<!DOCTYPE ETS PUBLIC "-//UMDLPS//DTD EEBOPROOF 2.0//EN">
<ETS>
<TEMPHEAD>
<REVDESCR>
<CHANGE>
<DATE>7-12-10</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>John Latta</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Added TEMPHEAD, checked ID, and added TYPEs to DIVs in order to validate. Checked for N=""s. Checked for GROUP tags. Proofed title page; removed P FIGURE. Checked ^s. Reviewed structure; added part DIV2; changed Q to HEAD; added imprimatur DIV1. Checked placement and completeness of PBs. Checked for damage GAPs, #s, @s, oes, --s, and UNCLEARs. Corrected [dollar]s. Checked for &amp;cs with incorrect spacing. Checked for LBs. Checked for startqs and endqs, qs, abq's, Ae's, and Qs. Checked italic I / J and U / V. Checked for missing page GAPs. Checked for EPIGRAPHs and ARGUMENTS. Checked proofsheets and made corrections. Checked CLOSERs, TRAILERs, SIGNEDs, OPENERs, SALUTEs, BYLINEs. Sample: 2 minutes. Proofing: 10 minutes. Tag review and corrections: 10 minutes. DONE.</ITEM>
</CHANGE>
</REVDESCR>
</TEMPHEAD>
<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A85398">
<STC T="W">G1173</STC>
<STC T="T">E410_24</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99863948</BIBNO>
<VID>161216</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>INDEPENDENCIE GODS VERITIE: OR, THE NECESSITIE OF TOLERATION.</P>
<P>Unto which is added the chief Principles of the Government of INDEPENDENT CHURCHES.</P>
<P>Written by <HI>J. G.</HI> B. D.</P>
<P><HI>London,</HI> Printed for <HI>William Ley</HI> 1647.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="treatise">
<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<PB N="3" REF="2">
<HEAD><HI>Independency Gods Veritie:</HI> OR, The nece&s;sity of <HI>Toleration.</HI></HEAD>
<P>I Am not ignorant, that I am now entring the field, where many Combatants &s;tand ready to encounter me; but I hope the judicious Reader will not lay the crime of pre&s;umption to my charge becau&s;e I undertake in one &s;ingle &s;heet, to vindicate that which whole volumes have calumniated, nor that I devulge my thoughts in the defence of that which of late was &s;o much oppo&s;ed, even that which &s;o many learned and pious men, &s;urviving at this pre&s;ent, both in Towne and City, in Parlia|ment and Army, have &s;een to their grief trampled under foot, and to their joy exalted.</P>
<P>Many there are who hurried on with the violent &s;tream of their pa&s;&s;iions, if they but once hear Inde|pendency named with applau&s;e, like a gald hor&s;e, winch and kick, and bear down all before them: <HI>Edwards, Vicars,</HI> and <HI>Ba&s;twick,</HI> have wrote much but proved little or nothing of what they undertook; but like &s;ome unskilfull Statuaries, who in framing a Colo&s;&s;us, if they make it &s;traddle wide, look big, and gape, they imagine they have equalled Apelles his Ma&s;ter-piece; &s;o they, binding in one volume a whole bundle of invectives, framed again&s;t that,
<PB N="4" REF="3">
which in truth they are not able to oppugne, con|ceive they have framed pieces both la&s;ting and inimitable.</P>
<P>The grand Engin with which our adver&s;aries would beat downe Independency, is that Text of Scripture, <HI>Cor.</HI> 11. every one of you &s;aith, <HI>I am of Paul, I of Cephas, and I of Chri&s;t:</HI> But alas! they doe not con&s;ider, that this place maketh altogether again&s;t them; for in the&s;e words, we are given to under&s;tand, that there were in the Primitive times divers Churches and Congregations under &s;eve|rall Pa&s;tors, S. <HI>Paul</HI> doth not tax their manner of order, but reproveth tho&s;e contentious &s;pirits, that vaunted them&s;elves to be under a more reall Pa|&s;tor then others were, as that <HI>Paul</HI> exceeded <HI>Apollos</HI> in the gifts of the Spirit, <HI>Apollos Cephas,</HI> and a third depraving them all, and cau&s;ing a Schi&s;me, boa&s;ting hee and tho&s;e of his faction were the onely followers of Chri&s;t: &s;ome there are that imploy the&s;e words of S. <HI>Paul Cor.</HI> 10. to extirpate Independency root and branch, where he &s;aith, <HI>Now I be&s;eech you Brethren, by the Name of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that you all &s;peak the &s;ame thing, and that there be no divi&s;ions among&s;t you.</HI> I an&s;wer, that for us to take this &s;aying of S. <HI>Paul</HI> as a Precept, that all men mu&s;t be of one beleefe, and &s;peak one thing, is re|diculous; for it is impo&s;&s;ible and cannot be other|wi&s;e, but that while there are different men, there will be different minds, and that wil &s;eem good and right to &s;ome, which to others will appeare errone|ous and impious.</P>
<P><PB N="5" REF="3">Therefore Saint Paul mu&s;t be under&s;tood other|wi&s;e then &s;o, and to that end, we ought to con&s;ider that S Paul giveth this precept in reference to their temporall actions as well as their &s;pirituall perfor|mances, as it were per&s;wading them to pollicy, le&s;t by their divi&s;ions and factions, the heathen a|mong&s;t they then were conver&s;ant, might have ju&s;t occa&s;ion to de&s;pi&s;e their Wor&s;hip, and fit op|portunity to injure their per&s;ons; but let us grant that he &s;pake to them wholly, in reference to their &s;pirituall performances; yet it will not follow, that the Church of God ought to be tied in one knot, and kneaded in one lump; for the Church of God, though divided into di&s;tinct Congregations, as they were in the Primitive time, may &s;peak one and the &s;ame thing, although in different manner; and like birds that &s;ing divers notes yet make one harmony agree in one thing, though diver&s;ly deli|vered: be&s;ides if it were, as the&s;e men would have it, who profe&s;&s;e them&s;elves utter enemies to Tolerati|on, that every Chri&s;tian by the&s;e words, ought to be compelled to give outward obedience to what is injoyned, what &s;undry grievous, and dire inconveniencies may happen I &s;hall &s;et down:</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, That &s;ervice cannot be acceptable to God which is not performed with a willing mind, and a cur&s;e lies on him that dosthe work of the Lord neg|ligently, which mu&s;t inevitably happen if this cour&s;e were taken, to tyranize over mens Con&s;ci|ences.</P>
<P>Secondly, by compelling them, to do that which their Con&s;cience alloweth not, they &s;in again&s;t the
<PB N="6" REF="4">
cleer and de&s;tinate light of knowledge, and &s;o in part are guilty of the &s;in of the holy Gho&s;t; but now that all men may have a good conceit of us, and be incorporated with us, let him con&s;ider;</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, What a &s;weet and heavenly communion we have among&s;t our &s;elves, how nothing is at|tempted prejudiciall to tender Con&s;ciences; who though perhaps not re&s;olved in &s;ome points, yet Chri&s;t who alone ought to rule his Church, we know in his good time will informe them.</P>
<P>Secondly, That though we acknowledge Chri&s;t to be the only ruler of his Church, yet ye deve&s;t not the temporal Magi&s;trate of his power to puni&s;h all gro&s;&s;e crimes.</P>
<P>Thirdly, That we allow none to be capable of our Member-&s;hip, till we have had a &s;ufficient triall of their Conver&s;ation, and have heard the confe&s;&s;i|on of their Faith, and the evidences of the truth of their conver&s;ion, and till they have entred into a &s;o|lemne Covenant, and have the joynt a&s;&s;ent of the whole Congregation, whereby we come as neer as in us lies, to the forme ob&s;erved by the Church at Jeru&s;alem, Act. 1. 15.</P>
<P>But on the other &s;ide con&s;ider, our adver&s;aries, who are continually at variance among&s;t them|&s;elves, how they con&s;traine tender Con&s;ciences to obey their rigorous and Anti-chri&s;tian commands, how they be&s;tow on the temporal Magi&s;trate, the office belonging only to Chri&s;t, how they admit of all per&s;ons what&s;oever without the lea&s;t examina|tion, how their Mini&s;ters do deny, exclaime, and preach again&s;t Chri&s;ts kingly Government, how
<PB N="7" REF="4">
they and all the people under their Mini&s;tery, are unconverted, or at lea&s;t but in part, wanting the main thing, to wit, Chri&s;ts kingly office, men vi|&s;ibly out of the Covenant of Grace, who have not &s;o much, as an outward profe&s;&s;ion of Faith, and de|ny Chri&s;t to be their king.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The nece&s;sity of Toleration.</HEAD>
<P>PResbitery, is the rivall of Epi&s;copacy, but In|dependency is of another &s;traine, and admit|eth not of humane prudence in Church Govern|ment: for the Church which is of a &s;pirituall buil|ding, framed of &s;uch lively &s;tones, as are not of the world, nor of the wi&s;dome of the world, but foun|ded only upon the wi&s;dom of God, revealed in the word by his Spirit, is &s;ufficient to con&s;titute and and maintain a Church without any a&s;&s;i&s;tance from the Kingdomes of the world, who&s;e power they leave intire to it &s;elf, for the Bi&s;hops, and Presby|ters, by their Church pollicy, &s;tand Compettitors with the Magi&s;trate, to whom we leave all &s;ave on|ly the kingdome of Chri&s;t, (which him&s;elf hath &s;aid) is not of this world, and &s;o can be no trouble to it, unle&s;&s;e it be fir&s;t troubled by it.</P>
<P>But as the ca&s;e &s;tands now at pre&s;ent, Indepen|dency is the only line that can &s;tanch our wounds, the only damme that can &s;tay the inundation of blood, which is el&s;e likely to overwhelme us; for the very name of Presbitery, is hatefull to the peo|ple, and it were too &s;trange a relap&s;e to give them againe their Bi&s;hops and their Litturgy, and if ei|ther of the other be permitted, there can be nothing expected but murmurings, and cla&s;hings, if not o|pen
<PB N="8" REF="5">
mutinings, but if a Toleration were allowed, it would take away all occa&s;ions of tumults and Garboiles, for when every man is permitted to u&s;e his Con&s;cience according as he is per&s;waded in him&s;elfe, they will e&s;teem their burthens not halfe &s;o heavy as before, and be incouraged to yeild o|bedience to tho&s;e injunctions impo&s;ed on them by their Rulers, which otherwi&s;e is not to be expected from them; &s;o that it is not only convenient, but al&s;o very nece&s;&s;ary that there be a Toleration.</P>
<P>Again, any man the lea&s;t inlightned will di&s;pen&s;e with any compul&s;ive ordinance more tamely, then when he is con&s;trained in point of Religion, and we know well that the originall of our late Warre was the Bi&s;hops a&s;&s;uming to them&s;elves that po|wer, which Chri&s;t never gave them, to wit, Of compelling men to yeild obedience to what ever they impo&s;ed; and men now, are grown more va|rious in their opinions then ever before, and will be as ea&s;ily per&s;waded to for&s;ake their meat, as to re|lingui&s;h their Tenets; and moreover, it is come to that pa&s;&s;e, but by what meanes I will not que&s;tion, that every man e&s;teemeth it as properly his own, as any Immunity contained in Magna Charta, to u&s;e his Con&s;cience without controule; and when they &s;hall be debarred of what they have &s;o long injoy|ed and &s;o much covet to keep, what they may at|tempt let the wi&s;e judge; therefore there is not on|ly a rea&s;on, but al&s;o a nece&s;&s;ity of Toleration.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="imprimatur">
<P>Imprimatur</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>G. M.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
