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<DATE>2009-03-20</DATE>
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<NAME>Judith Siefring</NAME>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>M^r^. Cottons
LETTER
Lately Printed,
EXAMINED
AND
ANSVVERED:</P>
<P>By <HI>Roger Williams</HI> of <HI>Providence</HI>
In
<HI>NEW-ENGLAND.</HI></P>
<P>LONDON,
Imprinted in the yeere 1644.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>To the Impartiall READER.</HEAD>
<P>THis Letter I acknowledge to have received from Mr. <HI>Cot|ton</HI>
(whom for his per&s;onall excellencies I truly honour and
love.) Yet at &s;uch a time of my di&s;tre&s;&s;ed wandrings among&s;t
the <HI>Barbarians,</HI> that being de&s;titute of food, of cloths, of time I re&s;er|ved
it (though hardly, amid&s;t &s;o many barbarous di&s;tractions) and
afterward prepared an An&s;wer to be returned.</P>
<P>In the Interim,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr Cottons reluctancy in him&s;elfe con|cerning the way of per&s;e|cution.</NOTE> &s;ome Friends being much grieved, that one, publike|ly
acknowledged to be godly and dearely beloved, &s;hould yet be &s;o ex|po&s;ed
to the mercy of an howling Wilderne&s;&s;e in Fro&s;t and Snow, <HI>&amp;c.</HI>
M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">. <HI>Cotton</HI> to take off the edg of Cen&s;ure from him&s;elf profe&s;t both
in &s;peech and writing, that He was no procurer of my &s;orrows.</P>
<P>Some Letters then pa&s;t between us, in which I proved and expre&s;t,
that if I had peri&s;hed in that &s;orrowfull Winters flight;<NOTE PLACE="marg">An unmerci|full &s;peech from a merci|full man.</NOTE> only the blood
of Je&s;us Chri&s;t could have wa&s;hed him from the guilt of mine.</P>
<P>His finall An&s;wer was, had you peri&s;hed, your blood had beene on
your owne head; it was your &s;inne to procure it, and your &s;orrow to
&s;uffer it.</P>
<P>Here I confe&s;&s;e I stopt, and ever &s;ince &s;uppre&s;t mine An&s;wer; waiting
if it might plea&s;e the Father of mercies, more to mollifie and &s;often,
and render more humane and mercifull, the eare and heart of that
(otherwi&s;e) excellent and worthy man.</P>
<P>It cannot now, be ju&s;tly offen&s;ive,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gods wi&s;edome in the &s;ea&s;on of publi&s;hing this letter</NOTE> that finding this Letter publike
(by who&s;e procurement I know not) I al&s;o pre&s;ent to the &s;ame publike
view, my formerly intended An&s;wer.</P>
<P>I rejoice in the goodne&s;&s;e and wi&s;dome of him, who is the Father of
lights and mercies,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Times of en|quirie after Chri&s;t</NOTE> in ordering the &s;ea&s;on both of mine owne pre|&s;ent
opportunity of An&s;wer: As al&s;o, and e&s;pecially of &s;uch Prote&s;ta|tions
and Re&s;olutions of &s;o many fearing God, to &s;eeke what Wor&s;hip
and Wor&s;hippers are acceptable to him in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Mire own eares were glad and late Witne&s;&s;es of an heavenly Speech
of one of the mo&s;t eminent of that high A&s;&s;embly of <HI>Parliament;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">A golden &s;peech of a Parliament man.</NOTE>
<HI>viz. why &s;hould the Labours of any bee &s;uppre&s;t if &s;ober,
though never &s;o different? We now profe&s;&s;e to &s;cek God, we
de&s;ire to &s;ee light, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>I know there is a time when God will not be found,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Times when &s;eeking of God comes t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">o late.</NOTE> though men &s;eek
him early <HI>Prov.</HI> 1.</P>
<P><PB REF="3">
There is a time when Prayer and Fa&s;ting comes too late, <HI>Jer.</HI> 14.</P>
<P>There is a &s;eeking of the God of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> with a &s;tumbling block, ac|cording
to which God giveth his <HI>I&s;rael</HI> an an&s;wer, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 13.</P>
<P>Lastly, there is a Proud refu&s;all of the mind of God, returned in
An&s;wer by the Prophet <HI>Jer.</HI> 42.</P>
<P>Love bids me hope for bettes things: Gods promi&s;e a&s;&s;ures us, that
his people returning from Captivity,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Whole hearted &s;eekers the on|ly &s;eekers of Chri&s;t Ie&s;us.</NOTE> &s;hall &s;eeke him and pray and find
him, when they &s;eek him with their whole heart, <HI>Jer.</HI> 27. And Gods
Angel comforts tho&s;e again&s;t all feares, that &s;eeke Ie&s;us that was Cru|cified,
<HI>Mark</HI> 16.</P>
<P>Thy &s;oule &s;o pro&s;per (who ever thou art) Worthy Reader, as with thy
whole heart thou &s;eeke&s;t that true Lord Ie&s;us, who is holyne&s;&s;e it &s;elfe,
and requires a Spirituall and holy Bride like to him&s;elfe, the pure and
&s;potle&s;&s;e Lambe.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chri&s;t Ie&s;us whom he &s;a|veth he tea|cheth,</NOTE> Hee alone as he is able to &s;ave thee to the utmo&s;t
from thy &s;ins and &s;orrowes by his Blood. So hath hee brought his Fa|thers
Councell, from his Bo&s;ome, and every &s;oule is bound (on paine
of eternall Paines) to attend alone his Lawes and Ordinances, Com|mands
and Statutes, <HI>Heb. 7. Acts</HI> 3.</P>
<P>That Lord Ie&s;us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The true Lord Ie&s;us &s;tudied hnmility and &s;elfe-deniall.</NOTE> who purpo&s;ely cho&s;e to de&s;cend of meane and infe|riour
Parents, a Carpenter, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Who di&s;dained not to enter this World in a Stable, amongst Bea&s;ts,
as unworthy the &s;ociety of Men: Who past through this World with
the e&s;teeme of a Mad man, a Deceiver, a Conjurer, a Traytor again&s;t
Cae&s;ar, and destitute of an hou&s;e wherein to re&s;t his head: Who mad
choice of his fir&s;t and greatest Emba&s;&s;adours out of Fi&s;her-men Tent|makers,
<HI>&amp;c.</HI> and at la&s;t cho&s;e to depart on the &s;tage of a pianfull &s;hame|full
Gibbet.</P>
<P>If him thou &s;eeke&s;t in the&s;e &s;earching times, mak'&s;t him alone thy
white and &s;oules beloved,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Seekers ef Chri&s;t are &s;ure of a gracious an&s;were, 2 The&s;&s;: 1.</NOTE> willing to follow and be like him in doing, in
&s;uffring: although thou find'&s;t him not in the re&s;tauration of his
Ordinances, according to his fir&s;t Patterne.</P>
<P>Yet &s;halt thou &s;ee him, raigne with him, eternally admire him, and
enjoy him, when he &s;hortly comes in flaming fire to burne up millions of
ignorant and di&s;obedient.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your mo&s;t Vnworthy Countrey-man
Roger Williams.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="3">
<HEAD>M^r^. Cottons Letter
Examined and An&s;wered.</HEAD>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. I.</HEAD>
<P>Mr. Cotton.</P>
<P>_BELOVED In Chri&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;wer.</HI> Though I humbly de&s;ire to ac|knowledge
my &s;elfe unworthy to be belo|ved
and mo&s;t of all unworthy of the name
of Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A mon&s;trous Paradox, that Gods children &s;hould per&s;e|cute Gods chil|dren, and that they that hope to live eternal|ly together with Chri&s;t Ie&s;us in the heavens &s;hould not &s;uffer each other to live in this common aire together, &amp;c. I am informed it was the Speech of an honourable Knight of the Parlia|ment: What, Chri&s;t per&s;ecute Chri&s;t in New England?</NOTE> and to be beloved for his &s;ake:
yet &s;ince Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> is plea&s;ed to u&s;e &s;uch
an affectionate compellation and te&s;timo|niall
expre&s;&s;ion, to one &s;o afflicted and per|&s;ecuted
by Him&s;elfe and others (whom for their per&s;onall
worth and godline&s;&s;e I al&s;o honour and love.) I de&s;ire it may
be &s;eriou&s;ly reviewed by Him&s;elfe and Them, and all men,
whether the Lord Je&s;us be well plea&s;ed that one, beloved in
him, &s;hould (for no other cau&s;e, then &s;hall pre&s;ently appeare)
be denyed the common aire to breath in, and a civill cohabi|tation
upon the &s;ame common earth; yea and al&s;o without
mercy and humane compas&s;ion be expo&s;ed to winter mi&s;eries
in a howling Wildernes?</P>
<P>And I aske further,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cotton ex|pecting more Light; mu&s;t (according to his way of per|&s;ecution) per|&s;ecute Chri&s;t Ie&s;us if he bring it.</NOTE> Whether (&s;ince Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> el&s;ewhere
profe&s;&s;eth to expect farre greater light then yet &s;hines) upon
the &s;ame grounds and practi&s;e, if Chri&s;t Je&s;us in any of his
Servants &s;hall be plea&s;ed to hold forth a further light, Chri&s;t
Je&s;us him&s;elfe &s;hall finde the Mercy and Humanity of a
civill and temporall life and being with them?</P>
<P>Mr. <HI>Cotton.</HI> Though I have little hope (when I con&s;ider the
uncircumci&s;ion of mine own lips) that you will hearken to
<PB N="2" REF="4">
my voice, who have not hearkned to the body of the whole
Church of <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> with you, and the te&s;timony and judgement
of &s;o many Elders and Brethren of other Churches! Yet I tru&s;t
my labour will be accepted of the Lord, and who can tell but
that he may ble&s;&s;e it to you al&s;o, if (by his help) I endeavour
to &s;hew you the &s;andines of tho&s;e grounds, out of which you
have bani&s;hed your &s;elf from the fellow&s;hip of all the Chur|ches
in the&s;e Countries.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Fir&s;t I acknowledge it an holy Character of an hea|venly
Spirit,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Will-wor&s;hip varni&s;hed over with the glit|tering &s;hew of Humility.</NOTE> to make ingenuous true acknowledgement of an
uncircumci&s;ed lip: yet that di&s;cerning Spirit, which God
graciou&s;ly vouch&s;afeth to them that tremble at his word,
&s;hall not only find that not only the will wor&s;hips of men may
be painted and varni&s;hed over with the glittering &s;hew of hu|mility,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Spirituall pri<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">e may &s;well, out of the &s;ence of a mans Hu|mility.</NOTE>
<HI>Colo&s;&s;.</HI> 2. but al&s;o Gods deare&s;t &s;ervants (eminent for
humility and meeknes) may yet be troubled with a &s;welling
of &s;pirituall pride out of the very &s;ence of their humility: It
plea&s;ed God to give <HI>Paul</HI> him&s;elfe preventing phy&s;ick again&s;t
this di&s;temper, in the mid&s;t of Gods gracious revelation to
him.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Humility mo&s;t un&s;ea&s;onable in &s;etting up will-wor&s;hip, or per&s;ecuting others.</NOTE> And what an humble argument doth <HI>David</HI> u&s;e, when
him&s;elf advi&s;ed by <HI>Nathan,</HI> went about an evill work out of an
holy intention, to wit, a work of will wor&s;hip, in building the
Temple unbidden? <HI>Behold I dwell in an hou&s;e of cedars, but the
Arke of God in a tent,</HI> 2 Sam. 7. Humility is never in &s;ea&s;on to
&s;et up &s;uper&s;tition, or to per&s;ecute Gods children.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. II.</HEAD>
<P>Secondly I ob&s;erve his charge again&s;t me, for not hearkning
to a twofold voice of Chri&s;t: fir&s;t of the whole Church of
Chri&s;t with me.</P>
<P>Unto which I an&s;were, according to my con&s;cience and
per&s;wa&s;ion. I was then charged by Office with the feeding of
that flock: and when in the apprehen&s;ion of &s;ome publike
evils,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Publike &s;ins the cau&s;e of publike Cala|mities, mu&s;t be faithfully di&s;|covered by &s;pi|ritual watch|men.</NOTE> the whole Countrey profe&s;t to humble it &s;elfe and &s;eek
God, I endeavoured (as a faithfull Watchman on the walls to
&s;ound the Trumpet and give the Alarum: and upon a Fa&s;t
day, in faithfullnes and uprightne&s;&s;e (as then and &s;till I am
per&s;waded) I di&s;covered 11 publike &s;ins, for which I beleeved
(and doe) it plea&s;ed God to inflict, and further to threaten
publike calamities. Mo&s;t of which <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> (if not all) that Church
then &s;eemed to a&s;&s;ent unto: untill afterward in my troubles
<PB N="3" REF="4">
the greater part of that Church, was &s;wayed and bowed (whe|ther
for feare of per&s;ecution or otherwi&s;e) to &s;ay and practi&s;e
what to my knowledge, with &s;ignes and groans many of them
mourned under.</P>
<P>I know the Church of <HI>Colo&s;&s;e</HI> mu&s;t &s;ay to <HI>Archippus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Colo&s;s&punc; 4.</NOTE> <HI>Take
heed to thy Mini&s;try,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Faithfullnes to God and Man (though for pre&s;ent Cen&s;u|red) will give rejoycing in day of Death and judgement</NOTE> &amp;c, which he may negligently and proudly
refu&s;e to hearken to: But let my ca&s;e be con&s;idered, and the
word of the Lord examined, and the difference of my ca&s;e
will &s;hine forth, and my faithfullnes and uprightnes to God
and the &s;oules of that people will witne&s;&s;e for me, when my
&s;oule comes to <HI>Hezechiahs</HI> ca&s;e on his death bed, and in that
great day approaching.</P>
<P>For my not hearkning to the &s;econd voice, the te&s;timony of
&s;o many Elders and Brethren of other Churches (becau&s;e I
truely e&s;teem and honour the per&s;ons of which the New-Engli&s;h
Churches are con&s;tituted.)<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Popi&s;h ar|gument from Multitudes.</NOTE> I will not an&s;were the ar|gument
of numbers and multitudes again&s;t One, as we u&s;e to
an&s;were the Popi&s;h univer&s;alitie, that God &s;omtimes &s;tirs up
one <HI>Elijah</HI> again&s;t 800. of <HI>Baals</HI> Prie&s;ts, one <HI>Micaiah</HI> again&s;t
400. of <HI>Ahabs</HI> Prophets; one <HI>Athana&s;ius</HI> again&s;t many hun|dreth
of Arrian Bi&s;hops; one <HI>Iohn Hus</HI> again&s;t the whole
Councel of <HI>Con&s;tance; Luther</HI> and the 2 Witne&s;&s;es again&s;t many
thou&s;ands &amp;c.<NOTE PLACE="marg">David and the Princes and 30 thou&s;and of I&s;rael, a type of Gods be&s;t &s;ervants refor|ming, yet not after the due Order.</NOTE> Yet this I may truly &s;ay, that <HI>David</HI> him&s;elf
and the Princes of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> and 30 thou&s;and <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> carrying up
the Arke, were not to be hearkned to nor followed in their (as
I may &s;ay) holy rejoycings and Triumphings, the due Order
of the Lord, yet being wanting to their holy intentions and
affections, and the Lord at la&s;t &s;ending in a &s;ad &s;top and breach
of <HI>Vzzah,</HI> among&s;t them (<HI>Perez Vzzah</HI>) as he hath ever yet
done, and will doe in all the Reformations that have been
hitherto made by his <HI>Davids,</HI> which are not after the due
Order. To which purpo&s;e, it is maintained by the Papi&s;ts
them&s;elves,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An excellent confe&s;&s;ion of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">he Papi&s;ts concerning Scripture.</NOTE> and by their Councels that Scripture only mu&s;t
be heard: yea one Scripture in the mouth of one &s;imple Me|channick
before the whole Councel. By that only do I de&s;ire
to &s;tand or fall in triall or judgement: <HI>For all fle&s;h is gra&s;&s;e, and
the beautie of fle&s;h,</HI> (the mo&s;t wi&s;e&s;t, holie&s;t, learned&s;t) <HI>is but the
flowre or beautie of gra&s;&s;e, only the word of Jehovah &s;tandeth fa&s;t for
ever.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="4" REF="5">
<HEAD>CHAP. III.</HEAD>
<P>Thirdly Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> endeavoureth to di&s;cover the &s;andines
of tho&s;e grounds out of which (as he &s;aith) I have bani&s;hed my
&s;elfe&punc; &amp;c.</P>
<P>I an&s;were, I que&s;tion not his holy and loving intentions and
affections,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Good intenti|ons and affe|ctions in Gods people, accepte with God, when their in|devours peri&s;h and burn like &s;tubble, &amp;c.</NOTE> and that my grounds &s;eem &s;andie to him&s;elfe and
others. Tho&s;e intentions and affections may be accepted (as
his per&s;on) with the Lord, as <HI>David</HI> of his de&s;ires to build the
Lord a Temple, though on &s;andy grounds. Yet Mr. <HI>Cottons</HI>
endeavours to prove the firm rock of the truth of Je&s;us to
be the weak and uncertain &s;and of mans invention tho&s;e &s;hall
peri&s;h and burn like hay or &s;tubble. The rockie &s;trength of
tho&s;e grounds &s;hall more appeare in the Lords &s;ea&s;on, and
him&s;elf may yet confe&s;&s;e &s;o much, as &s;ince he came into New
<HI>England</HI> he hath confe&s;t the &s;andines of the grounds of many
of his practi&s;es in which he walked in Old <HI>England,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Many grounds &s;eemed &s;andie to Mr. Cotton in Old Eng|land, which now he confe&s;|&s;eth to be rockie.</NOTE> and the
rockine&s;&s;e of their grounds that witne&s;&s;ed again&s;t them and
him&s;elf, in tho&s;e practi&s;es, though for that time their grounds
&s;eemed &s;andie to him.</P>
<P>When my &s;elfe heretofore (through the mercy of the mo&s;t
high di&s;covered to him&s;elf and othereminent &s;ervants of <HI>God,</HI>
my grounds again&s;t their u&s;ing of the Common Prayer; my
grounds &s;eemed &s;andie to them&punc; which &s;ince in New <HI>England</HI>
Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> hath acknowledged rockie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cotton formerly per|&s;waded to pra|cti&s;e Common Prayer: but &s;ince hath writt'n again&s;t it.</NOTE> and hath &s;een cau&s;e &s;o to
publi&s;h to the world in his Di&s;cour&s;e to Mr. <HI>Ball,</HI> again&s;t &s;et
Forms of Prayer.</P>
<P>But becau&s;e the Reader may aske both Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> and me,
what were the grounds of &s;uch a &s;entence of Bani&s;hment a|gain&s;t
me, which are here called &s;andie, I &s;hall relate in briefe
what tho&s;e grounds were, &s;ome whereof he is plea&s;ed to di&s;|cu&s;&s;e
in this Letter, and others of them not to mention.</P>
<P>After my publike triall and an&s;wers at the generall Court,
one of the mo&s;t eminent Magi&s;trates (who&s;e name and &s;peech
may by others be remembred) &s;tood up and &s;pake:</P>
<P>Mr. <HI>Williams</HI> (&s;aid he) holds forth the&s;e 4. particulars;<NOTE PLACE="marg">The 4 particu|lar Grounds of my Sentence of Bani&s;hment.</NOTE></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, That we have not our Land by Pattent from the
King, but that the Natives are the true owners of it, and that
we ought to repent of &s;uch a receiving it by Pattent.</P>
<P>Secondly, That it is not lawfull to call a wicked per&s;on to
Sweare, to Pray, as being actions of Gods Wor&s;hip.</P>
<P><PB N="5" REF="5">
Thirdly, That it is not lawfull to heare any of the Mini|&s;ters
of the Pari&s;h A&s;&s;emblies in <HI>England.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly, That the Civill Magi&s;trates power extends only
to the Bodies and Goods, and outward &s;tate of men, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>I acknowledge the particulars were rightly &s;umm'd up, and
I al&s;o hope, that, as I then maintained the Rockie &s;trength of
them to my own &amp; other con&s;ciences &s;atisfaction, &s;o (through
the Lords as&s;i&s;tance) I &s;hall be ready for the &s;ame grounds, not
only to be bound and bani&s;hed, but to die al&s;o, in New <HI>England,</HI>
as for mo&s;t holy Truths of God in Chri&s;t Je&s;us.</P>
<P>Yea but (&s;aith hee) upon tho&s;e grounds you bani&s;hed your
&s;elfe from the &s;ociety of the Churches in the&s;e countries.</P>
<P>I an&s;wer, if Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> mean my owne voluntary withdraw|ing
from tho&s;e Churches re&s;olved to continue in tho&s;e evils,
and per&s;ecuting the witne&s;&s;es of the Lord prefenting light un|to
them,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chri&s;t Ie&s;us &s;peaketh and &s;uffereth in his witne&s;&s;es.</NOTE> I confe&s;&s;e it was mine owne voluntary act; yea, I
hope the act of the Lord Je&s;us &s;ounding forth in me (a poore
de&s;pi&s;ed Rams horn) the bla&s;t which &s;hall in his owne holy
&s;ea&s;on ca&s;t down the &s;trength and confidence of tho&s;e inventi|ons
of men in the wor&s;hipping of the true and living God.
And la&s;tly, his act in inabling me to be faithfull in any mea|&s;ure
to &s;uffer &s;uch great and mighty trials for his names &s;ake.
But if by bani&s;hing my &s;elfe he intend the act of civill bani&s;h|ment
from their common earth and aire,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Dragons language in a Lambs lip.</NOTE> I then ob&s;erve with
griefe the language of the Dragon in a lambs lip. Among o|ther
expre&s;sions of the Dragon are not the&s;e common to the
witne&s;&s;es of the Lord Je&s;us re<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">t and torne by his per&s;ecuti|ons?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gods children per&s;ecuted are charged by their enemies to be the au|thors of their own per&s;ecu|tion.</NOTE>
Goe now, &s;ay you are per&s;ecuted, you are per&s;ecuted
for Chri&s;t &s;uffer for your con&s;cience: No, it is your &s;chi&s;me,
here&s;ie, ob&s;tinacie, the Divill hath deceived thee, thou ha&s;t
ju&s;tly brought this upon thee, thou ha&s;t bani&s;hed thy &s;elfe,
&amp;c. In&s;tances are abundant in &s;o many bookes of Martyrs,
and the experience of all men, and therefore I &s;pare to recite
in &s;o &s;hort a treati&s;e.</P>
<P>Secondly, if he mean this civill act of bani&s;hing, why &s;hould
he call a civill &s;entence from the civill State, within a few
weeks execution in &s;o &s;harp a time of <HI>New Englands</HI> cold.<NOTE PLACE="marg">A Nationall Church the &s;ilent Com|mon weale, or or world, &s;i|lently confe&s;t by Mr. Cotton to be all one.</NOTE> Why
&s;hould he call this a bani&s;hment from the Churches, except
he &s;ilently confe&s;&s;e, that the frame or con&s;titution of their
Churches is but implicitly National (which yet they profe&s;&s;e
<PB N="6" REF="6">
again&s;t) for otherwi&s;e why was I not yet permitted to live in
the world, or Common-weale, except for this rea&s;on, that the
Common weale and Church is yet but one, and hee that is
bani&s;hed from the one, mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily bee bani&s;hed from the
other al&s;o.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. IV.</HEAD>
<P>Mr. <HI>Cotton.</HI> Let not any prejudice again&s;t my per&s;on, I be|&s;eech
you, fore&s;tall either your affection or judgement, as if I
had ha&s;ted forward the &s;entence of your civill bani&s;hment;
for what was done by the Magi&s;trates in that kind, was neither
done by my coun&s;ell nor con&s;ent.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Although I de&s;ire to heare the voyce of God from a
&s;tranger,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Per&s;ecuters of mens bodies &s;eldome or never do th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;e mens &s;oules good.</NOTE> an equall, an inferiour, yea an enemy; yet I ob&s;erve
how this excellent man cannot but confe&s;&s;e how hard it is
for any man to doe good to &s;peak effectually to the &s;oule or
con&s;cience of any who&s;e body he afflicts and per&s;ecutes, and
that onely for their &s;oule and con&s;cience &s;ake.<NOTE PLACE="marg">An excellent ob&s;ervation of a worthy Parliament man.</NOTE> Hence excel|lent
was the ob&s;ervation of a worthy Gentleman in the Par|liament
again&s;t the Bi&s;hops, viz. That the Bi&s;hops were farre
from the practice of the Lord Je&s;us, who together with his
word preached to the &s;oules of men, &s;hewed their bodies &s;o
much mercie and loving kindne&s;&s;e: whereas the Bi&s;hops on
the contrary per&s;ecute, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Now to the ground from whence my prejudice might ari&s;e,
he profe&s;&s;eth my bani&s;hment proceeded not with his coun&s;ell
or con&s;ent.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gods children are not &s;o free in per&s;ecuting Gods children, as per&s;ecutors, who&s;e profe&s;|&s;ed nature &amp; trade it is.</NOTE> I an&s;wer, I doubt not but that what Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI>
and others did in procuring my &s;orrowes, was not without
&s;ome regret and reluctancie of con&s;cience and affection (as
like it is that <HI>David</HI> could not procure <HI>Vriiahs</HI> death, nor <HI>A&s;a</HI>
impri&s;on the Prophet with a quiet and free con&s;cience.) Yet
to the particular that Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> con&s;ented not, what need he
being not one of the civill Court? But that hee councelled it
(and &s;o con&s;ented,) be&s;ide what other proofe I might pro|duce,
and what him&s;elfe here under expre&s;&s;eth, I &s;hall pro|duce
a double and unan&s;werable te&s;timony.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">M. Cotton by teaching per&s;ecution cannot but con&s;ent to it, &amp;c.</NOTE> hee publickly taught, and teacheth (except lately
Chri&s;t Je&s;us hath taught him better) that body-killing, &s;oule-killing,
and State-killing doctrine of not permitting, but per|&s;ecuting
all other con&s;ciences and wayes of wor&s;hip but his
own in the civill State, and &s;o con&s;equently in the whole
<PB N="7" REF="6">
world, if the power or Empire thereof were in his hand.</P>
<P>Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cotton privatly &s;atisfied the con&s;ciences of &s;ome that que&s;tioned, Whether per|&s;ecution for con&s;cience were lawfull.</NOTE> as at that &s;entence divers worthy Gentlemen
dur&s;t not concurre with the re&s;t in &s;uch a cour&s;e, &s;o &s;ome that
did con&s;ent, have &s;olemnly te&s;tified, and with teares, &s;ince to
my &s;elfe confe&s;&s;ed, that they could not in their &s;oules have
been brought to have con&s;ented to the &s;entence, had not Mr.
<HI>Cotton</HI> in private given them advice and coun&s;ell, proving it
ju&s;t and warrantable to their con&s;ciences.</P>
<P>I de&s;ire to bee as charitable as charity would have me, and
therfore would hope that either his memory faild him, or
that el&s;e he meant that in the very time of &s;entence pa&s;sing
he neither coun&s;elled nor con&s;ented (as hee hath &s;ince &s;aid,
that he withdrew him&s;elfe and went out from the re&s;t) pro|bably
out of that reluctation which before I mentioned; and
yet if &s;o, I cannot reconcile his owne expre&s;sion: for thus hee
goes on.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. V.</HEAD>
<P>Mr. <HI>Cotton.</HI> Although I dare not deny the &s;entence pa&s;&s;ed
to be righteous in the eyes of God, who hath &s;aid, that <HI>he that
with-holdeth the corne</HI> (which is the &s;taffe of life) <HI>from the people,
the multitude &s;hall cur&s;e him,</HI> Prov. 11. 26. how much more &s;hall
they &s;eparate &s;uch from them, as doe withold and &s;eperate
them from the ordinances&punc; or the ordinances from them
(which are in Chri&s;t the bread of life.)</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro. 11. 26.</NOTE> I de&s;ire to informe the Reader why it plea&s;eth Mr.
<HI>Cotton</HI> to produce this Scripture.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Scripture produced by Mr. Cotton to prove my bani&s;hment lawfull, di&s;|cu&s;&s;ed.</NOTE> One of our Di&s;putes was con|cerning
the true Mini&s;tery appointed by the Lord Je&s;us. A|nother
was concerning the fitne&s;&s;e and qualification of &s;uch
per&s;ons as have right (according to the rules of the Go&s;pel)
to choo&s;e and enjoy &s;uch a true Mini&s;tery of the Lord Je&s;us.
Hence becau&s;e I profe&s;&s;ed, and doe, again&s;t the office of any
mini&s;tery but &s;uch as the Lord Je&s;us appointeth, this Scrip|ture
is produced again&s;t me.</P>
<P>Secondly, let this be ob&s;erved for &s;atisfaction to many, who
enquire into the cau&s;e of my &s;ufferings,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cotton &s;atisfies all men concer|ning the chief cau&s;e of my bani&s;hment.</NOTE> that it plea&s;eth Mr.
<HI>Cotton</HI> onely to produce this Scripture for ju&s;tifying the &s;en|tence
as righteous in the eyes of God, implying what our chief
difference was, and con&s;equently what it was for which I
chiefly &s;uffered, to wit, concerning the true Mini&s;try of
Chri&s;t Je&s;us. But to the Scripture, let the people cur&s;e &s;uch
<PB N="8" REF="7">
as hoord up corporall or &s;pirituall corn;<NOTE PLACE="marg">The word of the L<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">rd is the &s;ouls corn, yet mu&s;t it be di&s;pen&s;ed ac|cording to the word of the Lord.</NOTE> and let tho&s;e be ble&s;|&s;ed
that &s;ell it: will it therefore follow, that either the one or
the other may lawfully bee &s;old or bought but with the good
will, con&s;ent and authority of the true owner?</P>
<P>Doth not even the common civill Market abhorre and
cur&s;e that man, who carries to market and throws about good
corn, again&s;t the owners mind and expre&s;&s;e command, who yet
is willing and de&s;irous it &s;hould bee &s;old plenteou&s;ly, if with
his con&s;ent, according to his order, and to his hone&s;t and rea|&s;onable
advantage? This is the ca&s;e of the true and fal&s;e Mi|ni&s;tery.<NOTE PLACE="marg">To &s;ome parts the Apo&s;tles were forbid|den to preach, and from o|thers to de|part &s;haking off the du&s;t, &amp;c.</NOTE>
Far bee it from my &s;oules thought to &s;top the &s;weet
&s;treams of the water of life, from flowing to refre&s;h the thir|&s;ty,
or the bread of life from feeding hungry &s;oules: And yet
I would not, and the Lord Ie&s;us would not that one drop
or one crum, or grain &s;hould be unlawfully, di&s;orderly, or
prodigally di&s;po&s;ed of: for, from the &s;corners, contradicters,
de&s;pi&s;ers, per&s;ecuters, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> the Apo&s;tles me&s;&s;engers of the Lord
Ie&s;us, were to turne and to &s;hake off the du&s;t of their feet: yea,
it plea&s;ed the Spirit of the Lord to forbid the Apo&s;tles to
preach at all to &s;ome places, at &s;ome times: &s;o that the whole
di&s;po&s;e of this &s;pirituall corn, for the per&s;ons &s;elling, their
qualifications,<NOTE PLACE="marg">All the Lords corn mu&s;t bee &s;old according to the Lords ordinance.</NOTE> commi&s;sions or callings, the quantities and
qualities of the corne, the price for which, the per&s;ons to
whom, the place where, and time when the great Lord of the
harve&s;t mu&s;t expre&s;&s;e his holy will and plea&s;ure, which mu&s;t
humbly and faithfully be attended on.</P>
<P>In which regard Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> deals mo&s;t partially: for would
Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> him&s;elf have preached in Old, or will hee in New
<HI>England</HI> with &s;ubmi&s;sion but to &s;ome few ceremonies, as the
&s;elling of this &s;pirituall corn in a white Coat, a Surplice?
Did hee not rather choo&s;e (which I mention to the Lords
and Mr. <HI>Cottons</HI> honour) to have &s;hut up his &s;acks mouth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cotton him&s;elf choo|&s;ing rather to &s;ell no &s;piri|tuall corn, then <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> to &s;ome cere|monies</NOTE> to
have been &s;ilenced (as they call it) and impri&s;oned, then to
&s;el that heavenly corn otherwi&s;e then as he was per&s;waded the
Lord appointed? yea hath hee not in <HI>New England</HI> refu&s;ed to
admit the children of godly parents to bapti&s;m, or the parents
them&s;elves unto the fellow&s;hip of the Supper, untill they
came into that order which he conceived was the Order of
the Lords appointing?</P>
<P>Againe (to de&s;cend to humane cour&s;es) doe not all civill
<PB N="9" REF="7">
men throughout the world,<NOTE PLACE="marg">In civil thing nothing law|full but what is according to law and order.</NOTE> forbid all building, planting, mer|chandizing,
marrying, execution of Ju&s;tice; yea, all actions of
peace or warre, but by a true and right Commi&s;sion, and in a
right Order? Is it not, in this pre&s;ent &s;torm of <HI>Englands</HI> &s;or|rows
one of the greate&s;t Quaeries in all the Kingdom, who are
the true Officers,<NOTE PLACE="marg">In England now not per|&s;ons fit, but al&s;o truly au|thorized, are true officers.</NOTE> true Commanders, true Ju&s;tices, true Com|mi&s;&s;ioners;
which is the true Seale? And doubtles as Truth
is but One, &s;o but the one &s;ort is True, and ought to be &s;ub|mitted
to, and the contrary re&s;i&s;ted; although it &s;hould be
granted that the Officers que&s;tioned and their actions were
noble, excellent and beyond exception.</P>
<P>I judge it not here &s;ea&s;onable to entertaine the di&s;pute of
the true power and call of Chri&s;ts Mini&s;terie: I &s;hall only
adde a word to this Scripture, as it is brought to prove a righ|teous
&s;entence of Bani&s;hment on my &s;elfe or any that plead
again&s;t a fal&s;e office of Mini&s;trie.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The cur&s;e of death in I&s;ra|el of old, is &s;pirituall death, and &s;pirituall cut|ting off in the Church of Chri&s;t, and Chri&s;tian I&s;|rael now.</NOTE> 'Tis true in the Nationall
Church of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> (the then only Church and Nation of God)
he that did ought pre&s;umptuou&s;ly was to be accur&s;ed and to
be put to death, <HI>Deut</HI> 15. a figure of the &s;pirituall putting to
death an ob&s;tinate &s;inner in the Church of Chri&s;t, who refu|&s;ing
to heare the voice of Chri&s;t, is to be cut off from Chri&s;t
and Chri&s;tians, and to be e&s;teemed as an Heathen, that is, a
Gentile or Publican <HI>Math.</HI> 18. Hence con&s;equently the not
&s;elling, or the withholding of Corne pre&s;umptuou&s;ly was
Death in <HI>I&s;rael:</HI> But Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> cannot prove that every wil|full
withholding of Corne,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Such as are excellently fitted to &s;ell the &s;piritual c<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">rne of the word of the Lord, and yet find not their call to the mi|ni&s;try, are not to bee put to death or ba|ni&s;hed.</NOTE> in all or any State in the world,
and that in time of plenty, is death: for as for Bani&s;hment, we
never heare of any &s;uch cour&s;e in <HI>I&s;rael.</HI> And &s;econdly, lea&s;t
of all can he prove, that in all civill States of the world, that
man that pleadeth again&s;t a fal&s;e Mini&s;trie, or that being <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ble
to preach Chri&s;t and doubting of the true way of the M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="3 letters">|&s;trie
&s;ince the Apo&s;tacie of Antichri&s;t dares not pr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">cti&s;e a Mi|ni&s;trie.
Or that many excellent and worthy Gentlemen,
Lawyers, Phy&s;itians and others (as well guifted in the know|ledge
of the Scripture, and furni&s;hed with the gifts of tongues
and utterance, as mo&s;t that profe&s;&s;e the Mini&s;try, and yet are
not per&s;waded to &s;ell &s;pirituall corne; as que&s;tioning their true
Calling and Commi&s;&s;ion. I &s;ay, Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> doth not, nor will
he ever prove that the&s;e or any of the&s;e ought to be put to
Death or Bani&s;hment in every Land or Countrey. The &s;el|ling
<PB N="10" REF="8">
or withholding of &s;pirituall corne,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Spirituall of|fences are only liable to a &s;piritual cen|&s;ure.</NOTE> are both of a &s;pirituall
nature, and therfore mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily in a true parallell beare
relation to a &s;piritual cur&s;e. <HI>Paul</HI> wi&s;hing him&s;elfe accur&s;ed
from Chri&s;t for his Countrey mens &s;ake (<HI>Rom.</HI> 9.) he &s;pake
not of any temporall death or bani&s;hment. Yet neerer, being
fitly qualified and truly called by Chri&s;t to the Mini&s;trie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Paul not to be bani&s;hed or kild by Nero for not prea|ching the Go&s;pel.</NOTE> he
cries out (1 <HI>Cor. 9.) Wee to me if I preach not the Go&s;pel:</HI> yet did
not <HI>Paul</HI> intend, that therfore the Roman <HI>Nero,</HI> or any &s;ub|ordinate
power under him in <HI>Corinth,</HI> &s;hould have either ba|ni&s;hed
or put <HI>Paul</HI> to death having committed nothing again&s;t
the civill State worthy of &s;uch a civill puni&s;hment: yea and
Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> him&s;elfe &s;eemeth to que&s;tion the &s;andines of &s;uch
a ground to warrant &s;uch proceedings, for thus he goes on.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="6" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. VI.</HEAD>
<P>Mr. <HI>Cotton.</HI> And yet it may be they pa&s;&s;ed that &s;entence
again&s;t you, not upon that ground: but for ought I know, for
your other corrupt Doctrines, which tend to the di&s;turbance
both of civill and holy peace, as may appeare by that an&s;were
which was &s;ent to the Brethren of the Church of <HI>Salem</HI> and
your &s;elfe.<NOTE PLACE="marg">M. Cotton him&s;elfe ig|norant of the cau&s;e of my &s;ufferings.</NOTE></P>
<P>I an&s;were, it is no wonder that &s;o many having bin deman|ded
the cau&s;e of my &s;uffrings have an&s;wered, that they could
not tell for what, &s;ince Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> him&s;elfe knows not di&s;tinct|ly
what cau&s;e to a&s;&s;igne: but &s;aith, it may be they pa&s;&s;ed not
that &s;entence on that ground, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Oh, where was the waking
care of &s;o excellent &amp; worthy a man, to &s;ee his brother and be|loved
in Chri&s;t &s;o afflicted, he knows not di&s;tinctly for what.</P>
<P>He alleadgeth a Scripture, to prove the Sentence righteous,
and yet concludeth it may be it was not for that, but for other
corrupt Doctrines which he nameth not, nor any Scripture
to prove them corrupt, or the &s;entence righteous for that
cau&s;e. O that it may plea&s;e the Father of lights to awaken
both him&s;elf and other of my honoured Countreymen, to &s;ee
how though their hearts wake (in re&s;pect of per&s;onall grace
and life of Je&s;us) yet they &s;leep, in&s;en&s;ible of much concerning
the purity of the Lords wor&s;hip, or the &s;orrows of &s;uch whom
they &s;tile Brethren, and beloved in Chri&s;t, afflicted by them.</P>
<P>But though he name not the&s;e corrupt Doctrines, a little
before I have, as they were publikely &s;ummed up and charged
upon me, and yet none of them tending to the breach of holy
<PB N="11" REF="8">
or civill peace,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Civill peace and civil Magi&s;tracie ble&s;&s;ed ordi|nances of God,</NOTE> of which I have ever de&s;ired to be unfainedly
tender, acknowledging the Ordinance of Magi&s;tracie to be
properly and adequatly fitted by God, to pre&s;erve the civill
State in civill peace and order: as he hath al&s;o appointed a
&s;pirituall Government and Governours in matters pertaining
to his wor&s;hip and the con&s;ciences of men, both which Go|vernments,
Governours, Laws, Offences, Puni&s;hments, are
E&s;&s;entially di&s;tinct, and the confounding of them brings all
the world into Combu&s;tion. He addes:</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="7" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. VII.</HEAD>
<P>Mr. <HI>Cotton.</HI> And to &s;peak freely what I think, were my &s;oule
in your &s;oules &s;tead, I &s;hould think it a worke of mercy of God
to Bani&s;h me from the civill &s;ocietie of &s;uch a Common|weale,
where I could not enjoy holy fellow&s;hip with any
Church of God among&s;t them without &s;in: What &s;hould the
daughter of <HI>Sion</HI> do in <HI>Babel,</HI> why &s;hould &s;he not ha&s;ten to flee
from thence?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Love bids me hope that Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> here intended me
a Cordiall, to revive me in my &s;orrows: yet if the ingredients
be examined, there will appeare no le&s;&s;e, then Di&s;honour to
the name of God, Danger to every civill State, a mi&s;erable
Comfort to my &s;elfe, and contradiction within it &s;elfe.</P>
<P>For the la&s;t fir&s;t.<NOTE PLACE="marg">A land cannot be Babel, and yet a Church of Chri&s;t.</NOTE> If he call the Land <HI>Babel</HI> my&s;tically (which
he mu&s;t needs doe or els &s;peak not to the point, how can it be
<HI>Babel,</HI> and yet the Church of Chri&s;t al&s;o?</P>
<P>Secondly, it is a dangerous Doctrine to affirme it a mi&s;ery
to live in that State where a Chri&s;tian cannot enjoy the fel|low&s;hip
of the publike Churches of God without &s;inne. Do
we not know many famous &s;tates wherin is known no Church
of Je&s;us Chri&s;t?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Famous civill States where yet no &s;ound of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t.</NOTE> Did not God command his people to pray
for the peace of the materiall Citie of <HI>Babel (Jer.</HI> 27.) and to
&s;eek the peace of it though no Church of God in <HI>Babel&punc;</HI> in the
form and Order of it? Or did <HI>Sodome, Aegypt, Babel,</HI> &s;ignifie
material <HI>Sodome,</HI> Egypt, <HI>Babel, Rev.</HI> 11. 8. &amp; 18. 4?</P>
<P>There was a true Church of Je&s;us Chri&s;t in materiall <HI>Babel,
(1 Pet.</HI> 5. 13.)<NOTE PLACE="marg">A true church of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t in materiall Babylon.</NOTE> Was it then a mercy for all the inhabitants of
<HI>Babel,</HI> to have been bani&s;hed, whom the Church of Je&s;us
Chri&s;t dur&s;t not to have received to holy fellow&s;hip? Or
was it a mercy for any per&s;on to have been bani&s;hed the City,
and driven to the mi&s;eries of a barbarous wildernes, him and
<PB N="12" REF="9">
his, if &s;ome barre had layn upon his con&s;cience, that he could
not have enjoyed fellow&s;hip with the true Church of Chri&s;t?</P>
<P>Thirdly, for my &s;elfe, I acknowledge it a ble&s;&s;ed gift of God
to be inabled to &s;uffer,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The mercy of a civill State di&s;tinct from mercies of a &s;pirituall na|ture.</NOTE> and &s;o to be bani&s;hed for his Names
&s;ake: and yet I doubt not to affirm, that Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> him&s;elfe
would have counted it a mercy, if he might have practi&s;ed in
Old England what now he doth in New, with the injoyment
of the civill peace, &s;afetie and protection of the State.</P>
<P>Or &s;hould he di&s;&s;ent from the New Engli&s;h Churches, and
joyn in wor&s;hip with &s;ome other (as &s;ome few yeares &s;ince he
was upon the point to doe in a &s;eparation from the Churches
there as legall) would he count it a mercy to be pluckt up by
the roots,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Old and New England for the Countries and civill go|vernment in|comparable.</NOTE> him and his, and to endure the lo&s;&s;es, di&s;tractions,
mi&s;eries that doe attend &s;uch a condition. The truth is, both
the mother and the Daughter Old and New England, for the
Countries and Governments are Lands and Governments in|comparable:
And might it plea&s;e God to per&s;wade the mo|ther
to permit the inhabitants of New England her daughter
to enjoy their con&s;cience to God, after a particular Con|gregationall
way, and to per&s;wade the daughter to permit
the inhabitants of the mother Old England to walke
there after their con&s;cience of a Pari&s;hionall way, (which yet
neither mother nor daughter is per&s;waded to permit.) I con|ceive
Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> him&s;elfe, were he &s;eated in Old England a|gaine,
would not count it a mercy to be bani&s;hed from the
civil &s;tate.</P>
<P>And therfore (la&s;tly) as he ca&s;ts di&s;honour upon the name
of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cotton not having felt the mi&s;e|ries of others, can bee no equall judge of them.</NOTE> to make him the Author of &s;uch cruell mercy, &s;o had
his &s;oule been in my &s;oules ca&s;e, expo&s;ed to the mi&s;eries&punc; po|verties,
nece&s;&s;ities, wants debts, hard&s;hips of Sea and Land, in a
bani&s;hed condition; he would I pre&s;ume, reach forth a more
mercifull cordiall to the afflicted. But he that is de&s;pi&s;ed and
afflicted is like a lamp de&s;pi&s;ed in the eyes of him that is at
ea&s;e: <HI>Iob.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="8" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. VIII.</HEAD>
<P>Mr. <HI>Cotton.</HI> Yea but he &s;peaks not the&s;e things to adde af|fliction
to the afflicted, but if it were the holy will of God to
move me to a &s;erious &s;ight of my &s;inne, and of the ju&s;tice of
Gods hand again&s;t it: Again&s;t your corrupt Doctrines it
plea&s;ed the Lord Je&s;us to fight again&s;t you with the &s;word of
<PB N="13" REF="9">
his mouth, as him&s;elfe &s;peaketh <HI>Rev.</HI> 2. in the mouthes and
te&s;timonies of the Churches &amp; Brethren, again&s;t whom when
you overheat your &s;elfe in rea&s;oning and di&s;puting, again&s;t
the light of his truth, it plea&s;ed him to &s;top your mouth by a
&s;udden Di&s;ea&s;e, and to threaten to take breath from you: But
you in&s;tead of recoiling (as even <HI>Balaam</HI> offered to doe in the
like ca&s;e) cho&s;e rather to per&s;i&s;t in the way, and prote&s;t again&s;t
all the Churches and brethren that &s;tood in your way: and
thus the good hand of Chri&s;t that &s;hould have humbled you
to &s;ee and turn from the error of your way, hath rather hard|ned
you therin, and quickned you only to &s;ee failings (yea in|tollerable
errors) in all the Churches and brethren, rather
then in your &s;elfe.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;wer.</HI> In the&s;e lines, an humble and di&s;cerning &s;pirit may
e&s;pie: Fir&s;t a glorious ju&s;tification and boa&s;ting of Him&s;elfe
and others concurring with him. Secondly, an unrighteous
and uncharitable cen&s;ure of the afflicted.</P>
<P>To the fir&s;t I &s;ay no more,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The lanthor<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">e of Gods word mu&s;t alone try who fights with the &s;word of Gods mouth, the &s;ame word of God.</NOTE> but let the light of the holy lant|horne
of the word of God di&s;cover and try with whom the
&s;word of Gods mouth (that is the te&s;timony of the holy
Scripture, for Chri&s;t, again&s;t Antichri&s;t) abideth. And whe|ther
my &s;elf and &s;uch poore Witne&s;&s;es of Je&s;us Chri&s;t in Old
and New <HI>England,</HI> Low-Countries, &amp;c. de&s;iring in meeknes
and patience to te&s;tifie the truth of Je&s;us, again&s;t all fal&s;e cal|lings
of Mini&s;ters,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Whether Mr. Cotton per&s;ecuting, or the an&s;werer per&s;ecuted, bee like&s;t to Balaam.</NOTE> &amp;c. Or Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> (however in his per&s;on
holy and beloved) &s;wimming with the &s;tream of outward
credit and profit, and &s;miting with the fi&s;t and &s;word of per|&s;ecution
&s;uch as dare not joyn in wor&s;hip with him; I &s;ay,
whether of either be the Witne&s;&s;es of Chri&s;t Je&s;us, in who&s;e
mouth is the &s;word of his mouth, the &s;word of the Spirit, the
holy word of God, and whether is mo&s;t like to <HI>Balaam?</HI></P>
<P>To the &s;ec<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">: his cen&s;ure. It is true, it plea&s;ed God by ex|ces&s;iv<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">
labours on the Lords dayes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The an&s;we|rers profe&s;sion concerning his &s;icknes, which Mr. Cotton upbraids to him.</NOTE> and thrice a week at <HI>Salem,</HI>
by labours day and night in my Field with my own hands, for
the maintenance of my charge; by travells al&s;o by day and
night to goe and return from their Court (and not by over|heating
in di&s;pute, divers of them&s;elves confes&s;ing publikely
my moderation) it plea&s;ed God to bring me neare unto death,
in which time (notwith&s;tanding the mediating te&s;timony of
two skillfull in Phy&s;ick) I was unmercifully driven from my
<PB N="14" REF="10">
chamber to a Winters flight. During my &s;icknes, I humbly
appeale unto the Father of Spirits for witnes of the upright
and con&s;tant diligent &s;earch my &s;pirit made after him, in the
examination of all pa&s;&s;ages, both my private di&s;qui&s;itions
with all the chief of their Mini&s;ters, and publike agitations of
points controverted: and what gracious fruit I reaped from
that &s;icknes, I hope my &s;oule &s;hall never forget. However I
mind not to number up a catalogue of the many cen&s;ures up|on
Gods &s;ervants in the time of Gods cha&s;ti&s;ements and vi&s;i|tations
on them,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Scripture, hi|&s;tory, experi|ence can wit|nes the cen|&s;ures upon Gods &s;ervants in their affli|ctions.</NOTE> both in Scripture, Hi&s;tory and experience.
Nor retort the many evills which it plea&s;ed God to bring up|on
&s;ome chief procurers of my &s;orrows, nor upon the whole
State immediatly after them, which many of their own have
ob&s;erved and reported to me: but I commit my cau&s;e to him
that judgeth Righteou&s;ly, and yet re&s;olve to pray again&s;t their
Evils, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 141.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="9" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. IX.</HEAD>
<P>Mr. <HI>Cotton.</HI> In which cour&s;e though you &s;ay you doe not
remember an houre, wherein the countenance of the Lord
was darkned to you; yet be not deceived, it is no new thing
with Sathan to transform him&s;elfe into an Angel of light,
and to cheare the &s;oule with fal&s;e peace, and with fla&s;hes of
counterfeit con&s;olation: Sad and wofull is the memorie of
Mr. <HI>Smiths</HI> &s;trong con&s;olation on his death-bed, which is &s;et
as a &s;eale to his gro&s;&s;e and damnable Arminiani&s;me, and En|thu&s;ia&s;me
delivered in the confes&s;ion of his Faith, prefixed to
the Storie of his life and death. <HI>The countenance of God is upon
his people when they feare him,</HI> not when they pre&s;ume of their
own &s;trength, and his con&s;olations are not found in the way of
prefidence and error, but in the wayes of humilitie and truth.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> To that part which concerns my &s;elf, the &s;peech hath
reference either to the matter of ju&s;tification, or el&s;e matter
of my affliction for Chri&s;t, of both which I remember I
have had di&s;cour&s;e.</P>
<P>For the fir&s;t I have expre&s;t in &s;ome conference (as Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI>
him&s;elfe hath al&s;o related concerning &s;ome,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A &s;oule at peace with God may yet endure great combats con|cerning &s;an|ctification.</NOTE> with whom I am
not worthy to be named) that after fir&s;t manife&s;tations of the
countenance of God, reconciled in the blood of his Son unto
my &s;oule, my que&s;tions and trouble have not been concerning
my reconciliation and peace with God, but concerning &s;an|ctification
<PB N="15" REF="10">
and fellow&s;hip with the holines of God, in which
re&s;pect I de&s;ire to cry (with <HI>Paul</HI>) in the bitternes of my &s;pirit,
<HI>O wretched man that I am, who &s;hall deliver me from the body of this
death!</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, it may have reference to &s;ome conference concer|ning
affliction for his Names &s;ake, in which re&s;pect I de&s;ire to
acknowledge the faithfullnes of his word and promi&s;e, <HI>to be
with his in 6 troubles and in 7, through fire and water,</HI> making good
100 fold with per&s;ecution,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Affliction for Chri&s;t &s;weet.</NOTE> to &s;uch of his &s;ervants as &s;uffer
ought for his names &s;ake: and I have &s;aid and mu&s;t &s;ay, and all
Gods witne&s;&s;es that have borne any paine or lo&s;&s;e for Je&s;us,
mu&s;t &s;ay, that fellow&s;hip with the Lord Je&s;us in his &s;ufferings
is &s;weeter then all the fellow&s;hip with &s;inners, in all the pro|fits,
honours, and plea&s;ures of this pre&s;ent evill world. And
yet 2 things I de&s;ire to &s;peak to all men and my &s;elfe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Two cautions for any in per&s;ecution for con&s;cience.</NOTE> <HI>Let every
man prove his worke,</HI> Gal. 6. <HI>and then &s;hall he have rejoycing in
him&s;elfe, and not in another.</HI> Secondly, if any man love God,
that &s;oule knows God, or rather is known of <HI>God (1 Cor.</HI> 8.)
Selfe-love may burn the bodie, but happy only he who&s;e love
alone to Chri&s;t con&s;trains him to be like unto him, and &s;uffer
with him.</P>
<P>To that which concerneth Mr. <HI>Smith,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Smith godly, and a light to Mr. Cotton and o|thers, though left to him&s;elf in &s;ome things.</NOTE> although I knew him
not, and have heard of many points, in which my con&s;cience
tells me, it plea&s;ed the Lord to leave him to him&s;elfe; yet I
have al&s;o heard by &s;ome (who&s;e te&s;timonie Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> will
not ea&s;ilie refu&s;e) that he was a man fearing God: and I am
&s;ure Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> hath made &s;ome u&s;e of tho&s;e principles and
arguments on which Mr. <HI>Smith</HI> and others went, concerning
the con&s;titution of the Chri&s;tian Church. The infinite com|pas&s;ions
of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gods infinite compa&s;sions toward tho&s;e who&s;e hearts are upright with him</NOTE> which lay no &s;in to <HI>Davids</HI> charge but the &s;in
of <HI>Vritah, 1 King.</HI> 15. have graciou&s;ly comforted the &s;oules of
his on their death-bed, accepting and crowning their <HI>upright|nes</HI>
and <HI>faithfullnes,</HI> and pas&s;ing by what otherwi&s;e is grievous
and offen&s;ive to him. And indeed from the due con&s;ideration
of that in&s;tance, it appeares that no &s;in is comparably &s;o grie|vous
in <HI>Gods Davids,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">The opinion of putting V|ri<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ah to death, the vile&s;t of all opinions.</NOTE> as a treacherous &s;laughter of the <HI>faithfull,</HI>
whom we are forced to call <HI>beloved in Christ:</HI> That opinion in
Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> or any, is the mo&s;t grievous to God or man, and not
comparable to any that ever <HI>Mr. Smith</HI> could be charged with.
It is true, the countenance and con&s;olations of God are found
<PB N="16" REF="11">
in the wayes of humilitie and truth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">As the weights of the &s;anctuary were double, &s;o mu&s;t there bee dou|ble pondering in all the af|fairs of Gods wor&s;hip.</NOTE> and Sathan transformeth
him like to an Angel of light in a counterfeit of both: In
which re&s;pect I de&s;ire <HI>to worke out &s;alvation with feare and trem|bling,</HI>
and to doe nothing in the affaires of <HI>God</HI> and his Wor|&s;hip,
but (like the weights of the Sanctuarie) with <HI>double care,
diligence</HI> and <HI>con&s;ideration,</HI> above all the affaires of this vani&s;hing
life. And yet <HI>Chri&s;ts con&s;olations</HI> are &s;o &s;weet, that the &s;oule that
ta&s;teth them in truth, in &s;uffering for any truth of his, will
not ea&s;ily part with them, though thou&s;ands are deceiv'd and
deluded with counterfeits.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="10" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. X,</HEAD>
<P>Mr. <HI>Cotton.</HI> Two &s;tumbling blocks (I perceive) have turned
you off from Fellow&s;hip with us. Fir&s;t the want of fit matter
of our Church. Secondly, di&s;re&s;pect of the Separate Churches
in <HI>England</HI> under affliction, our &s;elves practi&s;ing Separation in
peace.</P>
<P>For the fir&s;t, you acknowledge, as you &s;ay, with joy, that god|ly
per&s;ons are the vi&s;ible members of the&s;e <HI>Churches,</HI> but yet
you &s;ee not that godly per&s;ons are matter fitted to con&s;titute
a <HI>Church,</HI> no more then Trees or Quarries are fit matter pro|portioned
to the building. This exception &s;eemeth to me to
imply a contradiction to it &s;elfe, for if the matter of the <HI>Chur|ches</HI>
be as you &s;ay godly per&s;ons, they are not then as Trees
unfeld, and Stones unhewen: godline&s;&s;e cutteth men downe
from the former root and heweth them out of the pit of cor|rupt
nature, and fitteth them for fellow&s;hip with <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> and
with his people.</P>
<P><HI>You object, fir&s;t,</HI> a nece&s;sity lying upon godly men before they can be
fit matter for Church fellow&s;hip, to &s;ee, bewaile, repent, and come out of
the fal&s;e churches, wor&s;hip, mini&s;try, government, according to Scriptures
<HI>I&s;a. 62. 11. 2 Cor.</HI> 6. 17. and this is to be done not by a locall remo|vall
or contrary practi&s;e, but by a deliverance of the &s;oule, under&s;tand|ing,
will, judgement and affection.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Fir&s;t we grant that it is not locall removall from for|mer
pollution, nor contrary practi&s;e, that fitteth us for fellow|&s;hip
with Chri&s;t, and his Church, but thas it is nece&s;&s;ary al&s;o
that we repent of &s;uch former pollutions wherewith we have
been defiled and inthralled.</P>
<P>We grant further, that it is likewi&s;e nece&s;&s;ary to Church-fellow&s;hip,
we &s;hould &s;ee and di&s;cerne all &s;uch pollutions, as do
<PB N="17" REF="11">
&s;o farre inthrall us to Antichri&s;t as to &s;eparate us from
Chri&s;t: But this we profe&s;&s;e unto you, that wherin we have
reformed our practice, therein have we endeavoured unfeig|nedly
to humble our &s;oules for our former contrary walking:
if any through hypocri&s;ie are wanting herein, the hidden hy|pocri&s;ie
of &s;ome will not prejudice the &s;inceritie and faith|fullne&s;&s;e
of others, nor the Church e&s;tate of all.</P>
<P>An&s;w. <HI>That which requireth An&s;were in this pa&s;&s;age, is a
charge of a &s;eeming contradiction, to wit,</HI> That per&s;ons may be
godly, and yet not fitted for Church e&s;tate, but remaine as Trees and
Quarries unfeld, &amp;c. <HI>Contrary to which it is affirmed,</HI> that godly
per&s;ons cannot be &s;o inthralled to Antichri&s;t, as to &s;eparate them from
Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>For the clearing of which let the word of Truth be rightly
divided, and a right di&s;tinction of things applyed, there will
appeare nothing contradictorie, but cleare and &s;atisfactorie to
each mans con&s;cience.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t then I di&s;tingui&s;h of a godly per&s;on thus:<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;tate of godly per&s;ons in gro&s;&s;e &s;ins.</NOTE> In &s;ome acts
of &s;in which a godly per&s;on may fall into, during tho&s;e acts,
although before the all &s;earching and tender eye of God, and
al&s;o in the eyes of &s;uch as are godly, &s;uch a per&s;on remaineth
&s;till godly, yet to the eye of the world externally &s;uch a per&s;on
&s;eemeth ungodly, and a &s;inner. Thus <HI>Noah</HI> in his Drunken|ne&s;&s;e;
thus <HI>Abraham, Lot, Sam&s;on, Job, David, Peter,</HI> in their ly|ing
whoredomes, cur&s;ings, Murther, denying and for&s;wearing
of Chri&s;t Je&s;us, although they lo&s;t not their inward &s;ap and
root of life,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Godly per&s;ons falling into gro&s;se &s;ins, are to expre&s;&s;e repentance be|fore they can b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"> admitted to the church.</NOTE> yet &s;uffred they a decay and fall of leafe, and the
&s;hew of bad and evill Trees. In &s;uch a ca&s;e Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> will not
deny that a godly per&s;on falling into drunkennes wheredome
deliberate murther, denying and for&s;wearing of Chri&s;t, the
Church of Chri&s;t cannot receive &s;uch per&s;ons into Church-fellow&s;hip,
before their &s;ight of humble bewailing and con|fe&s;&s;ing
of &s;uch evills&punc; notwith&s;tanding that love may conceive
there is a root of godlines within.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gods children long a&s;leep in re&s;pect of Gods wor&s;hip, though alive in the grace of Chri&s;t.</NOTE></P>
<P>Secondly Gods children (<HI>Cant.</HI> 5.) notwith&s;tanding a princi|ple
of &s;piriuall life in their &s;oules, yet are lul'd into a long con|tinued
&s;leep in the matters of Gods wor&s;hip: <HI>I &s;leep, though my
heart waketh.</HI> The heart is awake in &s;pirituall life and grace, as
concerning per&s;onall union to the Lord Je&s;us, and con&s;cio|nable
endeavours to plea&s;e him in what the heart is convin|ced:
<PB N="18" REF="12">
yet a&s;leep in re&s;pect of abundant ignorance and negli|gence,
and con&s;equently gro&s;&s;e abominations and pollutions
of Wor&s;hip, in which the choi&s;e&s;t &s;ervants of God, and mo&s;t
faithfull Witne&s;&s;es of many truths have lived in more or le&s;&s;e,
yea in maine and fundamentall points, ever &s;ince the Apo|&s;tacie.</P>
<P>Not to in&s;tance in all,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cotton now profe&s;&s;es to practi&s;e what thou|&s;ands of Gods people for ma|ny ages have not &s;een.</NOTE> but in &s;ome particulars which Mr.
<HI>Cotton</HI> hath in new <HI>England</HI> reformed. I earne&s;tly be&s;eech him|&s;elf
&amp; all, wel to ponder how far he him&s;elf now profe&s;&s;eth to
&s;ee, and practice, that which &s;o many thou&s;ands of godly per|&s;ons
of high note in all ages (&s;ince the Apo&s;tacie) &s;aw not: As</P>
<P>Fir&s;t concerning the nature of a particular Church to con|&s;i&s;t
only of holy and godly per&s;ons.</P>
<P>Secondly, of a true Mini&s;trie called by that Church.</P>
<P>Thirdly, a true Wor&s;hip free from Ceremonies, Common-Prayer,
<HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly a true Government in the hands only of &s;uch Go|vernours
and Elders, as are appointed by the Lord Je&s;us. Hence
Gods people not &s;eeing their Captivitie in the&s;e points, mu&s;t
fir&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be inlightned and called out from &s;uch Cap|tivitie,
before they can be nextly fitted and prepared for the
true Church, Wor&s;hip, Mini&s;trie <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="11" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XI.</HEAD>
<P>Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Iewes of old in the type could not build the Al|tar and Tem|ple in Babel, but fir&s;t they mu&s;t come forth, &amp; then build at Ieru|&s;alem.</NOTE> this will be more cleare if wee con&s;ider Gods peo|ple
and Church of old the Jewes, captivated in materiall Ba|bel,
they could not po&s;sibly build Gods Altar and Temple at
Jeru&s;alem, untill the yoke and bonds of their captivity were
broke, and they &s;et free to return with the ve&s;&s;els of the Lords
hou&s;e, to &s;et up his wor&s;hip in Jeru&s;alem, as we &s;ee in the
Bookes of <HI>Ezra, Nehemia, Daniel, Haggai, &amp;c.</HI> Hence in the
Antitype, Gods people the &s;piritual and my&s;ticall Jewes can|not
po&s;sibly erect the Altar of the Lords true wor&s;hip, and
build the Temple of his true Church,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gods my&s;tical I&s;rael in the Antitype mu&s;t al&s;o come forth of Babel before they can build the Temple at Ie|ru&s;alem.</NOTE> without a true &s;ight of
their &s;pirituall bondage in re&s;pect of Gods wor&s;hip, and a po|wer
and &s;trength from Je&s;us Chri&s;t to bring them out, and
carry them through all difficulties in &s;o mighty a work. And
as the being of Gods people in materiall Babell, and a nece&s;|&s;ity
of their comming forth before they could build the
Temple, did not in the lea&s;t deny them to be Gods people: no
more now doth Gods people being in my&s;tical Babel (<HI>Rev.</HI> 18)
<PB N="19" REF="12">
nor the nece&s;sity of their comming forth, hinder or deny the
godline&s;&s;e of their per&s;ons,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luther and other famous witne&s;&s;es very gro&s;&s;e concer|ning Gods wor&s;hip, though emi|nent for per|&s;onall grace.</NOTE> or &s;pirituall life within them.</P>
<P>Thirdly, how many famous &s;ervants of God, and witne&s;&s;es
of Je&s;us lived and died and were burnt for other truths of Je|&s;us,
not &s;eeing the evill of their Antichri&s;tian calling of Bi|&s;hops,
<HI>&amp;c.</HI> How did famous <HI>Luther</HI> him&s;elf continue a Monk,
&s;et forth the German Ma&s;&s;e, acknowledge the Pope, and held
other gro&s;&s;e abominations concerning Gods wor&s;hip, not|with&s;tanding
the life of Chri&s;t Je&s;us in him, and wrought in
thou&s;ands by his means.</P>
<P>Fourthly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cotton refu&s;eth godly per&s;ons except they bee con|vinced of their Church Cove|nant.</NOTE> Mr <HI>Cotton</HI> mu&s;t be reque&s;ted to remember his own
practice (as before) how doth he refu&s;e to receive per&s;ons emi|nent
for per&s;onal grace and godline&s;&s;e, to the Lords Supper, &amp;
other priviledges of Chri&s;tians (according to the profe&s;sion of
their Church-e&s;tate) until they be convinced of the nece&s;sity
of making &amp; entring into a Church covenant with them, with
a confe&s;sion of farth, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and if any cannot bee per&s;waded of
&s;uch a covenant and confe&s;sion (notwith&s;tanding their god|line&s;&s;e,
yet) are they not admitted.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, how famous is that pa&s;&s;age of that &s;olemne que&s;tion
put to Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> and the re&s;t of the new Engli&s;h Elders,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cotton &amp; the Engli&s;h Elders refu&s;e to permit e|minent Mini|&s;ters &amp; peo|ple of Old en|gland to live in New Eng|land (not|with&s;tanding bee confe&s;&s;eth their godlines above his own) if they joyn not in his Church-fellow&s;hip.</NOTE> by
divers of the mini&s;ters of old England (eminent for per&s;onall
godline&s;&s;e, as <HI>Mr. Cotton</HI> acknowledgeth) <HI>viz.</HI> Whether they
might be permitted in new England to enjoy their con&s;cien|ces
in a Church e&s;tate different from the New Engli&s;h: unto
which Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> and the New Engli&s;h Elders returne a plain
negative, in effect thus much, with the acknowledgment of
their worth and godlines above their owne and their hopes of
agreement; Yet in conclu&s;ion if they agree not, (which they
are not like to doe) and &s;ubmit to that way of Church-fellow|&s;hip
and Wor&s;hip which in New <HI>England</HI> is &s;et up, they can|not
only not enjoy Church-fellow&s;hip together but not per|mit
them to live and breath in the &s;ame Aire and Common|weale
together, which was my ca&s;e; although it plea&s;ed Mr
<HI>Cotton</HI> and others mo&s;t incen&s;ed, to give my &s;elfe a te&s;timony
of <HI>godlines, &amp;c.</HI> And this is the rea&s;on, why although I con|fe&s;&s;e
with joy the care of the New Engli&s;h Churches, that no
per&s;on be received to Fellow&s;hip with them, in whom they
cannot fir&s;t di&s;cerne true Regeneration, and the life of Je&s;us:
yet I &s;aid and &s;till affirm, that godlie and regenerate per&s;ons
<PB N="20" REF="13">
(according to all the former in&s;tances and rea&s;ons) are not fit|ted
to con&s;titute the true Chri&s;tian Church, untill it hath
plea&s;ed God to convince their &s;oules of the evill of the fal&s;e
Church,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Godly per&s;ons living trees &amp; living &s;tones, yet need much hewing and cutting to bring them from fal&s;e to true wor&s;hip.</NOTE> Mini&s;try, Wor&s;hip, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> And although I confe&s;&s;e that
godly per&s;ons are not dead but living Trees, not dead, but liv|ing
Stones, and need no new Regeneration (and &s;o in that re|&s;pect
need no felling nor digging out) yet need they a mighty
worke of Gods Spirit to humble and a&s;hame them, and to cau&s;e
them to loath them&s;elves for their Abominations or &s;tincks
in Gods no&s;trils (as it plea&s;eth Gods Spirit to &s;peak of fal&s;e
Wor&s;hips:) Hence <HI>Ezek.</HI> 43. 11. Gods people are not fit for
Gods Hou&s;e, untill holy &s;hame be wrought in them, for what
they have done. Hence God promi&s;eth to cau&s;e them to <HI>loath
them&s;elves,</HI> becau&s;e they have broken him with their whori&s;h
hearts, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 6. 9. And hence it is that I have known &s;ome
precious godly hearts confe&s;&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The comming forth of fal&s;e wor&s;hip a &s;e|cond kind (as it were) of regeneration to Gods people</NOTE> that the plucking of their &s;ouls
out from the Abominations of fal&s;e wor&s;hip, hath been a &s;e|cond
kind of Regeneration. Hence was it that it plea&s;ed God
to &s;ay concerning his peoples returne from their Materiall
Captivitie (a figure of our Spirituall and my&s;ticall) <HI>that they
&s;hould not &s;ay</HI> Jehovah <HI>liveth, who brought them from the land of</HI>
Egypt (a type of fir&s;t conver&s;ion as is conceived) <HI>but</HI> Jehovah
<HI>liveth who brings them from the land of the</HI> North (a type of Gods
peoples return from &s;pirituall bondage to confu&s;ed and inven|ted
Wor&s;hips.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Return from the land of the North.</NOTE></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="12" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XII.</HEAD>
<P>Now wheras Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> addeth, That godly per&s;ons are not
&s;o inthrall'd to Antichri&s;t as to &s;eparate them from Chri&s;t;
el&s;e they could not be godly per&s;ons.</P>
<P>I an&s;were, this comes not neare our Que&s;tion, which is not
concerning per&s;onal godlines or grace of Chri&s;t but the god|lines
or Chri&s;tianitie of Wor&s;hip. Hence the Scripture holds
forth Chri&s;t Je&s;us fir&s;t per&s;onally, as that God Man, that
One Mediatour between God and man,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chri&s;t con&s;i|dered two wayes, fir&s;t, per&s;onally, &amp; &s;o Gods people can never bee &s;eparated from him.</NOTE> the <HI>Man</HI> Chri&s;t Je&s;us,
whom all Gods people by Faith receive, and in receiving be|come
the Sons of God, <HI>Iohn</HI> 1. 12. although they yet &s;ee not
the particular wayes of his Wor&s;hip. Thus was it with the
Centurion the Woman of <HI>Canaan, Cornelius,</HI> and mo&s;t, at their
fir&s;t conver&s;ion.</P>
<P>Secondly, the Scripture holdeth forth Chri&s;t as Head of his
<PB N="21" REF="13">
Church&punc;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Secondly, as head of his Church, and &s;o he is often lo&s;t and ab&s;ent from his Spou&s;e.</NOTE> formed into a Body of wor&s;hippers, in which re&s;pect
the Church is called <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> 1 Cor 12. 12. and the de&s;cription
of <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> is admirably &s;et forth in 10 &s;everall parts of a mans
bodie, fitting and &s;uiting to the vi&s;ible profes&s;ion of Chri&s;t in
the Church <HI>Cant.</HI> 5.</P>
<P>Now in the former re&s;pect Antichri&s;t can never &s;o inthral
Gods people as to &s;eparate them from Chri&s;t, that is, from
the life and grace of Chri&s;t, although he inthrall them into
never &s;o gro&s;&s;e Abominations concerning Wor&s;hip: for God
will not loo&s;e His in <HI>Egypt, Sodome, Babel,</HI> His Jewels are mo&s;t
precious to him though in a Babiloni&s;h dunghill, and his
Lillie &s;weet and lovely in the Wildernes commixt with Bri|ars.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gods people cannot &s;erve a fal&s;e Chri&s;t and the true together.</NOTE>
Yet in the &s;econd re&s;pect, as Chri&s;t is taken for the
church, I conceive that Antichri&s;t may &s;eparate Gods people
from Chri&s;t, that is from Chri&s;ts true vi&s;ible Church and
Wor&s;hip. This Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> him&s;elfe will not deny if he re|member
how little a while it is &s;ince the fal&s;ehood of a Nati|onal,
Provincial, Dioce&s;an and Pari&s;hionall Church, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and
the truth of a particular Congregation, con&s;i&s;ting only of
holy per&s;ons appeared unto him.</P>
<P>The Papi&s;ts Que&s;tion to the Prote&s;tant <HI>viz.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">The Church before Luther.</NOTE> <HI>Where was your
Church before</HI> Luther? is thus well an&s;wered to wit, That &s;ince
the Apo&s;tacie, Truth, and the <HI>holy city</HI> (according to the Pro|phecie
<HI>Revel.</HI> 11 &amp; 13.) have been troden under foot,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 13.</NOTE> and the
<HI>whole earth</HI> hath wondred after the Bea&s;t: yet God hath &s;tir'd
up Witne&s;&s;es to Prophecie in Sackcloth again&s;t the Bea&s;t, du|ring
his 42 <HI>moneths reigne:</HI> yet tho&s;e Witne&s;&s;es have in their
Times, more or le&s;&s;e &s;ubmitted to Antichri&s;t, and his Church,
Wor&s;hip Mini&s;trie, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and &s;o con&s;equently have been igno|rant
of the <HI>true</HI> Chri&s;t, that is, Chri&s;t taken for the Church
in the true profe&s;&s;ion of that holy Way of Wor&s;hip, which he
him&s;elfe at fir&s;t appointed.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="13" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XIII.</HEAD>
<P>Mr. <HI>Cotton.</HI> Secondly, we deny that it is nece&s;&s;ary to Church
fellow&s;hip (that is &s;o nece&s;&s;ary that without it a Church can|not
be) that the Members admitted thereunto &s;hould all of
them &s;ee, and expre&s;ly bewaile all the Pollutions which they
have been defiled with in the former Church-fellow&s;hip. Mi|ni&s;try,
Wor&s;hip, Government, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> if they &s;ee and bewaile &s;o
much of their former pollutions, as did inthrall them to An|tichri&s;t,
<PB N="22" REF="14">
&s;o as to &s;eparate them from Chri&s;t, and be readie in
preparation of heart, as they &s;hall &s;ee more Light, &s;o to hate
more and more every falfe way; we conceive it is as much as
is nece&s;&s;arily required to &s;eparate them from Antichri&s;t, and
to fellow&s;hip with Chri&s;t and his Churches. The Church
of Chri&s;t admitted many thou&s;and Jewes that beleeved on
the name of Chri&s;t, although they were &s;till zealous of the
Law, and &s;aw not the beggarly emptines of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his ceremo|nies,
<HI>Acts</HI> 21 20. and the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> directeth the Romans
to <HI>receive &s;uch unto them as are weake in the faith,</HI> and &s;ee not their
libertie from the &s;ervile difference of Meats and Dayes, but
&s;till lie under the bondage of the Law; yea he wi&s;heth them
to receive &s;uch upon this ground, <HI>becau&s;e Chri&s;t hath received
them, Rom.</HI> 14. to the &s;ixt.</P>
<P>Say not there is not the like danger of lying under bondage
to <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> as to Antichri&s;t, for even the bondage under <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>
was &s;uch, as if continued in after in&s;truction and conviction,
would &s;eparate them from Chri&s;t, <HI>Gal.</HI> 5. 2. and bondage under
Antichri&s;t could doe no more.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Here I de&s;ire 3. things may be ob&s;erved:</P>
<P>Fir&s;t Mr. <HI>Cottons</HI> own confes&s;ion of that two-fold Church
e&s;tate,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cotton confe&s;sing the true and fal&s;e con&s;titution of the church.</NOTE> wor&s;hip&punc; <HI>&amp;c.</HI> the former fal&s;e, or el&s;e why to be &s;o be|wailed
and for&s;aken; the &s;econd true, to be imbraced and &s;ub|mitted
to.</P>
<P>Secondly, his own confe&s;&s;ion of that which a little before
he would make &s;o odious in me to hold,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cotton confe&s;sing to hold what hee cen&s;ureth in the an&s;werer.</NOTE> <HI>viz.</HI> that Gods people
may be &s;o farre inthralled to Antichri&s;t, as to &s;eparate them
from Chri&s;t: for &s;aith he. If they &s;ee and bewaile &s;o much of
their former pollutions, as did inthrall them to Antichri&s;t, &s;o
as to &s;eparate them from Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Thirdly&punc; I ob&s;erve how ea&s;ilie a &s;oule may wander in his
generalls,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Fallacie in Mr. Cottons generals.</NOTE> for thus he writes, Though they &s;ee not <HI>all the pollu|tions</HI>
wherewith they have been defiled in the former Church-fellow&s;hip.
Again, if they &s;ee &s;o much as did inthrall them to
Antichri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A godly per|&s;on remaining a member of a fal&s;e Church, is therein a member of a fal&s;e Chri&s;t.</NOTE> and &s;eparate them from Chri&s;t. And yet he ex|pre&s;&s;eth
nothing of that <HI>all the pollutions,</HI> nor what <HI>&s;o much</HI> is as
will &s;eparate them from Chri&s;t. Hence upon that former
di&s;tinction that Chri&s;t in vi&s;ible Wor&s;hip is Chri&s;t: I de|maund,
Whether if a godly per&s;on remaine a member of a
fal&s;ly con&s;tituted Church, and &s;o con&s;equently (in that re|&s;pect)
<PB N="23" REF="14">
of a fal&s;e Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Separation from fal&s;e Chri&s;t ab&s;o|lutely nece&s;&s;a|ry before there can be union to the true.</NOTE> whether in vi&s;ible wor&s;hip he be not
&s;eparate from the true Chri&s;t?</P>
<P>Secondly, I aske, Whether it be not ab&s;olutely nece&s;&s;ary to
his uniting with the true Church, that is, with Chri&s;t in true
Chri&s;tian Wor&s;hip, that he &s;ee and bewaile, and ab&s;olutely
come out from that former fal&s;e Church or Chri&s;t, and his
Mini&s;trie, Wor&s;hip, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> before he can be united to the true I&s;|rael,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A &s;eque&s;trati|on or &s;epara|tion of the &s;oul from the world in the idolatrous and invented wor&s;hips of it before it can be pre&s;ented to Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, as a cha&s;t virgin into the cha&s;t bed of his owne mo&s;t holy in|&s;titutions.</NOTE>
mu&s;t come forth of Egypt before they can &s;acrifice to
God in the Wildernes. The Jewes come out of <HI>Babel</HI> before
they build the Temple in <HI>Ieru&s;alem:</HI> The husband of a wo|man
die, or &s;he be legally divorced, before &s;he can lawfully be
maried to another; the graft cut off from one, before it can be
ingrafted into another &s;tock: The Kingdome of Chri&s;t, (that
is the Kingdome of the Saints, <HI>Dan.</HI> 2. &amp; 7.) is cut out of the
mountain of the Romane Monarchie. Thus the Corinthians
1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6. 9, 10, 11. uniting with, Chri&s;t Je&s;us, they were wa&s;hed
from their Idolatrie, as well as other &s;ins: Thus the The&s;&s;alo|nians
turned from their Idols before they could &s;erve the liv|ing
and true God, 1 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 1. 9. and as in Pagani&s;me, &s;o in Anti|chri&s;tiani&s;me,
which &s;eparates as certainly (though more &s;ub|tilly)
from Chri&s;t Je&s;u.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="14" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XIV.</HEAD>
<P>Yea but it is &s;aid, that Jewes weake in Chri&s;tian liberties,
and zealous for <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> Law they were to be received.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Difference between Gods own holy in|&s;titutions to the Iewes, and Satans Paga|ni&s;h or Anti|chri&s;tian in|&s;titution to the Gentiles, as concerning the manner of comming forth of them.</NOTE></P>
<P>I an&s;wer, 2 things mu&s;t here carefully be minded:</P>
<P>Fir&s;t although bondage to <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> would &s;eparate from
Chri&s;t, yet the difference mu&s;t be ob&s;erved between tho&s;e
Ordinances of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> which it plea&s;ed God him&s;elfe to ordain
and appoint, as his then only Wor&s;hip in the world, though
now in the comming of his Son, he was plea&s;ed to take away,
yet with &s;olemnitie; and on the other &s;ide the In&s;titutions and
Ordinances of Antichri&s;t, which the Devill him&s;elfe inven|ted,
were from fir&s;t to la&s;t never to be received and &s;ubmitted
to one moment, nor with &s;uch &s;olemnitie to be laid down, but
to be abhor'd and abominated for ever.</P>
<P>The Nationall Church of the Jewes, with all the &s;hadowi&s;h
typicall Ordinances of Kings,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A compari&s;on between the Iewi&s;h and Chri&s;tian or|dinances.</NOTE> Prie&s;ts, Prophets, Temple, Sa|crifices
were as a &s;ilver candle&s;tick, on which the light of the
Knowledge of God and of the Lord Je&s;us in the type and &s;ha|dow
was &s;et up and &s;hined. That Silver Candle&s;tick it plea|&s;ed
<PB N="24" REF="15">
the mo&s;t holy and only wi&s;e to take away, and in &s;tead
therof to &s;et up the Golden Candle&s;ticks of particular Chur|ches
(<HI>Revel.</HI> 1.) by the hand of the Son of God him&s;elfe:
Now the fir&s;t was <HI>&s;ilver</HI> (the pure will and mind of God, but
intended only for a &s;ea&s;on:) the &s;econd of a more <HI>precious la|&s;ting</HI>
nature, <HI>a Kindome not to be &s;haken</HI> (that is aboli&s;hed as the
former) <HI>Heb.</HI> 12. 28.</P>
<P>Therfore Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mo&s;es ordi|nances at one time pretious and holy, at another time beggarly and deadly.</NOTE> ob&s;erve the difference of Time (which
Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> him&s;elfe confe&s;&s;eth) after In&s;truction and Con|viction
(&s;aith he) <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> Law was deadly and would &s;eparate
from Chri&s;t, therfore, there was a time when they were not
deadly, and did not &s;eparate from Chri&s;t, to wit untill <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>
was honourably fallen a&s;leep, and lamented for (as I conceive)
in the type and figure 30. dayes (<HI>Deut.</HI> 34.) Therfore at one
&s;ea&s;on (not for <HI>Timo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">hies</HI> weake con&s;cience, but for the Jews
&s;ake) <HI>Paul</HI> circumci&s;ed <HI>Timothy:</HI> at another time when the Jews
had &s;ufficient in&s;truction, and ob&s;tinately would be circum|ci&s;ed,
and that nece&s;&s;arily to &s;alvation, <HI>Paul</HI> &s;ea&s;onably cries
out,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fir&s;t Chri&s;tians communicated in the Iewi&s;h Synagogues until the Iews contradicted &amp; &s;poke evill, &amp;c. then they &s;eparated.</NOTE> that <HI>if they were circumci&s;ed Chri&s;t &s;hould profit them nothing,</HI>
Gal. 5. Hence the Chri&s;tians at <HI>Ephe&s;us</HI> conver&s;ed with the
Jewi&s;h Synagogue, untill the Jews contradicted and bla&s;phe|med,
and then were &s;peedilie &s;eparate by <HI>Paul,</HI> Acts 19. But to
apply <HI>Paul</HI> ob&s;erved a Vow, and the ceremonies of it, circum|ci&s;ed
<HI>Timothy, &amp;c.</HI> may therefore a <HI>me&s;&s;enger of Chri&s;t</HI> now (as
<HI>Paul</HI>) goe to <HI>Ma&s;&s;e,</HI> pray to Saints, perform pennance, keep
chri&s;tmas and other Popi&s;h Fea&s;ts and Fa&s;ts, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Againe, is there &s;uch a time allowed to any man, uniting or
adding him&s;elfe to the true Church now, to ob&s;erve the un|holy
holy dayes of Fea&s;ting and Fa&s;ting invented by Anti|chri&s;t?
yea and (as <HI>Paul</HI> did circumci&s;ion) to practi&s;e the Po|pi&s;h
Sacraments?<NOTE PLACE="marg">A member of a true Church falling into a|ny idelatrous practice, not pre&s;ently to be excommuni|cated.</NOTE> I doubt not, but if any member of a true
Church or a&s;&s;embly of Wor&s;hippers, &s;hall fall to any Pagani&s;h
or Popi&s;h practi&s;e, he mu&s;t be in&s;tructed and convinced, be|fore
Excommunication: but the Que&s;tion is, Whether &s;till
ob&s;erving and &s;o practi&s;ing, a per&s;on may be received to the
true Chri&s;tian Church, as the Jewes were, although they yet
practi&s;ed <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> ceremonies.</P>
<P>The&s;e things duly pondred (in the feare and pre&s;ence of
God) it will appeare how vain the allegation is, from that ten|der
and honourable re&s;pect to Gods Ordinances now vani|&s;hing
<PB N="25" REF="15">
from the Jewes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Not one de|gree of &s;ight of, or &s;orrow for Antichri|&s;tian abomi|nations, yet a nece&s;sity of cutting off from the fal&s;e, before union to the true Church, Mi|ni&s;tery, wor|&s;hip, &amp;c.</NOTE> and their weake con&s;ciences about the
&s;ame, to prove the &s;ame tendernes to Sathans inventions, and
the con&s;ciences of men in the renouncing of Paganicall, Tur|ki&s;h,
Antichri&s;tian; yea and I adde Judaical Wor&s;hips now,
when once the time of their full vani&s;hing was come.</P>
<P>To conclude, although I pre&s;cribe not &s;uch a mea&s;ure of
&s;ight of, or &s;orrow for Antichri&s;tian Abominations (I &s;peake
in re&s;pect of degrees, which it plea&s;eth the <HI>Father of Lights</HI> to
di&s;pence variou&s;ly to one more, to another le&s;&s;e) yet I beleeve
it ab&s;olutely nece&s;&s;ary to &s;ee and bewaile &s;o much as may a|mount
to cut off the &s;oule from the fal&s;e Church (whether
National, Pari&s;hional or any other fa&s;ly con&s;tituted Church)
Mini&s;trie, Wor&s;hip and Government of it.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="15" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XV.</HEAD>
<P>Mr. <HI>Cotton.</HI> An&s;. 3. To places of Scripture which you ob|ject,
<HI>I&s;a. 52. 11. 2 Cor. 6. 17. Revel.</HI> 18. 4. We an&s;were, two of
them makes nothing to your purpo&s;e: for that of <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> and
the other of the <HI>Revelation,</HI> &s;peak of locall &s;eparation, which
your &s;elfe know we have made, and yet you &s;ay, you doe not
apprehend that to be &s;ufficient. As for that place of the Co|rinths,
it only requireth comming out from Idolaters in the
Fellow&s;hip of their Idolatry. No mariages were they to make
with them, no Fea&s;ts were they to hold with them in the
Idolls Temple; no intimate familiaritie were they to main|taine
with them, nor any Fellow&s;hip were they to keep with
them in the unfruitfull works of darknes, and this is all which
that place requireth. But what makes all this to prove, that
we may not receive &s;uch per&s;ons to Church fellow&s;hip, as
your &s;elfe confe&s;&s;e to be godly, and who doe profe&s;&s;edly re|nounce
and bewail all known &s;in and would renounce m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">e
if they knew more, although it may be they do not &s;ee the ut|mo&s;t
skirts of all that pollution they have &s;omtimes been de|filed
with; as the Patriarchs &s;aw not the pollution of their
Poligamie: But that you may plainly &s;ee this place is wre&s;ted
be&s;ide the Apo&s;tles &s;cope, when you argue from it, that &s;uch
per&s;ons are not fit matter for Church fellow&s;hip, as are defiled
with any remnants of Antichri&s;tian pollution, nor &s;uch
Churches any more to be accounted Churches&punc; as do receive
&s;uch among&s;t them. Con&s;ider I pray you, were there not at
that time in the Church of Corinth, &s;uch as partook with the
<PB N="26" REF="16">
Idolaters in the Idolls temple? And was not this the touch|ing
of an uncleane thing? And did this &s;in reject the&s;e mem|bers
from Church fellow&s;hip before convicton? Or did it
evacuate their Church e&s;tate for not ca&s;ting out &s;uch mem|bers?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> The Scriptures or <HI>writings</HI> of <HI>truth</HI> are tho&s;e heavenly
righteous <HI>&s;cales,</HI> wherin all our contraver&s;ies mu&s;t be tried,
and that ble&s;&s;ed Starre that leads all tho&s;e <HI>&s;oules</HI> to Je&s;us that
&s;eek him. But &s;aith Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> two of tho&s;e Scriptures alledg|ged
by me (<HI>I&s;a. 52. 11. Revel.</HI> 18. 4. which I brought to prove
a <HI>nece&s;&s;itie</HI> of leaving the fal&s;e, before a joyning to the true
Church, they &s;peake of <HI>locall &s;eparation,</HI> which (&s;aith he) your
&s;elfe know we have made.</P>
<P>For that <HI>locall</HI> and typicall &s;eparation from <HI>Babylon,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cotton cannot make both comings forth of Ba|bel both in the Type and an|titype to bee locall.</NOTE> <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 52.
I could not well have beleeved that Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> or any would
make that comming forth of <HI>Babel</HI> in the antitype, <HI>Rev.</HI> 18 4.
to be <HI>locall</HI> and <HI>materiall</HI> al&s;o. What civill State, Nation or
Countrey in the world, in the antitype mu&s;t now be called <HI>Ba|bel?</HI>
certainly, if any, then <HI>Babel</HI> it &s;elfe properly &s;o called: but
there we find (as before) at true Church of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 5.</P>
<P>Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">If a locall Ba|bel, then al&s;o now a locall Iudea and Temple, &amp;c. Come out of Babel not materiall, but my&s;ticall.</NOTE> if <HI>Babel</HI> be <HI>locall</HI> now, whence Gods people are
called, then mu&s;t there be a locall <HI>Iudea,</HI> a Land of <HI>Canaan</HI> al&s;o,
into which they are called; and where &s;hall both that <HI>Babel</HI>
and <HI>Canaan</HI> be found in all the commings forth that have been
made from the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> in the&s;e la&s;t times? But Mr.
<HI>Cotton</HI> having made a locall departure from Old <HI>England</HI> in
<HI>Europe,</HI> to New <HI>England</HI> in <HI>America,</HI> can he &s;atisfie his owne
&s;oule, or the &s;oules of other men, that he hath obeyed that
voice,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Lord Ie|&s;us hath bro|ken down the difference of places and per&s;ons.</NOTE> <HI>come out of Babel my people, partake not of her &s;ins, &amp;c.</HI> Doth
he count the very Land of <HI>England</HI> literally <HI>Babel,</HI> and &s;o con|&s;equently
<HI>Aegypt</HI> and <HI>Sodome, Revel.</HI> 11. 8. and the Land of new
England <HI>Judea, Canaan? &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>The Lord Je&s;us (<HI>John</HI> 4.) clearly breaks down all difference
of <HI>places,</HI> and <HI>Acts</HI> 10 all difference of <HI>per&s;ons;</HI> and for my &s;elfe,
I acknowledge the Land of England, the civill Laws, Govern|ment
and people of England,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Chiefe&s;t cau&s;es of Gods indignation again&s;t Eng|land.</NOTE> not to be inferiour to any under
heaven. Only 2 things I &s;hall humbly &s;ugge&s;t unto my deare
Countrymen (whether more <HI>high</HI> and <HI>honourable</HI> at the <HI>helme</HI>
of Government, or more inferiour, who <HI>labour</HI> and <HI>&s;aile</HI> in this
famous Ship of Englands Common Wealth) as the greate&s;t
<PB N="27" REF="16">
<HI>cau&s;es,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">The&s;e two particulars I &s;hould be humbly rea|dy to make proof of.</NOTE> <HI>fourtaines</HI> and <HI>top roots</HI> of all the Indignation of the
mo&s;t High, again&s;t the State and Countrey: Fir&s;t that the
whole Nation and Generations of Men have been forced
(though unregenerate and unrepentant) to pretend and a&s;&s;ume
the name of Chri&s;t Je&s;us, which only belongs, according to
the In&s;titution of the Lord Je&s;us, to truely regenerate and re|penting
&s;oules. Secondly, that all others <HI>di&s;&s;enting</HI> from them,
whether Jewes or Gentiles, their Countrymen e&s;pecially (for
&s;trangers have a Libertie) have not been permitted <HI>civill coha|bitation</HI>
in this world with them, but have been <HI>distre&s;&s;ea</HI> and
<HI>per&s;ecuted</HI> by them.</P>
<P>But to returne, the &s;umme of my Contraver&s;ie with Mr.
<HI>Cotton</HI> is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;ouls cap|tivity to fal&s;e wor&s;hip is not locall, but a guilt, and not only &s;o, but an habit or di&s;po&s;ition of &s;piritual &s;leep, whoredome, drunkenne&s;&s;e, &amp;c.</NOTE> Whether or no that fal&s;e Wor&s;hipping of the <HI>true
God,</HI> be not only a <HI>&s;pirituall guilt</HI> liable to Gods &s;entence and
plagues, but al&s;o an <HI>habit,</HI> frequently compared in the Pro|phets,
and <HI>Rev.</HI> 17. to a &s;pirit and di&s;po&s;ition of &s;piritual drun|kenne&s;&s;e
and whoredome, a &s;oule &s;leep and a &s;oule &s;ickne&s;&s;e:
So that as by the change of a chaire, chamber or bed, a &s;ick or
&s;leepie man, whore or drunkard are not changed, but they
remaine the &s;ame &s;till, untill that di&s;po&s;ition of &s;icknes, &s;lee|pine&s;&s;e,
drunkennes, whoredome be put off, and a new habit of
&s;pirituall health, watchfullnes, &s;obrietie, cha&s;titie be put on.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="16" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XVI.</HEAD>
<P>Now concerning that Scripture, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6. Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> here
confe&s;&s;eth it holdeth forth 5. things: That the repenting
Corinthians were called out in from the unrepenting:</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, in the Fellow&s;hip of their Idolatrie.</P>
<P>2. From making Mariages with them.</P>
<P>3. From Fea&s;ting in their Idols temples.</P>
<P>4. From intimate Familiaritie with them.</P>
<P>5. From all Fellow&s;hip in the <HI>unfruitfull works</HI> of <HI>dark<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">es.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">The benefites of the repen|ting Engli&s;h, their coming forth from the impenitent Engli&s;h in tho&s;e former 5 particulars mentioned by Mr. Cotton.</NOTE></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> If regenerate and truely repenting Engli&s;h thus come
forth from the unregenerate and unrepenting, how would the
name of the Lord Je&s;us be &s;anctified, the jealou&s;ie of the Lord
pacified, their own &s;oules clean&s;ed, judgements prevented, yea
and one good meanes practi&s;ed toward the convincing and &s;a|ving
of the &s;oules of &s;uch, from whom in the&s;e particulars
they depart, and dare not have Fellow&s;hip with: e&s;pecially
when in all civill things they walke unblameably, in quiet and
helpfull cohabitation, righteous and faithfull dealing, and
<PB N="28" REF="17">
chearfull &s;ubmis&s;ion to civill Lawes, Orders, Levies, Cu|&s;tomes,
<HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Yea but Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> demands, What makes all this to prove
that godly per&s;ons who profe&s;&s;edly renounce all <HI>known</HI> &s;inne,
may not be received to Church fellow&s;hip, although they &s;ee
not the utmo&s;t skirts of their Pollution, as the Patriarchs &s;aw
not the pollution of their Poligamie.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;ins of Gods pe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ple are &s;ome<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="3 letters"> reputed to be of ignorance, when they are of negligence, and yet igno|rance excu&s;eth not wholly.</NOTE></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> I repeat the former di&s;tinction of godly per&s;ons, who
po&s;&s;ibly may live in ungodly practices (e&s;pecially of fal&s;e wor|&s;hip)
and then according to Mr. <HI>Cottons</HI> own interpretation of
this place to the <HI>Corinthians,</HI> they come not forth. And I adde,
if there be any voice of Chri&s;t in the mouthes of his Witne&s;&s;es
again&s;t the&s;e &s;innes, they are not then of Ignorance, but of
Negligence, and <HI>&s;pirituall hardnes,</HI> again&s;t the wayes of Gods
feare, again&s;t <HI>I&s;a. 63. &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Moreover, our que&s;tion is not of the <HI>utmo&s;t skirts</HI> of Polluti|on,
but the &s;ub&s;tance of a true or fal&s;e Bed of Wor&s;hip <HI>Cant.</HI>
1. 16. in re&s;pect of comming out of the <HI>fal&s;e,</HI> before the en|trance
into the <HI>true.</HI> And yet I beleeve that Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> being to
receive a per&s;on to Church fellow&s;hip,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A ca&s;e put to Mr. Cotton.</NOTE> who formerly hath
been infamous for corporall Whoredome, he would not give
his con&s;ent to receive &s;uch an one,<NOTE PLACE="marg">No cau&s;e of more &s;hame frr whore|dome again&s;t an husbands bed, then a|gain&s;t the bed of Gods wor|&s;hip.</NOTE> without &s;ound Repentance
for the filthines of her skirts (<HI>Lament.</HI> 1.) not only in actuall
whoredomes, but al&s;o in whori&s;h Speeches, Ge&s;tures, Appea|rances,
Provocation. And why &s;hould there be a greater &s;tri|ctnes
for the skirts of common whoredom, then of <HI>spiritual</HI> &amp;
<HI>&s;oul</HI> Whoredome, again&s;t the cha&s;titie of Gods Wor&s;hip? And
therfore to that in&s;tance of the Fathers Poligamie, I an&s;wer:
Fir&s;t by ob&s;erving what great &s;ins godly per&s;ons may pos&s;ibly
live and long continue in, notwith&s;tanding godline&s;&s;e in the
root. Secondly I aske if any per&s;on, of who&s;e godlines Mr. <HI>Cot.</HI>
hath had long per&s;wa&s;ion, &s;hould beleeve and maintaine (as
que&s;tionles the Fathers had grounds &s;atisfying their con&s;ci|ences
for what they did:) that he ought to have many Wives,
and accordingly &s;o practi&s;ed;<NOTE PLACE="marg">The ca&s;e of Poligamy, or many wives of the Fathers.</NOTE> I &s;ay, I aske whether Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI>
would receive &s;uch a godly per&s;on to Church fellow&s;hip?
yea I aske, whether the Church of the Jewes (had they &s;een
this evill) would have received &s;uch a Pro&s;elite from the Gen|tiles,
and when it was &s;een, whether any per&s;ons &s;o practi&s;ing
would have been &s;uffred among&s;t them: But la&s;tly, what was
<PB N="29" REF="17">
this per&s;onall &s;inne of the&s;e godly per&s;ons? was it any matter
of Gods wor&s;hip, any joyning with a fal&s;e Church, Mini&s;try,
Wor&s;hip, Government, from whence they were to come, be|fore
they could con&s;titute his true Church, and enjoy his
Wor&s;hip, Mini&s;tery, Government, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> concludeth this pa&s;&s;age thus, The Church of
<HI>Corinth</HI> had &s;uch as partook with Idolaters in their Idolls tem|ple,
and was not this (&s;aith he) <HI>touching of an uncleane thing,</HI> and
did this reject the&s;e members from Church fellow&s;hip before
conviction; and did it evacuate their Church e&s;tate, for not
ca&s;ting out of &s;uch members?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> This was an uncleane thing indeed, from which God
calls his people in this place, with glorious promi&s;es of recei|ving
them: and Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> confe&s;&s;eth that after conviction,
any member ob&s;tinate in the&s;e unclean touches, ought to be
rejected, for, &s;aith he, did this &s;in reject the&s;e members from
Church fellow&s;hip before conviction?</P>
<P>And upon the &s;ame ground that one ob&s;tinate per&s;on ought
to be rejected out of Church e&s;tate,<NOTE PLACE="marg">It le&s;&s;eneth not a rebelli|on that it is in a multitude: hence a Citie in I&s;rael ido|latrous was to be de&s;troyed.</NOTE> upon the &s;ame ground,
if a greater company or Church were ob&s;tinate in &s;uch un|cleane
touches, and &s;o con&s;equently in a rebellion again&s;t
Chri&s;t, ought every &s;ound Chri&s;tian Church to reject them,
and every &s;ound member to withdraw from them.</P>
<P>And hence further it is cleare, that if &s;uch unclean touches
ob&s;tinately maintained (as Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> confe&s;&s;eth and practi|&s;eth)
be a ground of rejection of a per&s;on in the Church,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ob&s;tinacte that ca&s;teth out, will keep out from communion with the Lord Ie&s;us in his Church.</NOTE> que|&s;tionle&s;&s;e
it is a ground of rejection when &s;uch per&s;ons are to
joyne unto the Church. And if ob&s;tinacie in the whole
Church after conviction be a ground for &s;uch a Churches re|jection,
que&s;tionle&s;&s;e &s;uch a Church or number of per&s;ons ob|&s;tinate
in &s;uch evills, cannot congregate nor become a true
con&s;tituted Church of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>The greate&s;t que&s;tion here would be,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Church of Corinth, &amp; every true Church &s;epa|rate from I|dols as a cha&s;t virgin to Chri&s;t.</NOTE> Whether the <HI>Corinthi|ans</HI>
in their fir&s;t con&s;titution were &s;eparate or no, from &s;uch
Idoll Temples? and this Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> neither doth nor can de|ny;
a Church e&s;tate being a &s;tate of mariage unto Je&s;us Chri&s;t,
and &s;o <HI>Paul</HI> profe&s;&s;edly &s;aith, he had <HI>e&s;pou&s;ed them as a cha&s;t
virgin to Chri&s;t Ie&s;us,</HI> 2 Cor. 11.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="17" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XVII.</HEAD>
<P>Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> proceeds to an&s;wer &s;ome other allegations which
<PB N="30" REF="18">
I produced from the confes&s;ion of &s;inne made by <HI>Iohns</HI> Di&s;|ciples,
and the Pro&s;elite Gentiles before they were admitted
into Church fellow&s;hip, <HI>Mat. 3. 6. Acts</HI> 19. 18. Unto which he
returneth a 3 fold an&s;were: The fir&s;t is grounded upon his
apparent mi&s;take of my words in a grant of mine, <HI>viz.</HI> Such a
confe&s;&s;ion and renunciation is not ab&s;olutely nece&s;&s;ary, if the
&s;ub&s;tance of true repentance be di&s;cerned. Whence (&s;aith he)
according to your own confe&s;&s;ion, &s;uch per&s;ons as have the
&s;ub&s;tance of true Repentance may be a true Church.</P>
<P>I an&s;were, it is cleare in the progre&s;&s;e of the whole contra|ver&s;ie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;ub&s;tance of true gene|rall repen|tance in all Gods chil|dren, though living in ma|ny gro&s;&s;e abo|minations of fal&s;e wor&s;hip, Mini&s;try, &amp;c.</NOTE>
that I ever intend by the &s;ub&s;tance of true Repentance,
not that generall grace of Repentance, which all Gods people
have (as <HI>Luther</HI> a Monk, and going to, yea publi&s;hing the Ger|man
Ma&s;&s;e, and tho&s;e famous Bi&s;hops burnt for Chri&s;t in Qu.
<HI>Maries</HI> dayes) but that &s;ub&s;tance of Repentance for tho&s;e fal&s;e
wayes of Wor&s;hip, Church, Mini&s;try, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> in which Gods peo|ple
have lived, although the confe&s;&s;ing and renouncing of
them be not &s;o particularly expre&s;t, and with &s;uch godly &s;or|row
and indignation as &s;ome expre&s;&s;e, and may well become:
And indeed the whole &s;cope of that caution was for Chri&s;tian
moderation,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Not the &s;ame mea&s;ure and degrees of re|pentance in all.</NOTE> and gentlenes toward the &s;everall &s;orts of Gods
people, profe&s;&s;ing particular repentance for their &s;pirituall
captivity and bondage, during which captivitie al&s;o I readily
acknowledge the &s;ub&s;tance of repentance, and of all the graces
of Chri&s;t in generall.</P>
<P>In his &s;econd An&s;were Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cotton.</NOTE> I grant with the one
hand, and take away with the other, for he denies it nece&s;&s;ary
to the admi&s;&s;ion of members, that every one &s;hould be con|vinced
of the &s;infullnes of every &s;ipping of the Whores, cup,
for (&s;aith he) every &s;ipping of a drunkards cup is not &s;infull.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Some have drunk deep of the Whores cup; and &s;ome but &s;ipt, yet intoxicated.</NOTE></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Fir&s;t he doth not rightly aledge my words, for a little
before he confe&s;&s;eth, my words to be that Antichri&s;tian drun|kenne&s;&s;e
and whoredome is to be confe&s;t of all &s;uch as have
drunk of the Whores cup, or but &s;ipt of it. In which words I
plainly di&s;tingui&s;h between &s;uch as have drunk deeper of her
cup, as Papi&s;ts, Popi&s;h Prie&s;ts, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and &s;uch as in compari&s;on
have but &s;ipt, as Gods own people, who yet by &s;uch &s;ipping
have been &s;o intoxicated, as to practi&s;e &s;pirituall whoredome
again&s;t Chri&s;t in &s;ubmitting to fal&s;e Churches, Mini&s;trie,
Wor&s;hip, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="31" REF="18">
Secondly, whereas he &s;aith every &s;ipping of a drunkards cup
is not &s;infull.</P>
<P>I an&s;were: neither the lea&s;t &s;ipping, nor con&s;tant drinking
out of the cup which a drunkard u&s;eth to drinke in, is &s;infull:
but every drunken &s;ip (which is our que&s;tion) is que&s;tionle&s;&s;e
&s;infull, and &s;o con&s;equently to be avoyded by the &s;ober, whe|ther
the cup of corporall or &s;pirituall drunkennes.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="18" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XVIII.</HEAD>
<P>Mr. <HI>Cotton.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cotton.</NOTE> Yea but (&s;aith he) the 3000. Jewes were admit|ted
when they repented of their murthering of Chri&s;t, al|though
they never &s;aw all the &s;uper&s;titious leavenings wher|with
the Phari&s;es had bewitched them: and &s;o no doubt may
godly per&s;ons now, although they be not yet convinced of
every pa&s;&s;age of Antichri&s;tian &s;uper&s;tition, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and that upon
this ground, that &s;pirituall whoredome and drunkenne&s;&s;e is
not &s;o &s;oon di&s;cerned as corporall.</P>
<P>I an&s;wer, it is not indeed &s;o ea&s;ily di&s;cerned, and yet not the
le&s;&s;e &s;infull, but infinitly tran&s;cendent, as much as &s;pirituall
&s;obriety exceeds corporall, and the bed of the mo&s;t high God,
exceeds the beds of men, who are but du&s;t and a&s;hes.</P>
<P>Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fir&s;t Chri&s;tians the be&s;t pattern for all Chri|&s;tians now.</NOTE> I an&s;were the converted Jews although they &s;aw
not all the leavenings of the Phari&s;es, yet they mourned for
killing of Chri&s;t, and embraced him in his Wor&s;hip Mini&s;try,
Government, and were added to his Church: and O that the
lea&s;t beames of light and &s;parkles of heat were in mine owne,
and others &s;oules, which were kindled by the holy Spirit of
God in tho&s;e famous converts at the preaching of <HI>Peter, Acts</HI> 2.
The true Chri&s;t now in his Wor&s;hip, Mini&s;trie, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> being di&s;|cerned
and repentance for per&s;ecuting and killing of him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The power of true repen|tance for kil|ling of Chri&s;t.</NOTE> be|ing
expre&s;t, there nece&s;&s;arily follows a withdrawing from the
Church, Mini&s;try and Wor&s;hip of the fal&s;e Chri&s;t, and &s;ub|mi&s;&s;ion
unto the true: and this is the &s;umme and &s;ub&s;tance
of our contraver&s;ie.</P>
<P>Concerning the confe&s;&s;ion of &s;innes unto <HI>Iohn,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cotton.</NOTE> he grants the
Di&s;ciples of <HI>Iohn</HI> confe&s;t their &s;ins, the Publicans theirs, the
Souldiers theirs the people theirs, but &s;aith he, it appeares not
that they confe&s;t their Phari&s;aicall pollution.</P>
<P>And concerning the confe&s;&s;ion <HI>Acts</HI> 19. 18. he &s;aith it is not
expre&s;t that they confe&s;t all their deeds.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> If both the&s;e confe&s;t their notorious &s;ins, (as Mr. <HI>Cot|ton</HI>
<PB N="32" REF="19">
expre&s;&s;eth) why not as well their notorious &s;innes again&s;t
God, their Idolatries, Super&s;titious Wor&s;hips, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Surely
throughout the whole Scripture, the matters of God, and his
Wor&s;hip are fir&s;t and mo&s;t tenderly handled; his people are
ever de&s;cribed by the title of his Wor&s;hippers, and his enemies
by the title of Wor&s;hippers of fal&s;e gods, and wor&s;hipping the
<HI>true</HI> after a fal&s;e manner; and to prove this were to bring forth
a candle to the bright &s;hining of the Sun at noon day.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="19" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XIX.</HEAD>
<P>His third an&s;were is:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cotton.</NOTE> But to &s;atisfie you more fully (and the
Lord make you willing in true meekne&s;&s;e of Spirit to receive
&s;atisfaction) the body of the members doe in generall profe&s;&s;e,
that the rea&s;on of their coming over to us was, that they
might be freed from the bondage of humane Inventions and
Ordinances, as their &s;oules groaned under, for which al &s;o they
profe&s;&s;e their hearty &s;orrow, &s;o farre as through ignorance or
infirmitie they have bin defiled. Be&s;ide, in our daily meetings,
and &s;pecially in the times of our &s;olemne Humiliations, we
generally all of us bewaile all our former pollutions, where|with
we have defiled our &s;elves and the holy things of God,
in our former admin&s;trations and communions: but we ra|ther
choo&s;e to doe it then talke of it; and we can but wonder
how you can &s;o boldly and re&s;olutely renounce all the Chur|ches
of God, for neglect of that which you know not whether
they have neglected or no, and before you have admoni&s;hed
us of our &s;infullnes in &s;uch neglect, if it be found among&s;t us.</P>
<P>I an&s;wer (with humble de&s;ires to the Father of Lights,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;wer.</NOTE> for
the true meeknes and wi&s;dome of his Spirit) here is mention
of humane Inventions and Ordinances, and defiling them&s;elvs
and holy things of God in former Admini&s;trations, and Com|munions,<NOTE PLACE="marg">How can a &s;oule truly oppo&s;e Anti|chri&s;t, that endures not to have his name que&s;tio|ned.</NOTE>
and yet no mention what &s;uch Inventions and Or|dinances,
what &s;uch Admini&s;trations and Communions were:
We rather choo&s;e to doe it (&s;aith he) then to talke of it, which
makes me call to mind, an expre&s;&s;ion of an eminent and wor|thy
per&s;on among&s;t them in a &s;olemne conference, <HI>viz. What
need we &s;peake of Antichri&s;t, can we not enjoy our liberties without
inveighing again&s;t Antichri&s;t?</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>The truth is, I acknowledge their witnes again&s;t Ceremo|nies
and Bi&s;hops, but that yet they &s;ee not the evill of a Nati|onall
Church (notwith&s;tanding they con&s;titute only parti|cular
<PB N="33" REF="19">
and independant) let their con&s;tant practice &s;peake, in
&s;till joyning with &s;uch Churches and Mini&s;ters in the Ordi|nances
of the Word and Prayer, and their Per&s;ecuting of my
&s;elfe for my humble and faithfull,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cotton witne&s;sing a|gain&s;t a nati|onall Church, and yet hold|ing f<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="3 letters">ow&s;hip with it.</NOTE> and con&s;tant admoni&s;hing
of them, of &s;uch unclean walking between a particular Church
(which they only profe&s;&s;e to be Chri&s;ts) and a Nationall,
which Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> profe&s;&s;eth to &s;eparate from.</P>
<P>But how could I po&s;&s;ibly be ignorant, (as he &s;eemeth to
charge me) of their &s;tate, when being from fir&s;t to la&s;t in fel|low&s;hip
with them, an Officer among&s;t them, had private and
publike agitations concerning their &s;tate and condition,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Impos&s;ible for the an&s;werer to be ignorant of their Church e&s;tate, as Mr. Cotton pretendeth.</NOTE> with
all or mo&s;t of their Mini&s;ters, and at la&s;t &s;uffred for &s;uch ad|monitions
to them, the mi&s;erie of a Winters Bani&s;hment
among&s;t the Barbarians: and yet &s;aith he, You know not
what we have done, neither have you admoni&s;hed us of our
&s;infullnes.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="20" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XX.</HEAD>
<P>Mr. <HI>Cotton.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cotton.</NOTE> A third Scrip<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ure which I produced was <HI>Hag|gai</HI>
2. 13, 14, 15. de&s;iring that the place might be throughly
weighed, and that the Lord might plea&s;e to hold the &s;cales
him&s;elfe, the Prophet there telling the Church of the Jewes,
<HI>that if a per&s;on unclean by a dead body touch holy things, tho&s;e holy
things become uncleane unto them;</HI> and &s;o &s;aith he is this Nation,
and &s;o is every work of their hands and that which they offer
is uncleane: whence I infer'd, that even Church Covenants
made, and Ordinances practiced by per&s;ons polluted through
&s;pirituall deadnes, and filthines of Communion, &s;uch Cove|nants
and Ordinances become uncleane unto them, and are
prophaned by them.</P>
<P>Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> an&s;wers, Your purpo&s;e was to prove that Chur|ches
cannot be con&s;tituted by &s;uch per&s;ons as are unclean by
Antichri&s;tian pollutions, or if they be &s;o con&s;tituted they are
not to be communicated with, but &s;eparated from: But the
Prophet acknowledgeth the whole Church of the Jews to be
unclean, and yet neither denies them to be a Church truly
con&s;tituted, nor &s;tirs up him&s;elfe or others to &s;eparate from
them.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> I acknowledge the true con&s;titution of the Church
of the Jewes, and affirm that this their true con&s;titution was
the rea&s;on why they were not to be &s;eparated from: for being
<PB N="34" REF="20">
a Nationall Church,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> of the Iewes a Nationall Church truely con&s;tituted, therfore not to bee &s;epa|rated from, Death and captivity in the nationall church typed out &s;piritual death &amp; cap|tivity in the particular.</NOTE> ceremoniall and typicall their Excom|munication
was either putting to death in, or captivitie out
of that ceremoniall <HI>Canaan.</HI> Hence <HI>Salmana&s;&s;ars</HI> carrying the
<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">. Tribes captive out of this Land is &s;aid to be the ca&s;ting of
them out of Gods &s;ight, 2 <HI>Kings</HI> 17. which was their Excom|munication.</P>
<P>Accordingly in the particular Chri&s;tian Churches, Chri&s;t
Je&s;us cuts off by &s;pirituall death, which is Excommunication,
or for want of due execution of Ju&s;tice by that Ordinance in
his Kingdome, he &s;ells the Church into &s;pirituall captivitie,
to confu&s;ed (Babyloni&s;h) Lords, and Wor&s;hips, and &s;o drives
them out of his &s;ight.</P>
<P>Now from the con&s;equent of this place in <HI>Haggai</HI> mine ar|gument
&s;tands good; and Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> here acknowledgeth it,
that <HI>holy things</HI> may be all uncleane to Gods people, when they
lie in their uncleannes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ceremoniall uncleanne&s;&s;e in the natio|nall Church typed out mo|rall unclean|ne&s;&s;e in the particular.</NOTE> as this people did. Tho&s;e Scriptures,
<HI>Levit.</HI> 16. &amp; <HI>Numbers</HI> 19. which di&s;cour&s;e of typicall and Ce|remoniall
uncleanne&s;&s;e, he acknowledgeth to type out in the
Go&s;pel the Morall uncleannes either of <HI>dead works, Ephe&s;.</HI> 5.
11. or <HI>dead per&s;ons, 2 Cor.</HI> 6. 14. or <HI>dead world, Gal.</HI> 6. 14. and in
this place of <HI>Haggai,</HI> he acknowledgeth that Gods people,
Prince and people, were defiled by worldlines, in which con|dition
(&s;aith he) their oblations, their bodily labours, were all
uncleane, and found neither acceptance nor ble&s;&s;ing from the
Lord.</P>
<P>Therfore &s;aith he afterward: In the Church godly Chri|&s;tians
them&s;elves, while they attend to the world more then
to the things of God, are uncleane in the &s;ight of God: ther|fore
the Church cannot be con&s;tituted of &s;uch; or if it be con|&s;titute
of &s;uch, the people of God mu&s;t &s;eparate from them.
And la&s;tly, he &s;aith, the Church of Chri&s;t and members ther|of
mu&s;t &s;eparate them&s;elves from their hypocri&s;ie, and world|lynes,
els they and their duties will be unclean in the &s;ight of
God, notwith&s;tanding their Church e&s;tate.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> What have I more &s;poken then Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> him&s;elfe
hath uttered in this his explication and application of this
Scripture? As</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, that godly per&s;ons may become defiled and unclean
by hypocri&s;ie and worldlines.</P>
<P>Secondly, while they lie in &s;uch a condition of uncleannes,
<PB N="35" REF="20">
all their offerings,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cottons own confe&s;si|on concerning unclean wor|&s;hips even of godly per&s;ons.</NOTE> per&s;ons, labours are unclean in the &s;ight of
God, and have neither acceptance nor ble&s;&s;ing from him: but
they and their duties are unclean in his &s;ight notwith&s;tanding
their Church e&s;tate.</P>
<P>Thirdly, the Church of Chri&s;t cannot be con&s;tituted of
&s;uch godly per&s;ons, when defiled with &s;uch worldline&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>Fourthly, the Church c<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">n&s;i&s;ting of &s;uch worldly per&s;ons
(though otherwi&s;e godly and Chri&s;tian) the people of God
mu&s;t &s;eparate from them.</P>
<P>The&s;e are Mr. <HI>Cottons</HI> owne expre&s;&s;e words which ju&s;tifie:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Inferences from Ma&s;ter Cottons grant.</NOTE></P>
<P>Fir&s;t my former di&s;tinction of godly per&s;ons in their per&s;o|nall
re&s;pect, between God and them&s;elves; and yet becoming
ungodly in their outward defilements.</P>
<P>Secondly, they ju&s;tifie my a&s;&s;ertion of a nece&s;&s;itie of clean|&s;ing
from Antichri&s;tian filthines and communions with dead
works, dead wor&s;hips dead per&s;ons in Gods wor&s;hip, if the
touches of the dead world, or immoderate love of it doe &s;o
defile, as Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> here affirmeth.</P>
<P>Thirdly, if (as he &s;aith) the Church cannot be con&s;tituted
of &s;uch godly per&s;ons as are defiled by immoderate love of the
world, much le&s;&s;e can it be con&s;tituted of godly per&s;ons defi|led
with the dead Inventions, Wor&s;hips, Communions of <HI>unre|generate</HI>
and ungodly per&s;ons.</P>
<P>Fourthly he ju&s;tifies a &s;eparation from &s;uch Churches, if &s;o
con&s;tituted, or &s;o con&s;tituting, becau&s;e though worldlines be
Adulterie again&s;t God <HI>James</HI> 4. yet not comparable to &s;pi|rituall
Adultery of a fal&s;e bed of Wor&s;hip, Mini&s;trie, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="21" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XXI.</HEAD>
<P>Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> proceedeth. The &s;econd &s;tumbling block or of|fence
which you have taken at the way of the&s;e Churches, is
that you conceive us to walk between Chri&s;t and Antichri&s;t.
Fir&s;t in practi&s;ing &s;eparation here, and not repenting of our
preaching and Printing again&s;t it in our own Countrie. Se|condly,
in reproaching your &s;elfe at <HI>Salem,</HI> and others for &s;epa|ration.
Thirdly in particular, that my &s;elfe have conceived
and &s;poken, that &s;eparation is a way that God hath not pro&s;|pered:
yet &s;ay you the truth of the Churches way depends
not upon the countenance of men, or upon outward peace and
liberty.</P>
<P>Unto this he an&s;wers, that they halt not, but walke in the
<PB N="36" REF="21">
mid'&s;t of 2 extreames, the one of being defiled with the pol|lution
of other Churches, the other of renouncing the Chur|ches
for the remnant of Pollutions.</P>
<P>This moderation he (with ingenuous moderation) profe&s;|&s;eth
he &s;ees no cau&s;e to repent of, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> With the Lords gracious a&s;&s;i&s;tance we &s;hall prove this
middle walking to be no le&s;&s;e then halting, for which we &s;hall
&s;hew cau&s;e of repentance, be&s;eeching him that is a Prince and
a Saviour to give repentance unto his <HI>I&s;rael, Acts</HI> 5 3.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> him&s;elfe confe&s;&s;eth, that no Nationall, Pro|vinciall,
Dioce&s;an, or Pari&s;h Church (wherin &s;ome truly god|ly
are not) are true Churches. Secondly, he practi&s;eth no
Church e&s;tate, but &s;uch as is con&s;tituted only of godly per|&s;ons,
nor admitteth any unregenerate or ungodly per&s;on.
Thirdly, he confe&s;&s;eth a Church of Chri&s;t cannot be con&s;ti|tuted
of &s;uch godly per&s;ons, who are in bondage to the inor|dinate
love of the world. Fourthly, if a Church con&s;i&s;t of
&s;uch, Gods people ought to &s;eparate from them.</P>
<P>Upon the&s;e his owne confe&s;&s;ions,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cotton extenuates &amp; minceth the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">oot, ma&s;&s;e and &s;ub&s;tance of the matter of national chur|ches, which he acknowled|geth to be un|regenerate, not yet born again, by na|ming onely a remnant of pollutions.</NOTE> I earne&s;tly be&s;eech Mr.
<HI>Cotton</HI> and all that feare God to ponder how he can &s;ay he
walks with an even foot between 2 extreams, when according
to his own confe&s;&s;ion, Nationall Churches, Pari&s;h Churches,
yea a Church con&s;tituted of godly per&s;ons given to inordinate
love of the world are fal&s;e and to be &s;eparated from: and yet
he will not have the Pari&s;h Church to be &s;eparated from, for
the remnant of pollution (I conceive he meaneth ceremonies
&amp; Bi&s;hops) notwith&s;tanding that he al&s;o acknowledgeth, that
the generality of every Pari&s;h in <HI>England</HI> con&s;i&s;teth of unrege|nerate
per&s;ons, and of thou&s;ands inbondaged, not only to
worldlines, but al&s;o ignorance, &s;uper&s;tition, &s;coffing &s;wearing,
cur&s;ing, whoredome drunkenne&s;&s;e, theft, lying. What are 2.
or 3. or more of regenerate and godly per&s;ons in &s;uch commu|nions,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The e&s;tate of the godly mingled with the ungodly in wor&s;hips.</NOTE>
but as 2 or 3 Ro&s;es or Lillies in a wilderne&s;&s;e? a few
grains of good corne in a heap of chaffe? a few &s;heep among
heards of Wolves or Swine, or (if more civill) flocks of Goats?
a little good dough &s;wallowed up with a whole bu&s;hell of lea|ven?
or a little precious gold confounded and mingled with a
whole heap of dro&s;&s;e? The Searcher of all Hearts knowes I
write not this to reproach any, knowing that my &s;elfe am by
nature <HI>a child of wrath,</HI> and that the <HI>father of mercies</HI> &s;hews <HI>mercy</HI>
<PB N="37" REF="21">
to <HI>whom</HI> and <HI>when</HI> he will:<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;tate of men mu&s;t be faithfully di&s;covered unto them,</NOTE> but for the Name of Chri&s;t Je&s;us, in
<HI>loving faithfullnes</HI> to my Countrymens &s;oules, and <HI>defence</HI> of
<HI>truth,</HI> I remember my worthy adver&s;ary of that &s;tate and con|dition,
from which his confe&s;&s;ions &s;ay he mu&s;t &s;eparate, his
practi&s;e in gathering of Churches &s;eemes to &s;ay he doth &s;epa|rate;
and yet he profe&s;&s;eth there are but &s;ome remnants of pol|lution
among&s;t them for which he dares not &s;eparate.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="22" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XXII.</HEAD>
<P>Mr. <HI>Cotton.</HI> Secondly (&s;aith he) I know no man that reproa|cheth
<HI>Salem</HI> for their &s;eparation, nor doe I beleeve that they
doe &s;eparate, how&s;oever if any do reproach them for it, I think
it a &s;in meet to be cen&s;ured, but not with &s;o deep a cen&s;ure as
to Excommunicate all the <HI>Churches,</HI> or to &s;eparate from them
before it do appeare that they doe tollerate their members in
&s;uch their cau&s;eles reproachings: We confe&s;&s;e the errors of
men are to be contended again&s;t, not with reproaches, but the
Sword of the Spirit: but on the other &s;ide, the &s;aylings of the
Churches are not forthwith to be healed by &s;eparation. It is
not chyrurgery but butcherie to heale every &s;ore in a mem|ber
with no other but ab&s;ci&s;ion from the body.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> The Church of <HI>Salem</HI> was known to profes &s;eparation,
and was generally and publikely reproached (and I could men|cion
a ca&s;e wherin &s;he was puni&s;hed) for it implicitly.</P>
<P>Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> here confe&s;&s;eth the&s;e 2 things, which (I leave to
him&s;elfe to reconcile,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cotton &s;eemes to bee both for and yet again&s;t &s;eparation.</NOTE> with his former profe&s;&s;ion here and
elswhere again&s;t &s;eparation. Fir&s;t (&s;aith he) if any reproach
them for &s;eparation it is a &s;in meet to be cen&s;ured. Secondly,
the Churches them&s;elves may be &s;eparated from, who tole|rate
their members in &s;uch cau&s;eles reproachings. In the&s;e
later pa&s;&s;ages he &s;eems (as in other his confe&s;&s;ions and practi&s;es
mentioned) to be for it, &s;en&s;ible of &s;hame, di&s;grace or reproach
to be ca&s;t on it.</P>
<P>I grant with him the failings of Churches are not forthwith
to be healed by &s;eparation,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cottons own confes&s;i|ons are &s;uffi|cient an&s;wers to him&s;elfe.</NOTE> yet him&s;elf within a few lines con|fe&s;&s;eth
there is a lawfull &s;eparation from Churches, that doe
but tollerate their members in cau&s;eles reproaches.</P>
<P>I confe&s;&s;e al&s;o that it is not chyrurgerie but butcherie, to
heale every &s;ore with no other medicine but with ab&s;ci&s;ion
from the body: yet him&s;elfe confe&s;&s;eth before, that even
Churches of godly per&s;ons mu&s;t be &s;eparated from, for im|moderate
<PB N="38" REF="22">
worldlines:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Not for a &s;ore of infir|mity, but a le|pro&s;ie or gan|grene of ob|&s;tinacie ought a per&s;on to be cat off.</NOTE> And again here he confe&s;&s;eth they may
be &s;eparated from, when they tolerate their members in &s;uch
their cau&s;eles reproachings. Be&s;ide, it is not every &s;ore of in|firmitie
or ignorance, but an Ulcer or Gangrene of Ob&s;tinacy&punc;
for which I maintained that a per&s;on ought to be cut off, or a
Church &s;eparated from. But if he call that butcherie con&s;ci|enciou&s;ly
and peaceably to &s;eparate from a &s;pirituall commu|nion
of a Church or &s;ocietie&punc;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cotton deeply guilty of cruelty both again&s;t con|&s;ciences and bodies in per|&s;ecuting of them yet cryes out again&s;t the appearance of due &s;everi|tie in the Church of Chri&s;t&punc;</NOTE> what &s;hall it be called by the &s;e|cond
<HI>Adam</HI> the Lord Je&s;us (who gives names to all creatures
and all actions) to cut off per&s;ons, them and theirs, branch and
root, from any civill being in their territories; and con&s;equent|ly
from the whole world (were their territories &s;o large) be|cau&s;e
their con&s;ciences dare not bow down to any wor&s;hip&punc;
but what they beleeve the Lord Je&s;us appointed and being al|&s;o
otherwi&s;e &s;ubject to the civill &s;tate and Laws therof.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="23" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XXIII.</HEAD>
<P>Thirdly, wheras I urged a &s;peech of his own, <HI>viz.</HI> that God
had not pro&s;pered the way of &s;eparation, and conceives that I
under&s;tood him of outward pro&s;peritie. He affirms the Pu|ritans
to have been wor&s;e u&s;ed in <HI>England</HI> then the Separati&s;t,
&amp; thus writes: The meeting of the Separati&s;ts may be known
to the Officers in Court and winked at, when the Conventi|cles
of the Puritans (as they call them) &s;hall be hunted out
with all diligence, and pur&s;ued with more violence then any
Law can ju&s;tifie,</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Doubtles the contraver&s;ie of God hath bin great with
this Land,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gods contro|ver&s;ie for per|&s;ecution.</NOTE> that either of both have been &s;o violently pur&s;ued
and per&s;ecuted: I beleeve they are both the Witne&s;&s;es of &s;eve|rall
truths of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, again&s;t an impenitent and unchri|&s;tian
profe&s;&s;ion of the name of the Lord Je&s;us.</P>
<P>Now for their &s;uffrings:<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;uffrings of the Separa|ti&s;ts and Pu|ritants in England com|pared.</NOTE> As the Puritans have not compa|rably
&s;uffred (as but &s;eldome congregating in &s;eparate a&s;&s;em|blies
from the common) &s;o have not any of them &s;uffred un|to
death for the way of Non-conformitie to Ceremonies, <HI>&amp;c.</HI>
Indeed the worthy witnes Mr. <HI>Vdall</HI> was neere unto death for
his witnes again&s;t Bi&s;hops and Ceremonies:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Vdal.</NOTE> but Mr. <HI>Penry,</HI>
Mr. <HI>Barrow,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Penry, Mr, Barrow, Mr. Green|wood.</NOTE> Mr. <HI>Greenwood</HI> followed the Lord Je&s;us with their
Gibbets on their &s;houlders and were hanged with him and for
him in the way of &s;eparation: many more have been condem|ned
to die, bani&s;hed and choaked in pri&s;ons, I could produce
upon occa&s;ion.</P>
<P><PB N="39" REF="22">
Again,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Few con&s;cien|tious Separa|ti&s;ts but fir&s;t were Puri|tans.</NOTE> I beleeve that there hardly hath ever been a con&s;ci|entious
Seperati&s;t, who was not fir&s;t a Puritan: for (as Mr. <HI>Can</HI>
hath unan<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">werably proved) the grounds and principles of the
Puritans again&s;t Bi&s;hops and Ceremonies, and prophanes of
people pro<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;&s;ing Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Non-conformi&s;ts grounds in|force &s;epara|tion.</NOTE> and the nece&s;&s;itie of Chri&s;ts flock
and di&s;cipline, mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily, if truely followed, lead on to,
and inforce a &s;eparation from &s;uch wayes, wor&s;hips, and Wor|&s;hippers,
to &s;eek out the true way of Gods wor&s;hip according
to Chri&s;t Je&s;us.</P>
<P>But what &s;hould be the rea&s;on, (&s;ince the &s;eparati&s;t witne&s;|&s;eth
again&s;t the root of the Church con&s;titution it &s;elfe, that
yet he &s;hould find (as Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> &s;aith) more favour then the
Puritan or Non-conformi&s;t?</P>
<P>Doubtles the rea&s;ons are evident:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mo&s;t of the &s;eparation of the lower &s;ort of people.</NOTE> Fir&s;t mo&s;t of Gods &s;er|vants
who out of &s;ight of the ignorance, unbeliefe and pro|phanes
of the body of the Nationall Church, have &s;eparated
and dur&s;t not have longer fellow&s;hip with it; I &s;ay mo&s;t of
them have been poore and low,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The poverty of Mr. Ain&s;|worth.</NOTE> and not &s;uch gainfull cu&s;to|mers
to the Bi&s;hops, their Courts and Officers.</P>
<P>That worthy in&s;trument of Chri&s;ts prai&s;e Mr. <HI>Ain&s;worth,</HI>
during &s;ome time (and &s;ome time of his great labours in <HI>Hol|land</HI>)
lived upon 9. d. <HI>per</HI> week with roots boiled,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Noncon|formi&s;ts have been a faire booty for the Bi&s;hops,</NOTE> <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Wheras
on the other &s;ide &s;uch of Gods &s;ervants as have been Non|conformi&s;ts
have had faire e&s;tates been great per&s;ons, have had
rich livings and benefices, of which the Bi&s;hops and theirs (like
greedie Wolves) have made the more de&s;irable prey.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Separa|ti&s;ts have been profe&s;&s;ed enemies, but the Puritans in many things profe&s;|&s;ed friends &amp; &s;ubjects to the Bi&s;hops.</NOTE></P>
<P>Secondly, it is a principle in nature to preferre a profe&s;&s;ed
enemie, before a pretended friend. Such as have &s;eparated,
have been lookt at by the Bi&s;hops and theirs, as known and
profe&s;&s;ed enemies: wheras the Puritans profe&s;t &s;ubjection,
and have &s;ubmitted to the Bi&s;hops, their Courts, their Offi|cers,
their Common Prayer and Wor&s;hips, and yet (as the Bi|&s;hops
have well known) with no greater affection, then the I&s;|raelites
bare their Egyptian cruel Taskma&s;ters.</P>
<P>He &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cotton.</NOTE> God hath not pro&s;pered the way of Separation
with peace among&s;t them&s;elves&punc; and growth of Grace.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> The want of peace may befall the true&s;t Churches of
the Lord Je&s;us at <HI>Antioch, Corinth, Galatia,</HI> who were exerci&s;ed
with great di&s;tractions. Secondly, it is a common character of
a fal&s;e Church, maintained by the Smiths and Cutlers Shop,
<PB N="40" REF="23">
to enjoy a quiet calme and peaceable tranquility,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A fal&s;e church may enforce a pre&s;ent grea|ter (though fal&s;e grace) then the true Spou&s;e of Chri&s;t Ie&s;us.</NOTE> none daring
for feare of civill puni&s;hment, to que&s;tion, object, or differ
from the common roade and cu&s;tome. Thus &s;ings that great
Whore the Antichri&s;tian Church, <HI>Revel. 18, I &s;it as a Queen,
am no Widow, &s;ee no &s;orrow,</HI> while Chri&s;ts deare&s;t complaines, <HI>&s;he
is for&s;aken, &s;its weeping as a Widow, Lam.</HI> 1. Thirdly, Gods people
in that way, have &s;omtimes long enjoyed &s;weet peace and &s;oul
contentment in <HI>England, Holland,</HI> New <HI>England,</HI> and other pla|ces,
and would not have exchanged a day of &s;uch an holy and
peaceable harmonie for thou&s;ands in the Courts of Princes,
&s;eeing no other,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gods people have found infinit &s;weet|nes and peace in &s;ome times of their holy communion.</NOTE> and in &s;inceritie &s;eeking after the Lord Je&s;us.
And yet I humbly conceive, that as <HI>David</HI> with the Princes
and 30 thou&s;and I&s;raelites, carrying the Ark on the &s;houlders
of the Oxen, leaped and danced with great rejoycing, untill
God &s;mote <HI>Vzzah</HI> for his Error and Di&s;order, and made a
breach, and a teaching Monument of <HI>Perez Vzzah,</HI> the breach
of <HI>Vzzah:</HI> So in like manner all tho&s;e celebrations of the &s;pi|rituall
Arke or Ordinances,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Breaches have been and mu&s;t be among all Gods people to make them celebrate the Lords holy ordinances according to due order.</NOTE> which yet I have know, although
for the pre&s;ent accompanied with great rejoycing and try|umphing;
yet, as they have not been after the Due Order, &s;o
have they all met with and &s;till mu&s;t a <HI>Pe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="3 letters"> Vzzah,</HI> breaches
and Divi&s;ions, untill the Lord Je&s;us di&s;cover, direct and incou|rage
his &s;ervants in his own <HI>due holy Order</HI> and appointment.
And for growth in Grace, notwith&s;tanding that among&s;t all
&s;orts of Gods Witne&s;&s;es, &s;ome fal&s;e brethren creep in as chea|ters
and &s;pies, and Juda&s;&s;es, di&s;honouring the name of Chri&s;t
Je&s;us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Many grace|le&s;&s;e Iuda&s;&s;es among&s;t Gods people.</NOTE> and betraying his Witne&s;&s;es: yet Sathan him&s;elfe the
accu&s;er of the Saints, cannot but confe&s;&s;e that multitudes of
Gods Witne&s;&s;es (reproached with the names of Browni&s;ts, and
Anabapti&s;ts) have kept them&s;elves from the error of the wic|ked,
and grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Je&s;us, en|devouring
to clen&s;e <HI>them&s;elves from all filthines both of fle&s;h and
&s;pirit,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Multitudes of gracions and holy per&s;ons that have profe&s;&s;ed Se|paration</NOTE> <HI>and to fini&s;h holines in the feare of God.</HI> I will not make odi|ous
and envious compari&s;ons, but de&s;ire that all that <HI>name the
name of the Lord Ie&s;us may depart</HI> wholly and for ever from <HI>ini|quity.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="24" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XXIIII.</HEAD>
<P>La&s;tly he addeth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">M. Cotton,</NOTE> That &s;uch as erring through &s;implicitie
and tendernes&punc; have grown in grace, have grown al&s;o to di&s;cern
their lawfull liberty in the hearing of the Word from Engli&s;h
preachers.</P>
<P><PB N="41" REF="23">
<HI>An&s;.</HI> I will not que&s;tion the uprightnes of &s;ome,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">oure &s;orts of back-&s;liders from Separa|tion far from growth in grace.</NOTE> who have
gone back from many truths of God which they have pro|fe&s;&s;ed:
yet mine own experience of 4 &s;orts who have back-&s;liden,
I &s;hall report, for a warning to all into who&s;e hands
the&s;e may come to be like <HI>Antipas (Revel.</HI> 2.) a <HI>faithfull witne&s;&s;e</HI>
to the death, to any of the truths of the Lord Je&s;us, which he
&s;hall plea&s;e to be tru&s;t them with:</P>
<P>Fir&s;t I have known no &s;mall number of &s;uch torn to ab&s;o|lute
Famili&s;me,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Some back-&s;liding turn to Famili&s;me.</NOTE> and under their pretences of great raptures of
Love deny all obedience to, or &s;eeking after the pure Ordinan|ces
and appointments of the Lord Je&s;us.</P>
<P>Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Some to pro|phane&s;&s;e.</NOTE> others have laid the raines upon the necks of their
con&s;ciences, and like the Dog lickt up their vomit of former
loo&s;nes and prophanes of lip and life; and have been &s;o farre
from growing in grace, that they have turned the grace of
God into wantonnes.</P>
<P>Thirdly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Some to per|&s;ecuting of o|thers.</NOTE> others back&s;liding have lo&s;t the beautie and &s;hi|ning
of a t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">nder con&s;cience toward God, and of a mercifull
compa&s;&s;ion toward men, becomming mo&s;t fierce per&s;ecutors
of their own formerly fellow witne&s;&s;es, and of any other who
have differd in con&s;cience from them.</P>
<P>La&s;tly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Some t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"> lan|gui&s;hing in &s;orrow and &s;adne&s;&s;e, &amp;c.</NOTE> others although pre&s;erved from Famili&s;me, propha|nes
and per&s;ecuting of others, yet the leafe of their Chri&s;tian
cour&s;e hath withered, the later beautie and &s;avour of their
holines hath not been like their former; and they have confe&s;t
&amp; do, their &s;in, their weaknes, their bondage, and wi&s;h they were
at liberty in their former freedom: and &s;ome have gone with
little peace, but &s;orrow to their graves, confe&s;&s;ing to my &s;elfe
and others, <HI>that God never pro&s;pered them in &s;oule or body, &s;ince they
&s;old away his truth,</HI> which once they had bought and made pro|fe&s;&s;ion
of it never to &s;ell it.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="25" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XXV.</HEAD>
<P>Yea but (&s;aith he) they have grown to di&s;cern their lawfull
libertie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cotton.</NOTE> to return to the hearing of the Word from Engli&s;h
preachers.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Here I might ingage my &s;elfe in a contraver&s;ie, which
neither this Treati&s;e will permit;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cans an|&s;wer to Mr, Robin&s;ons Liberty of hearing.</NOTE> nor is there need, &s;ince it
hath plea&s;ed the Father of lights to &s;tirre up the &s;pirit of a
faithfull Witnes of his truth in this particular, Mr. <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ann,</HI> to
make a large and faithfull reply to a Book, Printed in Mr.
<PB N="42" REF="24">
<HI>Robin&s;ons</HI> name, tending to prove &s;uch a lawfull Liberty.</P>
<P>For &s;uch excellent and worthy per&s;ons whom Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI>
here intends by the name of Engli&s;h preachers, I acknowledge
my &s;elfe unworthy to hold the candle to them:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr Cottons confe&s;sion concerning the mini&s;try.</NOTE> yet I &s;hall
humbly pre&s;ent what Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> him&s;elfe profe&s;&s;eth in 3 par|ticulars:</P>
<P>Fir&s;t concerning this title Engli&s;h preachers.</P>
<P>Secondly, hearing the Word from &s;uch Engli&s;h preachers.</P>
<P>Thirdly, the lawfull calling of &s;uch to the Mini&s;try or &s;er|vice,
according to Chri&s;t Je&s;us.</P>
<P>For the fir&s;t he acknowledgeth,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> that the ordinarie Mini&s;ters
of the Go&s;pel are Pa&s;tors, Teachers, Bi&s;hops, Over&s;eers, Elders,
and that their proper worke is to feed and govern, a truly con|verted
holy and godly people, gathered into a flock or Church
e&s;tate, and not properly preachers to convert, beget, make Di&s;|ciples,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 28.</NOTE>
which the Apo&s;tles and Evangeli&s;ts profe&s;&s;edly were.
Now then that man that profe&s;&s;eth him&s;elfe a Mini&s;ter,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> and
profe&s;&s;eth to feed a Flock or Church, with the Ordinances of
Word and Prayer, he mu&s;t needs acknowledge that his pro|per
worke is not to preach for conver&s;ion,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Preachers and Pa&s;tor f<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">re different,</NOTE> which is mo&s;t pre|po&s;terous
among&s;t a converted Chri&s;tian people, fed up with
Ordinances in Church e&s;tate: So that according to Mr. <HI>Cot|tons</HI>
confe&s;&s;ion Engli&s;h preachers are, not Pa&s;tors, Teachers,
Bi&s;hops, Elders, but preachers of glad news (Evangeli&s;ts) men
&s;ent to convert and gather Churches (Apo&s;tles) emba&s;&s;adors,
trumpeters with Proclamation from the King of Kings, to
convert, &s;ubdue bring in rebellious unconverted, unbeleeving,
unchri&s;tian &s;oules to the obedience and &s;ubjection of the Lord
Je&s;us.</P>
<P>I readily confe&s;&s;e that at the Pa&s;tors (or Shepheards) feeding
of his flock,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Conver&s;ion in a Church ac|cidentall.</NOTE> and the Prophets prohecying in the Church, an
unbeleever coming in is convinced, falls on his face and ac|knowledgeth
God to be there: yet this is accidentall that any
unbeleever &s;hould come in;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Per&s;onall re|pentance <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">ought in thou&s;ands be godly per&s;on<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"> in Popi&s;h mi|ni&s;tries.</NOTE> and the Pa&s;tors worke is to feed
his Flock, <HI>Acts</HI> 20. and prophecie is not for unbeevers, but for
them that beleeve to edefie, exhort and comfort the Church,
1 <HI>Cor. 34. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">. 22.</HI></P>
<P>I al&s;o readily acknowledge that it hath plea&s;ed God to work
a per&s;on <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> repentance in the hearts of thou&s;ands in <HI>Germanie,
England,</HI> Low Countries, <HI>France, Scotland, Ireland,</HI> &amp;c. Yea and
<PB N="43" REF="24">
who knows but in <HI>Italy, Spain, Rome,</HI> not only by &s;uch men, who
decline the name of Bi&s;hops, Prie&s;ts Deacons (the con&s;tituted
Mini&s;try of <HI>England</HI> hitherto) but al&s;o by &s;uch as have owned
them, as <HI>Luther</HI> remaining a Monke, and famous holy men
remaining and burning Lord Bi&s;hops.<NOTE PLACE="marg">To preach mainly for conver&s;ion of that people, to whom a man &s;tands Shepheard as to a converted people and Flock of Chri&s;t, a dangerous di&s;order.</NOTE> But all this hath been
under the notion of Mini&s;ters feeding their flocks, not of prea|chers
&s;ent to convert the unconverted and unbeleeving.</P>
<P>This pa&s;&s;age I pre&s;ent for 2 Rea&s;ons: Fir&s;t becau&s;e &s;o ma|ny
excellent and worthy per&s;ons mainly preach for conver&s;i|on,
as concieving (and that truly) the body of the people of
<HI>England</HI> to be in a naturall and unregenerate e&s;tate: and yet
account they them&s;elvs fixed and con&s;tant Officers and Mini|&s;ters
to particular Pari&s;hes or congregations unto whom they
al&s;o admini&s;ter the holy things of God, though &s;ometimes
few, and &s;ometimes none regenerate or new borne have been
found among&s;t them: which is a matter of high concernment
touching the Name of the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gods people mu&s;t &s;eeke af|ter a mini&s;try &s;ent by Chri&s;t to convert.</NOTE> and the &s;oules
of men. Secondly that in the&s;e great Earthquakes, wherein it
plea&s;eth God to &s;hake foundations civill and &s;pirituall, &s;uch a
Mini&s;try of Chri&s;t Je&s;us may be &s;ought after, who&s;e proper
worke is preaching, for converting and gathering of true peni|tents
to the fellow&s;hip of the Son of God.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="26" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XXVI.</HEAD>
<P>The &s;econd thing which Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> him&s;elfe hath profe&s;t
concerning Engli&s;h preachers is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cotton.</NOTE> that although the Word, yet
not the Seales may be received from them: becau&s;e (&s;aith he)
there is no communion in hearing, and the Word is to be
preached to All, but the &s;eales he conceives (and that rightly)
are prophaned in being di&s;pen&s;ed to the ungodly, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> him&s;elfe maintaineth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The communi|on or fellow|&s;hip of the word taught in a Church e&s;tate.</NOTE> that the di&s;pen&s;ing
of the Word in a Church e&s;tate, is Chri&s;ts feeding of his flock
<HI>Cant.</HI> 1. 8. Chri&s;ts ki&s;&s;ing of his Spou&s;e or Wife, <HI>Cant.</HI> 1. 2.
Chri&s;ts embracing of his Spou&s;e in the mariage bed, <HI>Cant.</HI> 1.
16. Chri&s;ts nur&s;ing of his children at his wives bre&s;t, <HI>Cant.</HI> 4.
and is there no communion between the Shepheard and his
Sheep? the Husband and his Wife in cha&s;t ki&s;&s;es and embra|ces
and the Mother and her Child at the bre&s;t?</P>
<P>Be&s;ide he confe&s;&s;eth, that that Fellow&s;hip in the Go&s;pel,
<HI>Phil.</HI> 1. 3. is a fellow&s;hip or communion in the Apo&s;tles do|ctrine,
communitie, breaking of bread, and prayer, in which
<PB N="44" REF="25">
the fir&s;t Church continued, <HI>Acts</HI> 2. 46. All which overthrows
that Doctrine of a lawfull participation of the Word and
Prayer in a Church e&s;tate, where it is not lawfull to commu|nicate
in the breaking of bread or &s;eales.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="27" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XXVII.</HEAD>
<P>Thirdly concerning the lawfull Commi&s;&s;ion or calling of
Engli&s;h preachers.</P>
<P>Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> him&s;elfe and others mo&s;t eminent in New <HI>Eng|land</HI>
have freely confe&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eminent Mi|ni&s;ters &s;o ac|counted in old England, pro|fe&s;&s;e them|&s;eves private Chri&s;tians in new England.</NOTE> that notwith&s;tanding their former
profe&s;&s;ion of Mini&s;try in Old <HI>England,</HI> yet in New <HI>England</HI>
(untill they received a calling from a particular Church, that
they were but private Chri&s;tians.</P>
<P>Secondly, that Chri&s;t Je&s;us hath appointed no other cal|ling
to the Mini&s;trie, but &s;uch as they practice in New Eng|land,
and therfore con&s;equently that all other which is not
from a particular Congregation of godly per&s;ons, is none of
Chri&s;ts.</P>
<P>As fir&s;t a calling or commi&s;&s;ion received from the Bi&s;hops.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Fal&s;e callings or commi&s;&s;i|ons for the Mini&s;try.</NOTE></P>
<P>Secondly from a Pari&s;h of naturall and <HI>unregenerate</HI> per&s;ons.</P>
<P>Thirdly, from &s;ome few godly per&s;ons, yet remaining in
Church fellow&s;hip after the Pari&s;h way.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, the eminent gifts and abilities are but Qualifications
fitting and preparing for a call or Office according to 1 <HI>Tim. 3.
Tit.</HI> 1. All which premi&s;es duly con&s;idered, I humbly de&s;ire of
the Father of Lights, that Mr. <HI>Cotton,</HI> and all that feare God
may try what will abide the firie triall in this <HI>particalar,</HI> when
the Lord Je&s;us &s;hall be <HI>revealed in flaming fire,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="28" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XXVIII.</HEAD>
<P>The clo&s;e of his Lette<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"> is an An&s;wer to a pa&s;&s;age of mine,<NOTE PLACE="marg">M. Cotton.</NOTE>
which he repeateth in an Objection thus: But this you feare
is to condemn the witne&s;&s;es of Je&s;us (the Separate Churches
in <HI>London,</HI> and el&s;where) and our jealous God will vi&s;it us for
&s;uch arrearages: yea the cur&s;e of the Angel to <HI>Meros</HI> will fall
upon us, <HI>becau&s;e we come not forth to help Jehovah again&s;t the migh|ty:</HI>
we pray not for them, we come not at them (but at Pari&s;hes
frequently) yea we reproach and cen&s;ure them.</P>
<P>To which he an&s;wereth, that neither Chri&s;t nor his Apo|&s;tles
after him, nor Prophets before him ever delivered that
way. That they feare not the Angels cur&s;e, becau&s;e it is not to
help <HI>Iehovah</HI> but Sathan, to withdraw people from the Pari|&s;hes
<PB N="45" REF="25">
where they have found more pre&s;ence of Chri&s;t, and evi|dence
of his Spirit then in &s;eparated Churches: That they
pray not for them becau&s;e they cannot pray in faith
for a ble&s;&s;ing upon their Separation: and that it is little com|fort
to heare of &s;eparated Churches, as being the inventions of
men, and blames them that being de&s;irous of Reformation,
they &s;tumble not only at the Inventions of men, but for their
&s;akes at the Ordinances of the Lord, becau&s;e they &s;eparate not
only from the Pari&s;hes, but from the Church at <HI>Plimmouth,</HI>
and of that wherof Mr. <HI>Lathrop</HI> was Pa&s;tor, who (as he &s;aith)
not only refu&s;e all the Inventions of men, but choo&s;e to &s;erve
the Lord in his own Ordinances. Only, la&s;tly he profe&s;&s;eth
his inward &s;orrow that my &s;elf helpe erring, though zealous
&s;oules again&s;t the mighty Ordinances of the Lord, which
who&s;oever &s;tumble at &s;hall be broken,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The garden of the chur|ches of both old and new Te&s;tament, planted with an hedge or wall of &s;epa|ration from the world.</NOTE> becau&s;e who&s;oever will
not ki&s;&s;e the Sonne (that is, will not heare and embrace the
words of his mouth) &s;hall peri&s;h in their way.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> However Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> beleeves and writes of this point,
yet hath he not duly con&s;idered the&s;e following particulars:</P>
<P>Fir&s;t the faithfull labours of many Witne&s;&s;es of <HI>Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI>
extant to the world, abundantly proving, that the Church of
the Jews under the Old Te&s;tament in the type, and the <HI>Church</HI>
of the Chri&s;tians under the New Te&s;tament in the Antitype,
were both &s;eparate from the world;<NOTE PLACE="marg">When Gods people neglect to maintain that hedge or wall, God hath turned his garden into a wil|derne&s;&s;e.</NOTE> and that when they have
opened a gap in the hedge or wall of Separation between the
Garden of the Church and the Wildernes of the world, God
hath ever broke down the wall it &s;elfe, removed the Candle|&s;tick,
<HI>&amp;c.</HI> and made his Garden a Wilderne&s;&s;e, as at this day.
And that therfore if he will ever plea&s;e to re&s;tore his Garden
and Paradice again, it mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;itie be walled in peculi|arly
unto him&s;elfe from the world, and that all that &s;hall be
&s;aved out of the world are to be tran&s;planted out of the Wil|dernes
of the world,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Non|conformi&s;ts grounds ne|ce&s;&s;arily in|force a &s;epa|ration of the Church from the unclean in clean and holy things.</NOTE> and added unto his Church or Garden.</P>
<P>Secondly, that all the grounds and principles leading to op|po&s;e
Bi&s;hops, Ceremonies, Common Prayer, pro&s;titution of
the Ordinances of Chri&s;t to the ungodly and to the true pra|cti&s;e
of Chri&s;ts own Ordinances, doe nece&s;&s;arily (as before I
intimated, and Mr. <HI>Ca<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters"></HI> hath fully proved) conclude a &s;epa|ration
of holy from unholy, penitent from impenitent, godly
from ungodly, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and that to frame any other building upon
<PB N="46" REF="26">
&s;uch grounds and foundations, is no other then to rai&s;e the
form of a &s;quare hou&s;e upon the Keele of a Ship, which will
never prove a &s;oul &s;aving true Arke or Church of Chri&s;t Je|&s;us,
according to the Patterne.</P>
<P>Thirdly the multitudes of holy and faithfull men and wo|men,
who &s;ince Q. <HI>Maries</HI> dayes have witne&s;&s;ed this truth by
writing di&s;puting and in &s;uffring lo&s;&s;e of <HI>goods</HI> and <HI>friends,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">The great &s;uffe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ing for this cau&s;e.</NOTE> in
<HI>impre&s;onment, bani&s;hments, death,</HI> &amp;c. I confe&s;&s;e the Nonconfor|mi&s;ts
have &s;uffred al&s;o: but they that have &s;uffred for this
cau&s;e, have farre exceeded, in not only witne&s;&s;ing to tho&s;e
grounds of the Non-conformi&s;ts but to tho&s;e Truths al&s;o, the
unavoidable conclu&s;ions of the Non-conformi&s;ts principles.</P>
<P>Fourthly, what is that which Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> and &s;o many hun|dreths
fearing God in New <HI>England</HI> walk in but a way of &s;epa|ration?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cotton<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"> and others zealous pra|ctice of &s;epa|ration in New England.</NOTE>
Of what matter doe they profe&s;&s;e to con&s;titute their
Churches, but of true godly per&s;ons? In what form doe they
ca&s;t this matter, but by a <HI>voluntary uniting,</HI> or <HI>adding</HI> of &s;uch
godly per&s;ons, whom they carefully examine, and cau&s;e to
make a <HI>publike confes&s;ion</HI> of <HI>&s;inne,</HI> and <HI>profe&s;&s;ion</HI> of their <HI>knowledge,</HI>
and <HI>grace</HI> in Chri&s;t? Nay when other Engli&s;h have attempted
to &s;et up a Congregation after the Pari&s;hionall way, have they
not been &s;uppre&s;t? Yea have they not profe&s;&s;edly and lately
an&s;wered many worthy per&s;ons, whom they account godly
Mini&s;ters and people that they could not permit them to live
in the &s;ame Common-wealth together with them, if they &s;et
up any other Church and Wor&s;hip then what them&s;elvs pra|cti&s;e?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. Cotton allowing li|bertie to fre|quent tho&s;e pari&s;hes in Old England: which pari&s;hes be him&s;elfe per&s;ecutes in New England</NOTE>
Let their own &s;oules, and the &s;oules of others &s;eriou&s;ly
ponder in the feare of God, what &s;hould be the Rea&s;on why
them&s;elves &s;o practi&s;ing, &s;hould per&s;ecute others for not lea|ving
open a gap of Liberty to e&s;cape <HI>per&s;ecution</HI> and the Cro&s;&s;e
of Chri&s;t, by frequenting the Pari&s;hes in Old <HI>England,</HI> which
Pari&s;hes them&s;elves <HI>per&s;ecute</HI> in New England, and will not
permit them to breath in the common aire among&s;t them.</P>
<P>Fifthly in the Pari&s;hes (which Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> holds but inventi|ons
of men) however they would have liberty to frequent the
Wor&s;hip of the Word,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A great my|&s;tery in the e|&s;caping of the cro&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t.</NOTE> yet they &s;eparate from the Sacraments:
and yet according to Mr. <HI>Cottons</HI> own principles (as before)
there is as true Communion in the Mini&s;tration of the word
in a Church e&s;tate as in the &s;eales: What my&s;tery &s;hould be
in this, but that here al&s;o the Cro&s;&s;e or Gibbet of Chri&s;t may
<PB N="47" REF="26">
be avoyded in a great mea&s;ure, if per&s;ons come to Church, <HI>&amp;c</HI></P>
<P>La&s;tly, however he &s;aith, <HI>he hath not found &s;uch pre&s;ence of
Christ, and evidence of his Spirit in &s;uch Churches, as in the Pari&s;hes:</HI>
What &s;hould be the rea&s;on of their great rejoycings and boa|&s;tings
of their own Separations in New England,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The New Engli&s;h Chur|ches <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> by &s;ome to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> purer then the fir&s;t e&s;tabli<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">|ed by the A|po&s;tles.</NOTE> in&s;omuch
that &s;ome of the mo&s;t eminent among&s;t them have affirmed,
That even the Apo&s;tles Churches were not &s;o pure? Surely
if the &s;ame New Engli&s;h Churches were in Old England, they
could not meet without Per&s;ecution, which therfore in Old
England they avoid by frequenting the way of Church-wor|&s;hip
(which in New England they Per&s;ecute) the Pari&s;hes.</P>
<P>Upon the&s;e con&s;iderations how can Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> be offended
that I &s;hould help (as he calls them) any zealous &s;oules, not a|gain&s;t
the mighty Ordinances of the Lord Je&s;us, but to &s;eek
after the Lord Je&s;us without halting?<NOTE PLACE="marg">The reforma|tion de&s;ired now had been accounted He|re&s;ie in Ed. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"> his daye<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> Yea why &s;hould Mr.
<HI>Cotton,</HI> or any de&s;irous to practice Reformation, kindle a fire of
Per&s;ecution again&s;t &s;uch zealous &s;oules, e&s;pecially con&s;idering
that them&s;elves, had they &s;o inveighed again&s;t Bi&s;hops, Com|mon
Prayer, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> in Edward the 6. his dayes had been accoun|ted
as great Hereticks, in tho&s;e Reforming times as any now
can be in the&s;e: yet would it have been then&punc; and &s;ince hath it
been great oppre&s;&s;ion and Tyranny to per&s;ecute their con|&s;ciences,
and &s;till will it be for them to per&s;ecute the con&s;ci|ences
of others in Old or New England.</P>
<P>How can I better end then Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> doth, by warning, that
all that will not ki&s;&s;e the Son (that is, heare and embrace the
words of his mouth) &s;hall peri&s;h in their way,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> unju&s;t <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> where&s;oe|ver.</NOTE> <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 2. 12. And
I de&s;ire Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> and every &s;oule to whom the&s;e lines may
come, &s;eriou&s;ly to con&s;ider, in this Contraver&s;ie, if the Lord
Je&s;us were him&s;elfe in per&s;on in Old or New England, what
Church, what Mini&s;try, what Wor&s;hip, what Government
he would &s;et up, and what per&s;ecution he would practice
toward them that would not receive Him?</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
