confound the things which are mighty, and ba&s;e things of the world, and things wh<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ch are d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;pi&s;ed, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no fle&s;h &s;hould glory in his pre&s;ence;</HI> 1. Cor. 1.25, 26, 27, 28 29. Surely did they con&s;ider it, they would not &s;o glory in the fle&s;h as they do, in their parts, learning, &amp; abilities, but rather in the Lord.</P>
<P>Who can &s;ee their &s;pirits, and not &s;ee arrogancy in its heigth? Who endeavours, plots, &amp; &s;tudies, to be reverenced of all, to have the chiefe place at Fea&s;ts, the highe&s;t place in their Churches, and to be called <HI>Rabbies, Doctors, Divines,</HI> like unto them? If a &s;pirit of pride may be &s;een, in endeavouring to b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ing all People, high and low, rich and pore, Rulers and ruled, under the yokes of their own opinions, in pain of <HI>Anathe|ma Maranatha,</HI> &s;avours of Pride, how will they free them&s;elves from &s;uch a &s;pirit? If they imagine they can, let them tell me what they mean by pre&s;cribing Lawes, Ordi|nances, Cen&s;ures, for them, over whom Chri&s;t hath given them no power? What do they intend by their pronouncing judgement and vengeance upon tho&s;e that di&s;&s;ent from them? By their exclaiming upon the Parliament, for not heati<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">g a furnace &s;even times with hot &s;corching per&s;ecution, to de&s;troy many of Chri&s;ts tender L<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">mbes? For not being their executioners? If to incen&s;e a Parliament again&s;t an hone&s;t Peo|ple, their <HI>tryed Servants,</HI> if to be jealous of, &s;peake again&s;t, and cunningly in&s;inuate a di&s;affection in many again&s;t a Parliament, and the faithfull in&s;truments of Englands pre&s;ent deliverance. If to &s;it down in the throne of Chri&s;t, if to take his Scepter out out of his hands, his Crown off his head: If to de&s;pi&s;e, trample upon, and aba&s;e his membe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">s, &s;avours of pride and arroggancy, (and pride and arrogancy is a certaine &s;ymptom of pre&s;ent di&s;tinction) as M. <HI>Edwards</HI> &s;ayth, Oh then what a condition are <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">he <HI>Pre<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">by<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">erians</HI> in! But I pa&s;&s;e to his &s;econd Symptome.</P>
<P N="2">2. The &s;econd Symp ome of the Sectaryes <HI>ruin and de&s;truction,</HI> (for &s;o he feares
<PB N="5" REF="5">
not to call the wor &s;hippers of the living <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">od) <HI>is their v olent pre&s;ecution of their wayes and cau&s;es.</HI></P>
<P>What he may meane by their wayes and cau&s;es, it is very ambiguous. If by wayes and cau&s;es, he mean their con&s;tant endeavours of &s;ubduing the Kingdoms Enemies, (In which Cau&s;e he makes the world believe &s;o many of them are in|tere&s;ted,) then I confe&s;&s;e they have made ha&s;te, <HI>though not more ha&s;te then good &s;peed,</HI> &amp; through the power of God, have done that in a few Monthes, which others have not done in yeares: Now if their violence in promoting the Kingdomes peace, in purcha&s;ing the liberty of free born Subjects, in ha&s;ting an end to the warres, and heavy taxes, that for the pre&s;ent are nece&s;&s;arily impo&s;ed upon the Kingdome, be the violence he meanes, which portends their de&s;truction; then am I verily per&s;waded, there is &s;ome cunning underhand plotting, contriving, and con&s;piring, their &s;peedy ruin, which him&s;elfe is an agent or factor in, which he a&s;&s;umes to him&s;elfe as the ground of his Prophe&s;y. But is there no remedy but they mu&s;t dye, who, under God, have been the in&s;truments, that he and his bretheren live? Pore &s;ouldiers! that have adventured their lives, le&s;t their e|&s;tates, hazarded their utter ruin for them, even to the expence of much trea&s;ure and the lo&s;&s;e of much precious bloud; when they might ju&s;tly expect to be re|ceived and entertained in great triumph, M. <HI>Edwards</HI> him&s;elfe &s;inging before them, and ble&s;&s;ing God for them, they can hope for little el&s;e, then a bloudy re|ward of all their labours.</P>
<P>Or if he mean their Cau&s;e to be, their contending for the &s;peedy &s;olemnization of a happy marriage between Truth and Peace, that the&s;e Kingdomes may be ble&s;&s;ed in their &s;weet embraceings each of other, &amp; their praying for it, their preach ng, writing, and contending for it, by no other Sword, then that of the Spirit, to be their violence; I acknowledge &s;uch a cau&s;e, and &s;uch a violence, I am willing to own, who ever condemnes me for it&punc;</P>
<P>But if he meane by their wayes, <HI>error, Here&s;ie, &s;chi&s;me,</HI> as it is probable, and by their violence, their con&s;tant endeavours to pro&s;ec<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">te their errors, &amp;c. <HI>I</HI> will not deny, but &s;ome may &s;tand up for errour, in &s;tead of truth, but that he &s;hould charge all thus, is unrea&s;onable; I wi&s;h he would deale ingeniou&s;ly, and tell me, whether he believeth they know tho&s;e things to be error, here&s;ie, and &s;chi&s;me which they pro&s;ecute, or not; if they doe not, will nothing expiate a crime of ignorance, but by the ab&s;olute ruine of the offender? If it be &s;o, who could re|main alive? If the <HI>Independants</HI> are guilty of their thou&s;and errors, &s;ure I am the <HI>Pre&s;byters</HI> are guilty of their ten thou&s;ands; and for the manner of he pro&s;e|cution of the&s;e wayes, if the <HI>Independants</HI> u&s;e <HI>Wh ps,</HI> I am &s;ure the <HI>Pr &s;byterians</HI> u&s;e <HI>Scorpions&punc;</HI> I could tell the world of many wayes and de&s;ignes of heirs, of their great huge, va&s;t endeavours to &s;et them&s;elves on high; I could tell how l ke <HI>Diotrephes,</HI> they &s;eeke preheminence above their Bretheren; I could al&s; decla e how violently they carry on this their De&s;ign, like <HI>Iehu they d v<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">f rio<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;ly,</HI> wi h a &s;eeming &s;hew of great zeal, trampling upon all that &s;tand in their wa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> gna&s;h|ing their teeth, to thinke a pore <HI>Mordecai</HI> will not bowe to t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> m, and endea|vouring to hang him on a Gall<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">wes fifty Cubits high O the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ol<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ce of the&s;e men! O the uncharitablne! O the ha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">d heartednes! O the cruelty f the&s;e men! How many Sermons have they preached? How many Papers ha they
<PB N="6" REF="6">
pre&s;ented? How many Petitions, Epi&s;tles have they written and preferred, to the Parliament, &s;tufft full with accu&s;ation, again&s;t a company of pore men, that &s;tand in their light; de&s;iring the Parliament may be the executioners, to cut the <HI>Independants</HI> off, in the mean while, I challenge all the world to name any <HI>In|dependants</HI> that have preferred one Petition to the Parliament, for th r<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">in of the <HI>Pre&s;byterians:</HI> Have they not rather &s;ate &s;till, and in all their Petitions de&s;i|red to be ruled by the Parliament in all civill things, then <HI>to rule ov<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">r them, at the other have done?</HI> How violent is M <HI>Edwards</HI> and his Bretheren again&s;t all tho&s;e that &s;ubmit not to <HI>uniformity, which few knowes,</HI> (&s;carce them&s;elves, that a e the greate&s;t &s;ticklers for it) <HI>what it is, and none knowes what it may be&punc;</HI> If to d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;ire the Timber that is in the hou&s;es of tho&s;e that wake not as they do, may be pul'd down, that Gallows may be made of it, at their own d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">es, to h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ng them on; if to &s;ay, they h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">te the <HI>Independants</HI> as Toads, yea with a deadly hatred, and the l k, &s;av<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">urs of violence? Two great Champions of the rs, Mr. <HI>Byfield</HI> and Mr. <HI>Ry<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ra<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">t,</HI> to name no more, will evidently prove their violence to be of a <HI>&s;carlet die,</HI> and if violence pre&s;age ruin to the violent, let M <HI>Edwards</HI> and his <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">eth ten looke about them. <HI>Violence was the practize and the ruin of their Fathers the B &s;ho<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">s, and wh<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">n the Fathers have eaten &s;owre Grapes, it is no wonder if the childrens teeth be&s;et on edge.</HI></P>
<P>I come to the third Symptome, which M. <HI>Edwards</HI> &s;ayth; is, <HI>the Independants great pro&s;perity, &s;trange &s;ucce&s;&s;e in their wayes, and opinions, every wind fa|vouring them</HI> If by their pro&s;perity in their way<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">s, he meanes the great &s;uc|ce&s;&s;es God hath given them, in manageing any tru&s;t repo&s;ed in them? I am &s;o|ry he &s;hould &s;o farre maligne the Kingdomes happin &s;&s;e&punc; but if he meanes their pro&s;perity in their wayes, to be their encrea&s;e in number? M e think<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> he &s;hould not thinke that &s;trange &s;ucce&s;&s;e, &s;ince in another place he &s;ayth, they are bu an it con&s;iderable Party. If he intends by their &s;ucce&s;&s;e, the <HI>toleration of them in this Kingdom,</HI> let him con&s;ider, whether he &amp; his bretheren are not tollerated al|&s;o, was there ever any Ordinance pa&s;&s;ed for the e&s;tabli&s;hment of <HI>Independency,</HI> is there hath been for <HI>Presbytery,</HI> their number is greater, a nationall Church <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> of them, every Pari&s;h Church is frequented by them; who are e&s;teemed like them? the Church Dores, the Pulpit dores are open for them, 200 <ABBR>l.</ABBR> or 300 <ABBR>l.</ABBR> or 400 <ABBR>l.</ABBR> and more, <HI>per annum</HI> attends them, large benefices, g e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;tore; what (if they were contented) could they de&s;ire, that they have not?) Will nothing &s;atisfy them till they have <HI>Naboths</HI> Vineyard, untill they have taken away the <HI>Independants</HI> Inheritances from them? It &s;eemes all their &s;ucce&s;&s;es are nothing, &s;o long as <HI>Mordecay</HI> doth not homage to them.</P>
<P>But he &s;aith <HI>Scotland hath been afflicted with Sword and pe&s;tilence,</HI> If &s;o, I de&s;ire M <HI>Edwards</HI> would cea&s;e to judge of per&s;ons and thing, by common e|vent, for his own words confe&s;&s;e his bretheren, the Presbyterians, even the <HI>Scots</HI> them&s;elves, may be &s;ubject to the Pe&s;tilence; and would not wonder that two of M <HI>Goodwins</HI> children dyed of the plague; thus, if &s;ucce&s;&s; s and pro&s;perity fore tell ruin, it is high time for him and his bretheren to repent, for they &s;it as Queens, &amp; the world wonders after them; But I come to the fourth Symptome of ruin</P>
<P>Which M. <HI>Edwards &s;aith, is the great plotting of the Sectaryes,</HI> (for&s;omu&s;t
<PB N="7" REF="6">
all Independants in Mr. EDWARDS Dialect be called, though let me tell him, it had been much better for him &s;olidly to have (if he could) fir&s;t proved them &s;o, and not &s;o unadvi&s;edly to have cryed out, VENI, VIDI&punc; VICI, but this is a cunning plot, who&s;e foundation is layd in the bottomle&s;&s;e Pit, to render many Saints odious) He tels us in the generall of plotting, but what tho&s;e plots are, he knowes not how to de&s;cribe: like &s;ome of his bretheren, that in the fronti&s;piece of their Bookes, write a confutation of divers errors, and in the body of their di&s;cour&s;e, &s;carce lay open what the errors are, they would (if they could) confute. But if he meanes the Independants ri&s;ing up early, &s;itting up late, riding, running, fighting, &s;tudying, by all hone&s;t wayes, ju&s;t endeavours, to make the&s; Kingdoms exceed their former beauty, in the injoyment of Peace and pyety, this is a matter of thanks and joy, not of murmring, repining, and &s;orrow; Oh that he would cea&s;e to blame that generation of men, upon who&s;e reputation he cannot fa&s;ten one &s;tain&punc; It remaines for him; or any el&s;e, when they can, to prove that ever any of tho&s;e that are &s;tiled Independants, were guilty of one plot again&s;t this Kingdom, or that they ever fal&s;ified any tru&s;t repo|&s;ed in them; if be or any of his brethren can &s;hew it, let them bring forth their e|vidences, let them declare the time when the Plot was, the place where, the man|ner how: and when they haue proved them guilty, I believe none will refu&s;e to &s;uffer; &amp; till then, let them cea&s;e to make the world believe &s;o. But if plot|ting, contriving, Machiavilian, Je&s;uiticall cour&s;es and wayes progno&s;ticates de|&s;olation, I &s;hould rejoyce if they could exempt them&s;elves from it. If they &s;ay they can, I demand of them, what meanes their <HI>Syon Colledge Plots, their mul|tiplyed Petitions and Papers, their Remon&s;trances, their &s;ubtill in&s;inuations into Magi&s;trates, and People, again&s;t the Independants,</HI> po&s;&s; &s;&s;ing them that they are an heriticall, &s;chi&s;maticall People, a People enemies to government, to <HI>Cae&s;ar,</HI> that would live under no Lawes, crying out crucify them, crucify them, away with them, away with them, they are unfit to live. D d Machiavill ever more cunningly &s;eeke to intrap and de&s;troy his oppo&s;ers, then M <HI>Edwards</HI> as his <HI>Gangreous Epi&s;tle</HI> te&s;tifyes, by his Going, Writing, Eaves dropping, his &s;ending his Spyes, Emi&s;aries, Agents and factors abroad, to pry into the halt|ings, failings, infirmityes, and nakednes of his bretheren, and having di&s;|covered any, expo&s;ing them to a publique &s;ale, to the view of all men, even to his own &s;h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">me. Thus may M. <HI>Edwards</HI> if his eyes be opened, &s;ee his own Picture, lively delineated by his own Pen, even to be &s;uch a Picture, that I thinke will not e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;ily be found among them he intended it for.</P>
<P>But I proceed to examine his fift Symptome of the ruine of tho&s;e he calles In|dependents, Annabapti&s;ts, &amp;c. Whih he &s;aith is this, <HI>that Independency is a fa|ction,</HI> which he a&s;&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">yes to prove thus&punc; as:</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>It is not carried on in Gods way, as a matter of Religion, but with policy, tricks and the like.</HI> If <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">o plead Chri&s;t, the Apo&s;tles, and the Scriptures for their practi&s;e, be to manage it with tricks; he &s;ayes true, el&s;e how he will vindi|cate the truth of that which he hath &s;aid, as yet appeares not unto m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&punc; but I de|&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> he and his bretheren would look at home, and con&s;ider what way of God it is for poor decevable men, to make <HI>Canons, Lawes &amp; Ordinances,</HI> as Iron bonds, to bind the con&s;ciences of tho&s;e that differ from there in, what is their Ordinati|on
<PB N="8" REF="7">
by Bi&s;hops, is that the way of God? They will tell us their Ordination is good, becau&s;e they received it not from the Bi&s;hops as Bi&s;hops, but as Presbyters, who &s;hifts now? What mental re&s;ervation, eva&s;ion, and equivocation is this? Is not this a trick of tricks? The Ordination by the <HI>Pope,</HI> by the &s;ame argument may be pleaded for, <HI>he is a Presbyter too.</HI> What is their maintenance by Tythes, Oblations, and Obventions, forced from all &s;orts of men, the way of God? Is this <HI>Jure divino?</HI> If they &s;ay &s;o, I de&s;ire they would prove it; if they plead <HI>Ju|re humano,</HI> as that &s;eemes to be their &s;tronge&s;t &s;taffe, then it is but mans way. What &s;ay they to their <HI>Parochiall, Cla&s;&s;icall, Provinciall, and Nationall A&s;&s;em|blies,</HI> be tho&s;e <HI>Jure divino?</HI> Is thus to manage their presbytery mans way, or Gods way? Surely the&s;e are not the waies of God, but of man, like <HI>Nebuchad|nezzas</HI> lovely Image, excellent for brightne&s;&s;e, terible for forme, who&s;e head is gold, who&s;e bre&s;t and armes Silver, his belly and thighs of bra&s;&s;e, his legs of Iron, his feet, part of Iron, and part of clay, is not their government a meere com|po&s;ition, of gold, &s;ilver, bra&s;&s;e, Iron and clay? But &s;ee the event of the Image, <HI>Dan.</HI> 2.35, 39. <HI>When will the A&s;&s;embly an&s;wer the Que&s;tions propounded by the Parliament? I feare &s;ome tricks, and &s;hifts now.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. He &s;aith <HI>many that know not what Independency is&punc; are &s;ticklers for it, and would not be tyed to it.</HI> Oh when will he &s;ee the beame in Presbyteries eye? Let him but reflect, look back, and &s;eriou&s;ly ask his owne &s;oule the que&s;tion, whether Presbytery is not guilty, and that in a higher degree, of that which he chargeth Independency? Let him look into his large Church, I meane the Na|tionall, the Mother, or into the Parochiall, her Daughters, and &s;ee whether he will not find ignorance, darkne&s;&s;e, gro&s;&s;e ignorance, darkne&s;&s;e that may be felt, among many of their a&s;&s;emblies; doe they all know what Presbytery is? (if they doe, I think they know more then their teachers) how often have many of them compl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ined of the ignorance of their pari&s;hioners? But to di&s;honour the Independents, they are made Saints, wi&s;e men in a moment; how many among&s;t them have their Religion yet to choo&s;e, waiting for the knowledge of what Re|ligion the A&s;&s;embly hath, or wil &s;et up. Which when they &s;hall do if they adheare to their principles, and excommunicate all the profane, and gro&s;&s;e ignorant a|mong them, they will fill the Kingdome with combu&s;tion, and people will &s;hortly as ill indure their <HI>Tyranicall Judic<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">tures and &s;en&s;ures,</HI> as they did the <HI>High Commi&s;&s;ion and Sar-chamber of late.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. He affirmeth Independency to be a faction, <HI>in that all other errors and Sectaries are &s;uffered, pleaded for, dealt gently with, are freely &s;uffered to grow &amp; increa&s;e, no way taken to &s;uppre&s;&s;e them, their Books. Licen&s;ed&punc;</HI> I am &s;orry to &s;ee &s;o much envy, hatred &amp; mallice, appeare again&s;t the Parliament, as doth in this and many other pa&s;&s;ages, of the <HI>Gangrena,</HI> and all becau&s;e they cannot fulfill a ma|lignant humour, that is &s;o much predominate in his Spirit, even to the di&s;tru|ction of tho&s;e who&s;e conver&s;ations, parts, piety, and &s;ound judgments, are not in|ferior to any. He that runs may read envy in his &s;pirit, how angry is he that any are Licen&s;ed to &s;peaketh their owne defence, to wipe of that dirt, he hath indeavou|red to be&s;mear their faces withall (a priviledge that Heathens allow) as the Prie&s;ts would not let the Scriptures be in Engli&s;h, le&s;t the people &s;h uld under&s;tand their wickedne&s;&s;e, &s;o many <HI>Presbyterians,</HI> now are extreame unwilling that the
<PB N="9" REF="7">
pre&s;&s;e &s;hould be open for all, le<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">t their folly &s;hould be laid open, and their mouths &s;topped, and &s;o not only their craft &s;hould be in danger to be &s;et at nought, but al&s;o that their <HI>Temple of the great godde&s;&s;e Diana,</HI> &s;hould be d &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">i&s;ed, and her magnifence be di&s;troyed, whom the world wonders after, and wor&s;hips.</P>
<P>If M. <HI>Edwards</HI> or his brethren could once monopolize Printing and Licen&s;ing into their owne hands, that nothing might be Licen&s;ed, nor Printed, but that which may tend to the advancement of their pompe; then might all tho&s;e tales and &s;tories, lyes and libells, forgeries, quaint fictions, and bold malitious inven|tions, of which the <HI>Gangrena</HI> is compounded, pa&s;&s;e for currant coyne in the <HI>Presbyterian</HI> judgment, and that by the Authority of <HI>Imprimatur James Cran|ford.</HI> will they never be contented that others &s;hould have the &s;ame priviledge as they them&s;elves have? Are not the <HI>Presbyterians</HI> &s;uffered? <HI>Era&s;tians, Ridged Presbyterians and the like?</HI> When will they be contented to obey and be Subjects will nothing content them but Rule, Dominion and Lord &s;hip? Had the <HI>Pre|laticall</HI> nature as well as name been &s;uppre&s;&s;ed, wee had not had this day any &s;uch &s;pirit in the Kingdome.</P>
<P N="4">4 He &s;aith that it appeares to be a faction, <HI>in that the&s;e &s;orts of men come into it.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1 <HI>Needy and broken men.</HI> 2. <HI>Guilty and &s;u&s;pitious men.</HI> 3. <HI>Some who have bu&s;ine&s;&s;e depending, that they may be &s;ooner di&s;patched.</HI> 4. <HI>Ambitious, proud, co|vetous men.</HI> 5. <HI>Libertines, loo&s;e per&s;ons.</HI> 6. <HI>All wanton, wicked, un&s;table Heretiques and</HI> 7. <HI>Such as would not have peace; loo&s;e Offi es &amp;c.</HI> 8. <HI>And Many di&s;contented in their Churches.</HI></P>
<P>If the confluence of all the&s;e will prove Independency a faction, much more will it prove Presbyterie one, for fir&s;t it appeares, their Church is compounded of &s;uch, and that by his owne words, that &s;ay they come from them.</P>
<P N="2">2. All the&s;e &s;orts of per&s;ons are yet with them; how many men broken and needy are with them? and it may be hone&s;t men too for all that. How many guil|ty among&s;t them, witne&s;&s;e. <HI>Hun&s;cot</HI> and others. Is there none in their third place, that hath bu&s;ine&s;&s;e depending, who are with them? Even tho&s;e that one while was for <HI>Prelaticall,</HI> are they not now for <HI>Presbyteriall</HI> government? Surely they they cannot yet forget, who had, and hath a fine de&s;igne, that went from <HI>Ox|ford</HI> to them, 4. <HI>I</HI> have already &s;hewed there are ambitious proud men among&s;t them; and who more covetous then they? Doe they not make it an ordinary thing to for&s;ake one, a &s;econd, yea a third, leaving two for a greater? Doe they not preach for lucre &s;ake? what &s;avour hath ten &s;hillings, twenty &s;hillings, for a Wedding, Chri&s;tning, Funerall Sermon? &s;urely covetou&s;ne&s;&s;e in a high degree. Have they not heard of the great <HI>Presbyterian</HI> Mini&s;ter, at <HI>Ri<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">hmond</HI> that when a dead corps was buried in his pari&s;h, becau&s;e the man that had formerly relation to it, gave the Clerk but five &s;hillings, the Mini&s;ter &s;aid it &s;hould be taken up againe, and &s;o accordingly it was; if Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> can paralell this among&s;t all his &s;tories of the Independents, them let him brand them with abominable covetou&s;|ne&s;&s;e. Is their no Libertines among&s;t them? and,</P>
<P N="6">6. Whereas he &s;aith <HI>all wanton witted per&s;ons, come to the Independents. I</HI> de|&s;ire his pen may not here after, &s;o ha&s;tily out run the truth: Have they not one wanton witted man, un&s;table man among&s;t them? If &s;o why doe any come from
<PB N="10" REF="8">
them, but contradictions in his di&s;cour&s;e is &s;o common, that he &s;carce thinks of them. Is there n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> loo&s;e per&s;ons, no libertines among them, not one heretique, that is &s;trange? But &s;urely if lacivious, effeminate, &s;currilous pa&s;&s;ages, carriages, deportments, and expre&s;&s;ions, will manife&s;t they have; <HI>I</HI> am confident hundreds of in&s;tances would &s;oone be produced for the proofe of it, and not one of them of the Independents.</P>
<P N="7">7. This he &s;aith, <HI>Such as have no mind to peace, and are affraid to loo&s;e offi|ces and places, come to the Independents.</HI> This charge is bitter; doth, he not in&s;inuate into the Kingdome, that the Independents, in the Army, doe inde|vour to prorogue the warre, being afraid to loo&s;e their places; Whether this be true or no, let their worke, ha&s;t, &s;ucce&s;&s;e, endevours, winter and &s;ummer en|gagements, all crowned from Heaven with unparaleld &s;ucce&s;&s;e, &s;peake; there is a cloud of witne&s;&s;es; I will hold my peace.</P>
<P>But that the&s;e &s;orts of per&s;ons are among them, let the former delayes of the Armie, witne&s;&s;e, that cruell and inveterate Spirit, among Mini&s;ters, Officers, and people, at the reduced Army, that God hath made famous by not doing their work negligently, calling them the new Noddle, greene headed boyes and the like; if they be not enemies to peace, why are they &s;o violent for the Magi&s;trate to &s;heath his &s;word in the blood of the Independents?</P>
<P N="8">8. He &s;aith <HI>the Independents are di&s;contented per&s;ons;</HI> but are they &s;o? I pray at what? it is becau&s;e they find nothing among or in their Churches fit &s;ubjects, or objects for divine contentments, but certainly there is few others among them, from the tale&s;t Cedar in the <HI>A&s;&s;embly,</HI> to the lowe&s;t &s;h ub in their pari&s;h-churches: I will declare what they are di&s;contented at very briefly, that Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> if po&s;&s;ible, might &s;ee by his owne candle,</P>
<P N="1">1 At God, that fire comes not downe from Heaven, to di&s;troy a generation of men that de&s;erve better things at their hands, like <HI>Jonah,</HI> peevi&s;hly di&s;conten|ted, not only that the <HI>Ninevites,</HI> an ignorant heatheni&s;h people, but that the In|dependents, whom <HI>I</HI> believe their con&s;cience tels them are many of them hone&s;t, peri&s;h not.</P>
<P N="2">2 They are di&s;contented at the <HI>Parliament;</HI> let their expre&s;&s;ions, papers, peti|tions, &s;ecret charges, open accu&s;ations again&s;t them, becau&s;e their hands are not embrued in the blood of their friends and &s;ervants, that God hath honoured, even in their blood, who have been at all times willing to &s;acrifice it freely for them, witne&s;&s;e this truth,</P>
<P N="3">3. <HI>At the people that heare them, entertaine them, or give them any lodging, hou&s;e or harbour,</HI> witne&s;&s;e Mr <HI>Prinnes</HI> late Chatechi&s;me, Mr. <HI>Edwards Gangre|na,</HI> &s;uch uncharitable men, are they even &s;o far void of good nature, as to &s;uffer tho&s;e to fami&s;h for want, that under God, have been in&s;truments to keep them alive.</P>
<P N="4">4. At the <HI>Independents,</HI> to &s;ee them pro&s;per, encrea&s;e, to be intru&s;ted in any place military or civill, to heare any &s;peak for them, or &s;ee any to &s;mile upon them, Oh how it grieves, vexes, di&s;contents, and troubles them! as their late <HI>Remon|&s;trance</HI> declares: is it po&s;&s;ible for them to &s;leep for anger?</P>
<P N="5">5. At <HI>them&s;elves,</HI> that their owne lu&s;ts, inordinate de&s;ires are not &s;atisfied; that they have not been indu&s;trious enough, that they have not &s;ate up longer, and ri&s;en earlyer, to have invented &s;ome meanes to roote out the <HI>Independents</HI> &amp;c.
<PB N="11" REF="8">
If &s;uch a &s;ociety and combination of per&s;ons make up a faction, and are &s;ufficient alone, how Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> can cleare <HI>Presbytery</HI> from being a faction I know not: What will any one &s;ay, if I &s;hew them many more and many wor&s;e in their <HI>Presbyterian</HI> A&s;&s;emblyes, I &s;hall name but two more.</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>They are a bloody people,</HI> who thir&s;t after blood, who have bound them&s;elves with an oath, yea they have made <HI>the Prote&s;tation and Covenant</HI> to become bloo|dy unto them, through their &s;trained and forced &s;ence of it, fal&s;ely &s;urmi&s;ing, it binds them to endevour the taking away of liberties, e&s;tates, and lives, of all that are in their judgements heretiques, &amp;c. But &s;urely this was not the true intent of it, thus to &s;et the Kingdome by the eares, for there is the &s;ame parity of rea&s;on, that the <HI>Independents</HI> &s;hould endevour the <HI>Presbyterians</HI> de&s;tructions as on the contrary, judgeing them erronious; but if Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> tels me they have cove|nanted to extirpate errour, here&s;ie and &s;chi&s;me, I demand whether there is no way to bani&s;h errour and here&s;ie out of the Church, except the per&s;ons of them that hold it be bani&s;hed out of the world? though he ca~not let them live in the Church with him, ca~not he be contented to let them alone in the world? O that he would tel me what meanes the Parable of &s;uffering the tares &amp; wheat to grow together in the field till harve&s;t? he mu&s;t either &s;ay the tares be hipocrites as &s;ome, or pro|fane per&s;ons as others, but he cannot &s;ay they are hipocrites, for the&s;e are &s;uch as may be knowne to be tares, therefore they mu&s;t be per&s;ons knowne to be contrary to &s;ound godline&s;&s;e, either in judgement or practi&s;e. Now the que&s;tion is, where the&s;e per&s;ons are to be &s;uffered, and what is meant by the field, which is either the Church or the world;<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Becau&s;e Col. Wa&s;hington after M. <HI>Edwards</HI> had en|ded his Sermon in Chri&s;t-Church, oppo&s;ed his expo|&s;ition of this Parable, a warrant was &s;ent for him from the Lord Major, and he bound to a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;wer this (marvelous contempt) at the Se&s;&s;ions.</NOTE> but not the Church, for the mouthes of of heretiques mu&s;t be &s;topped, and here&s;ie and pro|phane&s;&s;e ca&s;t forth, therefore it mu&s;t be in the world, if &s;o, let not Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> deceive him&s;elfe and o|thers any longer, by telling them they mu&s;t be ca&s;t out of all the chri&s;tian world; except he think there is none of the world in <HI>England, Scotland, France, Ire|land, Spaine, Germany, Italy,</HI> and the like: Had he had but &s;o much patience, a to have given the Par|liament leave to have given their own interpretation of their owne words, he and his brethren would not &s;o ra&s;hly have accu&s;ed them for breach of Covenant. But it is apparent their own words being the interpretation, they have taken an oath, and made it bloody unto them And,</P>
<P N="2">2. They are a <HI>prophane people</HI> What is the matter of their National Church, li|ving &s;tones, or dead rubbi&s;h? Or is it not a &s;trange compo&s;ition of dea h &amp; life, hell and Heaven, light and darkne&s;&s;e, Chri&s;t and Beliall, good and evill? How are their Nationall, how are their parochiall Churches con&s;tituted, but by being borne in &s;uch a Kingdome, or &s;uch a peice of ground which wee know naturally brings forth nothing but thi&s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">es and evill weeds? I confe&s;&s;e could <HI>I</HI> &s;ee a King|dome or a pari&s;h &s;o cleane as to bring forth nothing but holy fruit, could <HI>I</HI> &s;ee men borne Saints, and the Kingdome of Earth convert men as &s;oone as they are in it, or could <HI>I</HI> heare a voyce from Heaven &s;aying, Oh England, or the like, <HI>I</HI> take thee and all per&s;ons in theeto be a peculiar nation to my &s;elf, above all peo|ple,
<PB N="12" REF="9">
all that are borne in thee &s;hal be holy, I would plead for a National Church too, but in the mean time they cannot excu&s;e their Temples from being founded up|on an ill foundation, built up with rotten timber, and adorned with a fading glory; their garden from being &s;owne with il &s;eed, and bringing forth evill fruit, if all the&s;e &s;orts of people can but prove a faction, &s;ure <HI>I</HI> am they are the greate&s;t in England; and let them not cry out the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, while their hands are full of blood, let them not proclaim a fea&s;t to take away <HI>Naboths</HI> Vinyard. But if he &amp; his bretheren &s;hal &s;ay I wrong them, by laying this to their charge, that their Church is a meere compo|&s;ition of light and darkne&s;&s;e, of bloody and prophane men and the like, let them but an&s;wer me in the&s;e things.</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>Whether or no, all that live in their pari&s;h, and frequent their a&s;&s;emblies, having been chri&s;tned (as they terme it) when they were infants, be not mem|bers of their Church?</HI> If he &s;ay not, <HI>I demand when they were excluded?</HI> if he &s;aith they were never of it, <HI>I de&s;ire he would not plead for a Nationall Church, nor power to &s;u&s;pend and excommunicate, for the Church hath nothing to doe to judge tho&s;e that are without, &s;eing there is &s;o many in the Kingdome that were never of it.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>Whether or no all that are of their a&s;&s;emblyes, are &s;uch that in their con|&s;ciences they can believe all pertake of the divine nature, that they are all Saints? Or whether or no there are not among them prophane, gro&s;&s;e, Ignorant, cove|tous, &s;uper&s;titious, and blood-thir&s;ty people, yea even Athe&s;ts, men of no Reli|gion at all, Caviliers, murderers &amp;c?</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. <HI>Whether or no I have &s;aid truth or not, in &s;aying the matter of their Church is not purely chri&s;tian, but antichri&s;tian?</HI> Of the&s;e Que&s;tions I expect an an&s;wer from Mr. <HI>Edwards.</HI></P>
<P>Thus it appeares clearely if the&s;e &s;orts of people prove a faction, and a faction preceds &s;udden de&s;olation; then it is high time for the Presbyterians to repent, weepe and lament, for their de&s;truction is at hand: But I come to his 6. <HI>Symtome</HI> that preaches ruine to them he &s;tiles Independets, Anababti&s;ts &amp;c. which he &s;aith is.</P>
<P N="6">6. <HI>There reaching after, and medling with all kind of per&s;ons and things, gra&s;ping of all at once, labouring to engro&s;&s;e all offices, and places of power into their hands, &s;lighting and abu&s;ing all that &s;tand in their way:</HI> Wil Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> never cea&s;e thus &s;ubtilly to incen&s;e the <HI>Magi&s;trate</HI> again&s;t faithful &s;ubjects, ende|vouring to make them believe, they would wre&s;t the &s;word out of their hands, &amp; &s;et up another King, Oh what a bitter incendiary appears here! even ready if he can to &s;et the world on fire. But I to ha&s;ten, mu&s;t turne the gla&s;&s;e to him&s;elfe, and his bretheren, that by a direct reflection they may know them&s;elves in their proper colours. Who meddles with all kind of per&s;ons and things like them? With Kings and Parliaments like them? With Townes, Cities, Countries, and Kingdoms like them? Who endevours to get more power into their hands then they? Who complain<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">s &s;o much for want of power as they? All their bookes, petitions, pam|phlets, and Remon&s;trances, declare them to be the mo&s;t impatient people under the &s;unne, till they have a &s;word put into their hands, till the Parliament become their &s;ervants (I had almo&s;t &s;aid their va&s;&s;als) thy care not who they di&s;content
<PB N="13" REF="9">
&s;o they plea&s;e them&s;elves, whether it be Parliament, Army, or Kingdoms; M. <HI>Ed|wards</HI> hath given the world a full accompt of &s;uch a &s;pirit, in that infectious <HI>Ma|chiavilian</HI> Epi&s;tle to his <HI>Vlcerous</HI> Treati&s;e, where he incites them to petition and petition againe, never to lye from the Parliament dores petitioning, what ever comes of it. If this be a <HI>Symtome</HI> of de&s;truction I feare it will be woe daies with them. But I come to the 7. <HI>Symtome</HI> of their ruine which;</P>
<P>M <HI>Edwards</HI> &s;aith <HI>is the Sectaries great &s;ins and wickedne&s;&s;e &amp;c.</HI> That there are great &s;ins among Sectaries I deny not, but that he hath proved all tho&s;e he &s;tiles <HI>Independents Anabapti&s;ts</HI> &amp;c. to be Heretiques, &amp; Schi&s;matiques, I deny it, and it remaines for him to prove, when he knowes how, which I am confident will not be in this age. But he goes on largely to innumerate &s;everall, filthy and abo|minable practi&s;es, and many untruthes, and fathers them upon the <HI>Independents,</HI> without any di&s;tinction. I &s;hall chiefly &s;peak to two, the fir&s;t is <HI>blood guiltine&s;&s;e in de&s;troying, the lives of many by dipping, weakly and antient per&s;ons in Ri|vers in cold &s;ea&s;ons.</HI> If Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> can prove what he &s;ayes, it will &s;ave him from being reputed the father of this untruth, &s;urely if he had knowne the per|&s;ons that had killed any, or the per&s;ons that was killed, the world &s;hould have heard of it long before now, he wants neither wil nor malice to declare any thing that may render them odious. To prove his generall conclu&s;ion he produces a particular of a &s;tory of one <HI>Oates,</HI> that dipped a young woman who &s;welled with the water, &s;hee received into her, which water &s;ome report was found in her after &s;hee was dead, others &s;ay <HI>Oates</HI> drowned her: O miracle! O wonder! O prodi|gie! A woman drowned, living twenty dayes after &s;hee came forth of the water. If M. <HI>Edwards</HI> &s;aith &s;hee, came by her death by it, that is as mon&s;trus to me as the other, &s;hee was as well nine dayes after &s;hee had been in the water, as &s;hee had been a great while before. But he &s;aith it is reported, &s;hee confe&s;&s;ed it to be the cau&s;e of her death. O, what wil not envie &s;ay, if her cleering the man &amp; the wa+ter from being the cau&s;e of her death, can by any Logick or Sophi&s;trie be &s;aid to accu&s;e them, then the report is true, otherwi&s;e it is but a winter &s;torie, and fal&s;e report, be&s;ides the young womans own mother came to <HI>London</HI> to cleare the man; for the truth is, the woman dyed of a Drop&s;ie, the water of which was found within her after her death&punc; But if any &s;hall conceive this to be water &s;hee received into her when &s;hee was in the water, it being twenty dayes after, I can|not chu&s;e, but judge &s;uch a mans intellectualls &s;carce &s;ound, and whereas he re|ports the Ju&s;tices &s;ent him to the Gaole, the truth is (as <HI>I</HI> am informed) the Iu|&s;tices would not medle with it, But the Coroner &s;ent him thither by his owne warrant, if Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> &s;ayes he doth not affirme it to be a truth, that either <HI>Oates</HI> or the water killed her, which is his be&s;t cour&s;e, &s;ince they cannot prove <HI>Oates</HI> baptized her, but is only a report and cannot prove &s;uch a thing, ever let him repent of his untruths and po&s;&s;itive affirmations of &s;ome to be &s;o killed, for page 188. of the &s;econd part of <HI>Gangrena,</HI> he boldly charges them with bloody guil|tine&s;&s;e in that particular, let him not vent heare&s;ayes for oracles any more.</P>
<P>But &s;uppo&s;e one that had been dipped &s;hould have dyed, &s;oone after in much le&s;&s;e &s;pace then twenty dayes, mu&s;t the water nece&s;&s;arily have killed her. For my part I can conceive no rea&s;on for it, but let him and his brethren of the <HI>Tribe of Levi</HI> looke back and con&s;ider how many poore <HI>Infants</HI> without there con&s;ent they have &s;prinkled being &s;ick and wel nigh halfe dead in peoples e&s;timation, but
<PB N="14" REF="10" MS="y">
would they take it well, if any &s;hould endict them for killing their infants? Sure|ly they would be e&s;teemed ridiculous, yet for &s;uch a practi&s;e is there as much ground to frame an <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ndictment, and more then for the other; Let M. <HI>Edwards</HI> bring better proofes hereafter for his accu&s;ations, or el&s;e let all his friend<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> that love him, per&s;wade him to leave glorying in his &s;hame for the future.</P>
<P N="2">2. The &s;econd Article materiall is [he &s;aith] <HI>they u&s;e all wayes and meanes in their power, to engage the two Nat<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ons in a Warre, one again&s;t the other;</HI> Let M. <HI>Edwards</HI> now bring forth his witne&s;&s;es, and make good his Charge if he know how: Had he but halfe &s;o much colour to charge the <HI>Independants, &amp;c.</HI> to be inc<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ndiaries between the two Kingdomes, as I have again&s;t him, he had &s;ome proofe for what he hath written.</P>
<P>H<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">s &s;econd part of his <HI>Gangrena</HI> tels me, that he hath either received infor|mation, that the <HI>Scots</HI> are re&s;olved to engage them&s;elves again&s;t a party at lea&s;t of this K<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">gdome, and that a con&s;iderable one, or he would have it &s;o, el&s;e what meanes that expre&s;&s;ion of his <HI>page</HI> 193. viz. <HI>God will honour our bretheren of Scotland, to make them a great meanes of their failing,</HI> [&s;peaking of the <HI>In|dependants</HI>] <HI>and they &s;hall fa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">l before the Scots, as the Prelatical &amp; Popi&s;h party did,</HI> marke, how did they fall before the <HI>Scots;</HI> they came in a ho&s;tile manner, &amp; was &s;o <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;ed. See if all you that take notice of his expre&s;&s;ions, cannot ea&s;ily view his &s;pirit, painted in great red letters; he &s;aith further, <HI>page</HI> 194 <HI>God will make th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> come</HI> (v z.) <HI>the Sectaries, Anabapti&s;ts, Independants, that whole Faction, and wo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">p before their feet</HI> (viz) the Scots, <HI>that is, they &s;hall over|c<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">m, and triumph over the&s;e Sectaryes;</HI> a little after in the &s;ame <HI>page,</HI> &s;peaking &s;till of the <HI>Scots,</HI> he &s;ayth, <HI>thou &s;halt have victory over thy enemies, and thou &s;halt enrich thy &s;elfe with their &s;poiles,</HI> he tels the world that the Scots &s;h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ll be notable Plunderers, and have the Pillage of the field: will the <HI>Scots</HI> thank him for this? To all which I &s;hall only reply thus much; He may be deceived, for God fru&s;trateth the token of the Lyars, and maketh Diviners mad, and turneth wi&s;emen backward, <HI>E&s;ay</HI> 44.25. But he goeth on and &s;aith, <HI>they are guilty of prophane&s;&s;e, loo&s;enes of life, carnall confidence, and the l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ke;</HI> I have already de|clar d what prophane&s;&s;e is among&s;t the <HI>Presbyterian-Chur<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">h members,</HI> not with|&s;tanding J have not yet heard of one excommunicated &s;ince the Bi&s;hops times, but wheras he blames for carnall confidence, J wonder he blu&s;hes not to &s;ay &s;o, let me tell him of their carnall confidence, it is &s;o great, that for ought J can &s;ee mo&s;t of them have no other; how do they cry out for a &s;word of Steel to be their helpe) they call upon Pri&s;ons, Fines, Bani&s;hments, Confi&s;cation, of Goods, Fire and Faggot to helpe them, or they are undone, when the&s;e that he termes <HI>Independants,</HI> having Truth on their &s;ide, they knowing truth defends them, dare appeare in the midde&s;t of Wolves, Lyons and Beares, without an arme of fle&s;h; and the other &s;hrouds them&s;elves under Monarchy, &s;ecular Authority, and will go no further then they will accompany them. If great &s;ins and wickednes is a forerunner of &s;udden de&s;truction, it is time for the <HI>Presbyterians</HI> to looke about them; but I come to his eighth and la&s;t &s;ymptom.</P>
<P N="8">8. Which he &s;ayth is, <HI>their not being moved to repentance, when God hath te&s;tifyed again&s;t them, and &s;pit in their faces, as by laying open their nakednes, and fully di&s;covering their wayes, by &s;ome Bookes written, by &s;tirring up the
<PB N="15" REF="10">
City of LONDON again&s;t them, but rather blaspheme the more, and not beene humbled.</HI></P>
<P>Hath God dealt thus with them, and they made the&s;e returnes to him? J can|not believe it, but I &s;ee the main thing is, when God hath di&s;covered any infir|mity to them, they have not te&s;tifyed their humility and repentance to him and his bretheren; is there no confe&s;&s;ion but auricular? Is there no humiliation but in their pre&s;ence? But this is an u&s;uall thing in his dialect to &s;peak what comes uppermo&s;t; I advi&s;e him &s;eriou&s;ly to examine his own heart, and the truth of what I have declared and manife&s;ted, and let him tell me whether their naked|nes is not great, and the covering of it but Figge leaves; it may be he will once &s;peake truth, and confe&s;&s;e their &s;innes and evill wayes, appeares as <HI>Sodom and Gomorah;</HI> but yet he hath a &s;alve to apply to his &s;ore, a hole to creep out at, he may perhaps &s;ay, they keep dayes for fa&s;ting and humiliation for their &s;infull nakednes, and &s;pirituall and carnall abominations: But if he can thus blind the eyes of men, yet the <HI>Al-&s;eeing God,</HI> &s;ees that great hypocri&s;ie that lurkes under their Fa&s;ts, are they the more humble becau&s;e they ab&s;tain from bread? Doe they thinke that God is well plea&s;ed with their fa&s;ting, when they fa&s;t for <HI>&s;trife and debate,</HI> and their hearts and hands are full of bloud? Is this their humiliation, is this Evangellicall Repentance? Is this the Fa&s;t that God hath cho&s;en; The proclayming of a Fa&s;t will not excu&s;e <HI>Ahabs</HI> taking away <HI>Naboths</HI> Vineyard, and his life too. He &s;aith God hath di&s;covered <HI>the Independents nakednes,</HI> &s;urely, M. <HI>Edwards</HI> much forgot him&s;elfe when he wrote this, <HI>God hath di&s;covered their Co|vering</HI> rather, hath not God made it manife&s;t in the eyes of all People, that they are cloathed with &s;o much hone&s;ty, inocency, integrity, pyety, and courage, in all their undertakings, that it is impo&s;&s;ible for him to uncover them, though he endeavours it all he can.</P>
<P>Surely, Gods dealing hath been &s;o plain, that if their eyes were not &s;hut, they would &s;ee God going before them, by a cloud by day, and a pillar by night, ho|nouring them before the People, giving them favour, notwith&s;tanding his and his brethrens con&s;tant endeavours to de&s;troy them, the more they have en<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">eavour|ed to de&s;troy them, the more they have encrea&s;ed, though they, like cruell taske-ma&s;ters have end<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">avoured to make their worke, their bondage and mi&s;ery great|er, and their &s;trength and helpe le&s;&s;e, yet God hath the more multiplyed them, crowning their enterprizes with &s;ucce&s;&s;e, and that great and wonderfull. Mee thinks M. <HI>Edwards</HI> &s;hould do well &s;eriou&s;ly to con&s;ider, how God hath made his and his bretherens wrath to prai&s;e him, and the remainder of their wrath he hath re&s;trained; while they have endeavoured to &s;wallow them up all greedily, with a <HI>Petition, a Remon&s;trance, gangrenous Di&s;cour&s;e,</HI> and <HI>virulent Sermon,</HI> God hath turned all into good for them, and they are yet delivered: And M. <HI>Edwards</HI> is angry&punc; peevi&s;h, and much di&s;contented; thus, though God hath di&s;covered them|&s;elves to them&s;elves, and &s;hewed them their vanity in fighting again&s;t God, they &s;hut their eyes and will not &s;ee: have they been humbled? have they repented for this evill, of per&s;ecuting amd cur&s;ing whom God ble&s;&s;eth, even of their fighting again&s;t God? Surely no: but they bla&s;pheme the more, <HI>their throats are even &s;corched with great heat,</HI> thir&s;ting after the bloud of the Saints, and the Prophets, <HI>but they repent not, to give God the glory, though the Kingdome is full of darknes, yet
<PB N="16" REF="11">
they repent not of their evill deeds.</HI> Rev. 16.9, 10, 11. They are envious at the pro&s;perity of the Righteous, there is not one victory, one mercy, one priveledge be&s;towed upon the <HI>Independants,</HI> but they murmur at it and &s;eek to turne it about to their de&s;truction, and this is tho fruit of Gods di&s;pen&s;ation. Tell me, after their fa&s;tings thus many yeares, which of them is more meeke and humble then they were before they began? Oh <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ow many of them fa&s;t for &s;trife and debate, and &s;mite with the Fi&s;t of wickednes! Thus now, if continuing in &s;in, not repent+ting at the di&s;covery of their nakednes, be a &s;ign of ruine, or if any other of all his Symptomes, have prophe&s;ied de&s;olation, all wi&s;e men may &s;ee to what pa&s;&s;e they are brought, in what a &s;ad, wofull deplorable, and lamentable condition the <HI>Presbyterians</HI> are in.</P>
<P>But lea&s;t M. <HI>Edwards</HI> Prophe&s;y &s;hould fayle him, he hath di&s;covered a &s;ound re&s;erve, when he was in the Front of his Prophe&s;y, not infallibly knowing whe|ther the words he had &s;poke would come to pa&s;&s;e, he &s;aith his Prophe&s;ie is true, <HI>if ever God &s;pake by him;</HI> The great que&s;tion being yet unre&s;olved to me, and I believe many more, <HI>whether evre God &s;pake by him or not?</HI> Thus he thinks to excu&s;e him&s;elfe from being e&s;teemed as, and adjudged for,, (whether he hath uttered a truth or a lye) a fal&s;e Prophet; but I &s;hall follow him a little further, and con&s;ider &s;omething of his other Corallaryes.</P>
<P>In the third Corallary, he proceeds thus, <HI>Hence then from all the&s;e error, here|&s;ies, bla&s;phemyes, and practi&s;es of the Sectaryes, we may &s;ee what a great evill and &s;in Separation is, from the communion of the Reformed Churches, and how highly di&s;|plea&s;ing to God, for men to make a &s;chi&s;me and rent in the Churches of God, in a time of Reformation, God puni&s;hing the &s;chi&s;me and &s;eparation of our times, with &s;o many Here&s;yes, Bla&s;phemyes, and wicked practi&s;es, &amp;c.</HI> It pityes me to &s;ee how the man through a mi&s;take, or &s;omething wor&s;e, hath wound him&s;elfe into a labyrinth; how he builds upon a rotten and &s;lippery foundation; he charges the <HI>Independents</HI> with the guilt of &s;chi&s;me, when it is yet to prove, that thirs is a true Church; could he prove their Nationall or Parrochiall Churches, <HI>Go&s;pell Temples,</HI> true &s;piritu|all hou&s;es, built upon a right foundation, in a right Go&s;pell forme, by a Go&s;pell Mini&s;trie, then had he a ground for his charge, but if he cannot prove them &s;uch, <HI>(Jure d vino)</HI> by the ballance of the Sanctuary, and yet can prove them true Churches, and the <HI>Independents</HI> guilty of &s;chi&s;me <HI>erit mihi magnus Apollo;</HI> If they cannot prove them&s;elves true Churches, will not their leaving of them be a plain di&s;covery of their true obedience in hearkning to the Spirits call, to come forth of <HI>Babylon?</HI> If he &s;ayes, though for the pre&s;ent they are not as they de&s;ire, and as they hope they &s;hall be, but they are now reforming, I an&s;wer, tis true, he &s;peakt much, and writes much, of Reformation of their Church, and the like; &ocirc; how it grieves my heart to &s;ee his Head full of gray haires, and yet he knowes it not, they have more need to looke to their foundation, then to talke of Reformation, for if that be not firm, the building connot be right; the truth is, it is the heigth, depth, breadth, and length of folly, to be at much paines and co&s;t, to beautify the out &s;ide, when the inn-&s;ide is full of corruption of dead mens bones; this is but healing a wound at the top, when it is fe&s;tered and full of corruption within, all the Reformation of their Church, without a &s;eque&s;tration, without a new <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">undation, is but as if a man that was &s;ick at heart ready to dye, &s;hould
<PB N="17" REF="11">
&s;end for a Chirurgeon to take away &s;ome Warts from his hands: or like an un|wi&s;e man that layes a foundation of gla&s;&s;e, hay or &s;tubble, and erects a very faire &s;pecious, and beautifull pallace upon it, which pre&s;ently falls down for want of a good foundation, and the builders labour, care and trea&s;ure is but lo&s;t; &s;uch a foundation every one hath ju&s;t cau&s;e to feare theirs is, and like to it will be their Reformation. How long therefore will it be before Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> and his bre|thren cea&s;e to call evill good and good evill, light darkne&s;&s;e and darkne&s;&s;e light; O the con&s;ideration of the former Symptoms, as they are faithfully applyed, clear the <HI>Independents</HI> from the guilt which M. <HI>Edwards</HI> r pen ca&s;ts upon them, &amp; ads a lu&s;ter to their practi&s;e, it commends it, it proclaimes them mo&s;t happy that are come forth from their confu&s;ed a&s;&s;emblyes, as being come into a City of refuge. Al the dirt that he throwes in the faces of them whom he accu&s;eth of Schi&s;me, will never &s;tick, but be like a drop of cold water powred on a &s;traw, that falls from it without leaving the lea&s;t impre&s;&s;ion behind it: If he and all his Brethren &s;ever|ally or a&s;&s;embled together, &s;hould plot, &s;tudy, con&s;pire, and endeavour to prove them guilty of Schi&s;me from a true Church, becau&s;e from them, though they &s;hould fill the world with Tractate after Tractate, Sermon after Sermon Petition after Petition, <HI>Gangrena</HI> after <HI>Gangrena&punc;</HI> &amp; Volume after Volvme, they would never be able to doe it; a third, nay a fourth <HI>Gangrena</HI> wil not effect it.</P>
<P>Thus may tho&s;e who through the Spirit di&s;cerne the deepe things of God, &s;ee how dangerous it is to abide with them, where there is &s;uch a &s;tupidity, &s;uch an unity, &amp; &s;uch a harmony, in darkne&s;&s;e, that it may be ju&s;tly &s;u&s;pected truth is fallen in, or excomunicated out of their Churches.</P>
<P>But he further tells us <HI>of many judgments of God again&s;t tho&s;e whom</HI> in his mouth are <HI>Schi&s;matiques &amp;c. as &s;eparation from God;</HI> his words need explanation, or it may be well judged he is <HI>Armin us</HI> his friend: But my thinks he &s;hould have been &s;ilent in this, that a little before &s;aid <HI>their Brethren even their Brethren of</HI> Scotland <HI>have been afflicted with &s;word and pe&s;tilence,</HI> Thus <HI>Incidit in Scyllam qui vult vitare Charybdin.</HI></P>
<P>For feare of comming nigh the <HI>Independents,</HI> he &s;tumbles &s;o often being out of his way, that it is to be feared he wil fal &s;uddenly. I could tel of many heavy judg|ments in their Congregations. <HI>A horrible</HI> &amp; <HI>wicked thing, the Prie&s;ts prophe&s;ie lyes, and the people love to have it &s;o,</HI> go into their Congregations, from per&s;on to per|&s;on, and &s;ee whether a wor&s;e then <HI>Egyptian</HI> darkne&s;&s;e, hath not covered many nay mo&s;t of their faces, enquire of them whether they have left their former Su|per&s;tition? Have they forgotten their bowing at the Altars, at the name of <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> Their hoods and Surplices, their cro&s;&s;es in their Chri&s;tenings, the common-pray|er and the like? Oh the unbeliefe! Oh the &s;tupidity that hath &s;ei&s;ed upon them&punc;</P>
<P>He &s;aith <HI>Schi&s;me</HI> fom them hath <HI>Cains</HI> marke upon it, of a Fugitive and a Va|gabond; But I am &s;ure the very character of <HI>Ephraim</HI> is &s;tamped upon them, they are full of gray haires, and know it not, or like <HI>I&s;achar,</HI> couch downe under the burden of <HI>ignorance, pride and prophanne&s;&s;e, being Brethen neerly allyed to</HI> Simeon <HI>and</HI> Levie. But I pa&s;&s;e to his.</P>
<P N="4">4. <HI>Coroll.</HI> Which is full of high accu&s;ations again&s;t the Parliament in gene|rall&punc; and many worthy members in particular, for &s;leeping while the <HI>Devill</HI> &s;owes here&s;ie; &s;urely never was there more &s;ubtilty u&s;ed, to incen&s;e an Honourable
<PB N="18" REF="12">
Parliament again&s;t a loyall and hone&s;t people, and the people again&s;t the Par|liament then in his books, or el&s;e what meanes his publi&s;hing them to the world, even to their friends and enemyes, to be carele&s;&s;e dreamers, &s;leepers, that while they &s;hould like Ma&s;tives, have given warning of Theeves approaching, they have been dumbe, drunk, of fa&s;t a &s;leepe. Taxing many of them, for endevou|ring all they can to hinder the e&s;tabli&s;hment of Religion, threatning them with heavy judgements.</P>
<P>Will he and his Brethren never be contented till the Parliament become their &s;ervants, and &s;laves, to execute their <HI>Mandates,</HI> to propagate their de&s;ignes, their private intere&s;ts, though the Kingdome peri&s;hes? God hath hitherto ble&s;&s;ed his people under them; I hope he will doe &s;o &s;till, by filling them with the &s;pirit of wi&s;dome, coun&s;ell, under&s;tanding, and the feare of the Lord, that they may judge not according to Mr. <HI>Edwards,</HI> but according to truth.</P>
<P>He &s;aith <HI>their Mini&s;ters have been a&s;leepe,</HI> I think now he &s;peakes the truth, he might have added, and are a &s;leepe &s;till, el&s;e they could not chu&s;e but &s;ee whence their pedegree is derived, even as farre as <HI>Rome,</HI> where their plots are laid, even in the botomle&s;&s;e pit of darkne&s;&s;e, and thither they all tend, even in the end to their owne ruine; and tbat their parochiall Churches have lineally de&s;cended not from Chri&s;t, but from Antichri&s;t, and their maintenance by <HI>Tythes</HI> to be an ap|pendix to the Leviticall Prie&s;t-hood, aboli&s;hed by the death of Ghri&s;t.</P>
<P>He &s;aith <HI>the people have been a &s;leepe too,</HI> it &s;eemes even so; or why are they &s;till deluded with their &s;pecious pretences of piety, learning and the like, when others can di&s;cern wolues under &s;heepes clothing? or why do they take their words for oracl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">s, their examples for pre&s;idents, their canons &amp; lawes for Scripture? but that their eyes are clo&s;ed, they are even fa&s;t a &s;leepe, but I proceed to his 5. <HI>Corollary.</HI></P>
<P N="5">5. He a&s;cend, to a &s;trong exhortation, <HI>to all tho&s;e that have &s;eparated from them to returne to them, with two &s;ubtle in&s;inuations.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. &s;aith he, <HI>&s;ome have been only deceived, but are hone&s;t, and for-&s;ook us for more pure preaching;</HI> one while he &s;ayes Independency is a faction, and makes them all &s;eem to appeare to be Schi&s;matiques, and Heretiques, but lo, to advance his owne end&punc; they are hone&s;t men, I &s;uppo&s;e he remembred his expre&s;&s;ions in the &s;ixt Rea&s;on of his book again&s;t toleration page 29. where he &s;aith, <HI>In many if not in mo&s;t Townes and Pari&s;hes it cannot be helped, but that there are and will be for many yeares men of no great popular gifts for preaching; who al&s;o according to their prin|ciples, not having been brought up to it, cannot &s;o comply with their people, Now ma|ny that live in the&s;e pari&s;hes (&s;eing they may keepe ther hou&s;es and places of abode) up|on the newes af a toleration, will for the benefit of more powerfull, practicall and zea|lous preaching, betake them&s;elves to go to their Churches, and &s;o will fall to their principles, and &s;o we &s;hall have upon this ground &s;warmes of them.</HI></P>
<P>He confe&s;&s;eth, for more pure preaching they for&s;ooke them, and yet blu&s;hes not to exhort them to returne back again Be the&s;e your Go&s;pell exhortations, O it, much pities me to &s;ee how people are deluded by them, have they all been at Vniver&s;ityes? are great &s;chollers, Orthodox&punc; Divines, and good church-men? now therefore they think the world mu&s;t needs wonder after them, and then in the next place, he in&s;inuates that divers have been regained, as <HI>Johannes Denkins, Obbo. Philppus</HI> &amp;c, <HI>us.</HI> If this may be a ground to believe more wil returne to them,
<PB N="19" REF="12">
it may more &s;trongly be turned upon them, as aground to believe more will come from them, that have been long deluded by them, becau&s;e &s;ome eminent a|mong them, are come from them, and cannot by any meanes be deluded to re|turne to them, yea &s;ome of the Prie&s;ts are become obedient to the faith, which is a wonder; but he inforces his exhortations yet more violently, and &s;aith.</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>Stay no longer in the way of Schi&s;me, le&s;t God let thee goe further,</HI> thus he takes that for granted <HI>(viz)</HI> that the Independents are in the Schi&s;me, though as it is apparent before, he cannot prove it, &s;o that the &s;trength of this exhortation falls with his former di&s;cour&s;e; But &s;eeing they cannot acquit them&s;elves from Schi&s;me from Chri&s;t, from the Go&s;pell and Ordinances of Chti&s;t, I de&s;ire all may &s;ee whether they are going, and into what they are falen, and repent and come forth of Babylon.</P>
<P N="2">2. He &s;aith <HI>the Independent Church way, is a way of error &amp; confu&s;ion that God never ble&s;&s;ed with edification, onene&s;&s;e of heart.</HI> The fal&s;hood af this is truly and of|ten declared by many members of &s;eparated Churches, who ble&s;&s;e God for their edification by and in the communion each with other, in the Father and the Sonne.</P>
<P>But are they all of one mind among&s;t them? thats &s;trange if they be, is it not the combynation of <HI>Ephrim</HI> and <HI>Mana&s;&s;ah,</HI> to be both again&s;t <HI>Iudah?</HI> To <HI>Scanda|lize Ju&s;tones?</HI></P>
<P>But what edification is there among&s;t them? Doe they build up one another in faith, love, me<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">kne&s;&s;e, gentlene&s;&s;e, long-&s;uffering forgiving and forbearing? If they did, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">heir &s;pirit would not be &s;o violent, they build; its true, but what? A bloo|dy &s;uper&s;tructure, under the name of zeale upon a &s;lippery foundation.</P>
<P N="3">3. He advances yet further &s;aying, <HI>Come out of her, le&s;t you partake of their &s;ins and plagues.</HI> It is concluded by him, that the Independents mu&s;t be bani&s;hed the Chri&s;tian world (I would he would tell me what he meanes by it) The greate&s;t &s;in, and the greate&s;t plague, that I can or may de&s;ire any to come forth from, is darkne&s;&s;e, which darkne&s;&s;e walkes round about their high places at noone day, O therefore I &s;ay now to them all that &s;hall come forth, come forth &s;tay no long|er hoodwinked, let no man beguile you and deceive you, what though you loo&s;e credit and e&s;teeme in the world and the like, care not: God is all things in one, and one thing in all things, yea he is that one that is all things; I long till you be made partakers of the glorious light of the Lord Je&s;us, that in his light, and not in another you may &s;ee light. I now come to his.</P>
<P N="6">6. And la&s;t <HI>Coroll.</HI> where he tels us <HI>there is a great difference betweene his Bre|theren the</HI> Scots <HI>and the Independents,</HI> I could tell of much difference betweene them indeed, but I forbeare, becau&s;e I love peace. He &s;aith,</P>
<P><HI>the</HI> Scots <HI>have been trve to their principles,</HI> wherein he accu&s;eth the Independents that they have not been true to th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">s; But let Mr. <HI>Edwads</HI> tell me, have not the Independents been true to their principles? Speakes he in earne&s;t? In what have the Independents been fal&s;e to their principles in all the engagements of their deare&s;t lives, their principles being the Kingdoms peace, knowing that <HI>Salus Populi</HI> is SUPREMA LEX, they have adhered to them, as their actions and &s;ucce&s;&s;e declares. They are a people that in de&s;pite of envy, have and will appeare, (I am confident) in faithfulne&s;&s;e, integrity, courage and con&s;tan|cy
<PB N="20" REF="13">
to the Parliament to have exceeded many, but come behind none.</P>
<P N="1">1. he &s;aith, <HI>the Scots have improved and made u&s;e of all victories, &s;ucce&s;&s;es, and advantages, for the good of both Kingdomes,</HI> but he &s;aith (in a pa&s;&s;ion &s;urely) <HI>that the Independents have not, but have &s;poken again&s;t the Scots:</HI> Oh that he did but remember that &s;aying, <HI>Qui alterum incu&s;at furti ip&s;um &s;e intueri oportet.</HI></P>
<P>He condemnes the Independents for &s;peaking again&s;t the Scots; but when will he condemne him&s;elfe, and his Bretheren for &s;peaking again&s;t the Independents&punc; I could tell what u&s;e &s;ome have made of th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ir victories when they have had any, but I had rather heale then make differencs: But have not the Independents made u&s;e of their victories for the good of the State? the good u&s;e they have made of their victories, appeares.</P>
<P N="1">1. In that they have improved every victory, not delaying but pro&s;ecuting it to the utmo&s;t, they were not like <HI>Pompey</HI> that knew how only to conquer, but not to make u&s;e of a victory, but as God hath made them famous in conquering, &s;o in pur&s;uing every victory; I might evidence this from the battle at <HI>Na&s;by</HI> to this day, had all done &s;o it had been well; and I am confident many groanes, &s;ighs and teares had been &s;pared.</P>
<P N="2">2. In their mercifulne&s;&s;e and kindne&s;&s;e to the Country, being victoris in that they did not pillage, pl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">nder and de&s;troy, and would lye no longer in any place then nece&s;&s;ity con&s;trayned them, and all becau&s;e they would not be bur|then&s;ome.</P>
<P N="3">3. They have made this u&s;e of their victories, to &s;ay in &s;eeing, and &s;ee in &s;ai|ing God hath gone out before them, crowning their indevours, a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> his in&s;truments, with continued &s;ucce&s;&s;e, as many victories te&s;tifie&punc; and in all the&s;e, they have de|&s;ired God might be gloryfied, who&s;e glory will &s;hine in and by them, when M. <HI>Edwards</HI> honour is buried in the grave.</P>
<P N="2">2. He &s;aith <HI>our Brethren the</HI> Scots <HI>have borne with much patience, infinite re|proaches in City and in Country:</HI> If &s;o, let M <HI>Edwards</HI> examine the rea&s;on, let him lend an eare as farre as <HI>York&s;hire;</HI> loo&s;ers will oft times &s;peake: But have not the Independents (whether his Bretheren or not it matters not much) under|gone more reproaches, &amp; with much more patience? Have they not been called by the Presbyterians&punc; yea by the leading men of them, Villains, Heretiques, Schi&s;ma|tiques, Bla&s;phemers and the like? Have they not cryed out to the Magi&s;trate to &s;uppre&s;&s;e them, and in the meanetime I know them whom he calls Independents, Anabapti&s;ts, Heretiques and the like, have been praying for them, and have never yet put up one Petition to the Parliament to ruine them. But,</P>
<P N="3">3. He &s;aith, <HI>the</HI> Scots <HI>have been forward moving for peace and &s;ettlement for the Chuch:</HI> Whenzeale and knowledge walke hand in hand, and ttuth leads them in the &s;traight path of love, we &s;hall be free from jealou&s;ies.</P>
<P>Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> and his Bretheren, have condemned the Independents for being forward to &s;ettle the Church, and commends the <HI>Scots</HI> for it: I hope guiles, daw|bing and di&s;&s;embling, will not thus alwaies pa&s;&s;e for currant coyne; certainly the &s;uper&s;cription of di&s;&s;imulation, is &s;tamped upon the&s;e expre&s;&s;ions: But have not the Independents been forward to &s;ettle the Church? certainly then they doe ill to rayle again&s;t them for making too much ha&s;t. Have they not been for|ward for peace? Oh &s;trange! When Envie, Pride, Avarice, malice and di&s;content
<PB N="21" REF="13">
drive men they mu&s;t need<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> run: Why have the Independents fought thus long made &s;uch ha&s;t, &s;acrificed &s;o much blood, expo&s;ed them&s;elves to &s;o much hard|&s;hip, if not for peace? Let the effect of their worke, let that peace the Kingdome enjoyes within little more then twelve moneths la&s;t pa&s;t, more then in many yeares before, &s;peake for them, for I may well hold my peace: The&s;e &s;trange ex|pre&s;&s;ions make me much incline to believe one blood runs in his and his Bre|therens vaines, that run in theirs who &s;aid of the victory at <HI>Mar&s;ton Moore,</HI> ber|ter wee had had no victory, then the Independents &s;hould have obtained it, and the glory of it,</P>
<P>Thus having in generall examined and impartially reflected his prophecy wherein is the &s;ub&s;tance of both books contained, I &s;hall proceed a little further to examine &s;omthing more paricularly. As,</P>
<P N="1">1. The &s;tory of Captaine <HI>Hob&s;on,</HI> wherin is many charges drawne up again&s;t him, e&s;pecially concerning his preaching at <HI>Newport-Paganell&punc;</HI> In the &s;econd e|dition of th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> fir&s;t part of <HI>Gangrena</HI> Mr. <HI>Edwards &s;aith;</HI></P>
<P>Paul Hob&s;on <HI>Preached in</HI> Newport-Paganell <HI>and thereabouts, in contempt of the Ordinance of Parliament made la&s;t</HI> April, <HI>after he was once taken and que|&s;tioned for it, and let go, be comes againe and does it the &s;econd time, in con|tempt of the Governour of</HI> Newport Paganell <HI>that then was, and misbehaved him&s;elfe.</HI> If one may judge of the re&s;t of his &s;tories by this one pa&s;&s;age, I po&s;&s;i|tively affirme them all fal&s;e, for to my owne knowledge, after he was que&s;tioned for Preaching, when he returned he did not Preach againe, neither did he come back in contempt of the Governour, but for &s;ome armes taken from a Gentle|man with him, and left at <HI>Newport,</HI> where he &s;tayed but a litle while; therefore when Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> affirmes this for truth; it is no wonder though he is not a|&s;hamed to call light darknes, and darkne&s;&s;e light, he Quotes M. <HI>Pryns</HI> fre&s;h di&s;co|very of new lights to prove his &s;tory, I have &s;earched that, &amp; find no &s;uch expre&s;&s;i|on in it: Surely Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> hath a quick invention: But it may be he will think to put off this well enough (as he hath done many things el&s;e) by &s;aying thats but circum&s;tantiall, if he &s;aith &s;o, let me tell him, he that feares not to vent Circum&s;tances out of a malicious braine, which are evidently fal&s;e, will not &s;tick at telling &s;ub&s;tantiall untruthes: But&punc; for my part what ever he thinkes, I know it to be as &s;ub&s;tantiall an untruth as ever was declared, and many more know it as well as I: But Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> further (&s;peaking &s;till of Captaine <HI>Paul Hob&s;on</HI> and &s;ome with him, &s;aith,</P>
<P><HI>Al&s;o when apprehended, uttering many bold and &s;editious &s;peeches, that they would acquaint their friends in the Hou&s;e of Commons, of their bad u&s;age: That they were re&s;olved to make this bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, the leading ca&s;e of the Kingdome, for all the godly party; adding, that if the godly and wel affected party, were thus per&s;ecuted, they &s;hould be forced to make a wor&s;e breach then was yet, when they had done with the Kings party, and &s;aying when they had made an end with the Caviliers, they &s;hould be forced to rai&s;e a new warre, to fight with them</HI> Oh, what will not the Father of lyes per&s;wade &s;ome men to utter, and others to believe! the whole charge is compbonded of mo&s;t notorious unju&s;t, injurious and malitious flanders: But for the Readers further &s;atisfaction&punc; I &s;hall give the world a full account of the &s;tory, not varying a haires breadth from the truth.</P>
<P><PB N="22" REF="14">Captaine <HI>Hob&s;on,</HI> with another Captaine going to Sir <HI>Thomas Fairfax</HI> his Army; through <HI>Newport-Paganell,</HI> being in their way, they called there to &s;ee &s;ome of their former acquaintance, who earne&s;tly &s;olicited them to &s;tay a while with them, and de&s;ired Captaine <HI>Hob&s;on</HI> to declare what God had cau&s;ed him to enjoy of him&s;elfe (a harmle&s;&s;e pactice, not long &s;ince commended by the Pres|byterians) which he accordingly did, and that without any mole&s;tation, or tu|mult; none oppo&s;ing or que&s;tioning him, for what he had done. His exerci&s;e being fini&s;hed, the Captaine peaceably departed out of the Towne, and went to the Army; having di&s;patched their bu&s;ine&s;&s;e there, they returned, and called at <HI>New|port,</HI> as they came back; where Captaine <HI>Hob&s;on</HI> was importuned to &s;tay awhile, and accordingly he did, where &s;ome of his friends came to him, and de&s;ired that they might &s;pend &s;ome time together, in ble&s;&s;ing God for that great victory God had given to Sir <HI>Thomas</HI> at <HI>Na&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">bye:</HI> This was on the Saterday, the next day (being the fir&s;t day of the weeke) they were unwilling to meet in the Town, for feare of di&s;turbance, &s;o they went to <HI>Lathbury,</HI> where they <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">de both ci|vily and religiou&s;ly. In the after-noone come &s;ome &s;cattering Souldiers and o|thers, that made a great di&s;turbance, by their fearefull &s;wearing, horrid bla&s;phe|mies, horrible cur&s;ing, holding up a hound by the ears, to the window of the hou&s;e, where the people met, &amp; bringing a pack of hounds full cry about the hou&s;e, e|ven in &s;o much that Captaine <HI>Hob&s;on</HI> and &s;ome others went out to them, &amp; asked them by what warrant they made that di&s;turbance, they &s;aid they had none, but would go fetch one from the then Governour of <HI>Newport,</HI> to that Captain <HI>Hob|&s;on</HI> replyed, he would be ready to obey any order from him, and told him where he &s;hould be in the evening, ready to an&s;wer any thing that &s;hould be objected again&s;t him, the Souldiers were &s;omthing pacified to heare him &s;ay &s;o, but pre|&s;ently after comes one En&s;igne <HI>Fi&s;h</HI> with aguard of <HI>Mu&s;quetieres</HI> to apprehend them all, and carry them to the mayne Guard, &s;aying the <HI>Governour</HI> &s;ent him, the Captaine de&s;ired to &s;ee his warrant, the En&s;igne told him, twas not the <HI>Go|vernour</HI> him&s;elfe but the Major that &s;ent him. But the Captaine and the re&s;t of the company, went peaceably along with the Guard, to the maine Guard, being &s;hamefully abu&s;ed by the way, yet reviling none, when they came to the mayne Guard, they abode there peaceably, A while after a Lieutenant came and told the company they might depart, but the Captaine de&s;ired a warrant from the Gover|ner, for their peaceable departure, that they might not be mole&s;ted by the rude multitude, but pre&s;ently came Lieutenant Colonell <HI>Cockaine,</HI> and Mr. <HI>Ba<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ber,</HI> one of the Committee, and &s;aid they came from the Governour, to te&s;tifie they had liberty to depart, &s;aying they were &s;orry that &s;uch Gentlemen &s;hould be &s;o abu|&s;ed, being contrary to the Governors knowledge; &s;o the pri&s;oners were &s;et at liber|ty &amp; departed from the maine Guard: But a while after the Captaines being with the Governour, they humbly de&s;ired his honour to certifie them whether he gave any warrant for the practi&s;e of them that had &s;o abu&s;ed them, for if they did it contrary to his knowledge, they de&s;ired Ju&s;tice, He returned them this an&s;wer, he would doe them Ju&s;tice, for he would &s;end them with his Mar&s;hall to Sir <HI>Thomas Fairfax,</HI> for he told them, they had run from their Colours, upon that, one of the Captaines produced his di&s;charge, under Sir <HI>Thomas</HI> his owne hand, which though the Governour would not read, yet Lieutenant Colonll <HI>Cockaine</HI>
<PB N="23" REF="14">
did and &s;aid it was very authentirk, but Sir <HI>Samuel Luke</HI> the Governour &s;aid they were lying fellowes, and he would not believe them what&s;oever they &s;aid, &s;o he &s;ent them to the Army, by the Mar&s;hall, En&s;igne <HI>Fi&s;h</HI> and two Souldiers, and a friend of theirs, one that had been an eye and eare witne&s;&s;e to the whole pro|ceedings, accompanying them, and when they came thither, the Noble Generall examined the bu&s;ine&s;&s;e by a <HI>Councell</HI> of <HI>Warre,</HI> and it being faithfully reported to him, He wrot to Sir <HI>Samuel Luke</HI> to this effect;</P>
<LETTER LANG="eng">
<OPENER><SALUTE>SIR,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P><HI>I</HI> Have had the bu&s;ine&s;&s;e concerning tho&s;e Gentlemen you &s;ent to me, (Captain <HI>Hob|&s;on</HI> and Captaine <HI>B.</HI>) examined, and I find that they have been di&s;charged of their Commands, at their owne importunity; the one by my &s;elfe, and the other by the Colonell of that Regiment, the which if it had appeared to you (as they informed me they de&s;ired to doe) I conceive it might have prevented any further trouble, either to you, or to my &s;elfe in that bu&s;ine&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>It &s;eemes their u&s;age, by tho&s;e who come a long withthem, hath been very uncivill, and di&s;honorable unto Gentlemen, that have carried them&s;elves with fid lity and courage in this cau&s;e, and have been members of this Army, And tru|ly I can do no le&s;&s;e (without encouragement to &s;uch ill carriages for the future, and for the &s;atisfaction of tho&s;e Gentlemen) then de&s;ire you to &s;ee full reparations made them by the Mar&s;hall and the En&s;igne, and that you c &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">re them from their imployments.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your a&s;&s;ured friend and Servant, THOMAS FAIRFAX.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</LETTER>
<P>Pre&s;ently after, the Captaines returned to <HI>Newport</HI> againe for their armes, which the Mar&s;hall mo&s;t abu&s;ively had taken away (not in contempt, as Ma&s;ter <HI>Edwards</HI> would have it) imediatly after their comming, Sir <HI>Samuel L<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">k<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> &s;ent for them, &amp; when they came to him, he told them if he could not have Ju&s;tice in the Army he would have it el&s;e where; &amp; asked them how long they intended to &s;tay in Towne, they replyed, they would be gon pre&s;ently; he tould them he would &s;end one along with them; they de&s;ired to know whether he would &s;end them as pri&s;oners or not, he &s;aid, not as pri&s;oners; &s;o they departed from him to a private hou&s;e in Towne, where Captaine <HI>Oxford</HI> came to them to know if they were ready to go, they told him yes, only de&s;ired &s;o much liberty as to have the com|pany of one with them to <HI>London,</HI> who might if there &s;hould be occa&s;ion (from his owne knowledge) witne&s;&s;e the truth of things; but this being denyed them by the Governour, Captaine <HI>Hob&s;on</HI> &s;aid, it &s;eemed &s;trange to him, that their witne&s;&s;es might not be permitted to bear them company, &s;aying the&s;e doings might po&s;&s;ibly hinder a de&s;ign that he had undertaken for the good of the State; But lea&s;t any &s;hould wre&s;t his words, he de&s;ired &s;peciall notice might be taken of his expre&s;&s;ions, which was &s;o done, &s;o Captaine <HI>Oxford</HI> departed, &s;aying God ble&s;&s;e you Gentlemen; and the Captaines pre&s;ently departed; not &s;taying to <HI>Preach,</HI> as Mr <HI>Edwards</HI> untruly, groundle&s;ly, and unju&s;tly affirmeth; Neither did they ut|ter
<PB N="24" REF="15">
any &s;uch mutinous, and &s;editious words, as are charged upon them. The truth of all which <HI>I</HI> have declared, is beyond and above all contradiction.</P>
<P>Their Chri&s;tian meekne&s;&s;e and peaceable carriage, when they were fir&s;t di&s;tur|bed by the rude multitude, like them that compa&s;&s;ed <HI>Ja&s;ons</HI> hou&s;e; by their hor|rid, helli&s;h bloody, and in&s;olent, rayling, &s;wearing and cur&s;ing, with the abomi|nable practices of them that apprehended them at <HI>Lathbury</HI> is atte&s;ted by <HI>Seventeene</HI> witne&s;&s;es, &s;ub&s;cribed with their owne hands.</P>
<P>The certainty of their peaceable behaviour and demeanour at <HI>Newport,</HI> when, Captaine <HI>Oxford</HI> was with them, the vnju&s;tne&s;&s;e, untrune&s;&s;e, and abominable fal&s;ity, of tho&s;e mutinous, &s;editious expre&s;&s;ions Regi&s;tred by Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> and M. <HI>Pryn</HI> is atte&s;ted by divers that were eare witne&s;&s;es to the whole di&s;cour&s;e, that pa&s;t between Captaine <HI>Hob&s;on</HI> and Captain <HI>Oxford</HI> (at that time, when tho&s;e ex|pre&s;&s;ions were fal&s;ly fathered on him) even by ju&s;t per&s;ons, fearing God, and of good report, and that under their owne hands.</P>
<P>To ad one word more, there came nine witne&s;&s;es to London, to have atte&s;ted the truth of the premi&s;&s;es, who earne&s;tly de&s;ired that they might have been heard, but through &s;ome extraordinary occa&s;ion could not.</P>
<P>All tho&s;e writings &s;ub&s;cribed with their owne hands, I had publi&s;hed at large, but that I would not be too tedious: Thus have I impartially related the &s;tory. But le&s;t Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> &s;hould think to creep out of this hole, by &s;aying Captaine <HI>Oxford</HI> and <HI>Robert Ratford</HI> witne&s;&s;ed it before the Parliament, and therefore &s;hould &s;tamp the &s;uper&s;cription of truth upon it, becau&s;e out of the mouth of tho&s;e two men, I &s;hal pre&s;ent a brief, yet ful and true di&s;covery of what the witne&s;&s;es are, and then let all hone&s;t men judge, whether they are per&s;ons &s;it to be believed. Fir&s;t for Captaine <HI>Oxford,</HI> he is,</P>
<P N="1">1. One that is eminently knowne and noted, for his great ability to invent and publi&s;h untruths, among all that know him, and have the face of hone&s;ty; his ingenuity and audacity, appeares in this, more then in any thing el&s;e, two or three untruthes at one time, were mo&s;t boldly, and malitiou&s;ly vented by him, before a cloud of witne&s;&s;es, in a Captaines hou&s;e at <HI>Newport;</HI> So that through his cu&s;tome in this trade, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">e was at length famous (or rather imfamous) through his proverbe (when a thing &s;ounded void of &s;ence, rea&s;on, truth and equity) <HI>This is one of Oxfords lyes.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. He is one that then neither feared God nor man (it would be the joy of my &s;oule to heare he doth now) It is well known, he was not only drinking, but fighting at a Taverne, after nine a c<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ock at night, and was not long &s;ince put out of his Place to the joy of all there, that are faithfull friends to the King|dome.</P>
<P N="3">3- He is one very malicious, envious, and full of hatred; Who reported &s;pea|king of Captaine <HI>Hob&s;on,</HI> and another, that he could as willingly &s;heath his &s;word in their guts, as in the Cavaliers: Much more could I &s;ay, but I forbeare.</P>
<P>If any one notwith&s;tanding, thinks I &s;peake as one po&s;&s;e&s;t with prejudice a|gain&s;t him, and &s;o wrong him; Let him goe to <HI>Newport-Paganell,</HI> and inquire of all the <HI>Presbyterians,</HI> that have but the face of godlyne&s;&s;e; And of all the <HI>Independents,</HI> whether I have wronged him or no? If Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> faith be &s;o large as to believe him; I am confident he may believe any thing.</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="25" REF="15">2 As for <HI>Robert Ratford,</HI> that he is a common notorious lyar, &s;wearer, cur&s;er and prophane fellow, is atte&s;ted by good hands; The te&s;timony of a woman that was then, and is for ought I know &s;till a hearer in the <HI>Publique A&s;&s;emblies of England;</HI> I will relate, who affirmes <HI>that this</HI> Robert Ratford <HI>came to the hou&s;e of</HI> T. R. <HI>cur&s;ing, &s;wearing, jeering, &s;coffing, villifying all that was there</HI> (viz.) <HI>in that hou&s;e,</HI> where the Captain with &s;ome others were ap|prehended) <HI>like a mad man, running up and down the hou&s;e, into the &s;everall roomes, pu&s;hing under the beds, yet he was not &s;atisfied, but his rage was &s;o great, that when all the Souldiers and pri&s;oners were gon, for the &s;pace of one hour, he came back againe, and &s;aid to her, You ba&s;e whore, I could find in my heart, to pull your ba&s;tard out of your armes, and kick it to peeces, &s;wearing he could find in his heart to kick her,</HI> which he did, &s;hee having her little child &s;uck|ing at her bre&s;t: All this is atte&s;ted under her hand: And this that he did and &s;ayd at his returne, the Lady <HI>A.</HI> living in the &s;ame towne, being by, can witne&s;&s;e it. A little while after, the &s;ame <HI>Robert Ratford,</HI> &s;peaking of one that was with Captain <HI>Hob&s;on</HI> when they were at <HI>Lathbury,</HI> &s;aid, <HI>If ever I catch him Preaching, this &s;word of myne &s;hall cut him in peeces,</HI> and further &s;aid, now the round-heads &s;hall be hanged without any Law. There is a cloud of witne&s;&s;es, to prove the abo|minable bla&s;phemie and prophane&s;&s;e of him: Let Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> &s;end, write, or go to <HI>Newport-Paganell,</HI> and fift out the truth of what I have &s;aid, and print what he heares and no more; and <HI>I</HI> am confident in this, he and I &s;hall agree.</P>
<P>There was one other witne&s;&s;e that appeared at <HI>London</HI> again&s;t the Captaines who in my hearing, affirmed he never &s;aw men carry them&s;elves more civilly, di&s;creetly and orderly, in his life, and further affirmed to me in the Country, that he could witne&s;&s;e nothing again&s;t them, but ble&s;&s;ed God he was with them, and when &s;ome broched mo&s;t notorious untruths, he him&s;elfe &s;aid they were lyes; this man was a <HI>Presbyterian.</HI></P>
<P>Another witnes one <HI>Andrewes</HI> of Olney was &s;ummoned up to be one of Sir <HI>Samuell Lukes</HI> witne&s;&s;e, but he having declared he could not &s;peak any thing, but to cleare them, was &s;ent out of the towne, without giving any evidence at all This particuler, is worth &s;erious con&s;ideration.</P>
<P>Having &s;ufficiently cleared this bu&s;ine&s;&s;e; I &s;hall proceed to examine &s;ome par|ticulers in Mr, <HI>Jo&s;iah Rycrafts</HI> letter to Mr. <HI>Edwards;</HI> And concerning Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> te&s;timony of him.</P>
<P N="1">1. For the letter it &s;elfe, it &s;aith;</P>
<P N="1">1. Mr. Kiffen, <HI>and &s;ome other, upon their di&s;pute with Dr.</HI> F&eacute;atly, <HI>Mr</HI> Ca|lamy <HI>and &s;ome others, gave out to their members that they had the better, and Mr.</HI> Calamy <HI>dur&s;t not di&s;pute with them.</HI> This Mr. <HI>Kiffen</HI> denyes: Till Mr. <HI>Rycraft,</HI> hath proved it, it will be judged but his &s;ay&punc; &s;o.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>That</HI> Kiffen <HI>was left out of that Di&s;putation, which was held, and to be held with Mr.</HI> Calamy. Mr. <HI>Rycrafts</HI> head is got in, needs mu&s;t his body fol|low after; This is manife&s;tly fal&s;e: I call upon him to prove it: Mr. <HI>Kiffen</HI> de&s;i|red exemption, but it was not a&s;&s;ented to,</P>
<P N="3">3. <HI>That Mr.</HI> Kiffen <HI>was put to doe the drudgery, to fetch up members &s;cat|tered to and fro the Country.</HI> This is allyed to the former relations&punc; Mr. <HI>Kiffen</HI> went not into the Country at all to fetch up any.</P>
<P N="4"><PB N="26" REF="16">4. He &s;aith that not only <HI>Kiffen,</HI> but others al&s;o did the like good &s;ervice (as <HI>Hob&s;on</HI> the Taylor) in their places) This to my knowledge is an untruth. For Captain <HI>Hob&s;on</HI> &s;tayed in the Town, to attend the di&s;pute.</P>
<P N="5">5. He &s;aith. <HI>That one</HI> Palmer, <HI>&s;hould report Phi&s;itians left her, as they found her. An emphaticall untruth,</HI> For &s;hee u&s;ed no Phi&s;itian at all.</P>
<P N="6">6. He tells a &s;tory of <HI>a woman to</HI> be <HI>rebaptized:</HI> Surely he that dur&s;t to affirm that, dur&s;t affirme any thing, even the mo&s;t horrible untruth in the world. But will any be &s;o unwi&s;e to believe it, becau&s;e Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> &s;aith it? His &s;ay-&s;o, is no oracle to me; If it be, it is a fal&s;e one, that &s;peakes &s;eldome any thing but is either doubtfull, or an indubitable untruth.</P>
<P>That which confi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">mes my thoughts, and cau&s;es me to judge the man is not only guilty of tho&s;e untruths, but that his con&s;cience tells him &s;o; is becau&s;e in his late <HI>No&s;egay,</HI> he doth not &s;o much as offer to prove one of the&s;e perticulers, which were all denyed before, by Mr. <HI>John Goodwin,</HI> Surely it argues fainthar|tedne&s;&s;e, and a bad cau&s;e: What that valiant Mr. <HI>Rycraft,</HI> that threatens to o|pen the workes of darkne&s;&s;e, &s;hould be found bound in darkne&s;&s;e; bound with &s;uch chaines, that neither wit, nor hone&s;ty can break<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">! Is it po&s;&s;ible? who would have thought it? In&s;tead of an&s;wering them, behold a man-like &s;pirit! he falls a rayling again&s;t Mr. <HI>Goodwin,</HI> in a &s;trange di&s;tempered method; One would have thought the unhappine&s;&s;e of the man in &s;tumbling &s;o often before, in &s;o few lines, &s;hould have made him more cautious for the time to come, le&s;t in his next writing, he &s;hould have quite fallen. But tis true,
<Q>Naturam expellas &s;urca tamen u&s;que recurrit.</Q></P>
<P>Convince him of one, he will pre&s;ently tell two more. Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> great boa&s;ts of M. <HI>Rycrafts,</HI> is come to ju&s;t nothing.</P>
<Q>Parturiunt montes na&s;cetur ridiculus mus.</Q>
<P>But to come to Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> te&s;timony of the man to be <HI>Religious and cor|dially affected to the Pa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">liament.</HI> If I knew what Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> meant by <HI>Religi|on,</HI> I &s;hould be able to &s;ay the more: But if he be Religious, light and love mu&s;t declare it.</P>
<P>But how that light or love may be &s;een in his &s;pirit, that wrot that fal&s;e, ma|licious dark Letter, I cannot po&s;&s;ibly &s;ee; its true (as <HI>I</HI> heare) the man hath &s;ome formality, a certaine kind of profe&s;&s;ion (which is but very little) &s;o hath the Kingdome, but they are never the more Chri&s;tians for that. Profe&s;&s;ion is not po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, formality is not Religion. H<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ken to the te&s;timony of Saint <HI>James,</HI> chap. 1. ver. 26. <HI>If any man among you &s;eem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart; this mans Religion is in vaine.</HI> It hath been Mr. <HI>Jo&s;iah Ricrafts</HI> unhappine&s;&s;e in a &s;uperlative degree, to have an unbridled tongue, and to be trading in the works of darkne&s;&s;e. He theatens a di&s;covery of more deeds of darkne&s;&s;e; I confe&s;&s;e that he may &s;oone doe, for yet <HI>I</HI> never &s;aw any thing come under his hand, but had the impre&s;&s;ion of darkne&s;&s;e upon it; and if he goes on in this ill cour&s;e, the further the wor&s;e.</P>
<P>As for his <HI>cordiall affection to the Parliament,</HI> when he hath di&s;proved the Letter printed in Mr. <HI>Goodwins</HI> books, he may probably appear &s;o. But if any man thinks he hath, in his <HI>No&s;egay,</HI> I a&s;&s;ure them, <HI>I</HI> can &s;mell no &s;uch &s;avour in it. To &s;peake the be&s;t of his <HI>No&s;egay,</HI> its but a vaine glorious glo&s;&s;e put upon
<PB N="27" REF="16">
a foule matter, but a &s;heeps skin drawne upon a Wolves back. But to di&s;cover tis no other, let all men con&s;ider with me a little what his <HI>No&s;egay</HI> &s;aith. Speaking of Mr. <HI>John Goodwin,</HI> he &s;aith.</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>The man &s;ets his w t; on the tenter-hookes, how to be &s;patter Mr.</HI> Edwards <HI>or my &s;elfe, with his tainted lyes, And to that end hath got a letter written to him, by an Anabapti&s;ticall Apprentice.</HI> Had Mr. <HI>Rycraft</HI> walked by the can|dle of truth when he wrot this, he had never thus de&s;perately &s;tumbled; certainly this beginning, pre&s;ages a bad cau&s;e, and as little &s;trength; The thing he &s;peaks is diametrically oppo&s;ite to truth. The Letter was written to Mr. <HI>Kiffen,</HI> not to Mr. <HI>Goodwin,</HI> except Mr. <HI>Rycraft</HI> or Mr. <HI>Edwards,</HI> have &s;o much Sophi&s;try as to prove Mr. <HI>Kiffen</HI> to be Mr. <HI>Goodwin,</HI> Mr. <HI>Rycrafts</HI> &s;tory will fall for want of of a prop. Neither did Mr. <HI>Goodwin</HI> get it written, but it came accidentally to him.</P>
<P N="2">2. He &s;aith (&s;peaking of the Author of the Letter to Mr. <HI>Kiffen) he profe&s;|&s;eth in the &s;aid Letter, to have more then ordinary acquaintance with me, which is well known to be as fal&s;e as the Author of fal&s;hood can invent.</HI> To whom is it well known that he hath not more then ordinary acquaintance with him? Is it to them in the &s;ame Family? Doe they know it is fal&s;e? They know no &s;uch thing; Who are the per&s;ons that know it &s;o well, I cannot imagine. Is it po&s;&s;ible that he could live nigh four yeares together in one family with him, and not have more then ordinary acquaintance with him? Believe it who can; I have not faith to doe i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">.</P>
<P N="3">3. He &s;aith, <HI>I will not deny, but that many times he hath intruded him&s;elfe into my company, my &s;elfe knowing well enough, he was an abu&s;ive fellow.</HI> It is no great matter to be called abu&s;ive fellow, by him that cares not who he abu|&s;eth, neither feares whom he &s;landers. But I am &s;ory to &s;ee &s;o much pride, in &s;o few expre&s;&s;ions.</P>
<P N="4">4. Hee further proceedeth to manife&s;t his in&s;olency, and arrogancy, as if he &s;corned any &s;hould exceed or equalize him, &s;aying;</P>
<P><HI>I have declared by my carriage, that I cared not for his company.</HI> Was this carri|age, this declaration, &s;utable to a Go&s;pell Spirit, let wi&s;e men judge. <HI>Haman</HI> &s;corned a poore <HI>Mordecay,</HI> by his lofty proud carriage; Yet was <HI>Mordecay</HI> not the wor&s;e, nor <HI>Haman</HI> the better.</P>
<P N="5">5. He goeth on &s;aying, <HI>He &s;aith in the &s;aid lying Letter, that I concealed a Colonell that came from the Kings Army, wich Colonell would have taken away the life of one Mr.</HI> Roberts, <HI>a worthy Mini&s;ter, and &s;aith if Mr.</HI> Roberts <HI>had known where he had been, he would endeavoured the hanging of him.</HI></P>
<P>Is not this true? No, &s;aith Mr. <HI>Rycraft,</HI> he asked Mr. <HI>Roberts,</HI> whether he knew of any &s;uch Colonell, who an&s;wered him he knew no &s;uch, neither did he know what the fellow meanes by naming &s;uch a man as he never knew nor &s;aw, Sure|ly Mr. <HI>Rycraft</HI> knew not what he wrot, when he wrot this. aske Mr. <HI>Rycraft</HI> whether he did not u&s;e to call him Colonell? Whether he did not receive the Kings P ct<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">re from him, &amp; &s;aid it would &s;ecure him when the King came to <HI>Lon|don.</HI> But the man thinks to evade it; for he &s;aith <HI>he knew no &s;uch man.</HI> Though he knew not &s;uch a man as Colonell, yet he called him &s;o. But the truth is (as I am credibly informed) he is a Lieutenant Colonell, his name is <HI>Anthony Diet:</HI>
<PB N="28" REF="17">
Can he deny this? Is he not his cozen? Surely tis true, it will be proved to his face. And for Mr. <HI>Roberts</HI> his te&s;timony; &s;uch equivocation will not &s;erve him, he knew him by the name of Lieutenant Colonel <HI>Anthony Diet</HI> at <HI>Brummingham.</HI> And can he deny but that this <HI>Anthony Diet</HI> &s;ought his life? Surely not without blu&s;hing. This vapouring will not excu&s;e Mr. <HI>Rycraft.</HI> Neither can Mr. <HI>Rycrafts</HI> letter to Mr. <HI>Edwards,</HI> be any plea for him. None accu&s;ed Mr. <HI>Roberts,</HI> of know|ing he was in Towne. And let Mr. <HI>Roberts</HI> if he can, deny that <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">e would have endevoured the hanging of him? But to proceed, Mr. <HI>Rycraft</HI> advanceth yet fur|ther &s;aying.</P>
<P N="6">6. <HI>And for his third lye, where he &s;aith. I &s;ent money to one, to go to</HI> Oxford, <HI>the &s;aid party nominated came lately to&punc;</HI> London, <HI>who affirmed to the lyeing Author his face, that I never lent him money for &s;uch end, or at any &s;uch time.</HI> I am &s;orry to &s;ee mens writings compo&s;ed with &s;uch un-tempred morter. Let Mr. <HI>Rycraft</HI> deny if he can, that he knew he intended to go to <HI>Oxford,</HI> and that he lent him money, and de&s;ired to be remembred to &s;ome in <HI>Oxford.</HI> The&s;e things con&s;idered, &s;ee whether it amounts not to as much as was written of him. As for the other things he chargeth the Author of that Letter, with as the di&s;temper of his head, <HI>I</HI> leave that and his owne di&s;temper of head, heart and hand, to wi&s;e men that know them both, to judge of.</P>
<P>And for the particular abu&s;es he &s;aith was offered to him, and proved by oath, he had done well to have printed them, but it may be the man was a&s;hamed, The truth is, <HI>I</HI> have the Articles that he was accu&s;ed of by Mr. <HI>Rycraft,</HI> One, is for kicking a &s;toole from under him, as he &s;at by the fire, the other for mo|le&s;ting him when he was cutting his beard, to the indangering his throat, which was never proved, but denied to his face: And others are &s;o frivolous, and &s;o old. that they are not worth the recitall. As for his two warrants they adde ju&s;t as much to his fidelity, as the picture before his book, to his piety.</P>
<P>Thus may all men &s;ee what Mr <HI>Rycraft</HI> is, how religious, how wel-affected to the Parliament; what credit may be given to his te&s;timony and to his &s;tories? <HI>I</HI> &s;hall only &s;ay thus much more of him. His malice again&s;t tho&s;e he calls In|dependents (if there were no more) might be a &s;ufficient ground to &s;u&s;pect all the accu&s;ations he brings again&s;t them: He blu&s;hes not to &s;ay he hates the Inde|pendents, wor&s;e then he hates toades, and values them no more, then the dirt under his feet. Rogue and Ra&s;call, Brazen-face, and <HI>Billings-gate</HI> &s;lut, being as good languge as he can afford them.</P>
<P>Thus having impartially declared (being con&s;trayned there to) what &s;ome of the witne&s;&s;es are of Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> &s;tories (not que&s;tioning but that others can doe as much of many others) <HI>I</HI> &s;hall con&s;ider &s;ome few of his expre&s;&s;ions, and &s;ee whether the&s;e his witne&s;&s;es, and his expre&s;&s;ions run parrallell. For he fearing his witne&s;&s;es might be &s;u&s;pected, if not him&s;elfe, to have given in fal&s;e evidence, thinks to remove all cau&s;e of jealou&s;ies; and to prove the truth of all that is contained in his <HI>Gangrena,</HI> page 5. 6, by &s;aying as followeth.</P>
<P><HI>For divers of the errours and practices related, they are notoriou&s;ly knowne to thou&s;ands,</HI> I demand of Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> whether thou&s;ands, nay tens, nay any one man can witne&s;&s;e the accu&s;ations again&s;t Captain <HI>Hob&s;on,</HI> and the truth of <HI>Jo&s;iah Rycrafts</HI> Letter?</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="29" REF="17">2. He &s;aith, <HI>many errours and bla&s;phemies contained in his books, have been complained off, by &s;ufficient per&s;ons to the Parliament, and Committees of Par|liament.</HI> I de&s;ire him to tell me whether or no, he thinks tho&s;e witne&s;&s;es I have examined, &s;ufficient per&s;ons to be credited, and whether he meanes not by &s;uffi|cient per&s;ons, the afore&s;aid Captain <HI>Oxford</HI> and <HI>Robert Ratford,</HI> that complain|ed again&s;t Captain <HI>Hob&s;on,</HI> for the unju&s;t things laid to his charge, or who el&s;e?</P>
<P N="3">3. He affirmes&punc; <HI>&s;ome of the errours, bla&s;phemies are proved in the narration of the &s;tories</HI> I de&s;ire to know what &s;tory hath proved the truth of tho&s;e parti|culers I have examined.</P>
<P N="4">4. He &s;aith, <HI>He him&s;elfe and &s;ome other per&s;ons, of good note and quality, have been eye &amp; eare witne&s;&s;es of the errours, bla&s;phemies, &amp; practices he relates.</HI> I intreat him to declare to all the world, whether he, or any per&s;on of good qua|lity, was an eare witne&s;&s;e to what Captain <HI>Hob&s;on</HI> is charged of, and whether any of the&s;e good per&s;ons &s;aw the woman Mr. <HI>Rycraft</HI> tels a tale of, and if they did, let them name the per&s;ons, and conceale them no longer.</P>
<P N="5">5. Hee &s;aith, <HI>others of the&s;e errours and opinions, are in divers printed books either of the Sectaries them&s;elves, or of per&s;ons of note for their learning and piety.</HI> I de&s;ire to know what bookes of the Sectaries or others upon their owne certaine knowledge, &s;ay that either Captain <HI>Hob&s;on,</HI> or his confederates, boa&s;ted of working miracles, and ca&s;ting devills out of men po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed with them.</P>
<P N="6">6. Hee proceedeth &s;aying, <HI>For any of the errours, bal&s;phemies, put in this following Catalogue, which have come to my knowledge, by none of the former five waies above &s;pecified (which yet are not many) I have had the relation of them from godly Mini&s;ters, and under&s;tanding con&s;cientious Chri&s;tians, with many circum&s;tances of names, places, conditions, time and confident ob&s;ervati|ons of the certainty of them, and &s;o delivered as there can be no rea&s;on in the world to think they &s;hould be fal&s;e, but much every way to believe them true.</HI> And he further declareth (<HI>that the reader may the more build upon the truth of all things delivered in this booke.</HI> (to his &s;hame) how he went and &s;ent, and enquired by him&s;elfe and others, prompting them le&s;&s;ons beforehand, that they might get w them ithout booke &amp;c. Now I de&s;ire <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">he &s;olution of the&s;e que&s;tions.</P>
<P N="1">1. Whether or no, the &s;tory of Captain <HI>Hob&s;on,</HI> afore related; and Mr. <HI>Rycrafts</HI> &s;tories came to him any of the&s;e waies? And if of any, then of which? If none of the&s;e waies, as I am confident they did not. Then &s;econdly.</P>
<P N="2">2. Whether Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> is not guilty of apparent fal&s;e-hood in &s;aying all his relations came thus to him, when I have di&s;covered two or three that did not? And,</P>
<P N="3">3. Whether it may not ea&s;ily be &s;u&s;pected Mr. <HI>Edwards</HI> came as ill by many of the other &s;tories, as the&s;e. And whether the&s;e may not be a pre&s;ident to judge of the re&s;t?</P>
<P N="4">4. Whether Mr. <HI>Edwards,</HI> hath not dealt very uncharitably (to &s;ay no wor&s;e of it) in taking &s;uch a <HI>Machivillian</HI> cour&s;e, to &s;crew out the failings of his Brethren, and to put them to &s;ale.</P>
<P N="5">5. If one &s;hould take the &s;ame cour&s;e as he hath done, whether he might not find farre greater, and more abominations among the Presbyterans, then is con|tained in his <HI>Gangrena.</HI></P>
<P N="6"><PB N="30" REF="18">6. Thus having &s;poken to the mo&s;t materiall &s;ub&s;tantiall things in his books and hoping I have &s;ufficiently cleared the guitle&s;&s;e; I &s;hall a little rea&s;on with Mr; <HI>Edwards,</HI> and &s;peak mildly to him.</P>
<P>Ma&s;ter <HI>Edwards,</HI> how long will you give up your &s;elfe to &s;candalize the Saints, and to fight again&s;t the members of Chri&s;t? When will you cea&s;e to reprove pa&s;|&s;ion with pa&s;&s;ion? Doe you think the Lord Chri&s;t takes it well at your hands, that you &s;hould &s;lander ju&s;t ones, that you &s;hould print the te&s;timonies of vaine men again&s;t the Saints of the mo&s;t high God, and &s;o boldly &s;tamp the &s;uper|&s;cription of truth, upon their forged relations? Did not you think it unju&s;t, that the te&s;timony of a prophane lying Apparator &s;hould be received again&s;t you, and yet will you receive the te&s;timony of as bad again&s;t your Brethren? When will you learne to doe as you would be done by? How long will you dote on your p ivate intere&s;t? Will you never cea&s;e the adventuring the ruine of the whole, to &s;et up your &s;elfe? will nothing but <HI>Naboths</HI> Vinyard, his inheritance and life &s;a|tisfie you? When will you cea&s;e to incen&s;e the Magi&s;trate again&s;t a faithfull peo|ple? Think not on Sacrifice, while you neglect Mercy. Good Sir. what is the rea&s;on you are &s;o violent again&s;t tho&s;e you call Independents? are you a fraid you &s;hall loo&s;e your credit, livings, Tythes, Offerings, honour and re&s;pect? If the&s;e come fal&s;ely to you, they are better lo&s;t then found. When will you be contented that others &s;hall injoy the &s;ame liberty as your &s;elfe? The Parliament hath e|&s;tabli&s;hed Presbyterie by an Ordinance, you like it not, would you be contented to be forced to it? Doe you not expect a Toleration your &s;elfe? And &s;hall not your Brethen be &s;uffered as well as you? When will you cea&s;e to cry up the Magi|&s;trates power in Religion, &s;o long as you think they will e&s;tabli&s;h your de&s;ires no longer? Why doe &s;ome of your Brethren, &s;trict Presbyterians, &s;ay the Parliament is a &s;warme of Sectaries, &amp; not the Parliament that was fir&s;t cho&s;en? Why doe any of you give out &s;uch threatning &s;peaches what the Common-councell will doe before long? When will you be contented with the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of the truth of the mo&s;t high to declare it &s;elfe by? Is there never a wi&s;e man among you? never a good Souldier that can indure hardne&s;&s;e, that can fight the good fight of faith, which is only able to root out errour, even by the &s;word of the Spirit. I de&s;ire you may &s;ee, you are not at <HI>Dothan,</HI> but at <HI>Samariah.</HI> When wil you cea&s;e <HI>Nero</HI> like to kindle a fire in the Kingdome, and &s;ay the Independents have done it? when will you cea&s;e like <HI>Ahab,</HI> to &s;ay <HI>Elijah</HI> is the troubler of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> when it is your &s;elfe and your Fathers hou&s;e.</P>
<P>All your bitter threats, accu&s;ations, &s;landers, imprecations, nicknames, unju&s;t dealing, <HI>Machivillian</HI> plotting, moves me not: I de&s;ire your happine&s;&s;e; and that you may acknowledge your evill doing, and be a&s;hamed, &amp; do no more &s;o wicked|ly. I de&s;i e with all my heart, that you may &s;peedily unwrite that which you have either fal&s;ely or malitiou&s;ly written in your bookes, and write &s;o no more, then am I per&s;waded your volumnes will be much le&s;&s;e, a great deale cheaper and a|bundance better,</P>
<P>Yo tell us your books will be believed in after ages; If you prevail according to your prophe&s;ie, it is probable. So would <HI>Oxford Au<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> cu&s;&s;es</HI> had the Kings prevailed but they will be never the t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">er, becau&s;e believed by your owne party. That you may te&s;tifie unto all the world your de&s;i es that nothing but truth may be credi|ted.
<PB N="31" REF="18">
Bind up this with all the other an&s;wers to your bookes, that you intend to re|cord for po&s;terity. Triumph not becau&s;e al your &s;tories be not &s;uddenly an&s;wered: Co~&s;ider you have agents al over the Kingdom, many may not hear of your &s;tories, others may not have lea&s;ure at pre&s;ent; others thinke it not worth the while, be|ing per&s;waded you are re&s;olved to have the la&s;t word, right or wrong, and &s;o they envy you it not. What I have written, is in vindication of truth, in di&s;covery of errours, of your partiallity which if you &s;hall &s;ee, and acknowledge, that God may be gloryfied, I have gained my end.</P>
<P>You that are the free-borne People of <HI>England,</HI> take heed whom yee believe, and what you believe, you &s;ee your Mini&s;ters them&s;elves are &s;ubject to errours, li&s;ten not to them, neither to op<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">o&s;e the Parliament, or tho&s;e that God hath made famous; in &s;uffering &s;o much oppo&s;ition and contradiction for you, le&s;t you bring your &s;elves into that lamentable &s;lavery, as you had like to have done, by hearkning to the Bi&s;hops: Sacrifice not your liberties, lively-hoods, &s;ervants and Brethen, which have &s;acrificed their e&s;tates and blood for you, upon the lu&s;t, fury, pride, avarice, or ambition of any what&s;oever.</P>
<P>You that are called to be Saints, be not di&s;mayed nor di&s;couraged, think it not &s;trange to be reviled &s;landered and per&s;ecuted, for this hath been the portion of the Saints in all ages: <HI>Elijah</HI> was &s;landered by <HI>Ahab,</HI> to be the troubler of <HI>I&s;rael. Amos</HI> by <HI>Amaziah.</HI> The Prie&s;t of <HI>Bethel</HI> was accu&s;ed for con&s;piring again&s;t the King of <HI>I&s;rael, Amos</HI> 7.10. Thus did <HI>Haman</HI> &s;lander the <HI>Iewes,</HI> &s;aying they did not ob&s;erve the Kings Lawes. <HI>He&s;ter</HI> 3.8. Thus did fal&s;e witne&s;&s;es ri&s;e up again&s;t <HI>David,</HI> laying things to his charge that he knew not of. <HI>P&s;alm,</HI> 27, 12. <HI>P&s;alm,</HI> 35.11. Thus was two men, &s;ons of <HI>Belial,</HI> &s;et before hone&s;t <HI>Naboth,</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">eca<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;e he would not part with his birth-right, to beare fal&s;e witne&s;&s;e again&s;t him, &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ying thou didde&s;t bla&s;pheme God &amp; the King. Thus was <HI>Stephen</HI> by &s;uborned men, char|ged and accu&s;ed fal&s;ly, &amp; &s;uffered Martyrdome. Thus were the Apo&s;tles called &s;e|ducers, heretiques, deceivers, enemies to <HI>Cae&s;ar</HI> and the like. Oh be not you troubled, for your Lord &amp; Ma&s;ter the great Lord Ie&s;us, &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ffered the contradicti n of &s;inners; The <HI>Iewes</HI> accu&s;ed him fal&s;ly, and put him to death, through the fal&s;e &s;ugge&s;tion, and &s;landerous accu&s;ation of <HI>Caiaphas</HI> the high Prie&s;t, for bla&s;phemy. Follow your Ma&s;ter, <HI>ble&s;&s;e them that cur&s;e you, doe good to them that hate you, pray for them that di&s;pighfully u&s;e you,</HI> and per&s;ecute you; Render not Jeere for Jeere, taunt for taunt, an&s;wer not folly with folly, pa&s;&s;ion with p &s;&s;ion; But as much as in you lies, live peaceably with all men&punc; and the God of Peace &s;hall be with you, and Sathan the Prince of darknes, &s;hal &s;hortly be trampled under your feet And the Lord Je&s;us &s;hall be advanced, and you though de&s;pi&s;ed here, &s;hall at his com|ming, apeare with him in glory.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
