<!DOCTYPE ETS PUBLIC "-//UMDLPS//DTD EEBOPROOF 2.0//EN">
<ETS>
<TEMPHEAD>
<REVDESCR>
<CHANGE>
<DATE>2010-08-04</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Greg Schutz</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Checklist:
x Add TEMPHEAD, change DATE, validate
x Add DIV TYPEs, validate
x Review structure, use FRONT, BODY, BACK, or rarely GROUP
x Check PB placement and completeness, ensure sequence of N=""
x Proof title page(s)
x Check HEAD TRAILER ARGUMENT EPIGRAPH OPENER CLOSER SIGNED SALUTE BYLINE
x Check ^, abq, italic I / J, _Initials, space between &amp;c.
x Check # @ -- UNCLEAR LB FIGURE ABBR
x Check q; startq endq Q
x Correct errors from proofsheet
x Correct illegibles from proofsheet
x Check illegible page, para, line, span, word, dollar signs
x Final validate

Corrected [ ] illegible groups out of [ ].
Converted [ ] illegible groups to GAP DESC="illegible".
DONE</ITEM>
</CHANGE>
</REVDESCR>
</TEMPHEAD>
<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A89853">
<STC T="W">N316A</STC>
<STC T="T">E703_4</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99872441</BIBNO>
<VID>124878</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<P><PB REF="1" MS="y">
SEVERAL PETITIONS ANSWERED, That were put up by the Prie&s;ts of WESTMORLAND, Again&s;t <HI>James Nayler</HI> and <HI>Geo. Fox,</HI> Servants of the mo&s;t High God, per&s;ecuted by the Prie&s;ts of the world, as Je&s;us Chri&s;t and the Apo&s;tles were per&s;ecuted by the Jewi&s;h high Prie&s;ts for the wit|ne&s;&s;ing of the truth, and te&s;tifying again&s;t the deceits of the world.</P>
<P>With the an&s;wer to an Order given forth by the ju&s;tices at <HI>Appleby</HI> Se&s;&s;ions, contrary to the Law of God, and the Laws of the Land.</P>
<P>Al&s;o, an exhortation to the people, to mind the light of God in them, the teachings and leadings of the Spirit of Truth; the which if it be obeyed, will lead and guide them into all truth.</P>
<Q>This is the condemnation, That light is come into the world, and men love darkne&s;s rather then light, becau&s;e their deeds are evill: He that loves the light brings his deeds to the light, that the light may prove them; but he that doth evill hateth the light, neither cometh he to the light, le&s;t his deeds &s;hould be reproved. But he that loveth the truth, and doth that which is righteous, cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manife&s;t, that they are wrought in God, <BIBL><HI>John 3. 19, 20, 21</HI> ver&s;es.</BIBL></Q>
<Q>Little Children, let no man deceive you, he that doth righteou&s;ne&s;s is righteous, even as he is righteous; he that committeth &s;in, is of the Divell: In this the children of God are mani|fe&s;t, and the children of the Divel, who&s;oever doth not righteou&s;ne&s;s, is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother, <BIBL><HI>1 Iohn 7, 8, 9, 10.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<Q>Marvell not if the world hate you, it hated me before it hated you, <BIBL><HI>Iohn 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">. 18.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<Q>Ble&s;&s;ed are you when men &s;hall hate you and when they &s;hall &s;eparate you from their company, and &s;hall reproach you, and ca&s;t out your name as evill, for the Son of Mans &s;ake, rejoyce ye in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, great is your reward in heaven, for in the like manner did their fathers unto the Prophets, <BIBL><HI>Luke 6. 22, 23.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<P><HI>London,</HI> printed for <HI>Giles Calvert,</HI> at the Black &s;pread Eagle at the We&s;t end of <HI>Pauls.</HI> 1653.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>An Epi&s;tle to the Reader.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Chri&s;tian Friends,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_REmember the words of our Lord and Saviour Je&s;us Chri&s;t, who &s;aid, the &s;ervant was not greater then his Lord, and &s;aith he, if they have per&s;ecuted me, they will per&s;ecute you al&s;o; and &s;aith he marvell not if the world hate you, it hated me before it hated you, if ye were of the world the world would love you, but becau&s;e I have cho&s;en you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you, but the&s;e are the fruits of darkne&s;s, that ari&s;eth from <HI>Cains</HI> genera|tion; they that are after the fle&s;h, t ey per&s;ecute them that are after the Spirit, it is the world that per&s;ecutes, and as they are in their naturall &s;tate and condition, they know not God, but are enemies both to him, and His, where he is made manife&s;t in Spirit; they that are in the corrupt nature are ignorant of him, according as it is written in the Epi&s;tle to the <HI>Corinthians,</HI> the naturall man knowes not the things of God, becau&s;e they are &s;piritually di&s;cerned, and no man knowes the Father but the Son, neither know|eth any man the Son but the Father and he to whom the Son reveals him; there is no knowing of God, but by the Revelation of his Spirit: but naturall men &s;uch as the
<PB REF="3">
Prie&s;ts of the world who are ignorant of God and are one|mies to him, being guided by the &s;pirit of error, &s;tanding up in actuall Rebellion again&s;t God, now that he is Reveal|ing his Son in the hearts of his people, and leading them by the Divine light of his holy Spirit out of Egypt, out of bondage and darkne&s;s wherein they have been held in the time of the fall, while the my&s;tery of iniquitie hath been working, and Antichri&s;t &s;itting in the Temple of God, as God, &s;hewing him&s;elf to be God, and the Prie&s;ts of the world have been ca&s;ting a mi&s;t before the eyes of the under&s;tand|ings of the people by their Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, which is but dung, and dro&s;&s;e, earthie, and ayrie, hath driven the people into earthly conceivings &amp; imagination, having no other knowledge of God but by conceiving and imagining of him, &amp; are of tho&s;e whom the Lord complains of by his &s;ervant the Prophet &s;aying, This people draweth near me with their mouth, and with their lips do they honor me, but their hearts is far from me, and their fear towards me is taught by the precepts of men, therefore thus &s;aith the Lord, I will gather tho&s;e that have been &s;cattered in the Cloudie and dark day, and I will teach them my &s;elf, and write my Law in their hearts, and put my Spirit in their inward parts; then &s;hall ye know that I the Lord have &s;po|ken it, and I will take you from among the hearthen, and gather you out of all Countries, and &s;prinkle clear water upon you, and clean&s;e you from all your uncleanne&s;s: a new heart al&s;o will I give you, and a new Spirit will I put with|in you, and I will cau&s;e you to walk in my &s;tatutes to do them, <HI>Ezek. 36.</HI> Chapter. Now the Lord is fulfilling his Promi&s;es made of old to the &s;eed of <HI>Abraham</HI> after the &s;pirit the Immortall &s;eed that is begotten not by the will of man but by the will of God, and born again of water and the &s;pirit, being &s;eparated from all uncleanne&s;s, and they that live in the filth of the fle&s;h, fulfilling the lu&s;ts
<PB REF="3">
thereof know them not that are born again, wa&s;hed and clean&s;ed, &s;anctified and justified, and are taught of God and made pertakers of the Divine nature, but are enemies to them, it is the &s;ame generation now that per&s;ecuts, that per&s;ecuted from the beginning, but it is but that the Scriptures may be fulfilled, the Bea&s;t &s;hall make War with the Saints, <HI>God</HI> and <HI>Magog</HI> joyns together in Battle again&s;t the Lamb, the Priests of the world are the greate&s;t per&s;ecutors of the truth of God. Now as the High Prie&s;t was when Je&s;us Chri&s;t came in the fle&s;h, the chief Priests were the greate&s;t per&s;ecutors of him then, &s;tirring up the Rulers, and Elders, and the rude multitude again&s;t him, calling him A deceiver and A bla&s;phemer and they &s;pued forth their envie again&s;t him in rai&s;ing fal&s;e witne&s;&s;es again&s;t him, and every way incen&s;ing the People again&s;t him to cry out to have him put to death, <HI>Saying, Crucifie him, Crucifie him, and let us have Barabbas let loo&s;e which was a murderer,</HI> and if thou do but Read this little en&s;uing treati&s;e thou &s;halt finde &s;omething worthy of thy labour being &s;ingle eyed, thou wilt be brought to &s;ee Antichri&s;t or the man of &s;in in A high mea&s;ure, the my&s;tery of iniquitie acting in the Prie&s;ts of the world, that do profe&s;&s;e them&s;elves to be the Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t, but are of the Synagogue of Satan, and are enemies to Je&s;us Chri&s;t where he is made manife&s;t and rai&s;ed up in the &s;pirits of any to te&s;tifie again&s;t their deceits wherein they do deceive the people, and are in the &s;ame &s;tate and condition that the Jewi&s;h High Prie&s;ts were in, that put Chri&s;t to death: as thou reade&s;t keep thy eye &s;ingle and be not Partiall, and thou &s;halt &s;ee that the battell is begun betwixt <HI>Michael</HI> and the Dragon, &amp; the Dragon he ca&s;teth forth floods of revil|ings and reproaches, and per&s;ecutions after the man childe Chri&s;t Je&s;us as he is ari&s;ing in the &s;pirits of his people, to
<PB REF="4">
&s;tifle him in the birth that he may not come forth to raign, and where he is Born up into the under&s;tandings of any ruling by the Divine Power of his Spirit in any, the Dragon with his &s;even golden heads, or the Prie&s;ts under &s;ever all Colours being the painted Bea&s;t that is gilded with their glorious notions, having painted them&s;elves over with the words of the Prophets and Apo&s;tles, that &s;uffered by &s;uch as they are of the &s;ame generation, who&s;e heart is deceitfull and that above mea&s;ure, being full of &s;ubtiltie, the Serpents head being unbrui&s;ed in them, they labour every way as the Jewi&s;h High Prie&s;ts did, to de&s;troy tho&s;e who are brought to walk in the &s;ame &s;tate and condition that the holy men of God did. In former ages, men that were blamele&s;s and harmle&s;s in their lives and conver&s;ati|ons were guided by the holy &s;pirit of God that ruleth in them, I know it by experience, being acquainted with them in their godly conver&s;ation, which tho&s;e Caini&s;h and Jewi&s;h &s;pirited Prie&s;ts goes about to ca&s;t dirt upon, making them odious to the world &s;tirring up the people in envie and ma|licion&s;ne&s;s again&s;t them, if it were po&s;sible to take away their lives, and the Jewi&s;h high Prie&s;ts &s;tirred up the rulers and Elders of the people again&s;t both Je&s;us Chri&s;t and the Apostles who were his true Ministers, to per&s;ecute, Impri|&s;on and put them to death, &s;o do the&s;e stir up not onely the rude people in envie and malice, but they &s;tir up the Par|liament and Rulers of the people by their fal&s;e petitions to incen&s;e them again&s;t a harmle&s;s and an innocent people to take away if not their lives, yet their liberties, but where the Lord doth appear in any of the Rulers of the people they will &s;ee into the wickedne&s;s of the Prie&s;ts that they are tho&s;e that per&s;ecute the Lord of life in his Saints and &s;ervants, and they do openly manife&s;t them&s;elves that they are none of the Mini&s;ters of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, for they
<PB REF="4">
did never per&s;ecute nor impri&s;on, but on the contrary were both per&s;ecuted and impri&s;oned, and &s;o are tho&s;e to whom Je&s;us Chri&s;t is made manife&s;t in &s;pirit, now the Lord is &s;etting up the Kingdom of his Son in the &s;pirits of his people, and the Kingdom of Antichri&s;t, Babylon, the my&s;tery of iniquity must be thrown down: take heed of holding up that which God will not have to stand, he is &s;etting up the mini&s;tery of his Son in the &s;pirits of his People, and throw|ing down the mini&s;tery of Antichri&s;t, which is the mini|stry of the world, as it is made manifest hey do openly appear to tho&s;e that have their eyes in their head. Now friend if thou do but read this with thy under&s;tanding thou &s;halt &s;ee that the&s;e per&s;ecuting Priests knowes nothing of God but are enemies to him, and are guided by the Spirit of error walking contrary to Christ and his Apostles, who were his true mini&s;ters and were guided by his holy Spirit, and &s;uffered by the mini&s;try of the word, as tho&s;e dear hearts do that are guided I am &s;ure by the Spirit of the Lord: and are as dear to him as the Apple of his eye, and if thou do but give thy diligence in reading to Read by the &s;ame guide that tho&s;e are led by that write the en&s;uing treati&s;e, it will bring thee to &s;ee the innocency and upright|nes of their blomeles lives and conver&s;ation that they are made to &s;uffer willingly for Righteou&s;nes &s;ake according to the command of Je&s;us Chri&s;t and walkers in his obedience, knowing that their reward is in Heaven, having their conver&s;ation in Heaven according to that of the Apo&s;tle in the third to the <HI>Philip. 20.</HI> And their affections being &s;et on things above and not on the earth &s;eeking a King|dom but not of this world, for were they of this world, the world would love its own, but becau&s;e they are cho&s;en out of the worlds ways and wor&s;hips, cu&s;tomes and fa&s;hions, being dead with Chri&s;t from the rudiments of the world,
<PB REF="5">
are brought to wor&s;hip God in &s;pirit being born again of water and the Spirit as <HI>John 3.</HI> and having their &s;ouls purified in yielaing abedience to the commands of the Spirit as the Saints had which more obedient to the &s;ame &s;pirit, which purified their &s;ouls, as in <HI>1 Pet. 1. 22, 23.</HI> Who were born again as the&s;e are, Children of the mo&s;t High God whom the world and the per&s;ecuting envious Frie&s;ts know not; for the &s;pirit that is in them, is not of God. becau&s;e it Iu&s;teth to envy bontrary to the Spirit of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, which is pure and holy, and is loving, as it is rai&s;ed up in any to rule and guide them, it beareth all the worlds Judgements, Re|proaches, Revilings, and Per&s;ecutions, and &s;uffereth with Joy, having the promi&s;e of this life, and that which is to come, thus &s;aith the Lord, woe to the wicked it &s;hall be ill with them, and they &s;hall be rewarded according to their doings as in I&s;aiah the 3. 10. But &s;ay unto the righteous it &s;hall be well with them, v. 11. and &s;aith Je&s;us Chri&s;t ble&s;&s;ed are you when men revile you, and per&s;ecute you and &s;ay all manner of evil again&s;t you falfly, as the Prie&s;ts do by tho&s;e innocent and harmle&s;s ones who are dear and precious in the &s;ight of God, and may rejoyce, for their reward is great in Heaven, according to that of our Saviour in <HI>Mat. 5. 10. 11. 12.</HI> And that of <HI>Peter:</HI> who &s;aith if ye be reproached for the name of Chri&s;t happy are you, for the &s;pirit of grace and of glory Re&s;teth on you, Rejoyce and be exceeding glad: all ye that love the Lord, Ble&s;&s;e ye the Lord, prai&s;e him and magnifie him for ever, for the Lord is glorifying him&s;elf and making his power known, and all the Crowns, of pride and vain glory, and fle&s;hly exaltation mu&s;t be thrown down, and the Son of his Love Rai&s;ed up and exalted in the hearts of his people to &s;it upon his Throne, Rejoyce for evermore.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>A Friend to the Truth of God, where it is made manife&s;t.
Richard Farnworth.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="5">
<DIV2 TYPE="introduction">
<HEAD>To the Right Wor&s;hipfull the Ju&s;tices of the Peace for the County of <HI>WESTMORLAND.</HI></HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">The Humble Petition of divers Ministers and other Inhabitants in the &s;aid County who earne&s;tly de&s;ire the Glory of God, and the Peace of his Church, and this Common-Wealth.</HEAD>
<P><HI>Humbly Sheweth,</HI></P>
<P>_THat <HI>James Nayler,</HI> and <HI>George Fox,</HI> men who&s;e Coun|try, habitation, profe&s;&s;ion, and condition, is to us generally unknown, meerly of their own accord, without any Pa&s;port, Licence, or Authority what|&s;oever, that they can &s;hew, or we ever heard of, have entered in to the County, and together with &s;ome others their companions and Pro&s;elytes, who are ri&s;en up among our &s;elves in it, have filled it in &s;ome parts with very &s;ad divi&s;ions and di&s;tractions, &s;tirred up much hatred, wrath, and &s;trife, even between the neare&s;t relations; and powerfully &s;educed multitudes of People from the Truth, and true wor&s;hip of God, to imbrace their own corrupt and dangerous Doctrines, and fol|low their pernicions wayes; which things are &s;o notoriou&s;ly known to all men, that live in the&s;e parts, that we need not here &s;ay any thing to acquaint your &s;elves with it.</P>
<P>And though the&s;e men tell people where they come, that they are &s;ent to them from God, to declare what he hath revealed in them, and labour to per&s;wade them that they come to them with the Authority of
<PB N="2" REF="6">
the Apo&s;tles of Chri&s;t, yet our &s;elves do confidently believe and know them to be wicked men, deceivers, and the very Mini&s;ters of Satan, as may appear,</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. By the Horrid Bla&s;phemies which they have uttered.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. By the damnable Here&s;ies and dangerous Errors which they have avouched.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>All which they tend not onely to the di&s;turbance of the publique Peace, and &s;afety of the Common wealth, but to the &s;ubver&s;ion of all Government, we do in all Humility addre&s;&s;e our &s;elves,</P>
<P>Humbly and earne&s;tly praying, as you tender the Glory of God, and the good of &s;o many &s;ouls as are or may be iudangered by their impious principles and practices, that you would be plea&s;ed to make u&s;e of that Authority where with the Lord hath Inve&s;ted you, &s;peedily to provide for the &s;afety of true Religion and the publique Peace, by checking the wicked endeavours, and proceedings of the&s;e men, which we humbly conceive may be at lea&s;t by ordering <HI>James Nayler,</HI> and <HI>George Fox,</HI> &amp;c. being &s;trangers to depart out of this County, and to return to their own homes. <HI>Francis Howgill</HI> to be of better deportment, &s;pecially to|wards the Magi&s;tracie and Mini&s;try of <HI>England,</HI> And by enjoyning <HI>John Ayrey, Alexander Dixon,</HI> and the re&s;t of the &s;peakers and followers that live in this County, to abide at their own Homes, &s;tudy to be quiet, and do their own bu&s;ine&s;s, labouring in their own calling, which is the Apo&s;tles rule, and not to wander up and down the Country, as Se|ducers, to draw Di&s;ciples after them, &s;ave only in a way of Travell as private men about their own occa&s;ions; and the Lords Gracious guidance of your &s;elves in the affairs of &s;o great concernment, we &s;hall ever pray, &amp;c.</P>
<P>This is a true Coppie of the pretended Mini&s;ters and profe&s;&s;ors in this County given up at the Court at la&s;t Se&s;&s;ions at <HI>Appleby.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="responses">
<PB N="3" REF="6">
<HEAD>Severall Petitions an&s;wered, that were put up by the Prie&s;ts of <HI>WESTMORLAND.</HI></HEAD>
<DIV3 TYPE="response">
<P><HI>Prie&s;t.</HI> _TO the Right Wor&s;hipfull the Ju&s;tices of the peace for the County of <HI>Westmor|land.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Them that are right, deny <NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 19. 27. John 5. 44. John 4. 22. Prov. 20. 3. Rev. 14. 7.</NOTE> all wor&s;hips, and wor&s;hip God, and ho|nor the Lord, <HI>All honour and glory be gi|ven unto the Lord.</HI> Now Man where is thy honour? Yet I honour all men in the Lord.</P>
<P><HI>Prie&s;t. Obj.</HI> The humble Petition of divers Mini&s;ters, and other inhabitants in the &s;aid County, who earne&s;tly de&s;ire the glory of God, and the peace of his Church, and this Commonwealth.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> The Mini&s;ters of God never put up a Peti|tion <NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. r. 1. John 18. 35.</NOTE> to an outward Magi&s;trate to maintain the Church of God. Here you &s;hew your Mini&s;tery is of man, and mu&s;t be upheld by an earthly power: and here you &s;hew that Church is carnal, and mu&s;t be maintained by a carnall weapon, as the Jews did, which came again&s;t
<PB N="4" REF="7">
<HI>Paul,</HI> and &s;aid he was <HI>a pe&s;tilent fellow,</HI> who did witne&s;s <NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 24. 5. Acts 17. 6. Col. 2. 17.</NOTE> forth the &s;ub&s;tance, Je&s;us Chri&s;t, of all the&s;e types and figures which the Jewes lived in, therefore his do|ctrine did overturn them, to the letting forth of the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 3 13. 1 Pet. 3. 19.</NOTE> &s;eed: for that Mind that held up the Figure, did not own the &s;ub&s;tance Je&s;us Chri&s;t, when he was come. Now all you pretended Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t, Je&s;us <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim 3. 5. Mark 3. 22.</NOTE> Chri&s;t is come and made manife&s;t in his Saints; you who have the form deny him, and the power, and &s;ome call it witchery, &s;ome of the Divell; but that Na|ture can do no other, for it is the &s;ame naure that was in the Jewes, who would maintain their way, and hold up their cu&s;tomes, and per&s;ecute him that was the &s;ub|&s;tance, and called him Divell: But the Church Je&s;us Chri&s;t is the head of, and the Church is the pillar and <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 3. 15. Col 1. 24. Rev. 5. 9.</NOTE> ground of truth, and Chri&s;t hath redeemed his Church with his blood, and who are redeemed by the pretious blood of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, are of the Church, and them I do witne&s;s, and not one of them &s;hall be plucked out of <NOTE PLACE="marg">John 10. 29.</NOTE> his hand, whom the Father hath given me, &s;aith Chri&s;t, <HI>John</HI> 10. 28, 29, 30, 31 My Father which gave me them is greater then all, and no man is able to pluck them <NOTE PLACE="marg">John 18. 36.</NOTE> out of my Fathers hands. I and my Father are one. Then the Iews took up &s;tones to &s;tone him, Chri&s;t hath no carnal weapon to maintain his Church, for his king|dom is not of this world.</P>
<P><HI>Pr. Obj.</HI> Humbly &s;heweth, that <HI>James Nayler</HI> and <HI>George Fox,</HI> men who&s;e countrey, habitation, profe&s;&s;ion and condition is to us generally unknown.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> It is true, our habitation is with the Lord, and our Countrey is not of this world, neither are our conditions known unto the world; for who had the power of truth was never known unto the world, where
<PB N="5" REF="7">
the &s;ame power is made manife&s;t, 'tis &s;o now, the world <NOTE PLACE="marg">John 15 19, 20 Heb. 11. 14, 15, 16. John 15. 18.</NOTE> knows them not, therefore they hate you, and per&s;ecute you, the Scripture's here fulfilled, As they have done unto me, &s;o will they do unto you, &s;aith Chri&s;t. Here the Scripture is fulfilled.</P>
<P><HI>Pr. Obj.</HI> Merely of their own accord, without any pa&s;port, or licen&s;e, or authority that they can &s;hew, or we ever heard of, entred into the County, and together with &s;ome others their companions and pro&s;elites ri&s;en up among our &s;elves.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> The Mini&s;ters of God never were &s;ent forth <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 23. 24. Gal. 1. 1. Jer. 23. 31, 32.</NOTE> by the authority of man: Here you &s;hew your &s;elves to be blind guides indeed, <HI>Paul</HI> an Apo&s;tle, not of man, nor by man, but by Ie&s;us Chri&s;t; neither was the Go|&s;pel he preached, according to man: and this do we witne&s;s, that our authority is not from man, neither our call from man; for he that &s;peaks of him&s;elf &s;peaks a lie; and all you who &s;peak, &amp; not from the mouth of the Lord, are fal&s; Prophets, and there you &s;hew your &s;elves to be no Prophets of the Lord, no Mini&s;ters of the Go|&s;pel; for if you were the Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel, and had not received it of man, nor your Go&s;pel according to man, then would ye witne&s;s us; for that which we preach, is not after man, neither according to mans will, but by the will of God: For we are not made Mini&s;ters by <HI>Oxford</HI> and <HI>Cambridge,</HI> for that we deny. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 1. 21, 12. Gal. 1. 1.</NOTE> We &s;tand condemned by you who are Mini&s;ters of the Letter, and not of the Spirit, who are Mini&s;ters by the will of man, and your Call and Authority is by the will of man.</P>
<P><HI>Obj.</HI> Hvae filled it in &s;ome parts with very &s;ad di|vi&s;ions.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Truth did make divi&s;ion when Deceit was at
<PB N="6" REF="8">
peace: For Chri&s;t &s;aid, I come not to &s;end peace on the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 10. 34, 35</NOTE> earth, but a &s;word, for I am come to &s;et a man at va|riance again&s;t his Father, and the daughter again&s;t her mother, the daughter in law again&s;t the mother in law, and here is the Scripture fulfilled.</P>
<P><HI>Pr. Obj.</HI> Stirred up much wrath and &s;trife, even be|tween the neere&s;t relation.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> It &s;eems hatred, wrath and &s;trife were within, now truth hath &s;tirred it up. When the &s;trong man ar|med keeps the hou&s;e, all the goods are at peace, till a <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat 3. 27. Luke 17. 20, 21.</NOTE> &s;tronger come and di&s;po&s;&s;e&s;&s;es him and &s;poyls his goods: and here is the Scripture fulfilled, where the <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 6. 19. 1 John 3. 8.</NOTE> power of truth dwels, and the Kingdom of God is come, who are indeed the Temples of God; the works of the Divell de&s;troyed, hatred, malice, wrath, &s;trife, here&s;ie and bla&s;phemy, pride, hypocri&s;ie and di&s;|&s;embling, where the truth rules, the&s;e are de&s;troyed; and where the&s;e rule truth rules not, and con&s;ider all you pretended Mini&s;ters what you have been doing all this while, that there is &s;o much wrath and &s;trife to be &s;tirred up, when the truth comes, for that is it that &s;ets at variance. O all people con&s;ider what blind guides you have been led withall, why &s;pend you your mo|ney for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which &s;atisfieth not? Ho every one that thir&s;teth, <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai. 55. 1, 2, 3.</NOTE> come freely, without mony and without price, hearken diligently unto me &s;aith the Lord, that your &s;ouls may live.</P>
<P><HI>Pr. Obj.</HI> And powerfully &s;educed multitudes of people from the truth.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Whereas we are accu&s;ed, as &s;educing people from the truth, it is fal&s;e: for how can they be in the truth who live in malice, cnvy, &s;trife, and wrath? for
<PB N="7" REF="8">
they that live in that nature are turned from the truth; which according to your own words much of that is <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 15. 9. Col. 2. 22. 1 John 2. 26, 27.</NOTE> &s;tirred up. The Lord hath &s;ent us, and made us to come into this County, to draw up people unto him|&s;elfe, from the Doctrines and Wor&s;hips of the world. <NOTE PLACE="marg">John 11 7.</NOTE> All people are &s;educed by you whom God hath never &s;ent; for I will prove by the Scriptures that you are &s;e|ducers, and draw people from the teaching within them, to follow your imaginations, what you can &s;tudy out of the letter which the holy men of God &s;poke forth freely, the which now you make a Trade of. And <HI>Iohn</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Joh. 2. 26, 27.</NOTE> &s;aid, The&s;e things have I written unto you concerning them that &s;educe you, you need not that any man teach you, but as the anointing teaches you all things. Now if an hundred, or a thou&s;and people &s;hould come and deny all you Prie&s;ts, and witne&s;s they had this anoin|ting within them; then this Scripture being fulfilled, <NOTE PLACE="marg">John 15. 25.</NOTE> and you denied, &s;uch you go about to per&s;ecute which witne&s;s this anointing within them, and need no man teach them. Herein you &s;hew that you have not the &s;ame &s;pirit that was in them that wrot that Epi&s;tle, but the &s;pirit of the world; the world did not know them then, which were taught by that anointing, but hated them, as you do now, them that witne&s;s the &s;ame an|nointing ye hate; ye are the Antichri&s;ts of this world, and hate them who are not of this world, and &s;eek to bring them from their teacher within, to follow you who go in the way of <HI>Cain</HI> to envy, and after the error <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jude 11.</NOTE> of <HI>Balaam.</HI> Here you &s;hew your &s;elves to be &s;educers, and &s;uch we do deny, but to every mans con&s;cience do we look to be made manife&s;t; and we do not &s;eek to draw any one from the anointing within them, but do exhort all there to wait and abide for the promi&s;e,
<PB N="8" REF="9">
which is eternall life to them that abide in the anoin|ting; <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 4. 2. 1 John 2. 25. 2 Tim. 3. 3.</NOTE> but you fal&s;e accu&s;ers are without, which the Scripture &s;peaks of.</P>
<P><HI>Pr. Ob.</HI> And from the wor&s;hip of God.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> That is fal&s;e, to &s;ay we draw any from the truth; for we can do nothing again&s;t the truth, but for the truth, as the Apo&s;tle &s;aith: but all corrupt wayes we deny and abhorre, and the wor&s;hip of the wicked we deny, who have not their names written in the Lambs Book of life, and God is not wor&s;hipped with mens hands, neither dwels he in Temples made with hands; and for witne&s;&s;ing this, <HI>Steven</HI> was &s;toned to death when the high Prie&s;ts examined him; which ge|neration you &s;hew your &s;elves to be, in the &s;ame nature, holding up outward Temples and Synagogues, which we deny, and &s;eek to draw people from the&s;e things. God is a Spirit, and he that wor&s;hips him mu&s;t wor|&s;hip him in &s;pirit and in truth, and this wor&s;hip we own, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 13. 8. Ioh. 4. 22, 25. Acts 19. 27, 24</NOTE> and draw people to it up to God from all bea&s;tly wor|&s;hips, outward Cu&s;tomes imitated of man, which is an abomination unto the Lord.</P>
<P><HI>Pr. Ob.</HI> To imbrace their corrupt and dangerous do|ctrines, and pernitions ways; which things are &s;o noto|riou&s;ly known to all men that live in the&s;e parts, that we need not here &s;ay any thing to acquaint your &s;elves with it.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Corrupt Doctrines &amp; pernicious ways we deny, which are all your ways you proud <HI>Baals</HI> Prie&s;ts, for <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 2. 2. 15. 2 John 1. 9. Luke 7. 9.</NOTE> he that doth abide in the Doctrine of Chri&s;t, hath God, and he that doth not abide in the Doctrine of Chri&s;t, is of the Divell: Ie&s;us Chri&s;t is made manife&s;t, who witne&s;&s;es forth the eternall truth to poor &s;ouls, who have lived in darkne&s;s and blindne&s;s the&s;e many
<PB N="9" REF="9">
hundred years have the dark mini&s;tery reigned, but now the God of power is uttering his thunders, and <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 10. 34.</NOTE> making his power known, and the eternal word of God is made manife&s;t in us, this we witne&s;s, which we preach forth, to the glory of our Father, Prai&s;es, prai&s;es be un|to thee alone Lord God Almighty, who art now &s;et|ting up thy own Kingdom. And the &s;ame judgement do ye give upon us as the Jews did upon Chri&s;t and the Apo&s;tles; for the Apo&s;tle while he was in the Jewi&s;h Religion, in their outward wor&s;hip, as you are now, they looking for a Chri&s;t coming without them, as you do now (at which time) <HI>Paul</HI> was at peace with them; but when he did preach Ie&s;us Chri&s;t that was revealed <NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 21. 27, 28, 30.</NOTE> in him, then they haled him out of the Temple, and per&s;ecuted him, &amp; could not own nor beleeve what was revealed in him: &s;o if any &s;hould come among&s;t you now, and tell you that God dwels not in Temples made <NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 17. 24, 25.</NOTE> with hands, neither was he wor&s;hipped with mens hands, ye would hate them, beat them, or &s;tone them, as they did the Apo&s;tles. This ye do that the Scripture might be fulfilled, The time &s;hall come, when they &s;hal <NOTE PLACE="marg">John 16. 2.</NOTE> put you out of their Synagogues, and &s;hall hale you be|fore Magi&s;trates, and who &s;hall kill you will think he doth God good &s;ervice: And do not you &s;hew your &s;elves openly to be of this generation? Will you have another meaning for the Scriptures? There are but two ways, the one is pure and leads up to the Father; the other &s;tands pretending God and Chri&s;t, which way you are in, per&s;ecuting us who po&s;&s;es the truth. Here's <NOTE PLACE="marg">John 8. 41, 33. Luke 13. 24.</NOTE> the &s;tand.</P>
<P><HI>Pr. Ob.</HI> And though the&s;e people, tell people where they come, that they are &s;ent to them from God to de|clare what he hath revealed in them, and labour to
<PB N="10" REF="10">
per&s;wade them that they come to them with the Au|thority of Chri&s;t and of the Apo&s;tles, yet our &s;elves do confidently beleeve and know them to be wicked men, deceivers and the very Mini&s;ters of Satan, as may ap|pear.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Our call we witne&s;s is of the Lord, not by man, that makes you who&s;e call is by man &s;o per&s;ecute <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 23. 33. 34. Gal. 1. 1. 1 Cor. 1. 26. 27. 28.</NOTE> us; your own will is &s;tanding, you rage again&s;t any that come contrary to the will of man, if ever you witne&s;s that call whereby all the Prophets and Apo&s;tles were and are &s;ent, you will not que&s;tion our Authority, the Lords work is &s;pirituall, 'tis him alone that fits them, and furni&s;hes them with power from on high to bear witne&s;s to the Truth: and whereas you &s;ay before, that you know not our Country nor condi|tions, yet here you &s;ay that we are wicked men and deceivers, yea the Mini&s;ters, of Satan, it &s;eems you care not what you &s;ay, but &s;ay and un&s;ay any thing to root out the innocent, you are lyars, and are with|out <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 22. 15. I&s;a. 54. 17. Mat. 26. 65.</NOTE> among dogs, murderers, &s;orcerers, whoremongers, who&s;e portion is in the lake your weapons that you form again&s;t the truth will not pro&s;per, but the Lord hath di&s;covered you to &s;ome, and is rai&s;ing up a light, whereby your deceits will be laid open, with evill <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jam. 2. 4.</NOTE> thoughts ye judge, who are the Mini&s;ters of Satan, and by the wicked imaginations of your own hearts, counts truth bla&s;phemie, and puts light for darkne&s;s, as ever the Prie&s;ts did.</P>
<P><HI>Pri. Obj.</HI> 1. By their horrid bla&s;phemies, which they have uttered, &s;econdly by their damnable Here&s;ies and dangerous errours, which they have avouched.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Bla&s;phemy and Here&s;ie whereof we are accu&s;ed we do deny, that which is fal&s;e and errors we deny, for
<PB N="11" REF="10">
they are without God, and that is your own conditions <NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 2. 12.</NOTE> and there ye live without God in the world, and who are <NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 4. 32.</NOTE> in the truth are of one mind and one heart, now all the Prie&s;ts &s;ee, which pretend Gods and faith, whether you be in one faith, which if you do con&s;ider, (faith which is the gift of God) ye know it not, it cannot be bought and <NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2. 8. Act. 8. 19. 20. 21.</NOTE> &s;old for monie, And &s;hew me in the Scripture that ever the Prophets, or Apo&s;tles had a &s;et way of the world, or &s;eeked to the world for augmentations or tithes, do <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 10. 8.</NOTE> not ye &s;hew here the &s;pirit of error, erring from the way of the Apo&s;tles, And do ye not &s;hew your &s;elves in the &s;ame generation of them that <HI>Peter</HI> &s;poke of who live in wickedne&s;s, and go after the error of <HI>Baalam</HI> and <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 2. 13. 14. 15.</NOTE> in the way of <HI>Cain</HI> to per&s;ecute the righteous &s;eed where it is come: here thou make&s;t but a rod for thy own back who liveth in uncleanne&s;s, &s;porting in the day <NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro. 26. 3. Jude 10. 2 Pet. 2. 13.</NOTE> time, fea&s;ting, rioting, and &s;uch are as naturall bruit bea&s;ts, and what they know they know naturally, who&s;e Judgement lingers not, who&s;e damnation &s;lumbers not, wo unto you, for you go in the way of <HI>Cain,</HI> and the Lord is coming in power, to pour his plagues upon the bea&s;t, you bea&s;ts who doe not abide in the truth.</P>
<P><HI>Pri. Obj.</HI> All which tends not onely to the di&s;turb|ance of the publique peace, and fafety of the Common|wealth, but to the &s;ubver&s;ion of all government.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> That is fal&s;e, it is not our intention to de&s;troy the Commonwealth of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> for a Commonwealth <NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2. 12.</NOTE> is to bring up all into purity and Ju&s;tice, righteou&s;ne&s;s we &s;et up, own and honour in our &s;ouls for con&s;cience &s;ake; And Ju&s;tice is to keep peace, and that we own, Ju&s;tice is not to make &s;trife, nor debate, but to keep peace, and he bears not the &s;word in vain, but he that doth pretend Ju&s;tice, and is partiall, and hath an evil
<PB N="12" REF="11">
eye, and rules with his own will and tyrannic, that we <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer 25. 10. Ho&s;ea 4. 2. 2 Tim. 3 4. Prov. 21. 22. Prov. 28. 9. Prov. 15. 8. 9. Rom. 8. 22. P&s;al. 146. 9. Rom. 13. 12.</NOTE> deny, for the Commonwealth is de&s;troyed for want of Ju&s;tice, the Land mourns becau&s;e of Oathes, the Land mourns becau&s;e of wickedne&s;s, drunkennes, fight|ing and wrangling carding and diceing, &s;hovelbord and bowling, all the&s;e filthy plea&s;ures ye lu&s;tfull ones which holds them up we deny, for this cau&s;e the Creation grones, but Ju&s;tice we own, let every &s;oul be &s;ubject to the higher power for all power is of God, that &s;oul is &s;ubject to the power of God, all the&s;e works are de|nied, and this Ju&s;tice which keepes peace, and righte|ou&s;ne&s;s we own, honour and &s;et up in our &s;ouls.</P>
<P><HI>Pri. Obj.</HI> We do in all humility adre&s;s our &s;elves humbly and earne&s;tly praying as you tender the glory of God.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> The prayers of the wicked are abomination to the Lord, and your humility is fained, it crouches <NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 12. 22. Prov. 28. 9. Col. 2. 18. P&s;al. 146. 9.</NOTE> to one and per&s;ecutes another, here you &s;hew your &s;elves to be no Mini&s;ters of Je&s;us, Chri&s;t, for your weapons are carnall ours &s;pirituall &s;ayes the Apo&s;tle ca&s;ting down &s;pirituall wickedne&s;&s;es in high places, which we wit|ne&s;s: and here you &s;hew not the &s;ame &s;pirit that was <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 John 4. 6.</NOTE> in the Apo&s;tles, but of error.</P>
<P><HI>Pr. Obj.</HI> And the good of &s;o many &s;ouls as are, and may be indangered by their impious principles and practi&s;es, that you would be plea&s;ed to make u&s;e of that Authoritie wherewith the Lord hath inve&s;ted you &s;peedily to provide for the &s;afety of true Religion and the publique peace.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> If you be Mini&s;ters of God, ye are to watch <NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 13. 17.</NOTE> for the &s;ouls, tell me how many &s;ouls ye have led out of death, but you are in the fle&s;h, and your Mini&s;try is carnall, <HI>Cain</HI> is alive in you, and the &s;oul ye know
<PB N="13" REF="11">
not, for it is in the death, therefore di&s;&s;emble not thou deceiver, telling people of a &s;oul, for thou art him that keepes in the death, and &s;huts the Kingdom of Heaven <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 23. 13. Jam. 5 6. Acts 7. 52.</NOTE> from again&s;t men and knowes not the &s;oul, for that is &s;hut up from thy under&s;tanding, that minde &s;hall never know it, thou art a murderer of the ju&s;t, and watche&s;t for thy means, and if meu will not give it thee, thou fues them at the law, therefore do&s;t thou u&s;e carnall weapons to maintain thee, in thy carnall Mini&s;try it &s;hewes thy weapons to be carnall and not &s;pirituall, &s;hewing thy Kingdom to be of this world, And here doth, not thou &s;hew forth damnable doctrines; for &s;hame blu&s;h.</P>
<P>Impious principles, and practi&s;es we deny, they are your own, which keepes poor &s;ouls in death; your preaching the carnall Letter to the carnall minde, and your carnall weapons will not maintain you, but you &s;eek to a Magi&s;trate, here you &s;hame your profe&s;&s;ion, for where the truth is &s;pringing, the pure &s;eed ari&s;ing, you cannot &s;uppre&s;s it with your carnall weapon the Letter; then you run to a Magi&s;trate without to &s;uppre&s;s it, while we all lived under your Mini&s;try, and what you &s;poke we took it for truth as being naturally blind, hearing you blind then you owned us, but God now <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 15. 14.</NOTE> of his infinite love and mercy according to his promi&s;e hath gathered us, who have been &s;cattered in the cloudy and dark day, following &s;uch &s;hepherds as you which fed your &s;elves, and cloathed your &s;elves with the wooll, made a prey upon us and &s;ought for the Fleece, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezek. 24 12. 13. 14. 8. 10.</NOTE> but God as he hath &s;aid, he hath fulfilled, I will ga|ther my &s;heep from their mouthes, and my &s;heep &s;hall be a prey no longer unto them, and will feed them in a good pa&s;ture, and we witne&s;s the Scripture fulfilled,
<PB N="14" REF="12">
therefore do you hate us, and &s;eek to per&s;ecute them in whom Je&s;us Chri&s;t is made manife&s;t, but it is that the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 4. 29. 2 Tim. 3. 12.</NOTE> Scripture might be fulfilled, he that is born after the fle&s;h per&s;ecutes him that is born after the &s;pirit, and if any man live godly in Chri&s;t Je&s;us he mu&s;t &s;uffer per|&s;ecution; here the Scripture is fulfilled, you &s;hew your &s;elves to be carnall indeed you mu&s;t have an outward Authoritie to rule your Religion, for &s;hame give over your profe&s;&s;ion, for pure Religion he that lives in it, and walkes in it, hath power over his own tongue, and is kept un&s;potted from the world, and doth vi&s;it the fa|therle&s;s, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jam. 1. 26. 27.</NOTE> widowes and &s;trangers, and this hath not an outward power to order it, but is guided and ordered by the &s;pirit of the Lord, to the Lord him&s;elf, to whom be prai&s;es for ever, and &s;uch we own in our &s;ouls, and &s;uch ye &s;eek to per&s;ecute, and in&s;tead of relieving and <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 8. 14.</NOTE> receiving &s;trangers, you give them a report or &s;candall, as wanderers, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, who preached the everla&s;ting Go&s;pel, the world knew not, and who for&s;ook their own country and &s;ought for another, whom the world was not worthy of, and you <NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 11. 38. Heb. 13. 1. 1 Tim. 5. 10.</NOTE> &s;hew your &s;elves to be of that generation, he that was a mini&s;ter of God did exhort to receive &s;trangers, by that means &s;ome received Angels, and the &s;ame eternal word hath God made manife&s;t, and &s;ent his &s;ervants to witne&s;s it forth, and to warn you all of wo and mi&s;ery that will come upon all uncleanne&s;s, and ungodline&s;s, and &s;ome of them you pri&s;on, &s;ome of them you beat <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 10. 17. Mat. 27. 1. 20. Mat. 26. 3. 4.</NOTE> and mock, and &s;courge in your Synagogues, and &s;ome of them you hale before Magi&s;trates; And the chief Prie&s;ts were ever the ringleaders to &s;lay the righteous &s;eed where it was born, wherein the Scriptures come to be fulfilled, and you &s;hew the fulfilling of them upon
<PB N="15" REF="12">
the children of the Lord, and the words of Je&s;us Chri&s;t true, but he is coming who bears the government upon <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a, 9. 6. P&s;al. 23. 1. Col. 1. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">8. 1 The&s;. 1. 1.</NOTE> his &s;houlders, he alone will rule them, who rules all nations with a rod of iron, he alone will be their teacher, and their Shepherd, he alone rules his Church, who is the head, but this Church is not of this world, nor maintained by any weapon of this world, the true Church is in God, yours vvithout vvho maintain it with a carnall vveapon, you vvould have a &s;peedy &s;up|pre&s;&s;ing of the truth, vvhere it is ri&s;en, here you &s;hevv your &s;elves to be of that number vvho call evil good <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 5. 20. Acts 13. 50. Acts 22. 22.</NOTE> and good evil, and even the generation of them, that vvould ever have had truth &s;uppre&s;&s;ed, when it was ri|&s;en, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Amos 7. 12.</NOTE> as they &s;aid to Chri&s;t depart out of our coa&s;ts, as they &s;aid to <HI>Paul,</HI> 'tis not fit &s;uch a fellow &s;hould live upon the earth, as to <HI>Amos,</HI> go thy way into <HI>Judah</HI> pro|phecie there thatvvas the Kings chappell, and he told them the &s;ongs of the Temple &s;hould be turned into <NOTE PLACE="marg">Amos 8. 3. pla. 119. 120.</NOTE> howling, &s;o &s;hall that nature, which hath turned <HI>Davids</HI> quakings and trembling into meeter, when ye read them, hats ye keep on, and vvhen ye &s;ing them hats ye put off, and wor&s;hip the vvorks of your own hands, &s;hewing the &s;pirit of error.</P>
<P><HI>Pr. Obj.</HI> By the checking the vvicked endeavours and proceediugs of the&s;e men.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> That is the bla&s;phemer indeed vvhich vvould have the truth chect, and be limitted, It is vvritten the bea&s;t &s;hall bla&s;pheme God and his Temple, And <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 13. 6.</NOTE> God hath rai&s;ed up a light in many that are Ju&s;tices to reprove that nature in you vvhich is fawning and flat|tering, and you will fawn upon them, vvhile they vvill <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mica. 3. 5.</NOTE> give you means, but if they give you no means, then you prepare vvar again&s;t them.</P>
<P><HI>Pr. Obj.</HI> Which vve humbly conceive may be at
<PB N="16" REF="13">
lea&s;t by ordering <HI>James Nayler</HI> and <HI>Geo. Fox,</HI> being &s;trangers, to depart out of this County, and to return unto their own homes.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> You pretended Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t, which do but conceive with an earthly power to hinder the pro|ceedings of that which you conceive to be error, which is the eternall truth; and which conceivings ari&s;e out of pride: Here it &s;hews that you have not an infallible judgement, and as it is written, God will &s;catter the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 1. 15.</NOTE> proud in their imaginations: and there is your por|tion. All people though you now de&s;pi&s;e us, and ca&s;t reproches &amp; &s;landers upon us, ye &s;hal eternally witne&s;s us; but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, There &s;hall be fal&s;e accu&s;ers, incontinent, fierce, de&s;pi&s;ers of them that are good, having a form of godline&s;s, and <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3. 3, 4, 5, and &s;o on.</NOTE> denying the power thereof, vvhich the Apo&s;tle &s;aw then creping into hou&s;es, leading &s;illy women captive, always learning, never able to come to the knowledge of the truth, and this doctrine hath &s;pread abroad, and ye are in it, having the form are not the people yet lear|ning &s;illy vvomen, indeed &s;ome thirty years learning, &s;ome fourty, &s;ome fifty, &s;ome &s;ixty years learning, yet mu&s;t be taught &s;till, therfore you and your doctrine we utterly deny: For as the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, ye need not that <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 John 2. 20, 27. 1 John 3. 13.</NOTE> any man teach you, you know all things; but the&s;e vvere not of the vvorld, nor are they of this vvorld, vvho vvitne&s;s this teaching, nor the Teachers.</P>
<P><HI>Pr. Object. Francis Howgill</HI> to be of better de|port, e&s;pecially towards the Magi&s;tracie and Mini&s;te|rie of <HI>England.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Would you have <HI>Francis Howgill</HI> to be like unto the World your &s;elves? Is he going from the power and prince of the air, which rules in you, the
<PB N="17" REF="13">
children of di&s;obedience, therefore you hate him. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 2. 2. Iohn 15. 19.</NOTE> Ju&s;tice he owns, which cuts down corruption, which brings all into an upright carriage and righ|teous way towards God and man: this he owns and honors in his &s;oul; the Mini&s;ters of God he owns, and &s;uch as bear rule by their means, as <HI>Ie|remy</HI> cried out again&s;t, &s;o do I, and &s;uch as are gre|dy dumb doggs, which &s;eek for their gain from <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 5. 30. 31. I&s;ai. 56. 10, 11</NOTE> their Quarters, which <HI>I&s;a.</HI> &s;poke again&s;t I &s;peak a|gain&s;t; and &s;uch as are hirelings, which <HI>Micah</HI> cried out again&s;t, I cry out again&s;t; and &s;uch as &s;eek for the fleece, and cloath with the wooll, and feed them&s;elves with the fat, and kill <NOTE PLACE="marg">Exck. 34. 2, 3.</NOTE> them that are fed, <HI>Ezekiel</HI> cried out again&s;t &s;uch, and fo do I, the pure &s;eed being made manife&s;t in me, lets me &s;ee you to be &s;uch now, &s;ee if you can excu&s;e your &s;elves. And all &s;uch as who lay heavie burdens upon the people, and &s;ay they are Mini|&s;ters of Chri&s;t, and act tho&s;e things which Chri&s;t forbids, I deny: For, &s;aith Je&s;us Chri&s;t, they are called of men Ma&s;ters, and have the chiefe&s;t places in the A&s;&s;emblies, &s;tand praying in the Syna|gogues, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 23. 4, 5, 6, 7, 14. Matth. 6. 5.</NOTE> who&s;e prayers are heatheni&s;h, and love the uppermo&s;t rooms at fea&s;ts and love greetings in the market: and under a pretence make long prayers, devouring Widows hou&s;es. A Widow hath no husband, and Chri&s;t cryed woe again&s;t all &s;uch, woe was their portion, they painted them|&s;elves with other mens words; painted &s;epulchers, full of poy&s;on within; woe was their portion, and there you are, woe is your portien; he that upholds that which Chri&s;t cried out again&s;t, is an Antichri&s;t, and would you have him uphold An|tichri&s;t,
<PB N="18" REF="14">
and deny Chri&s;t? the world never received <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> but <HI>Antichri&s;t.</HI> The Apo&s;tle &s;aith, They go in <NOTE PLACE="marg">Iude 11.</NOTE> the way of <HI>Cain,</HI> and run greedily after the error of <HI>Balaam,</HI> wo unto them: Are not all the Prie&s;ts here? And would you have this &s;et up, which all <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Iohn 4. 1, 2, 3</NOTE> the Prophets, Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles cried out a|gain&s;t? Where the &s;ame Spirit is made manife&s;t, it &s;ees you all in error, bla&s;pheming God and his Temple.</P>
<P><HI>Pr. Obj.</HI> And by enjoyning <HI>Tho. Ayrey,</HI> and <HI>A|lexander Dixon,</HI> and the re&s;t of the &s;peakers and fol|lowers, that live in this County, to abide at their own hou&s;es, &s;tudy to be quiet, and do their own bu&s;ine&s;s, labouring in their own calling, which is the Apo&s;tles Rule, and not to wander up and down the countrey as &s;educers, to draw Di&s;ciples after them, &s;ave onely as privat men in way of travell about their own occa&s;ions.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;. Tho. Ayrey,</HI> and other friends, whom you would have to abide in their own callings, according to the Apo&s;tles Rule, and &s;tudy <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 7. 20. 2 The&s;&s;. 2. 3.</NOTE> to be quiet, that they own, but the witne&s;&s;ing forth of the truth doth di&s;turb the man of &s;inne, which makes it now appear; he that is called of the Lord being a &s;ervant, is the Lords freeman; like wi&s;e he that is called being free, is Chri&s;ts &s;er|vant; ye are bought with a price, but be not ye the &s;ervants of man. Brethren, let every one wherein he is called of the Lord, there abide with the Lord. This call is a holy call, which calls into <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 7. 22, 23, 24.</NOTE> holine&s;s and righteou&s;ne&s;s, without which none &s;hall &s;ee the Lord; and this call is not of man. And the Apo&s;tles Rule we do own and witne&s;s; but as
<PB N="19" REF="14">
for &s;educing people we deny, it is your own pra|ctice, we were all &s;educed by you, till God did en|lighten <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 2. 9. Iob 33. 30.</NOTE> us, &amp; bring us out of darkne&s;s into his mar|vellous light, by which we te&s;tifie again&s;t all the works of darkne&s;s; and all who are brought into this light, are one in unity, &amp; as the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Iohn 1, 7. Iude 20. I&s;a. 54. 13.</NOTE> exhort one another daily as the light doth appear, building up one another in the mo&s;t holy faith; and all the children of God &s;hall be taught of the Lord, and great &s;hall be the peace of them.</P>
<P>And the Saints went from hou&s;e to hou&s;e, who were as one &s;oul, and met together in &s;inglene&s;s of <NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 4. 32: Acts 2. 46.</NOTE> heart; here you &s;hew your &s;elves to be deniers of the practices of the Apo&s;tles, and of the Saints, and would tread it under foot, and &s;hew forth a bea&s;tly nature, under the pretence of humility, which is meer hypocri&s;ie, and no good at all to poor &s;ouls, nor for Ju&s;tice, nor for the Common-wealth, nor for pure Religion, nor for the Church of God, nor for godline&s;s; but onely for your carnall &s;tates, and for fear of lo&s;ing your carnall means, doe you rage; for they that own pure Religion, own us, the Church of God owns us, and they that own ju&s;tice own us; and who owns the Prophets, Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles, own us; but you who have their forms, and not their power, per&s;ecute us, &s;o &s;hewing your &s;elves to be haters of the truth. The Apo&s;tles Rule and u&s;e was, to go up <NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 28. 19.</NOTE> and down the countrey, who were Mini&s;ters of God, and rejoyce in them whom he had made Mi|ni&s;ters to witne&s;s forth the truth, and did plainly declare they had no certain dwelling place. How dare you take the Apo&s;tles for your cloke, and
<PB N="20" REF="15">
their words, and act contrary to their life, they were guided by the Spirit of the Lord, and they did draw Di&s;ciples after them, out of the world and earthly mindedne&s;s, in whom the &s;ub&s;tance of all Types and Figures was made manife&s;t, they <NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 4. 32. 2 Tim. 4. 10.</NOTE> had one heart, one minde: &s;ome indeed did for|&s;ake them, and imbraced the pre&s;ent world, as <HI>Demas:</HI> &s;o would you have us to for&s;ake the power of truth, and imbrace the pre&s;ent world; then we &s;hould not abide in the calling, wherein we are called of the Lord. See what a confu&s;i|on is in your words.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>And for the Lords gracious guidance of your &s;elves in the affairs of &s;o great concernment, we &s;hall ever pray.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> You are blinde without the truth, and <NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 28. 9.</NOTE> your prayers are an abomination unto the Lord, and they who have the gracious guidance of the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Tit. 2. 11, 12.</NOTE> Lord will witne&s;s us; for the free grace of God that brings &s;alvation, you have turned into wan|tonne&s;s, it teacheth them to deny ungodline&s;s and worldly lu&s;ts, them we own; where this grace doth guide, we have unity with them; but where this free grace hath appeared, and is turned into wantonne&s;s, them we deny, and there is your conditions: the grace of God hath ap|peared in many of the Ju&s;tices, which hath brought them from under your bondage, which will not be your Executioners, to execute your wrath and malice upon the harmle&s;s, innocent people: It hath been of late, that they who lived under your Mini&s;try, the Lord alone was plea&s;ed to manife&s;t him&s;elf in them, &s;o that they
<PB N="21" REF="15">
are brought to deny you, and declare what was freely revealed in them; pre&s;ently you cryed out again&s;t them, and had them before Magi&s;trates to &s;uppre&s;s the truth, prai&s;ed be the Lord who hath enlightened many by, and with his own light, and is &s;etting up his own Kingdom to his own glory; prai&s;es, prai&s;esbe unto the Lord God <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 15.</NOTE> Almighty: never did the Apo&s;tles go to any Ma|gi&s;trate to &s;uppre&s;s people, &s;trangers, who wit|ne&s;&s;e forth the power of truth in any; where it appears, that you have not the &s;ame Spirit that was in them: It is the evil in you which would have the truth it &s;elf &s;uppre&s;&s;ed. It is of great concernment for you to &s;tand up to maintain your Kingdom; for if truth ri&s;e, ye &s;hall lo&s;e your Kingdom, eternally &s;hall you witne&s;s us to be no Seducers, be ye witne&s;&s;es again&s;t your &s;elves, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 23. 31.</NOTE> that ye are witne&s;&s;es again&s;t the power of truth.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="response">
<HEAD>Another Petition put up by the Prie&s;ts in <HI>We&s;tmerland.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>Prie&s;ts Petition.</HI> TO the Right Honorable, the Ju&s;tices of peace for this County of <HI>We&s;t|merland.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> That which is Right Honorable, is that which is pure, which is of God, which wor&s;hips the Father of heaven and earth; now all people fear <NOTE PLACE="marg">John 5. 41; 44.</NOTE> the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and &s;ee if there be not cor|ruption within, that would be honored and wor|&s;hipped,
<PB N="22" REF="16">
as ye read in all the Scriptures; they who honored the Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, cryed again&s;t deceits; and Ie&s;us Chri&s;t te&s;tified again&s;t the works of the world; and the Apo&s;tles te&s;tified again&s;t the &s;ame; but that which was pure, they <NOTE PLACE="marg">John 7. 7.</NOTE> &s;et up in their &s;ouls, and &s;o do we, and honor in our &s;ouls.</P>
<P><HI>Prie&s;ts Petition.</HI> The humble Petition of &s;eve|ral Gentlemen, Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel and others, friends and &s;ervants to Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, his Go&s;pel truths and Ordinances, and the general wealth of this Commonwealth and Nation.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Never did the Go&s;pel Mini&s;ters put up a Petition to a Magi&s;trate to maintain the Go&s;pel, nor the &s;ervants of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, wherein it ap|pears <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 10. 10. 2 Cor. 10. 14. 2 Cor. 3. 6. 1 John 3. 12. John 4. 21, 22, 23, 24.</NOTE> that you are Mini&s;ters of the Letter, which is carnal and death, and you mu&s;t have a carnal weapon to hold you up; for &s;hame give over your Profe&s;&s;ion: and you profe&s;s humblene&s;s, your humblene&s;s is to per&s;ecute; here you &s;hew forth the nature of Cain, and void of the knowledge of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t; and the Ordinances of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t was never &s;et up by man, but man who lived in his own will was ever again&s;t them; and you know not his Ordinances, for they that knew his Ordinances, were not per&s;ecutors; but <HI>Paul</HI> before he was a Mini&s;ter of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, and knew his Ordinances, he came with Letters from the Prie&s;ts, to per&s;ecute the Saints who be|lieved in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, and were of one &s;oul, and <NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 9. 2. Acts 22. 4. Acts 20. 7. Acts 4 32.</NOTE> met together, yea in the night time, all night, where it &s;hews you have but the form, not the power, which mu&s;t be turned away from, accord|ing to Scripture.</P>
<P><PB N="23" REF="16">
<HI>Prie&s;ts Petition.</HI> Sheweth, that in the late wars, we, or the mo&s;t of us, did expo&s;e lives, liber|ties, e&s;tates and relations, with all other per|&s;onal advantages, in the ju&s;t defence of Religion and Liberty, in concurrence with, and main|tenance of the ju&s;t proceedings of our Parliament; after the pro&s;perous effects whereof, we expect|ed the &s;ettlement of the grand ends of our En|gagement, and &s;o much the more, as being the promi&s;e of the Parliament, the vows of their af|fections, the price of our prayers, pur&s;es, hazards, lo&s;&s;es, bani&s;hments, and the blood of many thou|&s;ands our fellow &s;ervants in the work of God, freely &s;acrificed in the quarrel of this Nation: what hath been done in the &s;ettlement of our Civil Rights, Peace, and whol&s;om Law, we ble&s;s God for; and the Parliament as his In&s;truments; nor can we but acknowledge, what hath been done by them in the cau&s;e of God, as their Acts again&s;t Adulteries, Fornication, Swearing, Drun|kenne&s;s, Sabboth-breaking, Ordinances again&s;t Promoters of Heretical Doctrines, Acts again&s;t Ranters or Bla&s;phemers; may the Lord increa&s;e the number of the&s;e things.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> If ye will own the whol&s;om Law, ye will own us, but this is but a pretence, for who owns the whol&s;om Law, denies all corruption; this is but a pretence, whereby ye make a colour to make them that live in the truth, to appear odi|ous unto the world, &s;etting forth your &s;elves unto the world, Phari&s;ee like, and there to make the pure truth odious, through your envious mindes; but the day doth declare all things, your end will <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 3. 13.</NOTE>
<PB N="24" REF="17">
make it manife&s;t, though you pretend your &s;elves to be Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel, yet your ends will <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 3. 13.</NOTE> &s;hew you to be bloody <HI>Cains,</HI> and it doth now be|gin to appear, the &s;econd birth is brought forth, which doth not own your &s;acrifices, this birth you <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 15. 47, 48, 49.</NOTE> &s;eek to &s;lay.</P>
<P><HI>Pr. Obj.</HI> Yet &s;o it is, that in this County, &s;everall per&s;ons pro&s;elytes of one <HI>Geo. Fox,</HI> and <HI>James Nay|ler,</HI> do in the time of our A&s;&s;emblies, ordinarily in a way of contempt and &s;corn, come in anong us, with their hats on; at time of our prayer or &s;inging u&s;ed in our Gongregations, &s;ome of them &s;hew violent actions in time of Sermon or prayer, or &s;inging, and cry out aloud with horrible clamors, &s;landers, abu&s;es, reproaches again&s;t our Mini&s;ters.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> That is fal&s;e, for our friends &s;hew no violent actions, but are again&s;t them, but come peaceably in; and if they be moved by the Lord to cry aloud, who art thou that wilt with&s;tand the Lord? Do not you read in the Scripture, that the Lord &s;ent his Prophets, and bad them cry aloud and &s;pare not. And as for clamors <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 58. 1.</NOTE> we utterly deny, it is your own: and as for &s;lan|ders, abu&s;es, reproaches, we utterly deny, it is your own, we are again&s;t all filthy minds, that give forth reproaches, but we &s;peak the &s;ame language the Scripture doth from the &s;ame Word that gave it forth; and your Mini&s;ters which go in that path, which all the holy men of God cried out a|gain&s;t, <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 56. 10. 11.</NOTE> we &s;peak the &s;ame language again&s;t them that they did, and by the &s;ame &s;pirit, we &s;ee them take all people to record to judge, who have a light in their under&s;tandings, and the fear of the
<PB N="25" REF="17">
Lord to judge, do not your Prie&s;ts bear rule by your means; and was it not a horrible filthy thing <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 5. 30, 31. Ier. 10. 21.</NOTE> in the time of <HI>Jeremy?</HI> and is not the &s;ame held up in this age now? and do they not &s;eek for their gain from their Quarters, greedy dumb dogs? Do not they take money for that which is not bread? And do they not now &s;eek for the fleece &amp;, cloath with the wooll, and make a prey of the people, which <HI>Ezekiel</HI> cryed wo again&s;t.</P>
<P>And are you not Hirelings, which <HI>Micah</HI> cried <NOTE PLACE="marg">Micah 3. 11.</NOTE> again&s;t, and them that put not into your mouthes, you prepare warrre again&s;t them, &s;ue them at the Law, and are you not called of men, Ma&s;ters? <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 23. 6, 7, 8.</NOTE> Have not ye the chiefe&s;t places in the A&s;&s;emblies? Stand praying in the Synagogues? And do you not lay heavy burdens upon the people, which Je&s;us Chri&s;t cried wo again&s;t &s;uch? Are not you in the &s;ame &s;teps here? Let the Scripture it &s;elf judg you; and do not you draw people to tho&s;e things which there is no Scripture for, telling them of a Sacrament, for which there is no Scripture, tel|ling them of &s;prinkling infants, which there is no Scripture for, telling people they are Ordinances; all &s;uch Ordinances we deny: but the Ordinances of God we own. And doth not the Scripture &s;ay, He that addes or dimini&s;hes, the plagues are ad|ded <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 22. 18. Gal. 3. 1.</NOTE> unto him? And were not the Galatians be|witched who were drawn from the anointing within them, which God had commanded? And do not you draw people to the things there is no Scripture for, telling people they are Ordinances, and are not you in the &s;ame generation, bewitch|ing people, drawing them from the Spirit of the
<PB N="26" REF="18">
Lord within them, to follow your imagination and them that do not, you per&s;ecute them who obey the commands of God, and the Ordinances of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, to walk in the truth in the inward man, which is unknown to you in the world; but <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 10. 22.</NOTE> it is that the Scripture might be fulfilled, They &s;hall be hated of all men for my names &s;ake; and they through fained words, &s;hall make merchan|dize of you, &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, who go in the way <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 2. 3. 13, 14, 15.</NOTE> of <HI>Cain</HI> to murther, who love the wages of un|righteou&s;ne&s;s, who have the Spirit of error, and cau&s;es people to erre, for the minde that goes from the pure within is erred, and that &s;ets up <HI>Baal</HI> without, before God; but all who&s;e mindes are guided by the Spirit of the Lord up to God, deny all <HI>Baals</HI> Prie&s;ts, now do not &s;ay this is railing or fal&s;e accu&s;ing; in the&s;e &s;teps are you, which the holy men of God cryed out again&s;t, read your &s;elves, and let all men judge; and as for coming into your Synagogues with hats on when ye are &s;inging of P&s;alms, thou Prie&s;t, ha&s;t not thou one or two caps on, and when ye read P&s;alms hats mu&s;t be on, and when ye &s;ing them hats mu&s;t be off: here ye wor&s;hip the works of your own hands. As <HI>Davids</HI> tremblings, quakings, wa&s;tings, weep|ings, roarings till his &s;ight grew dim, and watered his bed with his tears, and roared all the day long, <NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 6. 23, 6, 7.</NOTE> prophe&s;ies, prai&s;es, prayers, the&s;e you &s;ing, having turned them into Rime, crying, Let us&s;ing to the prai&s;e and glory of God, which is all to his di&s;honor: if one &s;hould &s;ee one of you lie in <HI>Da|vids</HI> condition weeping and roaring, and turn it into Metre, and go among a deal of ignorant peo|ple,
<PB N="27" REF="18">
and cry, let us &s;ing to the prai&s;e and glory of God, would you not &s;ay we made a Ryme of you? as you have made of David: All &s;uch practi&s;es and &s;ingings we deny, but we will &s;ing with the Spirit, and with Grace and Under&s;tanding: The Apo&s;tles which you profe&s;s in words, you do not read that when they went into the world, they gave <HI>Davids</HI> Experiences in Metre to &s;ing, but <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 14. 15. Mark 7. 13. Col. 2. 8.</NOTE> was again&s;t all Traditions of men; and &s;o are we now, with the &s;ame Spirit.</P>
<P><HI>Prie&s;ts Petition.</HI> To the &s;tirring up of woful tu|mults, evident di&s;turbance of the work, and the turning of the peaceable A&s;&s;emblies of the Church of Chri&s;t into the gro&s;&s;e&s;t confu&s;ion.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> For &s;hame never mention your Churches to be the Churches of Chri&s;t, which will &s;o &s;oon be turned into confu&s;ion, do not &s;o di&s;honor the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and &s;o little e&s;teem his Chruch, which is the Pillar and Ground of Truth; and can the Pillar and Ground of Truth be &s;haken? <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 3 15.</NOTE> A Church mu&s;t be that which is the Ground and Pillar of Truth; the Church of Chri&s;t needs not have a carnal weapon to maintain it, but it is now as it was; they who had received the &s;ub&s;tance came into the A&s;&s;emblies, witne&s;&s;ed forth the &s;ub|&s;tance, and were haled forth, and brui&s;ed, and <NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts, 7. 48. Acts 21. 30.</NOTE> abu&s;ed, &s;tocked and &s;toned, &s;o do you us now, almo&s;t &s;mothered in your A&s;&s;emblies; how dare you &s;ay, ye are peaceable, when ye are &s;o in rage again&s;t a peaceable people, who come among you for your &s;ouls good, that ye may be directed un|to the Lord, when eternally ye &s;hall witne&s;s us, though now you would devour us.</P>
<P><PB N="28" REF="19">
<HI>Prie&s;ts Petition.</HI> That their deportent is &s;uch, and with &s;o continual violence again&s;t the mo&s;t godly of our Mini&s;ters, in all places in their travels, in the &s;treets, abu&s;ing them with railing language, &s;cornful behaviours, walking in the Markets with &s;uch great numbers together.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> As for violence, we deny it, it is your own, you &s;hew it daily, and in this Petition you make it appear: As for godly Mini&s;ters, &s;uch we &s;et up, who are made Mini&s;ters by the will of <NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 1. 1.</NOTE> God, and not by the will of man; but &s;uch as are made Mini&s;ters by <HI>Oxford</HI> and <HI>Cambridge,</HI> &s;uch we deny; they who are made Mini&s;ters by the will of Godwill not per&s;ecute any, but here you make your &s;elves manife&s;t not to be &s;uch; for if ye were, ye would own us. As touching railing language, &s;cornful behaviour, it is fal&s;e, it is your own, and herein you do abu&s;e us; &s;uch practi&s;es we deny, which are according to the cour&s;e of the world: Was it not the practi&s;e of the Apo&s;tles to di&s;pute <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;&s;. 2. 2. Acts 19. 8. Acts 17. 17. Mat. 24. 34, 35</NOTE> dialy in the Markets, in the Schools, in the Sy|nagogues, and their practi&s;e here you do deny, and &s;hew your &s;elves to be in that generation that per&s;ecuted the Apo&s;tles, who now per&s;ecutes us, where the &s;ame power is made manife&s;t, but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, for every jot and tittle mu&s;t be fulfilled.</P>
<P><HI>Prie&s;ts Petition,</HI> And &s;carce pa&s;&s;ing by any not of their judgement, without abu&s;ing words, that it cannot but &s;hew us, as no &s;mall Symptomes of bad de&s;igns, &s;o no &s;mall rea&s;on to provide for our &s;ecurity.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> As for abu&s;ive words, it is fal&s;e, it is the
<PB N="29" REF="19">
abu&s;ive minde that &s;peaks, which now appears to &s;candal the truth: Several of us, who be of one heart, meet together &s;ometimes in the Market, and &s;ometimes in other places; and if we &s;ee pride and drunkenne&s;s, and be moved to reprove and exhort; &s;ee and hear cur&s;ed &s;peakers, &s;wearers, moved to reprove and exhort them; or men fight|ing and brawling, cozening, cheating, deceitful marehandizing, lying and di&s;embling, which we &s;ay wo is upon, do you call this abu&s;ive? and we bid them repent, and turn unto the Lord while they have time, and now to prize it, for the great day of the Lord is coming, wherein every one <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 14. 12.</NOTE> &s;hall give an account: And the Apo&s;tle warned all, &s;mall and great, to turn unto the Lord and repent, which we cannot but do the &s;ame, who have found mercy of the Lord, who brought us to repentance, and changed our lives; and this is it which you call abu&s;ive: And poor creatures, ye need not &s;eek for &s;ecurity, for there is none of them who are friends of the truth, and in the truth that will hurt you: Now do you &s;hew your &s;elves to walk in the Apo&s;tles practi&s;e, or quite again&s;t it: here you openly &s;hew your &s;elves to be men who would uphold iniquity and vice, and would not have it reproved, but per&s;ecute &s;uch who reprove the wicked; who&s;e righteous &s;ouls are vexed, as <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 2. 8. Prov. 10. 24. Jer. 17 5.</NOTE> ju&s;t <HI>Lots</HI> was, with your filthy Conver&s;ation, who uphold iniquity, and live in it: Tis written, <HI>The wicked &s;hall fear, where there is not fear;</HI> and did not the true Prophet &s;ay? <HI>Cur&s;ed is he that makes fle&s;h his arm and outs his &s;trength in man.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Prie&s;ts Petition,</HI> That it is their great de&s;ign to &s;tir
<PB N="30" REF="20">
up the &s;pirits of people again&s;t the Mini&s;ters of <HI>England</HI> in general, without di&s;tinction, &s;etting forth and &s;ending abroad daily, almo&s;t Libels and &s;landers again&s;t the Office as needle&s;s.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> The Spirit of God, if it be rai&s;ed up, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8. 10.</NOTE> we do witne&s;s it will te&s;tifie again&s;t you, and all your practi&s;es; and whereas we are moved to write abroad, &s;hewing forth the errors and de|ceits of you, which as a &s;candal you call to be Libels: but if ever you own the Prophets, Chri&s;t and the Apo&s;tles, ye will own them, which are given forth by the &s;ame power and Spirit: and all your Offices which are made by man, and are of man, we deny, and &s;landers we deny, they are your own, and now you vent them forth.</P>
<P><HI>Prie&s;ts Petition.</HI> Terming them as or under the names of Antichri&s;ts, Antichri&s;ts Merchants, Tythe Mongers, Robbers, Deceivers, Mini&s;ters of the world, Prie&s;ts, Murtherers, Conjurers, Devils, and attempting to make Proclamations in the open markets to the &s;aid effect.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Are you not Antichri&s;ts? do not you act tho&s;e things Chri&s;t forbids, and upholds that which Chri&s;t doth forbid, &s;hewing your &s;elves to be An|tichri&s;ts? do not you mount up into the highe&s;t places in A&s;&s;emblies, are called of men-Ma&s;ters? <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 23. 2 Pet. 2. 3.</NOTE> which Chri&s;t forbids, and &s;aid to his, be ye not called &s;o: And do not you buy and &s;ell the Let|ter, make merchandize of it; when as the Mini&s;ter of God &s;aid, that the gift of God could not be <NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 8. 18. 23. 19, 20.</NOTE> bought and &s;old for money; and &s;aid he was in the gall of bitterne&s;s who thought to buy it: and here you &s;hew your &s;elves to be in the gall of bit|terne&s;s,
<PB N="31" REF="20">
repent, repent, that the thoughts of your hearts may be changed: and <HI>Job</HI> &s;aid, that <NOTE PLACE="marg">Job 28. 15, 16.</NOTE> the wi&s;dom of God cannot be bought and &s;old for money, nor gold, nor pearls, nothing is to be compared unto it; and do not you &s;hew your &s;elves to be merchants of the Letter, for the gift of God cannot be bought and &s;old: And do not you openly &s;hew your &s;elves to take Tythe of people, and do not walk according to the Law: <HI>Levi,</HI> who received Tythes, the &s;trangers, father|le&s;s <NOTE PLACE="marg">Deu. 26. 12, 13 Deut. 14. 29.</NOTE> and widows were to come within his gate and be filled, which ye do not &s;o, &s;hewing the &s;pirit of error, and yet would be maintained in your deceit, but God in his infinite love hath rai&s;ed up <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 1. 79.</NOTE> a light, gathering his people from you, di&s;cover|ing your deceit.</P>
<P>Are ye not Robbers? do not you &s;teal the words of the Prophets, Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles, and &s;ell them for money; and &s;o are Theives and Robbers which Ie&s;us Chri&s;t &s;poke of, which goes not in at <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 23. 30. Iohn 10. 1.</NOTE> the door, but climb another way; and that Gene|ration per&s;ecuted Chri&s;t, and here you &s;hew your &s;elves to be per&s;ecuting them in whom he is ri&s;en.</P>
<P>Are ye not deceivers? when as you draw peo|ple to tho&s;e things God never commanded, and tell people they are Ordinances of God; As &s;prinkling of infants, and &s;aying the Steeple-hou&s;e <NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 2. 22. 20. 21.</NOTE> is the Chruch, and the hou&s;e of God, and tells people ye are the Mini&s;ters of God, when he ne|ver &s;ent you, but &s;tudies a Devination of your own brain, and not from the mouth of the Lord: here you &s;hew your &s;elves to be Conjurers, and
<PB N="32" REF="21">
hold up outward Temples, Traditions and Cu|&s;toms, Tythes, Formal Singing, Praying; do you not here &s;hew your &s;elves to be Mini&s;ters of the world; for what is acted outwardly is worldly, your original is worldly, your Hebrew, Latine and Greek is worldly, your Church is worldly; but the Saints Church is in God, as <HI>Paul, Silvanus</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 The&s;&s;. 1. 1. 1 John 3. 15.</NOTE> and <HI>Timotheus</HI> to the Church of the <HI>The&s;&s;alonians</HI> which was in God: Do not you &s;hew your &s;elves to be murtherers, in the generation of the Prie&s;ts <HI>Cain</HI> like? do you not &s;hew it openly, do not ye &s;eek to per&s;ecute and put in pri&s;on: &s;ome you have impri&s;oned, &s;ome you have haled out of your A&s;&s;emblies, &s;ome ye have &s;toned and buffet|ed: do not you &s;hew your &s;elves to be of the ge|neration with the Prie&s;ts, who&s;e Mini&s;try was worldly, and &s;o ever the Mini&s;try of the Letter per&s;ecuted the Mini&s;ters of the Spirit: &s;o it is now; here the Scripture is fulfilled.</P>
<P>And are not you of the Devil? they that abide not in the truth, are of the Devil: and do not <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 John 1. 9.</NOTE> you &s;hew your &s;elves to be Devils, of the Devil, Murtherers; he was a murtherer from the begin|ning, and which of you can &s;ay, you come to the beginning, but are &s;eeking now to de&s;troy the in|nocent, a peaceable, harmle&s;s people, to bring them into pri&s;on, and into bondage; do not you &s;hew your &s;elves to be murtherers, &s;eeking to de|vour; as the Iews, who &s;aid God was their Fa|ther, when they went about to kill Chri&s;t, and were of their father the Devil, doing the lu&s;ts of their father; which generation you &s;hew your <NOTE PLACE="marg">John 8. 44.</NOTE> &s;elves to be in, envying the righteous &s;eed, where it
<PB N="33" REF="21">
is brought forth, but God of his infinite power and love, doth pre&s;erve his little ones from your hands, from devouring them, to him be all honor, and glory, and prai&s;e, who maintains his own truth, and &s;ets up his own Kingdom, who&s;e &s;word is his Word, and to it &s;hall all Nations bow; though you and many others, who are now fighters again&s;t <NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 4. 12.</NOTE> God, and would have the Magi&s;trates to help you, tis hard for you to kick again&s;t the pricks; but <NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 9. 5.</NOTE> God hath rai&s;ed up a light in many of the Magi|&s;trates to &s;ee your deceits, and your envy is made appear.</P>
<P><HI>Prie&s;ts Petition.</HI> That their main drift is, to en|gage the people again&s;t the Mini&s;try by rea&s;on of Tythes, crying out with open clamor again&s;t Tythes, as Unlawful, Antichri&s;tian, to the nece&s;|&s;ary overthrowing of the Laws, to that purpo&s;e bringing an odium upon the Government, and tending to &s;tir up &s;edition in the people, to with|draw their due obedience from the Laws and Go|vernment of <HI>England.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> The receiving of Tythes is Antichri&s;tian: Are ye all blinde? did ever any of the Apo&s;tles or Chri&s;t receive Tythes, or commanded any &s;uch thing? was not he the end of the Law? and where the Spirit of Je&s;us Chri&s;t is, it te&s;tifies a|gain&s;t you, who neither walk according to the Law nor Go&s;pel: for whom he made Mini&s;ters, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 10. 10. 8.</NOTE> he &s;ent them forth freely, without a bag, or &s;tick, or &s;crip, without two coats, freely ye have re|ceived, freely give, the workman is worthy of his meat; but here's no Tythes, no Augmentati|ons: now you are not here in the &s;teps of them
<PB N="34" REF="22">
whom Chri&s;t &s;ent forth, but &s;hews that you run before you be &s;ent; and where the Spirit of the Lord is &s;tired up in any, it cries again&s;t all &s;uch un|righteous wayes.</P>
<P>Whereas you &s;peak of a nece&s;&s;ary overturning the Law, there in you &s;hew forth your weakne&s;s, and a mingle-mangle of your mind. As for bring|ing an <HI>Odium</HI> upon the government, it is fal&s;e; for the righteous Law of God we honor, and &s;et up in our &s;ouls, and that is to govern that which is un|ruly and unju&s;t. As for &s;tirring up &s;edition, as for drawing people from the righteous Law of God, that is your own condition under a pretence of making people believe we deny government and the law; that is fal&s;e.</P>
<P>If you vvere as carefull and vvatchfull in your own Kingdom, over drunkards, bla&s;phemers, &s;wearers, fighters, liars, if you were as watchfull over them, then you might &s;ay you vvere friends of the government, and of the righteous law; but if any come into the markets, and reprove &s;uch things, or read a paper in the market again&s;t un|cleanne&s;s, &s;uch you hale out, &s;tone and per&s;ecute; herein you &s;hew there is no friend&s;hip with the Law; but if a man bring a &s;ieve of Ballads, or Je&s;t books, Rimes or Theames, and &s;ing the&s;e in the markets; tho&s;e are &s;uffered, the&s;e Libels are not minded; which &s;hews now your venome again&s;t the truth, and again&s;t them that &s;peak from the mouth of the Lord.</P>
<P><HI>Pr. Petition.</HI> That be&s;ides what others perhaps may know of the bla&s;phemies of them, we do plainly &s;ee and know, that their practi&s;es do ex|ceedingly
<PB N="35" REF="22">
&s;avour of Sorcery, the quakings, &s;wel|lings, roarings, foamings, and &s;uch as we never <NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 3. 1. Jam. 2. 4.</NOTE> heard of, but &s;uch as were po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed of the Divel, of per&s;ons at their meetings, and e&s;pecially of young children.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> You can judge no otherwi&s;e, be|ing of the generation of them that per&s;e|cuted Chri&s;t, calling truth bla&s;pnemy; but bla&s;|phemy we do deny, &s;orcery practices we deny, and we &s;ee you in that geeration, in witchcraft and &s;orcery, drawing people to follow your in|vention, who have painted your &s;elves with o|thers words, my&s;tery, witchcraft, all who are drawn from the Spirit of the Lord within, to fol|low your imaginations, are bewitched by you with evill thoughts.</P>
<P>An as for quakings, roarings, tremblings, you &s;ay you never heard of, and before you profe&s;&s;ed your &s;elves to be Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel, and yet are ignorant of the Scriptures, you are blind, and do you make your &s;elves &s;o openly blind and ig|norant, as not to hear of quaking? <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> when he heard the Lord &s;peak unto him, he trembled, and dur&s;t not behold; and <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> quaked and excee|dingly feared, and the whole mount quaked. And <NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 7. 32.</NOTE> <HI>Daniel</HI> when he heard, trembled, and his breath and &s;trength was gone. And <HI>Habakkuk</HI> he trem|bled, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan. 10. 11. Habak. 5. 16. Acts 9. 6. 1 Cor. 2. 3. Poil. 2. 12. Job. 4. 14.</NOTE> &amp; quivered, his belly &s;hook, that he might re&s;t in the day of trouble. And <HI>Paul</HI> he trembled when he came among the <HI>Corinthians,</HI> he was with them in much weakne&s;s and trembling, and he bade the Saints work out their own &s;alvation with fear and trembling. And <HI>Job</HI> he trembled,
<PB N="36" REF="23">
and <HI>David</HI> he quaked and trembled, his bones did <NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 119. 120. I&s;ai. 66. 2. 5.</NOTE> quake. And <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> &s;aid, Hear the word of the Lord, all ye that tremble at his word. And Chri&s;t &s;aid, Your brethren that hated you, and ca&s;t you out for my names &s;ake, &s;aid, Let the Lord be glo|rified; but he &s;hall appear to your joy, but they &s;hall be a&s;hamed. And do not you ca&s;t us out in your mouthes, as the filth and off-&s;couring of the world? Is not here the Scripture fulfilled? <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 5. 22.</NOTE> And <HI>Jeremy</HI> which was &s;ent to &s;peake unto the people the word of the Lord, &s;aid, Hear this, a foo|li&s;h people without under&s;tanding, will ye not fear me? will ye not tremble at my pre&s;ence, who have placed the &s;and for the bound of the &s;ea, and &s;uch a people then upheld Prie&s;ts that bare rule by their means, &s;o doe you now. And <HI>David</HI> he roared, and watered his bed with his tears, and his fle&s;h wa&s;ted till he could number his <NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 6.</NOTE> bones; will you &s;ay that all the&s;e were po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed with the Divell? The &s;ame power of God we witne&s;s now, as was then, and we witne&s;s the Scri|pture fulfilled, and have a cloud of witne&s;&s;es, which are recorded in the Scriptures, it &s;hews that they have not heard his voyce which &s;hakes the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 12. 1. P&s;al. 2. 19, 20.</NOTE> earth; who denies the Letter, are not Mini&s;ters of the Letter.</P>
<P><HI>Pr. Pet.</HI> And Giving too &s;ad a &s;u&s;pition of it, and the more by rea&s;on of the known &s;u&s;pitions upon <HI>Geo. Fox</HI> to deal with the Divell before ever he came to us in the&s;e parts.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Whereas you &s;peak of a known &s;u&s;pition, you have a &s;u&s;pition and know nothing; he that knows doth not &s;u&s;pect, but hath an infal|lible
<PB N="37" REF="23">
judgment to judge truth from error (with evil thoughts ye judge, as they did of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jam. 2. 4. Mat. 10. 15.</NOTE> who called the Ma&s;ter of the Hou&s;e <HI>Beelzebub;</HI> which generation it appears you are of. And as for dealing with the Divel, it is your own; for I do witne&s;s the works of the Divell de&s;troyed: for where Ie&s;us Chri&s;t is made manife&s;t, the works of the Divell are de&s;troyed; therefore do you per|&s;ecute me, becau&s;e I te&s;tifie again&s;t you, that your deeds are evill. And dealing with the Divel I ut|terly deny, and the works of darkne&s;s; for he that is born of God &s;ins not, neither can he, becau&s;e <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 John 3. 8. 9.</NOTE> the &s;eed of God remains in him, and the evill one cannot touch him: but if they call the ma&s;ter of the hou&s;e <HI>Beelzebub,</HI> what will they do unto the children? So it was, Je&s;us Chri&s;t, Lord and Ma|&s;ter, had that portion of the world, it is the &s;ame now where he is made manife&s;t in any, the &s;ame generation, per&s;ecutes, it is no &s;trange thing. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 10. 25.</NOTE></P>
<P><HI>Pr. Petition.</HI> That we know the Principles of &s;ome of their followers, are again&s;t &s;ubjection to Magi&s;trates, again&s;t di&s;tinction among&s;t men, and the practices of the mo&s;t is &s;uch, that there is a de|nying of relations, children profe&s;&s;edly refu&s;ing &s;ubjection to their Parents, and &s;ervants to their ma&s;ters.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Whereas you &s;ay we are not &s;ubject to ju&s;tice, that is fal&s;e; for con&s;cience &s;ake let every &s;oul be &s;ubject to the higher power: for all power is of God, and he that re&s;i&s;teth the power, re&s;i&s;teth the ordinance of God: So for con&s;cience &s;ake, we honor ju&s;tice, and all men in the Lord; but as for re&s;pecting per&s;ons, we deny, for the Scripture <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 13. 1, 2.</NOTE>
<PB N="38" REF="24">
denies the &s;ame, he that re&s;pects per&s;ons commits &s;in, and is a tran&s;gre&s;&s;or of the Law; He that was a mini&s;ter of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, &s;aid this, Here you <NOTE PLACE="marg">James 2. 9. Rev. 22. 15.</NOTE> &s;hew your &s;elves to be without, and no mini&s;ters of God, but would have others to tran&s;gre&s;s the law of God. O fal&s;e accu&s;ers! where do any walk &s;tubbornly again&s;t their parents but for con&s;ci|ence &s;ake they cannot yeeld to tho&s;e things which carnally they would have them act, as follow the wor&s;hip of the world without them, and not wor|wor&s;hip God in Spirit, and &s;et up your teachers of the world. God hath rai&s;ed up a light in many <NOTE PLACE="marg">John 4. 23. Luke 1. 79. Mat. 21. 16. Mat. 11. 25.</NOTE> young children, draws them to him&s;elfe, and you &s;pue forth your venom again&s;t them &s;ervants and children, becau&s;e they will not hold you up, and now when you are like to fall. If Chri&s;ts words &s;hould be fulfilled where he &s;aith, Call no man fa|ther upon earth; and he that loves Father or <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 23. 9. Mat. 10. 37.</NOTE> mother more then me, is not worthy of me, what would you &s;ay to that? Fathers and mothers pa&s;s away, and that love that is in the fle&s;h; but the Father, the Lord God of Heaven and Earth, is for ever, and who owns him, will not walk in di&s;obe|dience to any thing, but the evill; and if God put into the mouth of any &s;ervants to &s;peak, that doth <NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 2. 18.</NOTE> not take them from faithfulne&s;s in the outward to their ma&s;ters where they are: But you accu&s;ers, which have the form of godline&s;s, but deny the power, ever &s;hew forth your &s;elves; Where do any of the &s;ervants ma&s;ters go to complain to the Magi&s;trates? But you Prie&s;ts &s;hew your &s;elves <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 5, 13.</NOTE> bu&s;ie about other mens matters, only to hold up your own profits, and accu&s;e the ju&s;t with many fal&s;e and &s;candalous &s;landers.</P>
<P><PB N="39" REF="24">
<HI>Pr. Petition.</HI> That we are &s;en&s;ible what confu|&s;ions, divi&s;ions, tumults and parties are made by the&s;e mens di&s;turbances, and cannot but with &s;ad|ne&s;s of &s;pirit, remember that &s;uch &s;mall begin|nings have in other nations grown to eat out their peace, and &s;tagger the foundation of their States, as al&s;o to lay it before you, what advantage it gives for the common enemy, weakens the Parlia|ments intere&s;t in the peoples hearts.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Truth ever &s;tirred up confu&s;ion where it was though it lay clo&s;e till truth came, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 12. 49.</NOTE> as you read in the Scriptures, Chri&s;t came to put fire in the earth; and the Apo&s;tles where they came in the markets or Synagogues, who witne&s;|&s;ed forth the &s;ub&s;tance, to draw people to it, to &s;erve the Lord in newne&s;s of life, to come up into the everla&s;ting truth and peace, then every one &s;tood up in his own imagination and thoughts, as you do now to oppo&s;e the truth, and &s;aid they would turn the world up &s;ide down.</P>
<P><HI>Pr. Petition.</HI> To &s;ee &s;uch per&s;ons unre&s;trained, creats di&s;contents, and laies a clear foundation for civill wars, or at lea&s;t advantage to the <HI>Hollanders,</HI> or <HI>French</HI> now in arms again&s;t us, to carry on their wicked intentions with greater facility.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> The intention of your mind is to have truth re&s;trained, which takes away the occa&s;ions of all wars, and brings into love and true hear|tedne&s;s, and there is nothing di&s;content with us, but that which doth not abide in the truth. And wheras thou &s;peake&s;t of weakning the Par|liaments intere&s;t, and laying a foundation of new war: This is hatched in your own minds, &s;o to
<PB N="40" REF="25">
incen&s;e ignorant people, it is your own intere&s;t that you fear; for if the Parliament &s;hould take a|way your Tythes and your means, little love would appear to them; for it hath been already &s;aid by you, that the Parliament hath opened a gap for all bla&s;phemings, but the hands of evil do|ers we do not &s;trengthen; and you are the men that rai&s;e up civill warres again&s;t them that live peaceably and love peace, and go about to take a|way the oca&s;ions of all warres. For the world rai&s;es up a per&s;ecution and a civill warre again&s;t a peaceable people, who&s;e intents are to bring up all to God, to live in unity one with another, to be of one heart and one mind, and one &s;oul to &s;eive God in newne&s;s of life, whom Chri&s;t Ie&s;us hath &s;et free from the Traditions and Rudiments of the world. Now who are &s;et free from the world, you bring under your bondage, and perfe|cute them, if they will not obey you, &s;hewing forth the nature of <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> not letting I&s;rael go to &s;erve God.</P>
<P><HI>Prie&s;ts Petition.</HI> Therefore as you are Chri&s;ti|ans and <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Magi&s;trates, vve are freemen born of <HI>England,</HI> and de&s;iring &s;omthing more as in&s;tru|ments under God with others of your pre&s;ent peace, do beg an chalenge from you.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Now you &s;hew your complements: we are no breakers of peace, who owns the peace, owns us; and he that bears this &s;word that cuts <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 13. 4.</NOTE> down all corruption and filthine&s;s, owns us. For there is no peace to the vvicked &s;aith God, and this you &s;hall all find vvho vvould have peace to that vvhich mu&s;t die, it is your eternall peace, and
<PB N="41" REF="25">
eternal &s;ouls good, that we are moved of the Lord to &s;peak unto you for, which eternally you &s;hall witne&s;s.</P>
<P><HI>Prie&s;ts Petition.</HI> 1. Your timely looking unto the Peace of England, that it &s;eems too evidently to be endeavored to be rent a&s;under.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Ju&s;tices that keeps peace, we honor and &s;et up, and wait all for the peace; but your in|tention in this, is to have truth &s;uppre&s;&s;ed, and wickedne&s;s flouri&s;h, and the works of darkne&s;s not di&s;covered: here is Ju&s;tice weakned, and the hand of evil doers &s;trengthened again&s;t the inno|cent, which ever the chief Prie&s;ts did; for they asked to relea&s;e <HI>Barabas,</HI> and crucifie Je&s;us the innocent, and gathered the Elders again&s;t him, to &s;eek to put him to death; &s;o do you now, where he is made manife&s;t, who are of the &s;ame gene|ration.</P>
<P><HI>Prie&s;ts Petition.</HI> 2. The protection of our &s;elves, and our Mini&s;ters from violence, or di&s;turbance in our wor&s;hip of God, and &s;uppre&s;&s;ion of of|fenders.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Where did the Saints or Mini&s;ters of God &s;eek to a Magi&s;trate to protect their wor&s;hip? but <NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 24. 5.</NOTE> on the contrary, they were per&s;ecuted of &s;uch, which the Jews and Prie&s;ts did incen&s;e them to, which is the &s;ame you do now; as the Jews who came again&s;t Paul, and &s;aid he was a pe&s;tilent fel|low, a mover of &s;edition, a &s;tirrer up of here&s;ie, a Ring-leader of the Sect of the Nazarens, turn|ing the world up &s;ide down, and teaches contrary to our Cu&s;tom, and this holy place; he told them, God dwelled not in Temples made with hands,
<PB N="42" REF="26">
neither was he wor&s;hipped with mens hands, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 17. 24, 25</NOTE> which outward cu&s;tom you are upholding now, in the &s;ame nature that they were in; when the Jews brought <HI>Paul</HI> to <HI>Felix,</HI> holding up their own cu&s;toms by an outward Law, as impri&s;oning him, <HI>Paul</HI> had no Law to maintain him, but the Law of God, and the eternal Word to guide him; and <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 23. 4. Gal. 1. 1. I&s;aiah 33. 22.</NOTE> the &s;ame we do witne&s;s, again&s;t all the powers of men, but the power of God let every &s;oul be &s;ubject too.</P>
<P><HI>Prie&s;ts Petition.</HI> 3. Execution of the Statute a|gain&s;t Sabboth breakers, and &s;uch as under pre|tence of Religion, are in no Religious A&s;&s;emblies that day.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> All that live in pretence of Religion, and not in power, is nothing; all that owns pure Re|ligion, owns us; and all that owns the Sabboth, the eternal Re&s;t, the eternal day, owns us; but while people have met together to &s;et up you, who in the week day invented fa&s;hions, and on that day put it on, &s;o the eye goes out looking at new fa&s;hions, and in the week day follows oathes, drunkenne&s;s, prophanene&s;s, plea&s;ures, and &s;uch practi&s;es we deny; but to live righteou&s;ly, &s;ober|ly in this pre&s;ent world, this we own; and whom you finde wrangling, walking in uncleanne&s;s, cur&s;ed &s;peaking, fighting, drunkenne&s;s, upon &s;uch you &s;hould lay the Law: for the Law was made for the Lawle&s;s, but you pretended Mini&s;ters, &s;eek to bring upon us bounds, who are redeemed from the&s;e ways, through the love and power of God; if you were the Mini&s;ters of God, you would go about to bring people from under all Law, up to
<PB N="43" REF="26">
God, but you &s;hew your &s;elves to be of that ge|neration which &s;hut the Kingdom of heaven from <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 23. 13.</NOTE> men, which Kingdom is a Kingdom of peace, this we witne&s;s.</P>
<P><HI>Prie&s;ts Petition.</HI> 4. Charge to all differing judge|ments, to meet together each Lords day peace|ably, and not to &s;pread them&s;elves to &s;everal places for di&s;turbance.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> If any be moved by the Lord to come in|to your A&s;&s;emblies, to &s;peak the word of the Lord unto them, for your &s;ouls eternal happine&s;s, would you have this limitted? this is your intent, to limit the Holy one of I&s;rael: As for di&s;turbance, we all deny, and to draw people up to God, that we do, out of all carnal ways; for God is a Spi|rit, and will be wor&s;hipped in &s;pirit, and in truth, and this wor&s;hip we own; and who are here, de|nies all your Temples and Prie&s;ts; herein is one Prie&s;t, Je&s;us Chri&s;t, the Bi&s;hip of our &s;ouls; for they who received the Sub&s;tance, denyed the Prie&s;ts, and they met together the fir&s;t day of the week, and when any was moved to go forth, they went and witne&s;&s;ed forth the Sub&s;tance to them that lived in the Shadows: this we do, and now to deny you Prie&s;ts (being ye cannot witne&s;s your call) the Temple which God never commanded, they that are in the Temples of God do: This dark Mini&s;try hath long reigned over people, and kept them in bondage, underimitated forms, but <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 1. 79.</NOTE> now God is rai&s;ing a light in his people, to gather them up to him&s;elf, to live in love and unity one with another.</P>
<P><HI>Pr. Pet.</HI> 5. Suppre&s;&s;ion of per&s;ons living without any calling.</P>
<P><PB N="44" REF="27">
<HI>An&s;w.</HI> Then this &s;uppre&s;&s;ion mu&s;t come upon your &s;elves; for you cannot witne&s;s that ever you were called of God, or &s;ent forth by Je&s;us Chri&s;t to preach the everla&s;ting truth; for if you were you would not rai&s;e up per&s;ecution again&s;t them that witne&s;s a call from the Lord: who of you receive whipping, &s;tocking, &s;toning, pri&s;oning, buffeting, and haling us out of your A&s;&s;emblies, who do pretend your &s;elves to be Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t: wait to have that &s;uppre&s;&s;ed in your &s;elves that per&s;ecutes, then you will not &s;eek to oppre&s;s the ju&s;t for your own ends, that ye might be main|tained in your bea&s;tly wor&s;hip, and your Antichri|&s;tian ways.</P>
<P><HI>Prie&s;ts Petition.</HI> 6. And your witne&s;&s;ing again&s;t all bla&s;phemers of the name of God, e&s;pecially &s;uch as are contained in the Acts of Parliament.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> If you would have them witne&s;s again&s;t all Bla&s;pemers, then they mu&s;t witne&s;s again&s;t you, who calls evil good, and good evil, and vents forth &s;o many Bla&s;phemies again&s;t them who live in the power of truth.</P>
<P><HI>Prie&s;ts Petition.</HI> And if the application of any effectual remedy, lie not within your power, that you will dlea&s;e to joyn with us in this de&s;ire, and tran&s;mit this cau&s;e to the knowledge of the Right Honorable the Councel of State, as a cau&s;e &s;o nearly concerning the peace of <HI>England,</HI> and we &s;hall ever pray, &amp;c.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> You would have a Law or an Act forth, under a pretence to &s;uppre&s;s the truth, under the name of Bla&s;pemy, becau&s;e it doth &s;hake your Kingdom, who live in your &s;elf ends: for ranting
<PB N="45" REF="27">
ways and bla&s;pemy, we utterly deny, and takers of Gods name in vain, which you do in every word you &s;peak, becau&s;e ye know him not: he is merciful to the ju&s;t and unju&s;t, but you &s;hew your cruelty again&s;t the ju&s;t, and per&s;ecute them.</P>
<P>Here you &s;hew forth your &s;erpentine nature, and would beget others in the &s;ame envy to joyn with you, to be the &s;tronger to tread down the truth; as it is written, The Bea&s;t &s;hall make war again&s;t the Lamb but the Lamb get the victory, prai&s;es, prai&s;es for ever, be to the Lord God Almighty; you &s;ay the Lords Prayer, <HI>Forgive us, as we forgive them that tre&s;pa&s;s again&s;t us;</HI> but you per&s;ecute them that &s;eeks your &s;ouls health, &s;eeking you, and not yours, their prayers are an abomination to the Lord. And what is Right and Honorable, will <NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 28. 9. Iohn 5. 44. Prov. 20. 3. Rev. 14. 7.</NOTE> deny all you, and your Petitions; for they who owns God and Chri&s;t owns us; who owns peace owns us, and we them in our &s;ouls; but all the pre|tenders of God and godline&s;s, who live in un|cleanne&s;s and ungodline&s;s, denying the power that cuts down iniquity, which we own and &s;et up: Therefore all people who&s;e mindes are now bent to rai&s;e up per&s;ecution, and Prie&s;ts who &s;tands railing in your Pulpits, incen&s;ing ignorant people again&s;t harmle&s;s innocent people: Are not you laying here a foundation for a new war? and &s;o digging a pit for your &s;elves to fall into; you need never fear them who live in the power of truth, to rai&s;e up an outward war, but it is your fal&s;e &s;ugge&s;tion, to incen&s;e people to make them be|lieve lies; but God hath rai&s;ed up alight in peo|ple, and in Magi&s;trates, which di&s;cerns all your intents.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="order and response">
<PB N="46" REF="28">
<DIV3 TYPE="order">
<HEAD>An Order that was ordered at the Se&s;&s;ions at <HI>Appleby</HI> in <HI>We&s;tmerlrnd.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>ORdered, That who&s;oever &s;hall hereafter di&s;turb any Mini&s;ter in the Publike Exerci&s;e of his Mini|&s;try, within this County, or give any &s;candalous, oppro|bious terms against any of them, &s;hall be apprehended by the Con&s;tables or Church wirdens of the place, where the offence &s;hall be committed, and brought before the next Ju&s;tice of the peace, to finde Sureties for his or her good behaviour, and upon refu&s;ing to finde &s;uch Sureties, to be committed to the common Goal, till willingly they &s;hall do the &s;ame or be from thence delivered by due cour&s;e of Law: And likewi&s;e, all &s;uch per&s;ons as me t in great numbers and A&s;&s;emblies in the night time, within this County, &s;hall be apprehended, and bound to good beha|viour as afore&s;aid.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="response">
<P><HI>Prie&s;ts. Order.</HI> ORdered, That who&s;oever &s;hall here|after di&s;turb any Mini&s;ter in the Pub|like Exerci&s;e of his Mini&s;try within this County.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> The Law of the Land doth give free|dom to &s;peak, after the man hath done: and here you &s;eem to make a new Parliament, and new Laws, contrary to the Law of the Land; and here you &s;hew your &s;elves not to do Ju&s;tice, not act|ing according to the Law of the Land, and the <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 14. 30, 31. Num. 11. 28, 29 Num. 12. 7. Heb. 3 2. 1</NOTE> Law of God: <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;aid, who witne&s;&s;ed forth the Law, and was Ruler in the Law, he wi&s;hed that all Gods people were Prophets: now he was faith|ful in the Law of God, which God had command|ed
<PB N="47" REF="28">
him: and here thou &s;hew&s;t to act contrary to the Law of the Land, and turn'&s;t thy &s;elf out of thy ju&s;tice: And the Mini&s;ter of God &s;aid, that all might &s;peak in the true Church, and if any thing were revealed to him that fate by, let the fir&s;t hold his peace; for you may all prophe&s;ie one by one, that all may be edified, and God may be glo|rified; for the &s;pirits of the Prophets are &s;ubject <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 14. 30 31. 32.</NOTE> to the Prophets: and here you do &s;hew your &s;elves to be no Prophets, nor no Mini&s;ters, and your Church no Church; if any &s;hould come in|to your A&s;&s;emblies, and &s;it by, and &s;omething be revealed to him, and he &s;ay, Let the other hold his peace; and you &s;ay, he di&s;turbs the Mini&s;ter: <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 The&s;&s;. 5. 19. Mat. 10. 17. 23 Heb. 11. 36, 37. Acts 7, 58. 59.</NOTE> here you would quench the Spirit, and limit the holy one: And here is the Scripture fulfilled up|on you; If they &s;hould &s;peak you would &s;courge them in your Synagogues, nay, &s;tone them, beat them, and impri&s;on them, and mock them: and is not Je&s;us Chri&s;ts words fulfilled here? And they &s;hall per&s;ecute you: and now you &s;hew it forth; blu&s;h for &s;hame, and never take him for a cloak, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 48. Mat. 23. 33, 34, 35. Acts 21. 30. 2 Pet. 2. 12.</NOTE> for you are in the &s;ame Generation of them that per&s;ecuted them who lived in the truth; be ye witne&s;&s;es unto your &s;elves, that you are in the &s;ame nature that they were in, that hailed <HI>Paul</HI> out of the Temple; how dare&s;t thou then take his words into thy mouth: O brazen face bea&s;t, that doth not abide the truth!</P>
<P><HI>Prie&s;ts Order,</HI> Or give any &s;candalous, opprobi|ous terms again&s;t any of them, &s;hall be apprehend|ed by the Con&s;tables or Church Wardens of the place, where the offence &s;hall be committed.</P>
<P><PB N="48" REF="29">
<HI>An&s;w.</HI> That which you call &s;candalous terms, is the truth upon the deceit, according to Scri|pture: <NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 3. 1.</NOTE> For <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aid, they were bewitched, them that were drawn from the Spirit of the Lord within them, to carnal circumci&s;ion without them: &s;o do you bewitch the people now, as &s;prinkling of infants, and telling them of a Sacrament, which there is no Scripture for, and drawing them from <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 5. 30, 31.</NOTE> their Teacher within them; for <HI>Jeremiah</HI> &s;aid, they bear rule by their means, and held up the horrible filthy thing that was committed in the Land; and <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 56. 10, 11.</NOTE> <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> &s;aid, they were greedy dumb dogs, which could not bark, which never had enough, &s;eek|ing for their gain from their quarters: And all people con&s;ider, do not all the Prie&s;ts of the world bear rule by their means, and &s;eek for their gain from their quarter: we &s;peak the truth, we have a cloud of witne&s;&s;es: and <HI>Micah</HI> &s;aid, the Prie&s;ts <NOTE PLACE="marg">Micah 3. 5.</NOTE> preached for hire, and he that did not put into their mouthes, they prepared war again&s;t him: Do not you Prie&s;ts &s;ue men at the Law, if they do not put into your mouthes? nay, of your own Church: And yet profe&s;&s;es your &s;elves to be Teachers of Chri&s;t: O for &s;hame blu&s;h! Paul <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 6. 1, 5.</NOTE> that was a Mini&s;ter of Chri&s;t, &s;aid to the Saints that went to Law, there was not a wi&s;e man a|mong them: and here thou &s;hew&s;t thy &s;elf to be no Mini&s;ter of Chri&s;t, no not to walk according to the Letter, no not a wi&s;e man. Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;aid, Wo unto you Scribes and Phari&s;ees, hypo|crites, them that were called of men Ma&s;ters, and &s;o are you, them that had the chiefe&s;t places in the A&s;&s;emblies, and &s;o have you; &s;tand praying
<PB N="49" REF="29">
in the Synagogues, and &s;o do you; and vvith a <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 23. 6, 7, 8, 10, 23.</NOTE> pretence make long prayers, devouring Widows hou&s;es, and Ie&s;us Chri&s;t cried vvo again&s;t &s;uch, and you hold up tho&s;e things which Chri&s;t doth forbid, and you do make men believe you are Mi|ni&s;ters of Chri&s;t, and that Chri&s;t hath &s;ent you, and act tho&s;e things vvhich Chri&s;t doth forbid, and the &s;ame wo is upon you that was upon them, that held up tho&s;e practi&s;es; and the Apo&s;tle &s;aid they had for&s;aken the right vvay, vvo unto them, for they have gone in the vvay of <HI>Cain,</HI> and run greedily after the error of <HI>Balaam.</HI> Are not <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 2. 15. 3. Iude 11.</NOTE> you in envy like <HI>Cain,</HI> do not you &s;hew it forth, and run after the vvages of <HI>Balaam,</HI> for gifts, re|wards, and covetou&s;ne&s;s, vvho make merchandi&s;e upon the people, and as <HI>Ezekiel</HI> &s;aid, they &s;eek af|ter the Fleece, and eat the Fat, and cloath vvith the Wooll, and kill them that were fed, and made a prey upon them, and devoured them. But as the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezek. 34. 23: 10. 14.</NOTE> Lord &s;aid, I vvill gather them from their mouths, and feed them upon the mountains. And this Scri ture we witne&s;&s;e to be fulfilled, prai&s;e and honor be to the Lord. And you Prie&s;ts do not you &s;eek after the wooll? Will you make a lye of Scripture? Friends, do not &s;ay this is railing, for I &s;peak the truth, and have a cloud of witne&s;&s;es, the prophets and Apo&s;tles which &s;poke from the &s;ame Word which is made manife&s;t, and lets us &s;ee the de|ceits as they &s;aw them, and cry again&s;t them; and <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai. 62. 1.</NOTE> for Sions &s;ake we cannot hold our peace.</P>
<P><HI>Order.</HI> And brought before the next Iu&s;tice of the peace.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> The Prophets and the Apo&s;tles that
<PB N="50" REF="30">
witne&s;&s;ed forth the&s;e things, were haled to pri|&s;on, and before the Magi&s;trates, as you read in <NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 21. 34. Acts 12. 4, 5. Acts 16. 22, 23, 24.</NOTE> the Scripture; &s;o here is the Scripture fulfilled, by the &s;ame generation, <HI>Paul</HI> was haled out of the Temple, and was had to pri&s;on, who witne&s;&s;ed forth the &s;ub&s;tance of all Types, &s;igures, and &s;ha|dows. And though you have gotten <HI>Pauls</HI> words, you &s;hew your &s;elves to be of the &s;ame generati|on, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 21. 30, 31</NOTE> haling them out of the Temple. Be witne&s;&s;es again&s;t your &s;elves, that you are per&s;ecuters of the power of truth.</P>
<P><HI>Pr. Petition.</HI> To find &s;ureties for his or her good behaviour; and upon refu&s;e to find &s;uch &s;ureties, to be committed to the common Goal, till willing|ly they &s;hall do the &s;ame, or be from thence deli|vered by due cour&s;e of Law.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Who are redeemed by the pretious blood of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, from their vain conver&s;a|tions, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 23. 31. 1 Pet. 1. 18, 19 Phil. 3. 20, Rom. 8. 14.</NOTE> who live up to God, who are the Mini&s;ters of God, guided by the Spirit of God, need not not have a law laid upon them, which is made for the lawle&s;s, to bind them to good behaviour. The end of our mini&s;try is to bring all men from <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7 6. Gal. 3. 19. Iam. 4. 1.</NOTE> under the occa&s;ions of all laws into good behavi|our, to &s;erve God in newne&s;s of life. For the law is made to bind them to good behaviour, who walk in drunkenne&s;s, &s;wearing, and fighting, and this is at liberty, where there is misbehaviour, and you lay your law upon us, which you cannot accu&s;e; &s;o <HI>Barabbas</HI> is &s;et at liberty, and <NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth 27. 26. Acts 13. 10,</NOTE> Chri&s;t is per&s;ecuted and pri&s;oned; and here you would lay your law upon them whom you can|not accu&s;e: therfore wo unto you liars, who per|vert the coun&s;ell of God.</P>
<P><PB N="51" REF="30">
<HI>Pr. Petition.</HI> And likewi&s;e all &s;uch per&s;ons as meet in great numbers and a&s;&s;emblies in the night time within this County, &s;hall be apprehended and bound to good behaviour, as afore&s;aid.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> This law it &s;eems is made new, while we met together, to card, to dance in Alehou&s;es, to vain plea&s;ures, we were not accu&s;ed; but now all the&s;e practi&s;es are denied, who are gathered by the &s;pirit of the Lord, to exhort one another day <NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 3. 13. Acts 20. 7, 8, 9 Iude 20. 1 Pet. 4, 10.</NOTE> and night, both which is according to the Saints practice, and Rule; <HI>Paul</HI> preached untill midnight, and they met together and did exhort one ano|ther, and preached one to another, and builded up one another in the mo&s;t holy faith; and herein we witne&s;s the Scripture fulfilled among&s;t us, prai&s;ed be the Lord: by this you would not have us to walk according to the Scripture, wherein you bring us to misbehaviour, and we &s;ee and wit|ne&s;s you are the &s;ame generation as they were in that per&s;ecuted <HI>Paul</HI> and the Saints then which met together in the night time. If <HI>Paul</HI> and the Saints were here now, you which have got the form of words, you would do it unto them, as you do unto us; for all is one.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="letter">
<HEAD>Some Pleadings that pa&s;&s;ed between Ju&s;tice <HI>Ben&s;on,</HI> and &s;ome of the Bench con|cerning <HI>James Nayler.</HI></HEAD>
<LETTER LANG="eng">
<P>AT the Se&s;&s;ions of the peace holden at <HI>Appleby</HI> the 11 day of Ianuary 1652. upon the com|mitment
<PB N="52" REF="31">
of <HI>James Nayler,</HI> it being alledged that the words by him &s;poken, were not within the Act again&s;t Bla&s;phemy, nor again&s;t any Law. It was replied by two of the Iu&s;tices, that rather then the &s;aid <HI>James Nayler</HI> &s;hould go at liberty, and abroad in the County, they would &s;tand to the hazard of a fine to be impo&s;ed upon them by the Iudges of the A&s;&s;izes, or words to the &s;ame effect; and another of the Iu&s;tices &s;aid openly, That they rather committed him upon the Mini|&s;ters petition, (though no oath of the truth of any particular therein contained was made) then upon the Indictment, and upon making the Order a|gain&s;t the people of Gods meeting peaceably in the night &s;ea&s;on, it being urged that the Parlia|ment had given liberty of meeting: it was repli|ed, that it was no matter, they would in their di&s;|cretions re&s;train their meetings on the night time, or words the &s;ame in effect. Another Iu&s;tice who gave the charge, who was formerly in arms a|gain&s;t the Parliament, the mo&s;t part of his charge was compo&s;ed of nothing el&s;e but railing again&s;t the people of God, whom by way of reproach he called Quakers: the truth of the&s;e particulars will be atte&s;ted upon oath. Likewi&s;e Iu&s;tice <HI>Pear&s;on</HI> when I parted with him, told me, that he mu&s;t give an account at <HI>Newca&s;tle</HI> to the Mini|&s;ters and others, of their proceedings.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Jervis Ben&s;on.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</LETTER>
<P><HI>It was ordered by the Justices at</HI> Apoleby, <HI>That</HI> Iames Nayler <HI>and</HI> Francis Howgill <HI>&s;hould &s;tay in pri&s;on
<PB N="53" REF="31">
till the petitions be an&s;wered, I was moved to an&s;wer them, and we could not have a Copy of the petitions from</HI> Tho. Kilner <HI>the Clerk of the Peace, but we mu&s;t pay four &s;hillings and &s;ix pence for them, which we know was oppre&s;sion.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="account">
<HEAD>Prie&s;ts Cruelty.</HEAD>
<P>THe chief Prie&s;ts were ever the greate&s;t per&s;e|cuters of the truth, and under the name of profe&s;&s;ion, &s;ought always to de&s;troy the &s;eed of God where ever it was made manife&s;t, and they are the &s;ame &s;till, vvhore ever the &s;eed of God is rai&s;ed up, then they in whom the &s;eed of the Ser|pent <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 12. 3, 4, 5, 13.</NOTE> is head, &s;eek to devour it. The Dragon not having power to devour the man child, yet he wil &s;til pe&s;ecute the woman in vvhom he was brought forth. When Ie&s;us Chri&s;t vvas born, all Ieru&s;alem vvas moved and troubled, and vvhen <HI>Herod</HI> de|manded vvhere Chri&s;t &s;hould be born, the chief <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 2. 3, 4, 5, 16.</NOTE> Prie&s;ts and Scribes of the people told him, in <HI>Beth|lehem,</HI> and in all the coa&s;ts thereof Ie&s;us Chri&s;t &s;hewed to his Di&s;ciples, that he was to &s;uffer many things of the Elders and chief Prie&s;ts, and <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 16. 21</NOTE> Scribes, and be killed of the chiefe Prie&s;ts and <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 21. 15.</NOTE> Scribes: vvhen they &s;aw the vvonderfull things that Je&s;us Chri&s;t did, and that little children did confe&s;s him, they were &s;ore di&s;plea&s;ed, the chief Prie&s;ts and Elders of the people came unto Chri&s;t and he was preaching, and asked, By what autho|rity do&s;t thou the&s;e things, &amp; who gave thee that authority? The chief Prie&s;ts and Phari&s;ees &s;ought <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 23.</NOTE>
<PB N="54" REF="32">
to lay hands on Je&s;us for &s;peaking the truth; Ie|&s;us told his Di&s;ciples, that he &s;hould be betrayed into the hands of the chief Prie&s;ts, and Scribes, and they would condemn him to death, and deli|ver <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 22. 18, 19. Mat. 26. 14, 15 57, 59, &amp;c.</NOTE> him to the Gentiles to mock and to &s;courge, and to crucifie. The chief Prie&s;ts, Scribes and El|ders a&s;&s;embled to the place of the highe&s;t Prie&s;ts, and con&s;ulted that they might take Ie&s;us by &s;ub|tilty, and kill him. The chief Prie&s;ts hired <HI>Judas</HI> to betray Chri&s;t. The chief Prie&s;ts and Elders of the people &s;et a great multitud with &s;words and &s;taves to take Ie&s;us; and when he was taken, they led him to the high Prie&s;ts, where the Scribes and Elders were a&s;&s;embled; the chief Prie&s;ts and El|ders, and all the Councell &s;ought fal&s;e witne&s;s a|gain Ie&s;us to put him to death; The high Prie&s;t when he &s;aw that he could not find witne&s;s to condemn him, then he aro&s;e, and provoke dhm to &s;peak, that he might en&s;nare him in his words; but when Ie&s;us held his peace, then the High Prie&s;t did adjure him by the living God, to tell whether he were the Son of God or no. And when he witne&s;&s;ed forth the truth, the high Prie&s;t rent his cloaths, and &s;aid, he hath &s;poken bla&s;phemy, what further need have we of witne&s;&s;es? And from that they concluded he was worthy of death, and then they &s;pat in his face, and mocked him. And when the morning was come, all the chief Prie&s;ts and Elders of the People took coun&s;el a|gain&s;t <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 27, 2.</NOTE> Ie&s;us to put him to death: And when they had bound him they delivered him to <HI>Pilat.</HI> When <HI>Judas</HI> brought again the thirty pieces of &s;ilver, the chief Prie&s;ts confe&s;&s;ed it to be the price of
<PB N="55" REF="32">
blood, and took con&s;ell how to di&s;po&s;e of it. The <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 6.</NOTE> chief Prie&s;ts and Elders accu&s;ed Chri&s;t before <HI>Pi|lat</HI> of many things; <HI>Pilat</HI> knew that for envy they had delivered him. The chief Prie&s;ts per&s;waded <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 12, 13, 18. 41. 43</NOTE> the people to take <HI>Barabbas,</HI> and de&s;troy Ie&s;us. The The chief Prie&s;ts mocked Ie&s;us on the cro&s;s, with the Scribes and Elders, and &s;aid, He tru&s;ted in <HI>God,</HI> let him deliverhim now if he wou'd have him; for he &s;aid, I am the Son of God. The chief Prie&s;ts called Chri&s;t a deceiver: The chiefe Prie&s;ts and Elders devi&s;ed a lie, and gave large mony to the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 28. 11, 12, 13, 14.</NOTE> Soldiers to report it, and promi&s;ed them &s;ecurity in &s;o doing.</P>
<P>The chief Prie&s;ts and the Captain of the Tem|ple come upon the Apo&s;tles, and being grieved <NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 4. 1, 2, 3, 6, &amp;c.</NOTE> that they preached through Ie&s;us the re&s;urrection of the dead, they laid hands on them, and put them in hold; and the next day the high Prie&s;t, and all his kindred gathered together, and when he had &s;et them in the midde&s;t, they asked them by what vowes and by what means they had done this: and though they could not deny the power, yet they agreed to threaten the Apo&s;tles le&s;t they truth &s;hould &s;pread any further. The high Prie&s;t, and they that were with him, were filled with indignation, becau&s;e of the works done by the Apo&s;tles, and put them in the common Goal. The <NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 17 18, 27, 28. 53.</NOTE> high Pie&s;t called the Councel, and all the Senate of the children of I&s;rael, again&s;t the Apo&s;tles, and &s;ent to the pri&s;on, to have them brought; and when they were come, the high Prie&s;t &s;aid, Did not we &s;trictly command you to teach no more in this name. And when the Apo&s;tles did &s;till witne&s;s
<PB N="56" REF="33">
forth the truth, they took coun&s;ell to &s;lay them. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 7. 1. Acts 9. 1, 2, 21.</NOTE> The High Prie&s;t examined <HI>Stephen,</HI> and for wit|ne&s;&s;ing forth the truth, he was &s;toned to death. <HI>Saul</HI> had letters from the High Prie&s;t, whereby to per&s;ecute the Saints, and to bring them bound ot the chief Prie&s;ts. The High Prie&s;t commanded to &s;mite <HI>Paul</HI> on the mouth for &s;peaking truth. Four|ty <NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 23. 2, 14. Acts 24. 2.</NOTE> men having &s;worn to murder <HI>Paul,</HI> came to the chief Prie&s;t for help to act it. The High Prie&s;t de|&s;cended with the Elders, and a certain Orator, who was to inform again&s;t <HI>Paul.</HI> The chief Prie&s;ts <NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 25. 15.</NOTE> and Elders informed <HI>Fe&s;tus,</HI> and de&s;ired judgement again&s;t <HI>Paul.</HI> The Prie&s;ts, and the Prophets, and <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 26. 8. 11.</NOTE> all the people &s;aid, <HI>Jeremy</HI> thou &s;halt &s;urely die, be|cau&s;e he &s;poke the word of the Lord. The Prie&s;ts <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 23. 11.</NOTE> and the Prophets accu&s;ed <HI>Jeremy</HI> to the Princes, &s;aying, This man is worthy of death; yea both Prie&s;t and Prophet are prophane, yea in my hou&s;e I have found their wickedne&s;s, &s;aith the Lord; yea his watchmen are all blind, they are ignorant, yea they are greedy Doggs, that can never have <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 56, 10, 11, 12.</NOTE> enough, they are Shepeards that cannot under|&s;tand, they all look for their gain from their quar|ters. Come ye, &s;ay they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill our &s;elves with &s;trong drink, and to morrow &s;hall be as this day, and much more abun|dant. Awake ye drunkards, and weep and howl all ye drinkers of wine, gird your &s;elves and la|ment <NOTE PLACE="marg">Joel 1. 5, 13.</NOTE> you Prie&s;ts, howl you Mini&s;ters of the Al|tar, they build up Sion with blood, and Ieru&s;alem with iniquity, the Heads there of judge forre|wards, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Micah 3. 10.</NOTE> and the Prie&s;ts thereof teach for hire, and the Prophets thereof divine for money, yet will
<PB N="57" REF="33">
they lean upon the Lord, and &s;ay, is not the Lord among&s;t us, no evil can come upon us: and now <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mic. 3. 10, 11.</NOTE> ye Prie&s;ts, this Commandment is for you, If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, &s;aith the Lord of Ho&s;ts, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mal. 2. 1, 2, 3, 4</NOTE> I will even &s;end a cur&s;e upon you, and will cur&s;e your ble&s;&s;ings, yea, I have cur&s;ed them already becau&s;e you do not lay it to heart; but behold I will corrupt their &s;eed, and &s;pread dung upon their faces, even the dung of your &s;olemn fea&s;ts, and one &s;hall take you away with it: And ye &s;hall <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 5. 30, 31.</NOTE> know, that I have &s;ent this Commandment unto you, that my Covenant might be with <HI>Levi,</HI> &s;aith the Lord of Ho&s;ts: A wonderful, a horrible thing is committed in the Land, the Prophets prophe|&s;ie fal&s;ly, and the Prie&s;ts bear rule by their means, &amp; my people love to have it &s;o, but what will you do in the end thereof: for from the lea&s;t of them to the greate&s;t of them, they are given to Cove|tou&s;ne&s;s, and from the Prophet even unto the Prie&s;t, every one dealeth fal&s;ly: They have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 6. 13, 14, 15</NOTE> deceitfully, &s;aying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace: Were they a&s;hamed when they had committed abominations? nay they were not at all a&s;hamed, neither could they blu&s;h; therefore they &s;hall fall among&s;t them that fall, at the time that I vi&s;it them, they &s;hall be ca&s;t down, &s;aith the Lord.</P>
<P>I was moved to write this, after the tryal at <HI>Lanca&s;ter.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="afterword">
<PB N="14" REF="34">
<HEAD>An Exhortation to the People.</HEAD>
<P>FRiends, do not call this railing, becau&s;e we u&s;e plainne&s;s of &s;peech, and not with fained words, nor &s;ow pillows under your elbows, as the fal&s;e Prophets did, as you read in the Scripture; but we u&s;e the &s;ame language of the Prophets, Chri&s;t and the Apo&s;tles, who &s;poke again&s;t fained humblene&s;s, as it is as the Scripture &s;aith, They go on in the way of Cain, and run greedily after the error of Balaam, and many &s;hall follow their pernicious ways, of whom the way of truth &s;hall be evil &s;poken of: O all friends and people, &s;ee if there be not &s;omething within you, which &s;hews you &s;in and evil, and the deceits of your own hearts; which if you do hearken to it, and love it, you will love Chri&s;t: for he is the light, and hating this light, you hate Chri&s;t, becau&s;e your deeds are evil, and will not bring your works to the light, lea&s;t the light &s;hould reprove them: and here i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> your condemnation, the light within you, and it is not a Chapter nor a Ver&s;e without you: And loving this light, it will bring you off all the worlds ways and wor&s;hips, to wor&s;hip God: for they walked in their own ways, which &s;pent their money for that which was not bread, and there you are in your own ways; and it will draw you out of all the worlds Churches, into the Church in God: and wait in this light, and it will gather all your hearts together, to live in unity one with another; and it will lead you to the everla&s;ting day of the Lord; and walking in that light, there
<PB N="15" REF="34">
will be no occa&s;ion of &s;tumbling: for being di&s;|obedient to the light, there will be &s;tumbling at noon day: Therefore all people prize your time, this is the day of your vi&s;itation and &s;alvati|on; and if ever you own a clean &amp; pure con&s;cience you will own us; and if ever you come to know Je&s;us Chri&s;t, you will own us; and if ever you own the Lord God of heaven and earth, and come to know him, and wor&s;hip him, you will then own us, and know us; and if ever you own the life of the Prophets and the Apo&s;tles, you will then own us to be &s;ent of God, and of God; and we &s;eek not yours, but your &s;aving health, and &s;ouls good, and your eternal peace and happine&s;s, and eternally &s;hall you witne&s;s us, to that which doth convince you: I &s;peak that which will wit|ne&s;s with me in the end, when the thoughts of every mans heart &s;hall be revealed, and the book of Con&s;cience &s;hall be opened; therefore below in heart, and con&s;ider where you are, and learn the le&s;&s;on of Chri&s;t, and put him on, and for&s;ake all your blinde guides without you, and minde the guide within you; they are the &s;ons of God, that are guided by the Spirit of the Lord; they are not the Sons of God, who can profe&s;s and talk of the Letter, and per&s;ecute them which are contrary to their opinions, but &s;hew forth to be the children of the Devil, and not of God.</P>
<P><PB N="60" REF="35">
MY name is covered from the world, and the world knows not me, nor my name; the earthly name the earthly man knows, and he is afraid of reproach, and cannot bear it upon the earthly name; he that overcometh, hath the new name, and knoweth it; he that is not come into the War, knows it not; he that overcometh, &s;it|teth in his throne, he that overcometh is crowned, he that is judged, and judgement, is brought into victory, and then it is &s;et in the earth; he that overcometh, eateth of the hidden Manna; he that overcometh, &s;hal inherite all things: he that is without, hath the old name, and wants all things, and cannot judge any thing; for the natural man knows not the things of God, but the &s;pi|ritual man judgeth all things; he that hath an ear to hear, let him hear; and ble&s;&s;ed is he that reads, and doth under&s;tand what he reads.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>G. F.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="letter">
<PB N="61" REF="35">
<HEAD>TO THE Parliament of this Common|wealth, and the General, and Major General of the ARMY.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">A Declaration of the pre&s;ent condition of &s;everal Inhabitants in <HI>We&s;tmeriand,</HI> and &s;ome part in <HI>Lanca&s;hire,</HI> who&s;e names are &s;ub&s;cribed, who have been faithful to the Parliament, and &s;erviceable in their places to this Commonwealth, to the hazard of their Lives, Liberties and E&s;tates.</HEAD>
<P><HI>Declareth,</HI></P>
<P>_THat the Lord hath made known him|&s;elf, and manife&s;ted his love to us, in letting us &s;ee the deadne&s;s and em|ptine&s;s of all the outward Mini&s;try of the world; and hath according to his own
<PB N="10" REF="36">
promi&s;e, led us forth of the barren Wilderne&s;s of outward carnal Wor&s;hips, and is his him|&s;elf become out Teacher, and hath made us wil|ling to wait alone upon him for Teaching: By the power and vertue of which, we deny all the Teaching which &s;tands in the will of man what|&s;oever; and &s;o meeting together to wait upon the Lords unlimitted power, exhoring and build|ing up one another in our mo&s;t holy faith, ac|cording to the practice of all the Saints before us; Not onely &s;pending the Fir&s;t day of the week in &s;uch Exerci&s;es; but &s;everal other days and nights, as the Lord gives us opportunity, to the great refre&s;hment of our &s;ouls, and uniting of our hearts to the Lord, and one to another, to his everla&s;ting prai&s;e and glory; and having oc|ca&s;ion to prai&s;e the Lord for that Freedom which the Parliament doth allow us, for which the Prie&s;ts much maligns us, and &s;tirs up the ignorant people in their Publique A&s;&s;emblies, to execute their rigour upon us, fomentinglyes, and accu&s;ing us to the Magi&s;trates fal&s;ely, cau|&s;ing &s;ome to be Endicted, &s;ome Impri&s;oned, and &s;ome bound over for no ju&s;t cau&s;e at all: And hath done all that in them lies to deprive us of that Liberty which the Parliament hath afforded: As may appear, by &s;everal Orders made at a late Se&s;&s;ions at Appleby in We&s;tmer|land; wherein they have Ordered, That we &s;hall not meet together in the night time, which hath been the practice of the Saints in former ages, and hath been our practice, becau&s;e there are
<PB N="11" REF="36">
many Servants and young labouring people, which cannot come on the day, which comes at the night, becau&s;e we would not give an occa|&s;ion of offence: Wherein we do witne&s;s, that while we did meet together on the night to &s;port and &s;pend the time in vanity, we were not medled withal; but now we do te&s;tifie again&s;t all &s;uch practices: and who lives now in the &s;ame na|ture hates us: But Ju&s;tice which cuts down fil|thine&s;s, and gives way for truth to ri&s;e, we own. But there are &s;everal got into Commi&s;&s;ion of the peace, formerly Malignants, and &s;ome that have been actually in Arms again&s;t the Parlia|ment, contrary to the Act of Parliament, and are utter Enemies to the Truth, as doth appear, not onely here, but likewi&s;e in York&s;hire, where there hath been ten of our Brethren and Si&s;ters kept in Pri&s;on in York Ca&s;tle, &s;ome of them the mo&s;t part of a whole year, and &s;ince the la&s;t A&s;&s;izes were kept in clo&s;e Pri&s;on, until one of them dyed, and &s;o continued in clo&s;e Pri&s;on, un|til it plea&s;ed the Lord to move the hearts of &s;ome to procure them more Liberty. And whereas we are a people accu&s;ed to deny Ma|gi&s;tracy, it is not &s;o; For Ju&s;tice we own in our &s;ouls, which cuts down corruption, which keeps the &s;oul in the death; For let every &s;oul be &s;ubject to the higher power: For all power is of God, and that we &s;et up, own and honor for Con&s;cience &s;ake, and all men in the Lord. Likewi&s;e our dear Brother <HI>James Nayler</HI> lies in Pri&s;on in Appleby, who &s;erved the Par|liament
<PB N="64" REF="37">
under the Command of Major General <HI>Lambert,</HI> betwixt eight and nine years, as we believe &s;ome of the Army can witne&s;s: All that we de&s;ire is, that Books may be printed whereby the Truth may be manife&s;ted: And if we tran&s;gre&s;s or offend, we are willing to &s;uf|fer.</P>
<TAILNOTE>
<P>This Petition was &s;igned by Three hundred and twenty nine of the Inhabitants of Lanca&s;hire, and part of We&s;tmerland.</P>
</TAILNOTE>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
