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<DATE>2013-09-17</DATE>
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<NAME>Leigh Rupinski</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="B20672">
<STC T="W">C6105</STC>
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<VID>199130</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>Truths Te&s;timony; AND A Te&s;timony of Truths Appearing, IN <HI>Power, Life, Light &amp; Glory;</HI> Creating, Manife&s;ting, Increa&s;ing and Vindi|cating it &s;elf in the mid&s;t of per&s;ecution.</P>
<P>Wherein is di&s;covered what Truth is, and al&s;o a Lye, who knows it, and lives in it.</P>
<P>WITH The Authors Call and Conver&s;ion to the truth, his practice in it, his publi&s;hing of it, and his &s;everal Tryals for the &s;ame: <HI>Viz.</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Before Baron</HI> Wilde <HI>at</HI> Worce&s;ter.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Before Judge</HI> Nicholas <HI>at</HI> Worce&s;ter.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>Before Serjeant</HI> Green <HI>at</HI> Oxford.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. <HI>Before Serjeant</HI> Hutton <HI>at</HI> Oxford.</ITEM>
<ITEM>5. <HI>Before Serjeant</HI> Glyn <HI>at</HI> Gloce&s;ter.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P><HI>Together with</HI> The part<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">cular Accu&s;ations brought again&s;t him in each Tryal, and his an|&s;wers to the &s;ame. As al&s;o the Courts proceedings both by JUDGES and JURIES.</P>
<P>With an humble Appeal to his Highne&s;s, <HI>Oliver</HI> Lord Protector, as a general redre&s;s for all people.</P>
<P>By <HI>Richard Coppin.</HI></P>
<Q><P><BIBL><HI>John 16.2.</HI></BIBL> They &s;hall put you out of the Synagogues; yea, the time cometh, that who&s;oever killeth you, will think that he doth God &s;ervice.</P>
<P><BIBL><HI>Gal. 4.29.</HI></BIBL> But as then, he that was born after the fle&s;h, per&s;ecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even &s;o it is now.</P></Q>
<P><HI>London,</HI> printed, and are to be &s;old at the black <HI>Spread Eagle</HI> at the We&s;t-end of <HI>Pauls,</HI> the <HI>Blackmoores-head</HI> at Fleet bridge, and at the <HI>Seven-&s;tars</HI> in <HI>Pauls</HI> Church-yard, 1655.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<OPENER><SALUTE>Friends and Enemies.</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_THat the truth of tho&s;e tran&s;actions that have pa&s;t between me and my adver&s;aries may appear, it is through the de&s;ire of many people here publi&s;hed, as a Narrative of what the Lord in the&s;e dividing times hath done, and will do, for the encrea&s;e of the manife&s;tation of truth a|mong&s;t men, that through much oppo&s;ition by men living in a lye, again&s;t tho&s;e who live in the truth, is the truth made mani|fe&s;t; concerning which I have not thought my life too dear to have parted with, but with much zeal and love both to God and all people have I been carried on, to vindicate the truth of what was manife&s;ted to me, and declared by me, who with much joy went through it: I &s;till knowing my &s;elf clear and ju&s;tified in and by the Lord and my own con&s;cience, in all things that I have &s;een, known, and been made a partaker of, in truth and righte|ou&s;ne&s;s.</P>
<P>And if any &s;hall que&s;tion the truth of what is here written in any part of it, it is and will be ready to be proved, not onely by my &s;elf, but by &s;everal other per&s;ons that have been hearers of, and eye-witne&s;&s;es to the &s;ame, and that had taken &s;everal Co|pies of what was done in the Courts at my tryals; all which was &s;till recorded and kept to this day, and now publi&s;hed for the view of all that de&s;ire to look into it, as an outward te&s;timony bearing witne&s;s of the truth again&s;t all that is a lye in the world.</P>
<P>And I do further declare that in all my tryals and proceedings to this day, I never feed or bribed any man what&s;over, to &s;hew me any favour; neither did any ever require it of me, more then what was due by cour&s;e of Law to the Clerks of A&s;&s;izes: for I was not to &s;eek to men for any favour, but to leave all to the Lord, who&s;e own the cau&s;e was; and who is and will be made manife&s;t in due time to all men, as he is and hath been to him who is ready to &s;erve all men in love, while he is</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Richard Coppin.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="publisher's note">
<P>SEveral books of the &s;ame Author now extant; <HI>viz.</HI> one entituled, <HI>Divine Teachings,</HI> in which are three together; a &s;econd, <HI>Mans Righteou&s;ne&s;s ex|amined;</HI> a third, <HI>Saul &s;mitten;</HI> a fourth, <HI>A Man-child born,</HI> and to be &s;old with this.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="table of contents">
<PB REF="3">
<HEAD>The Contents.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM>Chap. 1. <HI>WHat truth is, and what it is not; who knows it and lives in it, &amp;c.</HI> page 1</ITEM>
<ITEM>Chap. 2. <HI>The Authors life and conver&s;ation, before and after the day of his conver&s;ion, &amp;c.</HI> page 9</ITEM>
<ITEM>Chap. 3. <HI>The Authors Call and Commi&s;&s;ion to preach; what, and from whence it was. The Prie&s;ts Call and Commi&s;&s;ion to preach,</HI> page 15</ITEM>
<ITEM>Chap. 4. <HI>The Authors fir&s;t pro&s;ecution of his Commi&s;&s;ion, and his being oppo&s;ed for the &s;ame, &amp;c.</HI> page 17</ITEM>
<ITEM>Chap. 5. <HI>The Authors farther proceedings with men in all conditions under their &s;everal Forms and Admini&s;trations, &amp;c.</HI> page 23</ITEM>
<ITEM>Chap. 6. <HI>The Mini&s;ters malicious proceeding again&s;t the Author in</HI> Worce&s;ter&s;hire, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> page 27</ITEM>
<ITEM>Chap. 7. <HI>Of his tryal at</HI> Worce&s;ter <HI>A&s;&s;izes before Baron</HI> Wilde: <HI>the particular accu&s;ations again&s;t him, and his an&s;wers to them, &amp;c.</HI> page 31</ITEM>
<ITEM>Chap. 8. <HI>The Authors &s;peech made to the Judge, after his tryal,</HI> page 44</ITEM>
<ITEM>Chap. 9. <HI>The Authors &s;econd appearing at</HI> Worce&s;ter <HI>A&s;&s;izes be|fore Judge</HI> Nicholas, page 48</ITEM>
<ITEM>Chap. 10. <HI>The Authors Tryal at</HI> Oxford <HI>A&s;&s;izes before Serjeant</HI> Green: <HI>The particular accu&s;ations again&s;t him, and his an&s;wers to them, &amp;c.</HI> page 50</ITEM>
<ITEM>Chap. 11. <HI>The Authors &s;econd appearing at</HI> Oxford <HI>before Judge</HI> Hutton, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> page 70</ITEM>
<ITEM>Chap. 12. <HI>The Authors humble appeal to his Highne&s;s</HI> Oliver <HI>Lord Protector, as a general redre&s;s for all people.</HI> page 71</ITEM>
<ITEM>Chap. 13. <HI>The Sufferings of Chri&s;t, his Prophets and Apo&s;tles, with the Authors, pre&s;ented to his Highne&s;s, &amp;c.</HI> page 75</ITEM>
<ITEM>Chap. 14. <HI>A further di&s;covery to his Highne&s;s, of the malicious practices, ignorant cen&s;ures, and illegal proceedings of two Ju&s;tices and certain Mini&s;ters at</HI> Stow, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> page 79</ITEM>
<ITEM>Chap. 15. <HI>The Authors Tryal at</HI> Gloce&s;ter <HI>A&s;&s;izes before Ser|jeant</HI> Glyn. page 85</ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="tract">
<PB N="1" REF="3">
<HEAD>Truhts Te&s;timony; AND A Te&s;timony of Truths appearing, In Power, Life, Light and Glory, creating, mani|fe&s;ting, increa&s;ing and vindicating of it &s;elf, in the mid&s;t of Per&s;ecution.</HEAD>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. I. </HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>What Truth is, and what it is not; who knows it and lives in it; that it is always per&s;ecuted, and by whom; that it mo&s;t appears, when it is mo&s;t oppo&s;ed; and how.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>_GOd that made the world, and all things therein, who&s;e goodne&s;s fills heaven and earth, is holy,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 17.24, 25, 26, 27, 28</NOTE> ju&s;t and good, the pure, perfect, true God, not confined to time, place, per&s;on, nor thing; but comprehends in him&s;elf all things that are, and all things in him that is pure, perfect, true, ju&s;t and good, &s;o is to him,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Titus 1.15.</NOTE> and he cannot behold any thing any otherwi&s;e then as
<PB N="2" REF="4">it is in him&s;elf; who &s;ees, knows, po&s;&s;e&s;&s;es and enjoys all things not as man (who is a lyar) but as God (who is true) and who is all,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 15.28.</NOTE> and all in all, in truth and righteou&s;ne&s;s; and what&s;oever (be&s;ides a lye) is or may be &s;aid by men not to be in God, and God not to be in that, is a lye; and he that &s;aith it, is a lyar; and no lyar can &s;tand in the pre&s;ence of God, to know Gods pre&s;ence with him, till he be brought from the knowledge of a lye, to the knowledge of the truth, as it is in Je&s;us, by the ap|pearing of God in Je&s;us Chri&s;t to him:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 5.18, 19.</NOTE> Therefore that which all men are to be, to know, to live in, and to practice in truth and righteou&s;ne&s;s (that they may no longer be &s;hut out from the pre&s;ence of God as lyars) is the truth as it is in Je&s;us, or God as he is in Chri&s;t, reconciling the whole world to him&s;elf, not imputing to any man &s;in and tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion; and &s;o the Lord Je&s;us, who is God with us, is to us the way to the truth, the life living in the truth,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 1 23. John 14.6.</NOTE> and the truth lived in, that in due time will make manife&s;t the freedom of all men in the knowledge of the truth from that which is a lye,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.</NOTE> and bring all men to that which is the truth in him&s;elf; though in the time of mens falling away from the fir&s;t Image, to have an outward &s;hew or form of godline&s;s, without the power, they are not brought from the knowledge of a lye, as it is in man, to the knowledge of the truth, as it is in Je&s;us. There is nothing more oppo&s;ed, le&s;s known and pra|cti&s;ed by men living in the knowledge of a lye, yet profe&s;&s;ing truth and godline&s;s,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tit. 1.16.</NOTE> then the truth is; <HI>For they profe&s;s that they know God, but in works they deny him, being abominable and di&s;obe|dient, and unto every good work a reprobate</HI> (as the Scripture &s;aith) for all men knowing, owning and living in any thing below God, do &s;o long know, own and live in a lye, and &s;o are them&s;elves a lye to them&s;elves, hating, abominating and oppo&s;ing the truth which they know not; and no lye can know the truth, but the truth knows a lye;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 11.27.</NOTE> not as a lye, but as the truth: So no man knows God, but God knows man, yet not as man, but as him|&s;elf, who knows all things in truth and righteou&s;ne&s;s, which truth is him&s;elf:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 45.5, 6.</NOTE> for he that is all things, cannot know any thing be&s;ides him&s;elf, there being not any thing but him&s;elf to be known; el&s;e how is he all things except a lye? and all the known gods of the Nations which men have wor&s;hipt, and run a whoring after,
<PB N="3" REF="4">are fal&s;e Gods, and a lye, and a lye is nothing in being; therefore is one God the truth, and all the good that is, is him, for truth and goodne&s;s live together in God, who is good, and beholds all things good, yea, very good, becau&s;e he can &s;ee nothing but what is him&s;elf; for <HI>there is none good but one, that is God:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 19.17.</NOTE> and yet the whole creation of God is &s;aid to be good by God;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 1 31. Chap. 2.1, 2.</NOTE> for when he had made all things and fini&s;hed his work, he beheld it, and &s;aw it was very good.</P>
<P>Therefore is God in Chri&s;t &s;aid to &s;ee, know, under&s;tand and judge all things in truth and righteou&s;ne&s;s, as being all in all things to him&s;elf,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 John 2.21. John 8.44.</NOTE> though the things in them&s;elves and to men are lyes, yet truth in him and to him, who is all things, and of whom and to whom nothing is a lye; for no lye is of the truth, but all lyes, as lyes, are onely of, and known by the Devil, the great lyar of the world, the deceiver of mankind,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a 5 20.</NOTE> that turns the truth into a lye, and light into darkne&s;s, and good into evil, a&s;cribing that wi&s;dom, power, will, rea&s;on, knowledge and un|der&s;tanding unto man, which is due to God, &s;etting up man in the place of God,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 The&s;. 2.4.</NOTE> as knowing and being &s;omething el&s;e be&s;ides God, out of God, that &s;o him&s;elf might have a Kingdom; this is a lye, and the lyar, and the Kingdom of darkne&s;s; unto which lye and lyar (as unto the Devil and his Kingdom, &s;in, hell and damnation) God will not give any place of being out of him&s;elf to remain, but will turn it again from a lye to the truth, from man to him&s;elf, from Satan unto God; for he onely is,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 26.18.</NOTE> and there is none be&s;ides him; &s;o that he onely is true, and all things in him are truth.</P>
<P>Therefore to under&s;tand the truth, we mu&s;t under&s;tand and know God, that he onely is that which is to remain, and &s;o to under&s;tand the truth as it is in Je&s;us, God in Chri&s;t manife&s;t in fle&s;h, the Original Centre of all things, that which makes, forms,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 1 16. Jer 23, 24.</NOTE> creates and fills of its fulne&s;s all things that were, are, and ever &s;hall be in the whole Creation, world without end, him&s;elf having neither beginning nor end, but is the &s;ame ye&s;terday,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 13 8.</NOTE> to day, and for ever, and changeth not.</P>
<P>Therefore is the truth as being the &s;ame &s;till in God, one un|changeable, immortal, incomprehen&s;ible, unlimited,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 6 16 1 Tim 1.17</NOTE> indivi|dual, divine being, full of wi&s;dom, power, life, light and glory,
<PB N="4" REF="5">or the whole Godhead, acting, ruling and governing all things in the world, and &s;o the &s;ame &s;till at all times, in all places and things, comprehending in it &s;elf all things that are in the world as its own, and yet it &s;elf not comprehend|ing not comprehended of, or confined to any one thing, time,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 50.12.</NOTE> place or per&s;on, but doth it &s;elf make, create and bring forth from it &s;elf (as comprehended in it &s;elf) all things vi&s;ible in the world,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom 1.20</NOTE> as an Image of it &s;elf invi&s;ible.</P>
<P>And this is God, who when he will, can and doth both break in pieces and &s;et together again, empty and fill again, wound and heal again,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ho&s;ea 6.1.</NOTE> kill and make alive again, all things that are in ge|neration in the world, evermore to be changeable in it &s;elf, as made, and unchangeable in him&s;elf as unmade, and he ever|more to do the &s;ame, as being an unchangeable workman, al|ways making,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccle. 1 9.</NOTE> creating and filling all things that are change|able: for that which hath been, is that which &s;hall be, and that which is done, is that which &s;hall be done; and there is no new thing under the Sun, and the be&s;t of men and things &s;o created or made, in the mo&s;t pure, fine, formali&s;ts out&s;ide appearance of them, are but Images (of the Image of God placed in man) which men would &s;et up to wor&s;hip and adore, as <HI>Nebuchad|nezzar</HI> did his Image;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Daniel 3.</NOTE> and they that will not fall down before it, and &s;ubmit them&s;elves to it, as to men and their Images, ways, wor&s;hips and opinions, mu&s;t by the decree of <HI>Nebuchadnezzar</HI> (or the &s;ame &s;pirit of him now appearing among&s;t men) be ca&s;t into the hot fiery furnace, made hot by men; that is to &s;ay, either &s;ilenced, impri&s;oned, bani&s;hed or put to death.</P>
<P>Therefore what are the be&s;t of Images to the thing imaged, but vanity and a lye, being as it is changeable? <HI>All is vanity and vexation of &s;pirit:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccle&s;. 1.14.</NOTE> And &s;o the be&s;t of things in its fir&s;t created &s;tate, is but an image of the mo&s;t high God, which he onely makes to &s;erve its generation, and to pa&s;s away, as we &s;ee all things do: for man in his upright &s;tate, before his fall, was but an Image of God: Religion in the form, is but an Image of Re|ligion in the mind and will; &s;o Ju&s;tice and Righteou&s;ne&s;s in and among&s;t men, acted from one to another, is but an Image of what it is in and from God to man; &s;o Chri&s;t him&s;elf in a humane appearance, as he was man, though he had in him the fulne&s;s
<PB N="5" REF="5">of the Godhead, yet was he but an Image of the invi&s;ible God,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 1.15.</NOTE> or the Eternal Being of the Godhead in its Divine &s;tate: And all Images are to pa&s;s away, and be removed day by day;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 7 31.</NOTE> <HI>For the fa&s;hion of this world pa&s;&s;eth away</HI> and what&s;oever pa&s;&s;es away, mu&s;t in that &s;tate of mortality be a lye, in oppo&s;ition to that which is immortal and true, becau&s;e it abides not always the &s;ame, but is changeable.</P>
<P>And as a thing made cannot know that which made it; &s;o a lye cannot know the truth, nor &s;peak the truth, but as it is in the truth, no longer known to be a lye, but the truth it &s;elf:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 2.11.</NOTE> As nothing therefore but God, who is a Spirit, knows God; &s;o no|thing but the truth, knows the truth, nor can &s;peak the truth; and if any thing of truth be &s;poken between man and man,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 10.20.</NOTE> it is the truth it &s;elf that &s;peaks it &s;elf through its own image; for what one man &s;peaks to another in words, is but an Image of the &s;ame Be|ing &s;poken to man by the truth in &s;ilence; for the word in the &s;ound is but an Image of what is before &s;poken in the mind; &amp; all the writings of men in the letter, is but an Image of the writings of God in the heart and Spirit: So the Scripture, called the Word of God, which are but the writings of men in an out|ward te&s;timony,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">John 1.1, 2.</NOTE> is but an Image of the true Word <HI>(Chri&s;t)</HI> that &s;poke before in them that writ it, and witne&s;&s;ed to the word by that which is written;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Iohn 2, 3, 4</NOTE> for what the Word of God (to wit Chri&s;t) &s;peaks in men, that man &s;peaks and writes again to men:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 1.20.</NOTE> <HI>For what we have &s;een and heard, we declare unto you</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Paul</HI>) and all things in the world vi&s;ible is but an Image of God,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 51.6.</NOTE> or the things invi&s;ible: and &s;o all things, as made, is but an Image of it &s;elf as unmade.</P>
<P><HI>Adam</HI> was fir&s;t formed, then <HI>Eve;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 2 13, 14.</NOTE> and the woman taken out of man, is but the Image and glory of the man, and lives not but in the man; therefore while &s;he abides in the Image, and is not the &s;ame with the thing imaged, &s;he abides in a lye, and is in the tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion.</P>
<P>So in like manner all mankind, with the whole creation, as coming out of God, is but an Image of God, as the Son is of the Father, and as the woman is of the man, and lives not but in God the Father, that &s;ends them forth from him&s;elf as an Image of him&s;elf, and as it abides in the Image,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Iohn 2.27, 28.</NOTE> and not in him that
<PB N="6" REF="6">made it, &s;o it abides in the lye, and in the tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion; and if any would know the truth, in the love of the truth, to &s;peak it, and live in it, they mu&s;t wait to be taken up in the under&s;tand|ing, into that which is the truth, as Chri&s;t was; and therein cea&s;e in them&s;elves to &s;tand any longer in the Image, but in the &s;ub|&s;tance, as Chri&s;t did when he did a&s;cend from the Son to the Father, and &s;o mu&s;t become the &s;ame with the truth, in the truth it &s;elf, before they can know what the truth is in the under&s;tanding of it:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 5.1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">. I&s;a. 42.16. I n 2. Ephe&s;. 1.10.</NOTE> &s;o in the chang of all things in man, the woman becomes the man, or weakne&s;s becomes &s;trength, darkne&s;s becomes light, death becomes life, and a lye the truth, when the truth hath had its perfect work in making all things free, in turning water into wine, and bringing all things together in one; for the truth is not without a lye;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 11.11, 12.</NOTE> <HI>the man is not without the woman, nor the wo|man without the man, in the Lord:</HI> So not God without us, nor we without him in the truth, which truth comprehends Father, Son and Spirit, will wi&s;dom and power, variety in unity, and unity in variety, the Creator and the creature; and &s;o God him&s;elf, who is the truth in Je&s;us, who is one and all, is him&s;elf the way in which all men &s;hould walk, the truth which all men &s;hould practice,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 2.6.</NOTE> and the life which all men &s;hould live, with Chri&s;t in God, manife&s;t in fle&s;h; as he is God in union with man, and man in union with God, loving all men as him&s;elf, doing for all men, as for him&s;elf, which &s;hould be the whole life of all men one to another,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 5 44, 45.</NOTE> living in the truth, as it is in Je&s;us, even to walk in him as their path, live in him as their life; and &s;o to follow his &s;teps in the Lord Je&s;us,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 5.1, 2. Acts 17.26. 1 Ioh. 10.11.</NOTE> hating none, &s;peaking evil of none, per&s;ecuting none, but to be friendly, loving, kind and merciful to all, as fle&s;h of their fle&s;h, and bone of their bone, being all of one blood, and &s;o to forgive one another, as God in Chri&s;t hath forgiven them: And he who goes any other way, practi&s;es any other thing,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 5.18, 19. Iohn 14.8. 1 Iohn 1.6, 7, 8.</NOTE> lives any other life, then that which is God living in them and all men, reconciling the whole world to him&s;elf by Je&s;us Chri&s;t, the way, the truth, and the life, is &s;o far a lyar, and the truth is not in him.</P>
<P>O how few are there that live this life of God in Chri&s;t, to be reconciled to all men, though enemies; love all men, though enemies; be at peace with all men, though enemies; and to do
<PB N="7" REF="6">for all men as they would do for them&s;elves, and as they would others &s;hould do unto them: why very few yet live in the truth to practi&s;e it, though mo&s;t men profe&s;s it?</P>
<P>Therefore all men who live not in the truth are lyars, and live in the filthy abomination of the lye, as in &s;in, death, hell, and damnation, wrath, envy, hatred, malice, per&s;ecution, re|venge, and all the works of iniquity, and mu&s;t be taken up in|to the truth, and &s;o ca&s;t into the lake of fire burning with brim&s;tone, there to be purged from all their uncleanne&s;s and fil|thy abomination,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 21 8.</NOTE> that hath defaced the Image of God as to men, before they can be lovers of God or the truth, and cea&s;e from per&s;ecuting one another.</P>
<P>All things while it abides in the Image, being there in a pri&s;on, and in darkne&s;s, is an enemy to the thing imaged, becau&s;e it re|pre&s;ents it not perfectly, or as it is in Je&s;us: the thing made is an enemy to that which makes it, the creature to the Creator,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 5.9.4, 5, 6, &amp;c.</NOTE> man to God; for all men, as men and &s;inners, &s;o remaining, are haters of God, and do oppo&s;e the truth in the manife&s;tation: But the more truth is oppo&s;ed,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 5.10, 11, 12.</NOTE> the more will it increa&s;e in power, and break forth in the light of its manife&s;tation, to tho&s;e that are oppo&s;ed, and al&s;o for the good of tho&s;e that do op|po&s;e, though for a time it may be hid from their eyes.</P>
<P>Tho&s;e that betrayed and murther'd Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 16.2, 3.</NOTE> thought they did God &s;ervice, and them&s;elves good (and &s;o they did) though they knew it not, in per&s;ecuting, reviling, &s;toning and killing bla&s;phemers (as they &s;aid) again&s;t God; but they knew neither God, them, nor the bla&s;phemy they charged them with; for had they known Chri&s;t, they would not have put him to death, nor crucified the Lord of glory, as they did;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 3.17, 18</NOTE> yet this did bring glory to God, and good to all his people: for through death did he a&s;cend into the glory of his Father,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 14.3.</NOTE> in which glory he returned again to his people, to take them to him&s;elf, that where he was, they might be al&s;o;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 12.32.</NOTE> and (&s;aith he) <HI>If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me.</HI> not onely Scribes and Phari&s;ees, but Publicans and &s;inners, when the Scribes and Phari&s;ees thought it had belong'd onely to them&s;elves, as righ|teous men, and not unto &s;inners;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 11.19.</NOTE> and becau&s;e he was a friend to all, even &s;inners, as well as them, therefore &s;ought they the
<PB N="8" REF="7">more to kill him: yet his love was &s;till the &s;ame, both to them and all others, though enemies to him; for &s;aith he, of tho&s;e betrayed him and took his life from him,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 word"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">3 34.</NOTE> <HI>Fa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ther, forgive them, they know not what they do;</HI> and the more they &s;ought to betray him, the more did the people follow him, and grew in love with him: and men can never do any thing more to the lo&s;s of their own honour, Religion and &s;elf-intere&s;ts, and more to ad|vance the truth in the life and power of it, then to oppo&s;e it, and per&s;ecute it <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> for then do men <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">he more enquire after it, and truth will have its perfect work, and find out a way to advance it &s;elf in the greate&s;t per&s;ecution, though men never &s;o much oppo&s;e it. Therefore when men go to &s;top the current of truth, and the mouthes of tho&s;e that declare it, by an outward Law, they do but as tho&s;e that go to make a dam to &s;top the current of a continual running &s;tream, which will &s;uddenly make its way through it, and carry all before it: Or, as tho&s;e who go to throw oyl and brim&s;tone to quench fire that is burning, which the more they do, the more it will flame and burn to the de&s;truction of that which is thrown into it to quench it: So is it with truth, when it ari&s;es in life and power to manife&s;t it &s;elf,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a 27.4.</NOTE> nothing is or &s;hall be then able to &s;tand again&s;t it, to hin|der the growth and increa&s;e of it; but it will drive all before it that &s;hall &s;tand in the way of it: and as fire among thorns, &s;o will it burn, wa&s;te, con&s;ume and bring to nothing, all that which is abomination, and a lye, in the world, that nothing hereafter &s;hall be &s;een to &s;tand in the high place of God; but him&s;elf will there &s;hew him&s;elf to be all in all, as he is the One and the All, the All and the One, though not yet manife&s;t unto all men.</P>
<P>Therefore, O man, thou that would&s;t not have the truth to &s;pread, which thou knowe&s;t not, cea&s;e any longer to oppo&s;e it, if thou can&s;t forbear, for through much oppo&s;ition is the truth made manife&s;t, and God would not be &s;aid to be a conqueror, if there were not &s;omething of a lye in oppo&s;ition to the truth to be conquered; for were there no oppo&s;ition known in men to oppo&s;e God, there would be in men no need of the knowledge of the coming of God in Chri&s;t to men, to oppo&s;e again&s;t that: for his coming to manife&s;t him&s;elf, is to reconcile his enemies to him&s;elf, and to de&s;troy that which is enmity in them again&s;t him;
<PB N="9" REF="7">for, <HI>for this purpo&s;e was the &s;on of God manife&s;t,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Iohn 3.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">.</NOTE> <HI>to de&s;troy the works of the devil:</HI> and men in looking upon God to be at a di&s;tance from them through the temptations of Satan, do there|by oppo&s;e his pre&s;ence with them; for God is nigh them,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 17.2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters"> 28.</NOTE> with them and in them, as one reconciled to them, and all things in the world with them, though they know it not; and this is mans de&s;truction, not to know God, as God knows man,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ho&s;ea 4 6.</NOTE> but to live as one without God in the world, always fearing of God as an angry God; and &s;o kept at a di&s;tance from God,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3.7.</NOTE> by being ignorant of God; as <HI>always learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth;</HI> neither can, till they are en|lightned by the light of God in their own con&s;ciences, to &s;ee God with them, re&s;toring re&s;t and peace to them, and him&s;elf to be in them the way, the truth, and the life for them; unto the end of which way, the knowledge of which truth, and enjoy|ment of which life, all men have a race to run and a way to come, before they can &s;it down at the end of their journey, and live in the knowledge of the truth as it is in Je&s;us.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. II. </HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>The Authors Life and Conver&s;ation before and after the day of his Conver&s;ion; the manner of his converting, and his zeal in &s;earch|ing, trying and pa&s;&s;ing by all the Ways, Wor&s;hips and Opinions of men, in their &s;everal Forms <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">f Religion; howmen appeared in it; how it all vani&s;hed away and cea&s;ed, as to him; and when.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>HEarken my beloved brethren, come behold, and &s;ee the race which you are to run, the way which you are to come, and the price that is to be wo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">, as I will here &s;hew unto you, by &s;etting before you the race that I have run,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil 3. 1 Cor. 9.14.</NOTE> the way that I have gone, and the price that I have won; wherein if the Lord will, you may behold the manner and cour&s;e of my life, and the dealings of God with me all along, from the time he fir&s;t created me and brought me forth of my mothers womb, to this day; and that you by comparing with it the manner and cour&s;e of your
<PB N="10" REF="8">life, and the dealings of God with you, may &s;ee how near a progre&s;s you have made to this price,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Job 42.5.</NOTE> the fathers Kingdom, and end of your journey. God him&s;elf, attainable in this life; after which there is no more travelling, but you are &s;et down, and at re&s;t with the &s;on in the bo&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">m of the Father And<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">, when once I came to this &s;tate of the mea&s;ure of the gift of Chri&s;tin me, I then was in a &s;tate to &s;ee God as he is, and the truth as it is in Je&s;us, made manife&s;t in my fle&s;h, and &s;o was made to look back upon what I had &s;een, and formerly been from the day of my creation, to the day of my conver&s;ion, which the light of God within me did &s;hew unto me, that I repented of, and was changed from my former life I lived, in the time of my ignorance; and which by the light of God in me, I &s;hall here &s;hew unto you.</P>
<P>For when God created me in my mothers womb, and breathed into me the breath of life, that I became a living &s;oul, I was in a &s;tate of innocency, knowing neither good nor evil; or as <HI>Adam</HI> in Paradi&s;e,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 2.7.</NOTE> and as all men el&s;e are when they are fir&s;t created, and live; but I quickly fell from this innocent &s;tate of <HI>Adam</HI> in Paradi&s;e, to the knowledge of good and evil, as to the &s;tate of <HI>Adam</HI> after his fall, &s;inful and wicked, and taking my own plea&s;ure in all manner of &s;ports and delights for outward recreation of the creature, without any true knowledge of the Creator, which for many years I would have gone many miles after, caring for no Religion at all neither did I know what it was, onely I heard of a God afar off, one that lived above the skies, &s;itting in a golden chair, and was like my &s;elf, which the Prie&s;ts and people did talk of, as one that loved tho&s;e that did well, and hated others that did ill; and would at the la&s;t day come to judge me and all men according to their works (but I knew him not, but by hear-&s;ay, according to the common talk of people) and that his wor&s;hip con&s;i&s;ted in mens &amp; womens going to Church, and &s;uch like &s;ervice (but not childrens) and that this holine&s;s con&s;i&s;ted in ab&s;taining from &s;wearing, drunkenne&s;s, thieving, whoring, and &s;uch like &s;ins; which &s;ins being not committed by me, I thought &s;ufficient to &s;ave me, being taught &s;o by (our Teachers) the Prie&s;ts of tho&s;e times, who them|&s;elves, as well as others, committed all manner of &s;in and wick|edne&s;s, and who deceived both me and many thou&s;ands of &s;ouls
<PB N="11" REF="8">by their delu&s;ions, but never taught us of a Je&s;us, all this while, neither could they, becau&s;e they knew him not them|&s;elves; yet God was there with them under this di&s;pen&s;ation, though vailed, and in a cloud;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al 97.2.</NOTE> for clouds and darkne&s;s are round about him: but the&s;e clouds in &s;ome mea&s;ure vani&s;hing, as to me, I pa&s;t them by, and pre&s;t forwards.</P>
<P>And now having lived for many years in this &s;tate of igno|rance, under the Bi&s;hops and Prelatical Government; I then came to the Presbyterians, who began to reign in the others &s;teads, exerci&s;ing the &s;ame authority over mens con&s;ciences as the other did; and who after &s;ome &s;hort time I found to rule with as much force and cruelty, and to be as tyrannical as ever the others were, and that knew no more of God then the others did; onely they would talk a little more of Chri&s;t and Religion, u&s;ing the outward expre&s;&s;ions as a cloak to cover their nakedne&s;s, and to &s;educe the people to them: but for any true knowledge of Chri&s;t and Religion, they had none, neither any did they practi&s;e; yet here was God likewi&s;e, but &s;till in a cloud, under darkne&s;s, that I pa&s;&s;ed by them al&s;o, and pre&s;&s;ed for|wards.</P>
<P>And I being yet willing to try all things; and I hearing of the Independants and Anabapti&s;ts &s;tarting up, as tho&s;e that would reign in the room of the Presbyterians, I would try them al&s;o; and found them to be cloathed with a more finer habit then either Prelate or Presbyterian; for they had gained &s;ome finer out&s;ide forms of Religion,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 3.7.</NOTE> decked over more with Scri|pture terms, as cloaks, or figleaves to cover their nakedne&s;s: and called them the Ways and Ordinances of Chri&s;t, or at lea&s;t, put that name upon them, to take away their reproach,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 4.</NOTE> though they were &s;till their own, and of their own inventions: for, as u&s;ed by them, they are not according to the in&s;titution of Chri&s;t in the primitive times, as they think they are: wherefore they do but cheat them&s;elves &amp; others, having no true knowledg of God all this while, but by hear&s;ay,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 3.7, 8.</NOTE> and what they gain one|ly by their out&s;ide Forms, Ways, and Religious duties, which they are to count all lo&s;t for Chri&s;t; and in which I beheld them and all the re&s;t of men, with all their differing Ways, Judge|ments and Opinions to be in all things &s;uper&s;titious and idola|trous,
<PB REF="9">as <HI>Paul</HI> did the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">emans And &s;o <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 word"> the &s;pace of two years,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> 17.21, 22, 23.</NOTE> beholding this their order in <HI>London</HI> &s;eeing all to be but di&s;order and confu&s;ion I pa&s;&s;ed them all be, and pre&s;t forwards to the mark, for the price of the high calling of God in <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">hri&s;t Je&s;us; which is a calling above all things what&s;oever, as of Presbytery, Independency, Anabapti&s;m, and what&s;oever calling el&s;e any man may now pretend to live; yet this is a calling above them all, which none of the&s;e have yet attain|ed or <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">o live.</P>
<P>In which two years time before mentioned, of walking among the Churches in <HI>London,</HI> of Presbyterians, Independents and Anabapti&s;ts &amp;c. I applyed my &s;elf much to reading their books, &s;earching and trying the Scriptures, whether the&s;e things they held were &s;o or no, and to be &s;o practi&s;ed by them as they were, and contended for, which I found them not to be: Al&s;o in ob|&s;erving duties of prayer was I very frequent morning and even|ing, and as often as I had opportunity: and in hearing or writing of Sermons four or five in a day, from &s;everal men, which I &s;pent much of my time after in reading.</P>
<P>Thus was I in that time, while I was trying their ways, as zealous as they could be in it, even hating, loathing and de&s;pi&s;ing all my own, and other mens former ways, delights, plea&s;ures and &s;ports, and all delightful exerci&s;es: which I was not &s;o much for before, but then I was as much again&s;t, counting them all to be but works of darkne&s;s, while they were &s;o acted; yet was my &s;elf &s;till (though under this di&s;pen&s;ation of Grace) as blind and as ignorant as ever I was under that of nature, though I thought I &s;aw and had knowledge: but I found &s;ince, that all the light and knowledge that I then thought I had of God, Chri&s;t, and the Devil, of Heaven and Hell, Salvation and Damnation, with all things el&s;e thereto belonging in that &s;tate of ignorance, was as carnal as ever; and I knew no more of it then I did when I was under the Prelates Mini&s;try; only that there was a God afar off and not within me, which I &s;till knew but by hear|&s;ay, as all that were of tho&s;e opinions did; and therefore I may be bold to affirm, as al&s;o by experience I have known, that all the knowledge that Presbyterians. Independents, Anabapti&s;ts, and all others under any form of Wor&s;hip, now have of tho&s;e
<PB N="13" REF="9">things, while living under the di&s;p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">&s;ation of grace (only) while &s;eeking the Lord is no more then but by hear-&s;ay, which they &s;o long give them&s;elves to believe, and are in bondage to, as to mens traditions; and no experience at all have they of the&s;e things, as to know them in truth, or as it is in Je&s;us. And this was all the knowledge and experience that I had, while un|der that di&s;pen&s;ation of grace, or the Son of God manife&s;ting (yet the &s;ame that they had) where I then &s;aw the work but a doing, not done; &s;alvation but a coming, and not come, and &s;o &s;aw not any thing then made perfect.</P>
<P>Then after two years were expired of my beholding this their order in <HI>London,</HI> &s;eeing all the ways and opinions of men, with all their feigned righteou&s;ne&s;s, for to be but de&s;truction and confu&s;ion, I prophe&s;ied of their downfall, which would &s;hortly after come to pa&s;s, and which I have &s;ince, in part, &s;een to be fulfilled; for I &s;aw that they were not built upon the true foundation. Chri&s;t, as the rock which would &s;tand,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 3.11.</NOTE> and was laid by God; but upon the foundation and buildings of men,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 7.26, 27.</NOTE> laid by men on the &s;ands, as that which would &s;hake and fall, and would not endure the fire, even God when he appeared, but would, with all their Elements, melt before him as dro&s;s,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 3.10.</NOTE> and with all their fair heavens be burnt up before him as &s;tubble, and vani&s;h away before him as &s;moak, and as chaff before the wind: Wherefore I &s;eeing them to be thus fitted for de&s;tructi|on, and prepared for the &s;laughter, I pa&s;&s;ed them all by, that I might not in my profe&s;&s;ion be de&s;troyed with them, and would not go in, or be tyed in covenant to any of them, being none of them according to the in&s;titution of Chri&s;t; and they being thus weighed in the ballance of the Righteou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t, by Chri&s;t, and there found too light, they vani&s;hed away, and &s;o cea&s;ed, as to me.</P>
<P>And after this legal di&s;pen&s;ation of the knowledge of Chri&s;t in the fle&s;h, and the performing duties after the fle&s;h, by me, was ended with me,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">John 16.25.</NOTE> and Chri&s;t appearing in power and glory to me; &s;hewing me plainly of the Father, I then &s;aw according to that appearance of God to me in the Father, what and where God, Chri&s;t and the Devil was, and is, al&s;o heaven and hell, &s;alvation and damnation, what and where that was, and
<PB N="14" REF="10">is, I having had the experience of it all within me; and &s;o I &s;aw, as to my &s;elf, a death of the one part, as of the Devil, hell and damnation, with all things, at the left hand of God; and a living of the other part, as of God, Chri&s;t, Heaven and Sal|vation, with all things, at the right hand of God; which was my dying to the one part, as to that on the left hand; and my living to the other part, as to that on the right hand, and which was to me the day of the Lord, and a re&s;tauration of all things to God; where, and at which time I &s;aw one di&s;pen&s;ation per|fected in another, or grace perfected in glory, the Son perfected in the Father, or all things made perfect in God, the Kingdom of the Son delivered up to the Father;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 15.21.</NOTE> and where I &s;aw all my own works, which ever I had done under any di&s;pen&s;ation, be|fore that of Chri&s;t in the Spirit, to be burnt up and made void to me, with all my prayers which I made, books which I had read, &s;ermons which I had heard, be&s;ides and below Chri&s;t, all now appeared to be of no worth unto me,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 2.9. &amp; 3 9.</NOTE> as to do me any good; for I had found one Je&s;us, that was a&s;cended far above all hea|vens, that he might fill all things, and that had a name above every name that was named, of things in heaven, and of things on earth; in whom I was now found, without having my own righteou&s;ne&s;s, which is of the Law, but that which is through the faith of Chri&s;t, who was now become my worth, my life, my light, and my all, who had filled me with him&s;elf, and whom I &s;aw to be all to me, and to do all for me, and to have given an end to all things be&s;ides him&s;elf in me; which made me now throw away all my books of Presbyterians, Independants, Ana|bapti&s;ts,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 19.18, 19.</NOTE> and what&s;oever el&s;e (as the believing Jews and Greci|ans had done before) and to forget all things therein, and not to know any thing any where, or in any thing, either without or within me, but Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and him crucified; and &s;o to know my &s;elf in him, to have made my progre&s;s to him in the Fa|thers Kingdom, the end of my journey, where I &s;hall no more be travelling, but be at re&s;t with the Son, in the bo&s;om of the Father: Which is the race that all men are to run, the way that all men are to go, and the work that all men are to do, even to deny them&s;elves,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 9.23, 24.</NOTE> and all things of them&s;elves, and to fol|low Chri&s;t, till they come to Chri&s;t, if ever they mean to be per|fect
<PB N="15" REF="10">with Chri&s;t: for, <HI>If thou wilt be perfect,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 19.21.</NOTE> <HI>go and &s;ell all that thou ha&s;t.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. III. </HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>The Authors Call and Commi&s;sion to preach; what, and from whence it was; the Pari&s;h Prie&s;ts Call and Commi&s;sion to preach, what, and from whence that was.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>WHen God in Chri&s;t did manife&s;t him&s;elf to me for my conver&s;ion, the redemption of my body, and the &s;al|vation of my &s;oul, to the perfecting of the body of Chri&s;t in and to me, as that I knew it, and was a&s;&s;ured of it in my &s;elf, what, and when it vvas: I then &s;avv it all to be in him, the &s;ame to all men as to me, though not manife&s;t unto them; and ac|cording to vvhat I had received of the Lord. I vvas command|ed by the Lord in me, to publi&s;h and declare to all &s;orts of men, vvithout re&s;pect of per&s;ons or opinions, vvith this Commi&s;&s;ion follovving:</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, that vvhat&s;oever I did &s;peak or vvrite, it vvas to be my ovvn experience in the Lord, of God manife&s;t in fle&s;h, ju&s;tified in the &s;pirit, &s;een of Angels, preached unto the Gentiles,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 3.16.</NOTE> be|lieved on in the World, received up into glory, Chri&s;t the &s;ame ye&s;terday, to day, and for ever. And that I was not to &s;peak or write any thing that &s;hould tend to the continuing,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">John 6.27.</NOTE> advancing or &s;etting up of any thing that &s;hould peri&s;h or come to an end, and be in oppo&s;ition to the Lord <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;us, as the &s;etting up of any thing be&s;ides him was; but that it &s;hould always tend to the advancement of his Kingdom, as of love, joy, peace and righ|teou&s;ne&s;s among men through Chri&s;t; and to the throwing down of Antichri&s;t and his Kingdom, with all deceiveablene&s;s and unrighteou&s;ne&s;s of men: and what I did. I was to do it free|ly, and in love, and not be chargeable or burthen&s;ome to any,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 14.17.</NOTE> to hinder any from coming into the Kingdom of the Lord, which was a free Kingdom; nor to give any liberty to Antichri&s;ts Kingdom, which was a Kingdom of gain, hire, and &s;elf inte|re&s;t, and which con&s;i&s;ts of buying and &s;elling the word of God&punc;
<PB N="16" REF="11">and for which work the Lord would be with me,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 18.9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 15, 16</NOTE> to &s;upport me to the end, as he was with <HI>Paul</HI> at <HI>Corinth;</HI> and by experi|ence I have hitherto found him to be with me.</P>
<P>And thus was my Commi&s;&s;ion in &amp; from the School of Chri&s;t, given by Chri&s;t at <HI>Sion</HI> hou&s;e in heaven, to do the work of Chri&s;t as a free workman, loving all men, though enemies, and hating none and not from <HI>Oxford</HI> and <HI>Cambridge,</HI> or the Schools of Antichri&s;t, by the laying on of the hands of the Bi&s;hops or Presbytery, to do the work of Antichri&s;t as an hireling, loving tho&s;e that would pay me or &s;tand for me, and hating tho&s;e that would not, as mo&s;t of tho&s;e have done that had their Call and Commi&s;&s;ion from thence: Neither was I to confer with fle&s;h and blood, as to go to <HI>Oxford</HI> or <HI>Cambridge,</HI> this Committee or that Committee, to receive Orders from men, or to know whether I &s;hould preach or no, and &s;o to be &s;ettled in &s;ome place by them, receive &s;ome yearly maintenance from them, as the Prie&s;ts of <HI>England</HI> do, and have done with all that &s;erve in An|tichri&s;ts Kingdom, and receive his wages but without all this, or any part of it, I was immediately to go and publi&s;h him to the world, and to &s;inners, yea all men, without re&s;pect of per&s;ons, notwith&s;tanding all the oppo&s;ition that I might meet withal from all &s;orts of Religion, and among all &s;orts of men living under any Di&s;pen&s;ation or Admini&s;tration what&s;oever, below this which I my &s;elf lived in, and was to declare.</P>
<P>And the fir&s;t day that I began to pro&s;ecute this my Commi&s;&s;i|on, as it was in me in the life and power of it (which I received not of man, nor by man, but of and by the Lord, and God the Father, who rai&s;ed him from the dead, out of the grave, and in me) then was I per&s;ecuted, hated and rejected of men that knew it not, but were enemies to it; yet did no more to me, then what had been done to others that were before me, and will be done to tho&s;e that come after me; which I al&s;o looked upon to be part of my portion which was to follow and I to go through, and which I was yet to be po&s;&s;e&s;t withal while I was in this work of preaching: but knowing this that &s;till filling up the re&s;t of the &s;ufferings of Chri&s;t, which &s;upported me, when I had fini&s;hed my cour&s;e, I &s;hould receive my crown; <HI>Having &s;uf|fered with Chri&s;t, I &s;hould al&s;o reign with him;</HI> and &s;o enduring
<PB N="17" REF="11">to the end, I &s;hould be &s;aved,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mar. 13.13 1 Cor. 9.17 18. 2 Cor. 10.16, 17.</NOTE> and this was my portion al&s;o with the Lord, and the reward I received of the Lord, and is a living on the Go&s;pel, with me; as it is written, <HI>He that preaches the Go&s;pel, &s;hall live on the Go&s;pel,</HI> and not on other mens labours, nor walk by other mens lights, but the light of Chri&s;t in the Go&s;pel di&s;pen&s;ation: And now &s;o far hitherto as I have fell &s;hort in any thing of this my Commi&s;&s;ion, to the knowledge of any, let me be blamed.</P>
<P>But to proceed, I &s;hall go on as brief as I can to &s;hew you the manner of my proceedings, and how I have been carried forth to this day, as &s;hall be readily witne&s;&s;ed by the people of tho&s;e parts in which I have been, and thus proceeded in the practice thereof, as followeth.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. IV. </HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>The Authors fir&s;t pro&s;ecution of his Commi&s;sion, and his being op|po&s;ed for the &s;ame; how, by whom, and after what manner; who are the Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t, and of Antichri&s;t, with their different proceedings, both in judgement, doctrine, practice, manner, time, place, freedom and reward.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>FIr&s;t, <HI>Paul</HI> in his time &s;peaking of him&s;elf and his own call, &s;aid then, <HI>That above fourteen years ago he knew a man in Chri&s;t,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 12.</NOTE> <HI>whether in the body, or out of the body, he could not tell, but &s;uch an one caught up into the third heaven,</HI> or paradi&s;e, <HI>and heard un&s;peakable words, which were not lawful for man to utter:</HI> And why unlawful? In re&s;pect of the Lavv of God it could not be unlavvful; for God reveals nothing that is contrary to him&s;elf, or his ovvn lavv, neither doth he make a lavv contrary to vvhat he reveals: but it might be contrary to the lavvs of men, vvhich they had made, and do &s;till make, and &s;o unlavvful; and in this &s;en&s;e <HI>Paul</HI> might &s;ay, it vvas unlavvful for man to utter, though not unlavvful for God to utter: and for the&s;e rea&s;ons; fir&s;t, in re&s;pect of the company among&s;t whom <HI>Paul</HI> vvas then living, vvhen tho&s;e vvords vvere made knovvn to him, they being not able to bear them: And &s;econdly, it may be that the
<PB N="18" REF="12">lavvs of the times vvere &s;uch, that if it &s;hould have been &s;poken, it vvould have been counted bla&s;phemy, and him&s;elf have been per&s;ecuted for it, as it &s;eems he vvas for many things that he then &s;poke: And &s;o in all ages &s;ince, vvhatever of God hath by God been revealed to men, contrary to the lavv of the times, hath been by that lavv unlavvful to utter, and &s;o by men count|ed bla&s;phemy, and the authors thereof accu&s;ed as bla&s;phemers. Was it not &s;o vvith Chri&s;t, and vvith <HI>Paul,</HI> and the re&s;t of the Apo&s;tles? And hath it not been &s;o &s;ince? and is it not &s;o novv? I am &s;ure my &s;elf with many others, can by experience witne&s;s it, and &s;et our &s;eals to it, &s;ince we knew it, and were a&s;&s;ured of it.</P>
<P>And now from the time that the&s;e things were fir&s;t made known to me, and I commanded to declare it to the world, it was with much oppo&s;ition, and with &s;o little outward freedom, that I was forced to appear in the clouds, and &s;peak &s;omething darkly, and under parables, I abiding at that time in <HI>Bark&s;hire,</HI> among a people who&s;e &s;pirits were not able to bear the &s;ound of the truth, they being ignorant of it, and &s;o enemies to it; and which the laws of the times were then again&s;t, and mo&s;t mens judgements and opinions contrary to it, and men more ready to per&s;ecute it, then otherways, as they have ever been. And I having not my freedom to &s;peak, fell a writing; which things were printed, and brought forth to publique view, in a Book en|tituled, <HI>Divine Teachings;</HI> which many Mini&s;ters and Pa&s;tors of Churches living thereabouts, did &s;treightway oppo&s;e, being that which was contrary to their judgements, doctrine and practi&s;e; who&s;e names are as follows, <HI>Lanca&s;ter, Powel, Harri&s;on, Pendar|vice, Wells, Hughes,</HI> and <HI>Burge&s;s,</HI> who were then in <HI>Bark&s;hire;</HI> with <HI>Osburn, Woolly, Glin,</HI> and many others in <HI>Oxford&s;hire;</HI> who cryed down all for here&s;ie and bla&s;phemy therein contained, without naming any particulars, &s;aying it was a dangerous prin|ciple which it all tended unto, that if it were &s;uffered, it would overthrow all <HI>(Mens)</HI> Religion; whereupon &s;everal di&s;putes were occa&s;ioned between me and the &s;aid Mini&s;ters; they all &s;till endeavouring to confute me, or bring me to a recantation of the&s;e things revealed in me, and declared by me, which they counted erroneous and bla&s;phemous; and of which if I
<PB N="19" REF="12">would have recanted, preferment by &s;ome was proffered me; but there was one within me which re&s;i&s;ted, and &s;aid, <HI>Get thee behind me Satan,</HI> I will none of it: neither is it <HI>Herod</HI> with all the chief of the Prie&s;ts and Scribes of the people, that he had gathered together, that can de&s;troy the childe Je&s;us after once he is born; nor could the&s;e with all their &s;ubtilty, de&s;troy that which was born in me, or bring me to a recantation of what I had declared, that I immediately departed out of the&s;e coa&s;ts, and &s;aw much of God in it; for I went &s;trait abroad publi&s;h|ing the &s;ame things with boldne&s;s, both in writing and &s;peak|ing, in &s;everal Countreys where I was de&s;ired to come. And there living in that Countrey of <HI>Bark&s;hire,</HI> where I fir&s;t began to publi&s;h the&s;e things, a man of eminency in the world, whom the Prie&s;ts knew to be zealous for them and their ways, and they having not prevailed with me to write a recantation of tho&s;e things I held, they then prevailed with him to joyn with them in buying up as many as they could get of the fore&s;aid books, (entituled, <HI>Divine Teachings</HI>) in which tho&s;e things were publi&s;hed, that they might &s;pread no farther among&s;t the peo|ple; of which books they bought to the value of about ten pounds worth, having no other way to &s;top them, and which the Prie&s;ts would have had him to have burned; but he was wi&s;er then &s;o; and &s;aid, that he would rather keep them for wa&s;te paper, and did not know but that they might yield him his money again, if the things &s;hould after come in reque&s;t; but however, the&s;e books are again reprinted, and the things therein &s;till maintained by me, being the &s;ame in me.</P>
<P>Thus we &s;ee how &s;ome men, out of zeal to their own opinions, and others for lucre of gain, not yet knowing the truth, will endeavour to binder the &s;preading of truth, and &s;o through ignorance and blind zeal, will turn per&s;ecutors of Chri&s;t, his Kingdom, and the Righteou&s;ne&s;s thereof.</P>
<P>This Kingdom of Chri&s;t, and all things therein, as love, joy, peace, life, light, heaven, and &s;alvation in Chri&s;t alone, I ever &s;ince I knew it, and ta&s;ted of it, have not cea&s;ed to write of, publi&s;h and declare in &s;everal Countreys,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 28.30, 31.</NOTE> both in publique and private, from hou&s;e to hou&s;e, in their Churches, Streets and Market places, where the Lord hath been plea&s;ed to carry
<PB N="20" REF="13">me, and where people de&s;ired me to come and were a&s;&s;embled together to hear me, I never de&s;iring to be chargeable to any, to hinder any from coming into the Kingdom of the Lord, which is a free Kingdom;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 9 12, 18, 19.</NOTE> neither would I ever yield to take any out|ward maintenance from any upon that account of preaching, for that was but Antichri&s;ts hire, in Antichri&s;ts Kingdom, which mo&s;t men yet have appeared to live in, nay, the pure&s;t Churches of Independents and Anabapti&s;ts, as well as Prelates and Presby|terians which though they have not all took tythes, they have took money or moneys worth; and &s;o cannot &s;ay, as <HI>Paul</HI> did, <HI>I have coveted no mans gold,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 20.33</NOTE> <HI>&s;ilver, or apparel:</HI> which is all but Antichri&s;ts pay, in Antichri&s;ts Kingdom, to Antichri&s;ts &s;ervants, who&s;e &s;ervants all are that preach for gain or hire, and not for pure love to Chri&s;t and all people:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">John 10.8.10.</NOTE> and Chri&s;t &s;aith of the hire|lings, that they are but Thieves and Robbers, and fly when he that is free cometh; and this would quickly be maniefe&s;t, were but tythes and the Prie&s;ts hire put down, and every one have freedom to preach that could; I will warrant you that tho&s;e Preachers that were &s;ent from <HI>Oxford</HI> and <HI>Cambridge,</HI> would quickly fly from you, leave you, and preach no more to you, and yet you would have more Preachers then are now: for then every one that had received any thing of God, would freely declare it; and this would be according to the Go&s;pel rule, which &s;aith, <HI>When thou art converted, &s;trengthen thy brother;</HI> and, <HI>As every man hath received the gift, &s;o let them admini&s;ter one to another;</HI> and not one to forbid another: for let one that preaches freely come into the Church or Pari&s;h of him that preaches for hire, and the hireling will pre&s;ently forbid the freeman; &s;aying, this is my hou&s;e and my Pari&s;h (or Foxes hole) you &s;hall not preach here:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ma<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">th 8 20.</NOTE> and though the men of the Pari&s;h (to wit, the Ma&s;ter) would have him yet the &s;ervant forbids him: And doth not the &s;ervant here exalt him&s;elf above the Ma&s;ter, the Prie&s;t above the people? but &s;urely <HI>he that exalts him&s;elf &s;hal be brought low, and he that humbles him&s;elf &s;hall be exalted;</HI> and it is enough that the &s;ervant be as his Ma&s;ter, and not above his Ma&s;ter, though it hath been &s;o hitherto between the people and their Mini&s;ters. What is the Church but the Town-hou&s;e, in which the Prie&s;t, the Town-&s;ervant, is to do the Towns work, for which
<PB N="21" REF="13">he receives the Towns wages? And what if the Ma&s;ter be wil|ling that the &s;ervant &s;hould &s;it &s;till, and &s;et another to do his work notwith&s;tanding the &s;ervant &s;hall &s;till have his wages? O but here is a &s;lavi&s;h fear in the &s;ervant, that if another &s;hould do his work better then him, it would be to his di&s;grace; and more then that if the ma&s;ter &s;hould once find that he could have his work done freely, he would then hire no more; and what would then become of the hireling? he mu&s;t pack up and be gone: and &s;o &s;aith Chri&s;t, <HI>The hireling flyeth, becau&s;e he is an hireling,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">John 10.13, 14.</NOTE> <HI>and careth not for the &s;heep. I am the good Shepherd</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>and know my &s;heep, and am known of mine:</HI> And &s;ure Chri&s;t ne|ver preached for hire, nor any that ever he &s;ent, that ever I read of in Scripture: then tho&s;e that do, were never &s;ent by him, but by his enemy the Devil, or Man of Sin, to keep up a King|dom contrary to his: and it is very likely, that the Man of Sin is their Ma&s;ter that &s;ent them, becau&s;e they &s;o much preach up &s;in unpardoned, which is the keeping up of his Kingdom in which they live, and without which they could not live, as to keep up that trade of buying and &s;elling the Word of God: for they live by telling the people of their &s;ins,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 5.30, 31.</NOTE> and &s;ome people love to have it &s;o, who live in the &s;ame Kingdom with them, and that love to pay them.</P>
<P>But in the Kingdom of Chri&s;t, which is a free Kingdom, there is no &s;uch thing; there is no &s;in unpardoned, therefore no tel|ling the people &s;o, neither do the people there love to have it &s;o: but there is all &s;in pardoned for all men, pa&s;t, pre&s;ent, and to come; and tho&s;e that are &s;ent by Chri&s;t, and that live in that Kingdom, come with that me&s;&s;age in their mouthes, That all &s;in is pardoned, and all men forgiven,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan. 9.24.</NOTE> &s;in and tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion fini&s;hed, and everla&s;ting Righteou&s;ne&s;s brought in by Chri&s;t alone: and this is my me&s;&s;age which I have to all the world, and which I am to deliver freely, and for which tho&s;e that have not the &s;ame me&s;&s;age to deliver, do hate me, and per&s;ecute me: but I pa&s;&s;ed them all by, and would not be partaker of their &s;ins; and he that hath kept me hitherto, keeps me &s;till, that I may not do Antichri&s;ts work, neither receive Antichri&s;ts wages, or live by the &s;ins of the people, as &s;ome others do.</P>
<P>But &s;ome may &s;ay, Did you never receive any money for
<PB N="22" REF="14">preaching? I an&s;wer, I never received any that ever I put in my own pur&s;e; but where there was money appointed for preaching, and no Prie&s;t there to challenge it as his proprie|ty, that either I mu&s;t di&s;po&s;e of it, or others whom it con|cerned not, mu&s;t put it in their own pur&s;es, I gave order that the poor of each Pari&s;h might have it, as will be witne&s;&s;ed in &s;everal places:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 20.33, 34, 35.</NOTE> and therefore can &s;ay with <HI>Paul, I have co|veted no mans &s;ilver, or gold, or apparel:</HI> yet of this will I not glory, but I will glory in the Lord, who hath &s;o far kept me from being a hireling in Antichri&s;ts Kingdom, that he will rather make all my ways appear more for the abominating and throwing down of all &s;uch Antichri&s;tian ways of maintenance, then for the &s;etting of it up; for which the Prie&s;ts, and all Impropriators, with all that live in that and the like mainte|nance, that knew me, or had heard of me, could never abide me, but always per&s;ecuted me, &s;ought for my impri&s;onment, bani&s;hment or &s;ilencing, and al&s;o my life. While I was thus carried forth in contending for the truth, yet was I &s;till rea|dy to &s;pend and be &s;pent for the good of all people, even my enemies; and was more ready to give then to receive, according to my ability,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 12.15. Acts 20.35.</NOTE> and &s;o &s;till at peace in my &s;elf, through all things with Chri&s;t in God, that ever I under|took, and went through by him, in all my proceedings, to this day.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="23" REF="14">
<HEAD>CHAP. V. </HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>The Authors further proceedings in his dealings with men in all conditions, under their &s;everal Forms and Admini&s;tra|tions: That his Doctrine never tended to draw men to any Opinion under any one Form of Wor&s;hip; but to pre&s;s for|wards to the life of God in Chri&s;t, above the Whori&s;h Reli|gion and Vanities of the World; that to l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ve in &V;nity, Peace, and Love with all men, having peace with God, is the pure Religion.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>ANd now the manner of my farther dealings in Judgement and Doctrine with men in all conditions, under their &s;e|veral Forms, Admini&s;trations or Di&s;pen&s;ations, was &s;till a pre&s;|&s;ing of them forwards after Chri&s;t, to the knowledge of the truth as it is in Je&s;us, and not a &s;taying of men any where, or endeavouring to draw men to any Form, Way, Wor&s;hip or Opinion from Chri&s;t; neither to rail again&s;t any man of any opinion what&s;oever, but to &s;peak the truth to all, &s;hewing what all tho&s;e opinions of men are, and what, and where they them&s;elves are, while under them; and how they are to for|&s;ake all, and follow Chri&s;t, be they Prelates, Presbyterians, Independents, Anabapti&s;ts, or what&s;oever opinion el&s;e may be found out by man be&s;ides Chri&s;t, all are to pa&s;s away; and they are to pa&s;s them all by, as by &s;o many harlots hou&s;es,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 7.</NOTE> &s;tand|ing by the ways &s;ide, by which poor &s;ouls are to pa&s;s, before they come to their re&s;t; and into which, as into &s;o many Ale|hou&s;es or Taverns, many thou&s;and of poor &s;ouls are allured and drawn a&s;ide to eat, and to drink, and commit fornication with the Inhabitants thereof, neglecting their journey to <HI>Ca|naan</HI> or Mount-<HI>Sion;</HI> and where, for &s;ome time, they take up their re&s;t, that many pa&s;s by them, and get into heaven before them, while they are fea&s;ting with harlots,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 17.14, 15.</NOTE> the daughters of the great Whore that &s;its upon many waters, and on the moun|tains of mens holine&s;s, eating bread, and drinking wine, until the Lord come to fea&s;t with them there, and by a &s;trong hand overcome them, pull them down, or bring them forth, and &s;o
<PB N="24" REF="15">lead them on, carrying them by all tho&s;e opinions of men, onely to knock at their doors, as &s;ome have done before look in upon them, and behold their devotion; but not to go into them,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 7.27.</NOTE> le&s;t they &s;hould be devoured by them: <HI>For their hou&s;e is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death:</HI> Therefore let not your hearts be inclined to their ways, go not a&s;tray in their pathes, le&s;t you &s;hould &s;tay or be &s;educed by them: But &s;ay, friends, come away, this is not your re&s;t, ari&s;e, depart, for it is polluted, and if you &s;tay, it will de&s;troy you with a &s;ore de|&s;truction;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Micah 2.10.</NOTE> This &s;ay unto them, but go not in; for if you go in to them, the Devil will come and take you, make you drunk, and there cau&s;e you to &s;tay, and &s;o make you become Devils with him, or them, to accu&s;e and per&s;ecute, eat, devour and condemn one another, or all that come not in to you and be the &s;ame with you in your opinions: Therefore I advi&s;e you not to &s;tay any where,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 3.1, 2.</NOTE> nor to &s;et your minds, de&s;ires and affections up|on any thing below Chri&s;t, in the way you are to go to Chri&s;t; but &s;till in all this your wor&s;hipping of God (as you call it) to pre&s;s forwards to the mark,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 3.</NOTE> for the price of the high calling of God in Chri&s;t Je&s;us; where you will then re&s;t, be at peace, and be &s;atisfied, and where you will no more accu&s;e, per&s;ecute, judge, devour and condemn one another, as you do; but where you will be reconciled in love one to another, and to all men, though your greate&s;t enemies.</P>
<P>And this is the advice that I give to all men, in all that I &s;ay unto them, to pre&s;s forwards to the knowledge of the truth, as it is in Je&s;us; and I do not go about to &s;et up any thing below the Lord Je&s;us, nor to draw men to any opinion of things be|&s;ides him; but to &s;hew them the vanity and nothingne&s;s of all the ways and opinions of men below him, declaring what they are in them&s;elves, and their places, &s;hewing that they are but notions, and &s;o mens inventions, &s;hadows dying vanities, tor|menting plea&s;ures, things that would peri&s;h, and come to an end with the u&s;ing, after the commandments and doctrines of men;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Job 14.14.</NOTE> yet never declared again&s;t them, &s;o as to forbid any of them, that &s;aw their life in them, but bid all men to wait till their change come, and not to go forth by their own &s;trength, or awake their beloved before his time,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cant. 2.7.</NOTE> till he &s;hall come with a
<PB N="25" REF="15">&s;trong hand, and lead them forth, and &s;o place them in their own land, as in him&s;elf: And now having &s;hewed them the vanity of all tho&s;e things, I then &s;et before them the love of God in Chri&s;t Je&s;us, with exhortations to love one another, as a &s;ure te&s;timony of their love to God; for the which I have been hated and per&s;ecuted by &s;ome men of all opinions and religions what&s;oever in the world, whether Papi&s;ts, Prelates, Presbyterians, Independents, Anabapti&s;ts, Ranters, Quakers, and what&s;oever opinion el&s;e below the truth; though I love them all, and am with them all, and they all with me but a cloud is over them, that they &s;ee me not, neither know me, that is, they &s;ee not my life, being not yet reconciled to it: yet when this cloud &s;hall be taken away from all, and the Sun of Righte|ou&s;ne&s;s ri&s;en in all,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth 23.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> then &s;hall they &s;ee both me and one ano|ther, and have joy in each other, and be at peace with all men, as being all brethren of one family, &s;ons of one Father, heirs of one Kingdom, and &s;o &s;ee them&s;elves and all men dwelling together in one City, or heaven [God.]</P>
<P>And this is pure Religion, the new <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> the Kingdom of the Lord, and end of their journey; where <HI>the wolf &s;hall dwell with the lamb</HI> (that is, the wicked with the godly, or men of all opinions meet and agree in one union and fellow&s;hip in the Lord Je&s;us) <HI>And where the leopard &s;hall lie down with the kid, and the calf, and the young lyon, and the fatlings toge|ther, and a little child</HI> (to wit Chri&s;t) <HI>&s;hall lead them; and the cow and the bear &s;hall feed</HI> (or all men who have been of different judgements, &s;hall be of one mind in the Lord) <HI>their young ones &s;hall lye down together</HI> (all men &s;hall bring forth their &s;eed un|to God) <HI>and the lyon &s;hall eat &s;traw like the ox</HI> (or God will tame the wilde&s;t of creatures, the per&s;ecuting&s;t: and mo&s;t de|vouring&s;t of men, or of things in men, that all &s;hall be alike in knowledge) <HI>and the &s;ucking childe &s;hall play on the hole of the a&s;p,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 11.</NOTE> <HI>and the weaned child &s;hall put his hand on the cockatrice den</HI> (or he that is &s;ucking at the brea&s;t, and he that is weaned from the brea&s;t of his own Religion, and &s;hall not one envy another) <HI>for the earth &s;hall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the &s;ea:</HI> that is, God will &s;o manife&s;t him|&s;elf, that all men and creatures &s;hall be in union together,
<PB N="26" REF="16">love one another, and do unto others, as they would others &s;hould do unto them: this is the Law and the Prophets; and this is the Kingdom of the Lord, and high calling of God, which all men are to pre&s;s after, and not to re&s;t till they are come in to it, and is no more nor no le&s;s then what I have al|ways declared, as that which I received of the Lord; yet not that I <HI>Richard Coppin,</HI> as a creature, could at any time give to another what I my &s;elf have received, or teach another what I am taught, or do for another what the Lord hath done for me in that ca&s;e, but I onely declare what I have received of the Lord, and am taught by the Lord, and what the Lord may do for others, when the time appointed of the Father &s;hall come; for he that gives to me, as a creature, mu&s;t give to them as creatures;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a 2 22.</NOTE> and he that taught me, mu&s;t teach them, if ever they be taught the truth: therefore <HI>cea&s;e from man, who&s;e breath is in h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> no&s;trils,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 John 2.</NOTE> <HI>for wherein is he to be accounted of?</HI> and eye him the Lord Je&s;us, or that anointing within you, who is the &s;alvation of all men, and whom you are to hear in all things; for all others be&s;ides him, that go forth as Teachers of the people, are but fal&s;e Teachers, and Seducers, according to the Scripture, but the Lord alone, or this anointing in us is our onely Teacher; and men in &s;peaking one to another, can do no more, as they are men, but tell one another what the Lord hath done for them; as the Prophet <HI>David</HI> &s;aith, <HI>Come hear, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath done for my &s;oul;</HI> and, <HI>what we have &s;een, and heard, we declare unto you,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Paul:</HI> which declarations of men may conform each other in &s;omething which they before have had &s;ome little experience of in them|&s;elves, the Lord working with it, though they did not &s;o know it as to utter it, which when it is declared to them, they may then &s;et their &s;eals to it as truth to them, there being in them the &s;ame &s;pirit witne&s;&s;ing to the &s;ame things, which makes them believe it; <HI>For he that believes hath the witne&s;s in him&s;elf;</HI> but if there be not the &s;ame &s;pirit witne&s;&s;ing in him that hears, as is in him that &s;peaks, they cannot believe, or &s;et &s;eal to the truth of what is &s;poken, any further then it agrees with their own &s;pirits or opinions but will rather per&s;ecute it to the death, and al&s;o them that &s;hall declare it, as they have done to Chri&s;t,
<PB N="27" REF="16">the Apo&s;tles, and others &s;ince; that from thence and from <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">uch ari&s;es all per&s;ecutions.</P>
<P>And &s;o having brought you thus far, to &s;hew unto you my proceedings hitherto, both of my life and doctrine deliver|ed to the world; I &s;hall go on, and therein &s;et before you a larger path of my per&s;ecution and tryals, both at <HI>Worce&s;ter, Oxford,</HI> and at <HI>Gloce&s;ter,</HI> as of things con&s;iderable, from the fir&s;t beginning to the end, as a further te&s;timony to the truth: And fir&s;t of my tryal at <HI>Worce&s;ter,</HI> and the proceedings there|unto.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="6" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. VI. </HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>The Mini&s;ters malicious proceedings again&s;t the Author in Worce&s;ter&s;hire, to bring him to a tryal: His examination be|fore &s;everal Ju&s;tices and Mini&s;ters, and his being bound over to</HI> Worce&s;ter <HI>A&s;&s;izes; how, and for what.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>THe fir&s;t proceedings of the Mini&s;ters again&s;t me, to bring me to a tryal at <HI>Worce&s;ter,</HI> was from my preaching at <HI>Em|load</HI> in Worce&s;ter&s;hire, where I was de&s;ired by &s;ome of the Eminente&s;t men of that Pari&s;h to come, and there to preach, where I continued for the &s;pace of four days, declaring the things which I had &s;een and heard of the Lord, both in pub|lique and private, with the de&s;ire of the people, and the con&s;ent of the &s;aid Mini&s;ter of that place: But the &s;aid Mini&s;ter finding the people &s;o much adhering to what I delivered, and believing in it more then in what he him&s;elf u&s;ually delivered among&s;t them, he began to be wrath, and was troubled; and fear|ing that he &s;hould lo&s;e his flock, or at lea&s;t the benefit he re|ceived of them, he &s;ent and cau&s;ed a di&s;pute, or at lea&s;t a vain jangling to be between &s;ome certain Mini&s;ters of that Coun|trey and my &s;elf, while I was there; &s;ome of who&s;e names are as follows, <HI>Ea&s;on</HI> of <HI>Batsford, Collier</HI> of <HI>Blackly, Nevil,</HI> and others, as Mini&s;ters to the people in their &s;everal Pari&s;hes, but no grace could they mini&s;ter to the hearers, and therefore can|not be &s;aid in truth to be Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t but of Antichri&s;t, as appeared by what they declared to the people, as al&s;o by their practi&s;e; for they endeavoured to prove the Law under
<PB N="28" REF="17">that admini&s;tration of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> to be &s;till in force, and that man by keeping of it, and doing the works thereof, &s;hould be &s;aved by it, and there would be no need of Chri&s;t (&s;aid they) which thing I oppo&s;ed them in, declaring &s;treightway to the people, that if it were by the works of the Law, by which no fle&s;h &s;hould be ju&s;tified, then not of grace: but being by grace, it is no more of works, le&s;t any man &s;hould boa&s;t, and &s;ay, they were fain to help God; and I further &s;aid, that if it were po&s;&s;ible for any man now to keep the Law in every part and point thereof; yet there were no &s;alvation by it, be|cau&s;e God had found out another way, a new and a living way, even by Chri&s;t alone, or God manife&s;t in fle&s;h; and to this Chri&s;t &s;aith, that he was &s;et up from everla&s;ting, to be the way, the truth and the light,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro. 8.22, 23</NOTE> and none can go to the father but by him: but the people hearing this, and therein confe&s;&s;ing be|fore the Mini&s;ters, them&s;elves to be better &s;atisfied in that which I had &s;aid, then in what they had heard from them, the Mini&s;ters left both me and the people, and went away raging again&s;t me, and &s;aying, if they had me forth of the Church (that godly place) they would knock me on the head, or tread me underfoot: but I remained &s;till &s;peaking to the people, in which time they in this their rage went to <HI>Nevils</HI> hou&s;e the Mini&s;ter of that Town, and there con&s;ulted what they might do to prevent my coming again into that Countrey; even as the Prie&s;ts and Elders in the time of the Apo&s;tles did con&s;ult together what they might do unto <HI>Peter</HI> and <HI>John,</HI> to prevent the &s;preading of their doctrine among the people, whom they threatned and commanded, that they &s;hould &s;peak no more in the name of Je&s;us:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 4.</NOTE> So tho&s;e Prie&s;ts and Elders with whom I had to do, did in their con&s;ultation agree to get a warrant from &s;ome Ju&s;tice of Peace of that County again&s;t me, and in it to charge me with bla&s;phemy; and al&s;o threatned me with it, making it as publikely known as they could to fright me, though they knew not what bla&s;phemy was neither with what to charge me: but I hearing of it, and being willing to an&s;wer to any thing that I had &s;poke or done, I came to the &s;aid Town, where I under&s;tood the warrant was; and I abiding at a friends hou&s;e, &s;ent to the &s;aid Mini&s;ter of the &s;ame Town, to come and pro|duce
<PB N="29" REF="17">his warrant, which he reported he had again&s;t me; for I was not a&s;hamed to an&s;wer to any thing that they &s;hould lay to my charge But before he came unto me, he went to the re&s;t of the &s;aid Mini&s;ters of that Countrey, to acquaint them with it, and to confer what they might do in it, I being come to Town, and they un&s;atisfied for the pre&s;ent what to have again&s;t me. But I willing to &s;ee the utmo&s;t of it, and it being &s;o appoint|ed by God that I &s;hould, I tarried there all night, and the next morning came <HI>Nevil</HI> with the Officer, and &s;erved the warrant upon me; which was, that I &s;hould appear before the next Ju&s;tice of Peace for that County, to an&s;wer for &s;peaking of bla&s;phemy; but my accu&s;ers being not yet provided with things again&s;t me, they reported, as I was informed, that if I would forbear preaching after that manner, they would then forbear to trouble me; of which I took no notice, but was willing they &s;hould proceed in the bu&s;ine&s;s, I being thereunto encouraged by the Lord; then they to have time to provide them&s;elves, or|dered, that no Ju&s;tice &s;hould meddle with it till we came to <HI>Wor|ce&s;ter,</HI> which was from thence above twenty miles; whither I, with many friends I had in the &s;ame Town, then went; and there tarried till the next day before any accu&s;er came, or that any thing could be found again&s;t me; then to examine me they had called together &s;everal Ju&s;tices, and many of the Clergy; and having nothing at pre&s;ent again&s;t me, they examined me upon a paper of Interrogatories, &s;ent in by the Prie&s;ts my ac|cu&s;ers; which was, Whether I did not &s;ay &s;uch things as they would there accu&s;e me of; they thereby endeavouring to catch &s;omething from my own mouth at that time to accu&s;e me, having &s;et &s;everal Watchmen over me (to wit Clergy men) for that purpo&s;e; but having nothing from thence again&s;t me, then <HI>Nevil,</HI> who before &s;erved the warrant upon me, &s;wore, that I &s;hould &s;ay, That they were evil Angels (meaning the Mini&s;ters, &s;aid he) that brought the tidings of damnation, and &s;uch ought not to be heard But they knowing them&s;elves to be &s;uch that did declare &s;uch things of terror to the people, and I &s;o di&s;covering of them, their malice was &s;o great towards me that they would then have impri&s;oned me for &s;o &s;aying, and from the te&s;timony of one man, my accu&s;er; but upon farther con&s;ideration there|of,
<PB N="30" REF="18">fearing they &s;hould do more then they could an&s;wer, they pa&s;&s;ed that by, and bound me over to the A&s;&s;izes, which was within four days after, there to an&s;wer to that, and what more they in the mean time could get witne&s;&s;es to &s;wear; who al&s;o had appointed and imployed other Mini&s;ters of their tribe in that County, to examine before &s;ome Ju&s;tices, &s;everal per&s;ons that had formerly been hearers of me, to &s;ee what more they could get again&s;t me from thence, but could not by them get any thing. Then the next Sabboth after my return from my examina|tion at <HI>Worce&s;ter,</HI> and two days before the A&s;&s;izes, I came again to <HI>Emload,</HI> the Town from whence I was accu&s;ed; and I there being de&s;ired, &s;poke &s;omething among the people that day; then at night, I, with other friends, met together at one <HI>Thomas Rooks,</HI> in the &s;ame Town, where we di&s;cour&s;ed upon the Scriptures; in which time came in &s;ome malicious per&s;ons, as &s;pies &s;ent (as was &s;uppo&s;ed) by the &s;aid Mini&s;ter of the place; who there propounded to me &s;ome que&s;tions, pretending for &s;atisfacti|on, and to be informed in their judgements: but it appear|ed they came to catch &s;omething from me to witne&s;s again&s;t me at the A&s;&s;izes, when they brought &s;uch things again&s;t me as (they &s;aid) I at that time &s;poke in private to them. And thus you may &s;ee of the wicked plots and devices of wicked men, to maintain their corrupt and &s;elf-intere&s;ts, and to keep up a rotten Kingdom that is peri&s;hing and decay|ing: Who further proceeded again&s;t me as follows.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="7" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="31" REF="18">
<HEAD>CHAP. VII. </HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>Of his tryal at</HI> Worce&s;ter <HI>A&s;&s;izes, before the Lord Chief Bar|ron</HI> Wilde: <HI>The particular accu&s;ations again&s;t him; and his an&s;wers to them, with the proceedings of the Court; and how.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>VPon the 23 day of <HI>March</HI> I appeared at <HI>Worce&s;ter,</HI> at the general A&s;&s;izes there holden for that County; where <HI>Ralph Nevil</HI> of <HI>Emload,</HI> and <HI>Giles Collier</HI> of <HI>Blockly,</HI> Mini&s;ters of the &s;aid places in the &s;ame County, preferred a Bill of Indictment again&s;t me to the Grand-Jury for bla&s;phe|my (as they &s;aid) who &s;o found it, and returned it into the Court, where my Lord Chief Barron <HI>Wilde</HI> &s;ate Judge of that A&s;&s;ize; before whom I was then called, and there made my ap|pearance: then the Petty-Jury, and the witne&s;&s;es to the Bill being called, the Bill of Indictment was read in the Court; the par|ticulars whereof are as follows:</P>
<FLOATEXT LANG="eng" TYPE="charges">
<HEAD>The Charge in the Indictment.</HEAD>
<P><HI>FIr&s;t, that I &s;hould &s;ay, That they were evil Angels (meaning the Mini&s;ters who preach the Go&s;pel of Chri&s;t) that told peo|ple of damnation, and that &s;uch ought not to be heard or be|lieved.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Secondly, That all men what&s;oever &s;hould be &s;aved.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Thirdly, That tho&s;e that heard me were all in heaven, and in glory.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Fourthly, That God was as much in them as in Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Fifthly, That the Day of Judgement was begun</HI> 160 <HI>years ago.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Sixthly, That there was no general Day of Judgement.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Seventhly, That there was no heaven but in man.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Fighthly, That he that thought there was abell, to him there
<PB N="32" REF="19">was a hell; but he that thought there was no hell, to him there was no bell.</HI></P>
</FLOATEXT>
<P>And after the Indictment was read, my accu&s;ers and the witne&s;&s;es to the Bill were &s;worn, who&s;e names are as follow|eth, <HI>Ralph Nevil</HI> of <HI>Emload,</HI> and <HI>Giles Collier</HI> of <HI>Blockly,</HI> ac|cu&s;ers; <HI>William Petty, William Fletcher,</HI> and <HI>John Froobury</HI> of <HI>Emload</HI> witne&s;&s;es,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ma<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">. 26.60.</NOTE> three in number, which was one more then Chri&s;t had; but never a couple of them &s;wore one thing, but differed from each other in their Evidence, and who could hardly pronounce their words plain: but what they did &s;wear, they had al&s;o in writing, what the plea&s;ure of my accu&s;ers was to give them: and who were ready (as appeared) to &s;wear any thing to accompli&s;h their own ends, two of them being &s;ons to one that rented the Glebe-land of <HI>Nevil,</HI> one of the accu&s;ers, for whom they &s;wore; and the other the Clerks &s;on of the &s;ame Town. But this being done, I was called to my an&s;wer, and began with the&s;e Propo&s;itions, as follows:</P>
<P>My Lord, I de&s;ire your Lord&s;hip that you will be plea&s;ed to grant me the&s;e few particulars:</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, That my accu&s;ers, being not men of the &s;ame di&s;covery of God that I am, may therefore make it appear before this honourable Court, that they have taken the Ingagement, el&s;e they are not to have the benefit of the Law.</P>
<P>Secondly, That no man what&s;oever may be &s;uffered to &s;peak any thing again&s;t me, till they are &s;worn before this Honorable Court and my face.</P>
<P>Thirdly, That tho&s;e witne&s;&s;es which are here ready to te&s;tifie in my behalf, may be al&s;o heard, and the&s;e Certificates which are here brought after me by &s;everal men, with &s;everal mens names to them, may be al&s;o read.</P>
<P>Fourthly, That I may have time and liberty given me to an|&s;wer fully to every particular that may at this time be laid to my charge; and having a fair tryal, I &s;hall be thankful to your Lord&s;hip; all which particulars being granted, the Court proceeded.</P>
<P>But before I came to an&s;wer their Indictment, my accu&s;ers pre&s;ented to the Judge a book, with my name to it, entituled,
<PB N="33" REF="19"><HI>Mans Righteou&s;ne&s;s Examined;</HI> which book the Judge asked me if I would own. I an&s;wered, that unle&s;s I heard it read, I knew not that it was mine. Then &s;aid he, Here is your name to it. I an&s;wered again, that another might write a book, and put my name to it; or others of my name might write a book with that title: but if your Lord&s;hip will be plea&s;ed to cau&s;e the book to be read that I may hear it, I will tell you whether it be mine or no; who then read part of it him&s;elf, where he thought fit, and where my accu&s;ers directed him. All which I an&s;wered, and owned to be mine, as it was read. Then &s;aid the Judge, This book makes more for him then again&s;t him; for you accu&s;e him for denying heaven and hell, when he acknowledges both in his book; which book the Judge put in his pocket, and &s;o came to the Indictment; to which my an&s;wer was more large then you will have it here.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t particular charged in the Indictment, and the an&s;wer to it was:</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t, that I &s;hould &s;ay, That they were all evil Angels; meaning the Mini&s;ters who preach the Go&s;pel of Chri&s;t</HI> (&s;aid they) <HI>that told the people of damnation, and that &s;uch ought not to be heard or believed.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> My Lord, there are two admini&s;trations in manife&s;ta|tion; one of the Law, and another of the Go&s;pel: Fir&s;t, that of the Law is a mini&s;tration of wrath, death, the cur&s;e, hell and condemnation,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 3.</NOTE> becau&s;e under it &s;in appears to men unpardon|ed. Secondly, that of the Go&s;pel is a mini&s;tration of love, joy, peace, life, light, heaven, and &s;alvation; for under that &s;in appeared to men pardoned. And tho&s;e, who from Chri&s;t preach the Go&s;pel of Chri&s;t, as <HI>Paul</HI> did, bring tidings of good things, when they preach the love of God in Chri&s;t to all people, that they appear to be good me&s;&s;engers, and &s;o good Angels, &s;ent of God; and &s;uch ought to be heard and believed, as it is written,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 10.15.</NOTE> <HI>How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Go&s;pel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things? but though we or an angel from heaven preach any other Go&s;pel un|to you then that which we have preached,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 1.1. &amp; 4.14.</NOTE> <HI>let him be accur&s;ed</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Paul) And you,</HI> &s;aith he to the <HI>Galathians, received me as an Angel of God, even as Chri&s;t Je&s;us, when I preached
<PB N="34" REF="20">unto you the Go&s;pel of Chri&s;t freely;</HI> when the other who preach up &s;in unpardoned to any people after the coming of Chri&s;t, who&s;e coming is to fulfil all righteou&s;ne&s;s, and overcome all &s;in for all people, are not Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel, but of the Law, and &s;o bring not tidings of good things, but of evil things; wherefore they appear to be evil me&s;&s;engers, and &s;o evil angels, re&s;erved under chains of darkne&s;s &s;o long; and &s;uch men and doctrines ought not to be heard or believed, who believe not them&s;elves:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">John 14 1 &amp; 6 45. Acts 7.37</NOTE> <HI>But hear and believe in me</HI> (&s;aith Chri&s;t) <HI>for you &s;hall be all taught of me;</HI> and, <HI>Him &s;hall you hear in all things,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Mo&s;es.</HI></P>
<P>And &s;o much of the an&s;wer to the fir&s;t Article, to prove them evil angels, (even as devils) who preach up &s;in unpardoned, and hold forth damnation belonging to any people any longer then while they believe not: and therefore I affirm, that &s;uch ought not to be heard or believed, who them&s;elves believe not this to be true.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>That all men what&s;oever &s;hould be &s;aved.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Sam 14.14</NOTE> God hath declared in Scripture both by the mouth of the Prophets and Apo&s;tles the &s;alvation of all men, without re|&s;pect of per&s;ons; who &s;aith. <HI>He will have all men to be &s;aved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 2.4, 5, 6, 7.</NOTE> and, <HI>There is one Mediator between God and men, the man Chri&s;t Je&s;us, who gave him&s;elf a ran&s;om for all, to be te&s;tified in due time:</HI> And doth God will and de&s;ire the &s;alvation of all men? Then may we &s;ay, <HI>Lord, who hath re&s;i&s;ted thy will?</HI> let <HI>thy will be done;</HI> as hath been our daily prayer unto him; and <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, <HI>That as by one man death and damnation came to all,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 5.18.</NOTE> <HI>&s;o by one life and &s;alvation came to all;</HI> el&s;e Chri&s;t were not &s;ufficient to &s;ave all that <HI>Adam</HI> lo&s;t, and to bring again all that was driven away: and it is no|where &s;aid, that all men &s;hall never be &s;aved, and come to the knowledge of the truth: but it is &s;aid, that in due time all men &s;hall be &s;aved; and <HI>Paul</HI> was &s;ent to preach this Go&s;pel to the world,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 11.32.</NOTE> and to &s;inners, yea all men what&s;oever; and he &s;aith, <HI>That God hath concluded them all under &s;in and unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.</HI></P>
<PB N="35" REF="20">
<P>And now, <HI>If any man &s;in, he hath an advocate with the Father,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 John 2, 2, 3.</NOTE> <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t the righteous, who is a propitiation not onely for our &s;ins</HI> (or the &s;ins of a few, to wit,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 53.</NOTE> Apo&s;tles and Saints) <HI>but al&s;o for the &s;ins of the whole world;</HI> and hath made full &s;atisfaction for all, paid the debts of all, yea, all men pa&s;t, pre&s;ent and to come, and that damnation to any creature is no longer but for that time wherein they believe not this to be done, as by expe|rience I can te&s;tifie; <HI>for he that believes not is condemned already:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">John 3.16.</NOTE> and a man may be an unbeliever one day, and a believer ano|ther; therefore damned one day, and &s;aved another: And that which all men are to be &s;aved from,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 2</NOTE> and in due time &s;hall be made manife&s;t to them, is death and hell, in which abides the Devil, Sin and Damnation, all which &s;hall be ca&s;t into the lake of fire, there to be ended, that it no more &s;hall ri&s;e up in judge|ment again&s;t them, to accu&s;e and condemn them: and God cannot, neither will he lo&s;e any thing that is of him&s;elf, or is him&s;elf, but the &s;on of perdition, that damnable &s;tate of unbe|lievers, together with all that is of the creature as found out by the creature, to wit, his own invnetions, in that &s;tate of &s;in and death; for God made man upright, ju&s;t and good; and I dare not &s;ay, that any creature which God made &s;hall go to any local hell to be tormented, after he is departed out of this vi&s;i|ble being, becau&s;e the Scripture &s;aith it not, but &s;aith, <HI>That the body when it falls, goeth to the earth from whence it came,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccle&s; 12.7.</NOTE> <HI>and the &s;oul to God that gave it:</HI> And it is mo&s;t certain, that God gave to every man his &s;oul; therefore he will take every mans &s;oul to him&s;elf again, becau&s;e it can live in no other but him;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Job. 12 10.</NOTE> for every thing returns to its centre and &s;till lives and remains the &s;ame in and with God, as at the fir&s;t, who will ca&s;t away none that comes to him, and are of him; but one God made us all, and is a husband to us all, and we all are his Spou&s;e, though we all know it not; <HI>For thy maker is thy hu&s;hand the Lord of hoa&s;ts is his name, the God of the whole earth &s;hall he be called;</HI> and though for the time of our rebellion again&s;t him, he may &s;eem to us to hide his face from us (in our apprehen&s;ions) yet with an ever|la&s;ting loving kindne&s;s doth he &s;till love us, and will &s;ave us,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 54.4, 5, 6, 7, 8.</NOTE> and &s;o cau&s;e us to behold his face again, to <HI>forget the &s;hame of our youth, and the things that are behind, and remember the reproach
<PB N="36" REF="21">of our widowhood no more:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 54.4.</NOTE> being now returned (in knowledge) to him who is our husband and fir&s;t love, with whom we &s;hall live for ever, world without end; therefore to &s;ay that all men what&s;oever may be &s;aved, though it appear not to them &s;o long as they all believe not, is no more then what the Scripture &s;aith. And &s;o much of the an&s;wer to the &s;econd Article, that all men what&s;oever &s;hould be &s;aved.</P>
<P>But my accu&s;ers were troubled, and thought my an&s;wer too large, and the time too long that I had to plead; who told the Judge that my lungs were &s;o &s;trong, that if he &s;uffered me &s;till to go on, I would never have done; but the Judge hone&s;tly re|proved them, &s;aying, that he had heard them, and was now to hear me, who bid me go on.</P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>That all that heard me were in heaven and glory.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 12.27.</NOTE> The Saints of God, which are the body of Chri&s;t, and members in particular, cannot be &s;eparated from their head, which is Chri&s;t,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 5.20.</NOTE> being all members of his body, of his fle&s;h, and of his bones, and Chri&s;t the head of every man being in hea|ven and in glory, every man therefore may be &s;aid to be in hea|ven and in glory with him; yea, in the &s;ame glory that Chri&s;t him&s;elf is in, though not yet revealed to them; for &s;aith Chri&s;t to his Father, <HI>Father, glorifie me with thy &s;elf, with the glory I had with thee before the world was; and the glory that thou ha&s;t given me, I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 17.5.22, 23, 24, 25, 26.</NOTE> <HI>I in them, and thou in me, that they be made perfect in one:</HI> And the de&s;ire of Chri&s;t then was, that they might be with him to behold his glory; and, <HI>O righteous Father</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it, that the love wherewith thou ha&s;t loved me may be in them, and I in them;</HI> And Chri&s;t and they being one in another, they cannot be parted one from another, but where the one is, the other is al&s;o; and Chri&s;t in rai&s;ing up him&s;elf to heaven, rai&s;ed up them with him|&s;elf;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 6.19. Iohn. 12.32.</NOTE> for <HI>together with my dead body</HI> (or as my dead body) <HI>&s;hall they ari&s;e</HI> (&s;aith Chri&s;t) <HI>and I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me;</HI> and <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, <HI>He hath rai&s;ed us up together, and made us &s;it together in heavenly places in Chri&s;t Je&s;us;</HI> and, <HI>Both
<PB N="37" REF="21">he that &s;anctifieth, and they who are &s;anctified, are all of one</HI> (yea,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 2.6. Heb. 2.11.</NOTE> of one God and Father) <HI>for which cau&s;e he is not a&s;homed to call them brethren;</HI> and as they are all brethren, &s;o they are al&s;o heirs, co-heirs, and joynt-heirs with him in the &s;ame heaven and glory of the Father, that Chri&s;t is heir in, though they yet know it not; and therefore all that is yet wanting in and to men, is onely a manife&s;tation and enjoyment of this in them&s;elves, which in due time will be made manife&s;t to them all, as the Lord Je&s;us &s;hall appear in them, and God by him be made known to them.</P>
<P>Fourthly, <HI>That God was as much in them as in Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> That God who is the power, life, and light of all men, and that cannot be divided from, neither confined to any one man, is the &s;ame in all men, as he was in that one man, called Chri&s;t, born of the Virgin <HI>Mary,</HI> and crucified at <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> though he be not yet &s;o fully manife&s;ted to and in all men,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.29.</NOTE> as he was to and in him, he being the fir&s;t born among many bre|thren, or the fir&s;t appearance of humane nature, in whom God did &s;o fully and manife&s;tly appear to be living, moving, acting, and bringing forth him&s;elf in the manife&s;tation of his love in power, life, light and glory; yet that God is in all, and all are in him (as al&s;o &s;aith the Scripture) <HI>for in him we all live, move,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 17.28. Ephe&s;. 4.6.</NOTE> <HI>and have our being;</HI> and, <HI>there is one God and Father of all, who is above all, through all, and in all,</HI> both in Jews, Gentiles, Hea|thens, Pagans, Turks, Infidels, or what&s;oever el&s;e they may be cal|led, and there is no difference, or re&s;pect of per&s;ons with God, but in the manife&s;tation of this to them&s;elves, which none can have till the Holy Gho&s;t, even the Spirit of truth, comes upon them, as it did on him, and reveal it to them, as it did to him, which he hath promi&s;ed, that in due time &s;hal come and bring all things to their remembrance: &amp; there is no man but hath God in him, yea, the &s;ame God that Chri&s;t had, though not the &s;ame mea&s;ure of knowledge and under&s;tanding, till Chri&s;t in them hath revealed it. And that the Gentiles might come to know this, <HI>Paul</HI> prays for them, <HI>that they might be &s;trengthned with all might in the inner man</HI> (that is, with all God) <HI>to comprehend with all Saints what
<PB N="38" REF="22">is the bredth,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 3.16, 17, 18, 19.</NOTE> <HI>and length, and depth and heighth, and to know the love of Chri&s;t, which pa&s;&s;eth knowledge, that they might be filled with all the fulne&s;s of God,</HI> even as Chri&s;t was, to have in them the &s;ame mind, the &s;ame love, life and light, and &s;o be filled with the &s;ame fulne&s;s of grace and glory, whereby they come unto a perfect man, unto the mea&s;ure of the &s;tature of the fulne&s;s of Chri&s;t, to know that as he was, &s;o are we in this world; and there|fore it is no bla&s;phemy to &s;ay that God may be as much in them as in Chri&s;t (con&s;idered as a man) though it do not yet appear &s;o to them,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 4.13. 1 Ioh 4.17.</NOTE> as in due time it may and will when God &s;hall be more revealed to them, and they more enjoy him in the manife|&s;tation.</P>
<P>Fifthly, <HI>That the day of judgement was began &s;ixteen hundred years ago.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w</HI> My Lord, according to Scripture acceptation it was &s;o;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 12.13.</NOTE> for &s;aid Chri&s;t; <HI>Now is the Iudgement of this world; now &s;hall the Prince of this world be ca&s;t out;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 9 39.</NOTE> <HI>and for Iudgement am I come into this world</HI> (&s;aid Chri&s;t) <HI>that they which &s;ee not, might &s;ee; and that they which &s;ee might be made blind;</HI> and this coming of Chri&s;t to Judgement according to the Scripture, was above &s;ix|teen hundred years pa&s;t, and yet is continued to this day, though mo&s;t men are blind and yet &s;ee it not, which &s;ome &s;hall &s;o long as they have eyes of their own to &s;ee, and ears of their own to hear, till they &s;ee with the Lords eye, and hear with the Lords ear; and the Apo&s;tle al&s;o &s;aid, that the time was then come,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 4.17.</NOTE> <HI>that Iudgement mu&s;t begin at the Hou&s;e of God,</HI> even with righteous men, or men under any form of Religion, that had any thing of their own righteou&s;ne&s;s to tru&s;t in, be&s;ides Chri&s;t their righteou&s;ne&s;s.</P>
<P>That this day of Judgement did then begin, we find; for &s;o &s;oon as he was but a&s;cended and had led captivity captive, he &s;ent the holy Gho&s;t the Comforter,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 16.7.8.</NOTE> even the &s;pirit of truth which &s;hould convince the world of &s;in, of righteou&s;ne&s;s and of judgement; and &s;o bring all things to mans remembrance, de&s;troying all that is a lye in man by the &s;pirit of Judgement and of burning; when he &s;hall appear to &s;it (in man his Temple)
<PB N="39" REF="22">as a refiner and purifyer of gold and &s;ilver,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mal 3.3.</NOTE> to purge out all dro&s;s, &s;in and corruption, and to make man a ve&s;&s;el holding no|thing but righteou&s;ne&s;s, peace and joy, which work of Judge|ment was then begun with &s;ome, coming on to others, and is not ended to this day with all, neither will, &s;o long as &s;in is in the world raigning in any creature, and till we &s;ee &s;in and tran&s;gre&s;|&s;ion fini&s;hed in us, as no more to be imputed to us;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 15.24. &amp;c.</NOTE> we &s;ee not an end of the day of Judgement with us, till we &s;ee Chri&s;t to have opened the pri&s;on doors, broken all bonds, put all enemies un|der his feet, &s;et us at liberty, and delivered up the Kingdom to the Father, that God may be all in all; and &s;o much for the day of Judgement, that it was began &s;ixteen hundred years ago, ac|cording to the Scriptures.</P>
<P>Sixthly. <HI>That there was no general day of Iudgement.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> My Lord; I know no other day of Jodgement as to me, then what I have already declared to your Lord&s;hip, which is to be the &s;ame with every creature before it can be fini&s;hed; and this may be &s;aid to be A general day, wherein all men are to appear before Chri&s;t to be Judged by him in love; for the time is come, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> And though this time of Judgement may be called a day, yet this day may be thou&s;ands of years before all the world in every man may be Judged, all &s;in and tran&s;gre&s;|&s;ion fini&s;hed as to them, and they all &s;et free in the Lord;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 3.8.</NOTE> <HI>For one day with the Lord is as a thou&s;and years, and a thou&s;and years as one day;</HI> and did men once ta&s;te and feel of the workings of God in and upon their &s;ouls, in manife&s;ting his love to them, for the taking away of &s;in and tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion from them, they would then be &s;atisfied touching this day of the Lord, which for my part I am already &s;atisfied in, and therefore cannot but de|clare it, and bear witne&s;s to it as that which is truth to me, and according to the Scriptures; and they that know any other, let them declare that, as I have declared this.</P>
<PB N="40" REF="23">
<P>Seventhly. <HI>That there was no heaven but in man.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> My Lord; Tho&s;e words do not &s;ay there is none at all, but that it is in man, yet without confinement, and this the Scripture al&s;o declares; therefore if we would know where heaven is, let us fir&s;t know what it is, and the Scripture tells us, that the Kingdom of heaven is <HI>Righteou&s;ne&s;s,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom 14.17.</NOTE> <HI>peace and joy in the holy Gho&s;t,</HI> and that it is within us; for when the Scribes and Phari&s;es came to Chri&s;t to demand of him when the Kingdom of God &s;hould come, (as men &s;till do) he an&s;wered them, that <HI>The Kingdom of God cometh not with ob&s;ervations, neither &s;hall they &s;ay, lo here, or lo there; for behold the Kingdom of God is with|in you;</HI> and where &s;hould the Kingdom of Chri&s;t, which is a Kingdom of righteou&s;ne&s;s, peace and joy appear to be, that men might have peace and joy in it, and God glorified by it, but in man, the place which the Lord hath appointed for him&s;elf to dwell in? for behold the Tabernacle of God is with men, that he might be a Comforter to them, to encrea&s;e among&s;t them righteou&s;ne&s;s, peace, and joy, which is the Kingdom of the Lord; and till we have it in our &s;elves, we have it not any where; but if there, then every where, which is a new name written that no man knows but he that hath it; and thus the Scripture declares unto us, what, and where heaven is, and I know no other heaven (as to me) in which is mans &s;alvation, from &s;in, death, hell, and the world, but Chri&s;t in man, and man in Chri&s;t; and they that will have any other, let them declare what and where that is, as I have declared what and where this is, which is according to the Scripture, and my own experience.</P>
<P>Eighthly. <HI>That he who thought there was a hell, to him there was a hell; but he that thought there was no hell, to him there was no hell.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> My Lord, I yet know no other hell as to me, then what I have found in my own con&s;cience, though the time hath been, that I have feared another as mo&s;t men do, and as all men el&s;e have done till their con&s;ciences were purged: but this I
<PB N="41" REF="23">have found in my &s;elf that when it plea&s;ed God to make know Chri&s;t to me, to take away from me the fear of hell, he al&s;o took away hell; <HI>for fear hath torment;</HI> therefore to me it ap|pears, that while we live in the fear of hell, we have it, are in it, and &s;o &s;ubject to the puni&s;hment of it, being kept in bondage by it, till Chri&s;t in us &s;hall de&s;troy that fear, and &s;o &s;et our minds at liberry, as is written, <HI>That for as much as the children are par|takers of fle&s;h and blood, Je&s;us Chri&s;t him&s;elf took part of the &s;ame, that through death he might de&s;troy him that had the power of death, which is the Devil, and &s;o free them who all their life time were &s;ubject to bondage;</HI> and now happy is that &s;oul that &s;ees him&s;elf &s;o made free by Chri&s;t; for he is free indeed, and now &s;ees an end of the Devil, &s;in, death, and hell, which he be|fore lived in fear of, and was in bondage to; and therefore when the Lord Je&s;us is plea&s;ed to deliver us from the fear of it, that it &s;hall no more have power over us, and thereby manife&s;t in us perfect love wherein is no fear, he then delivers us from hell it &s;elf, from which every believer is freed;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 21.</NOTE> <HI>but the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable and murthehers, and whoremong|ers, and &s;orcerers, and Idolaters, and all lyars,</HI> (while they &s;o re|main) <HI>are ca&s;t into it,</HI> and &s;o have their part in the Lake of fire burning with brim&s;tone, till the Lord Je&s;us by his mighty power &s;hall quench the fire, rai&s;e them up, and overcome all their enemies for them, and &s;o re&s;tore peace to them, in him that is their peace, the Lord Je&s;us; and then he that hath part in the fir&s;t re&s;urrection through Chri&s;t (or is once made free by Chri&s;t) of him the &s;econd death &s;hall have no power; but he is changed from death unto life by the &s;pirit of the Lord, and &s;o &s;ees an end of death and hell, as to him: All which I &s;hall leave to your Lord&s;hips con&s;ideration and this honourable Court, and do give you many thanks for that I have had liber|ty to &s;peak for my &s;elf.</P>
<P>But my accu&s;ers were much troubled that I had &s;o fair a hear|ing, and began to urge many other things of their own inven|tions again&s;t me, which was not in the Indictment. Fir&s;t they &s;aid, that I denyed the Law of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> in &s;aying there was no &s;alvation by it, which they affirmed it was if man would keep it; That if it were po&s;&s;ible for a man now to keep the Law in the
<PB N="42" REF="24">letter of it (which that it is impo&s;&s;ible) yet there would be no &s;alvation by it for any man: God having found out another way, even by Je&s;us Chri&s;t, without which no man could be &s;a|ved.</P>
<P N="2">2. They &s;aid, that I denyed the keeping of the Sabboth, which they went to prove from the fourth Commandment, <HI>Re|member thou keep holy the Sabboth day.</HI></P>
<P>To which I an&s;wered, that the true Sabboth of a Chri&s;tian was Chri&s;t, and I knew no other, as to me, though that day which they now call a Sabboth day, I keep it as exactly and as purely as any of them did, in preaching to the people; but not upon the account of a Sabboth day, but as the fir&s;t day of the week, as the Apo&s;tles did, being a day &s;et apart for that u&s;e.</P>
<P N="3">3. They &s;aid, that I &s;pake in deri&s;ion of heaven, &s;aying that if a Mill-&s;tone were at heaven, it would be hundreds of years a coming down.</P>
<P>To which I an&s;wered, That I never &s;aid the words, but one in my company did once &s;ay, that they were &s;poken by a Mini|&s;ter in the Pulpit, who there endeavouring to &s;hew unto the people the va&s;t di&s;tance between heaven and earth; told them, that if a Mill-&s;tone were at heaven, it would be many hundred years a coming down, and that one of his hearers &s;hould make an&s;wer, that if heaven were above the skies, and a Mill-&s;tone &s;o long a coming down, how long then &s;hould he be a going up? And this, my Lord, was declared by one of their own tribe, yet they would a&s;cribe it to me, though I never &s;aid the words.</P>
<P N="4">4. They &s;aid, that I &s;hould deny the re&s;urrection of the bo|dy, and &s;aid, there was no other but what was in flowers and gra&s;s; al&s;o when the Corps laid in a grave were ca&s;t up again, though turned to earth, then was there a re&s;urrection.</P>
<P>To which I an&s;wered, that the re&s;urrection of the dead I never denyed, but do alwayes affirm it; neither did I ever &s;peak tho&s;e words, though they might be &s;poke in my company: Yet it may be &s;aid that in this there is a re&s;urrection, though not de|nying any other, for the vertue of every carka&s;s laid in the earth, doth a&s;cend upwards with the earth, and &s;o come forth in flo|wers and gra&s;s; al&s;o when a grave is digged, and the body before
<PB N="43" REF="24">laid in it, though rotted to earth, again ca&s;t up with the bones and all things thereto belonging, then may it be &s;aid to be a re|&s;urrection of that body, and the true re&s;urrection not denyed: but tho&s;e things being thus an&s;wered, and the malice of my ac|cu&s;ers made manife&s;t, the Judge appeared more &s;atisfied, and my accu&s;ers more a&s;hamed.</P>
<P>Then after the Judge had heard the whole bu&s;ine&s;s, and de|clared the &s;ub&s;tance thereof to the Jury (who under&s;tood it not) they went forth to con&s;ult upon their Verdict, whether all, or any part of the charge were bla&s;phemy by the Act, or no; who returned in their Verdict, guilty: being asked of what part, they &s;aid of that concerning heaven and hell.</P>
<P>Then the Judge told them, that unle&s;s it came directly under the Act of bla&s;phemy in every particular point, it could not be found as bla&s;phemy; who him&s;elf call'd for the Act, and com|paring it with the Indictment, found it not as the Jury had &s;aid, to be within the Act for bla&s;phemy, for which he reproved them, repeating the words of the Act to them, which was as fol|lows.</P>
<P><HI>Judge.</HI> He that &s;hall avowedly affirm and maintain there is no heaven and hell, its bla&s;phemy by that Act, but that he doth not &s;ay but doth acknowledge there is a heaven and hell in man, as you &s;ee him prove, and therefore doth not affirm there is none at all: and words &s;poken by way of private conference in di&s;|cour&s;e, (as the witne&s;&s;es do confe&s;s this was) it might be only &s;poken by way of Propo&s;ition or Querie, to try the Judgements of others, and not as his own judgement; and then cannot be &s;aid to be avowed and affirmed, therefore not within the Act: however he &s;hall continue bound till the next A&s;&s;izes, to di&s;|charge the Law, as &s;aid the Judge.</P>
<P>Then I de&s;ired liberty to &s;peak a little more before I departed from the Court: which was as follows.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="8" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="44" REF="25">
<HEAD>CHAP. VIII. </HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>The Speech made to the Judge after the Tryal, to vindicate his own and other mens preaching, without a call from the &V;ni|ver&s;ity; wherein is a true di&s;covery of the word of God and the Scripture, what it is. Of his taking his leave of the Court.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>MY Lord, I have here been maliciou&s;ly and fal&s;ly per&s;e|cuted by my adver&s;aries, as hath appeared before the Court this day; and now is the law open on my behalf again&s;t all that have fal&s;ly appeared again&s;t me; but he that is my Teacher teaches me no &s;uch thing, as to &s;eek revenge; but free|ly to forgive my enemies, to love them that hate me and &s;o leave all things to him, who will reward every man according to his works; <HI>For vengeance is mine, and I will repay</HI> (&s;aith the Lord.)</P>
<P>And the rea&s;on why tho&s;e men do thus per&s;ecute me, is for the malice they have again&s;t me for exerci&s;ing the&s;e gifts that God hath given me for his glory, the comfort of my &s;oul, and benefit of his people; which gifts they know not, becau&s;e they know not him, neither will they hear him, but &s;peak evil of the things that are taught by him; when without him we know no|thing,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 11.27.</NOTE> and are taught nothing, according as it is written, <HI>That no man knows the Son, but the Father; nor no man knows the Fa|ther, but the Son, and he to whom the Son &s;hall reveal him:</HI> So the true knowledge of God is not taught of man,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 1 12.15, 16.</NOTE> nor by men, but comes onely by the revelation of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, as that which is mo&s;t hated by men: And when it plea&s;ed God to reveal his Son in me, as he did in <HI>Paul,</HI> I, with him, conferred not with fle&s;h and blood, as tho&s;e men do; that is, I went not to this or that place, as unto men, to receive orders from them, and to know before hand what I &s;hould have for my preaching, as other men do, and have done; but I went immediately declaring the things I had &s;een and heard from the Lord, where&s;oever I was de&s;ired; and what I did, was freely, and in love to the Lord Je&s;us and his people, without any price or reward of men; when others who have their gifts from men, will look to be re|warded
<PB N="45" REF="25">by men; and good rea&s;on too that men &s;hould &s;ell what they buy: But tho&s;e mens gifts are bought, therefore do they &s;ell them, as other Trade&s;-men do, for their own advantage; for if they can have but five or ten pound more in another Pari&s;h, they will leave the one for the other, and yet no longer then they pay them, will they preach to them, without going to Law with them; which &s;h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ws that they preach not in love to the Lord Je&s;us and his people, but in love to that which the peo|ple have, and &s;o &s;eek not them, but theirs; when I for my part in all my practice of preaching hitherto, have not &s;ought theirs, but them,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 12.14, 15.</NOTE> and would gladly &s;pend and be &s;pent for them to do them good, as they will be ready to te&s;tifie: And for this am I hated and per&s;ecuted by them that know me not; neverthele&s;s I cannot but &s;peak the things that I have been taught of the Lord; <HI>for as every man hath received the gift, &s;o let them admini|&s;ter one to another;</HI> and, <HI>What is revealed an &s;ecret, &s;hall be pub|li&s;hed upon the hou&s;e tops</HI> (&s;aith the Lord) and this &s;hall I do if God permit.</P>
<P>The Judge &s;aid, And you do well in &s;o doing; for you may preach where&s;oever you are de&s;ired, &s;o long as you keep clo&s;e to the word of God, and make that to be your rule.</P>
<P>I an&s;wered, my Lord, I thank you, and I &s;hall do &s;o. But what do you call the Word of God?</P>
<P>Said the Judge, the Scripture is the Word of God.</P>
<P>I an&s;wered, that the Scripture, as written in ink and paper, is not the Word of God, but a dead letter, which in the read|ing and hearing thereof, tells us onely in the ear what the Word of God is, but cannot teach or tell the mind; neither doth it any where &s;ay for it &s;elf, that it &s;elf is the Word of God that can teach us; but that we are all taught of the Lord, who is him&s;elf the Word, the Unction, the Holy one, and anointing within us; therefore let us not give more honour to the Scri|pture then the Scripture takes to it &s;elf, but let honour be given to whom honour is due, and glory to whom glory is due; and in this we &s;hall give all unto God, who is him&s;elf the true Word and Teacher, as the Scripture declares him to be; for &s;aith <HI>John, In the beginning was the Word,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 1.1, 2.</NOTE> <HI>and the Word was with God, and the word was God; the &s;ame was in the beginning with
<PB N="46" REF="26">God:</HI> and this Word became fle&s;h and dwelt among us, that it might teach us all things (and &s;aith <HI>John</HI>) <HI>we behold the glory of him,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 14.</NOTE> <HI>as the glory of the onely begotten Son of God, full of grace and truth,</HI> which is not the Scripture, as written in the Letter, but God written in our fle&s;h, is this Word.</P>
<P>Again &s;econdly, the Scripture tells us, that <HI>the word of God is quick,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 4.12.</NOTE> <HI>and powerful, &amp; &s;harper then any two-edged &s;word peircing even to the dividing a&s;under of &s;oul and &s;pirit, and of the joynts and marrow, and is a di&s;cerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart:</HI> And this the Scripture cannot do, but God him&s;elf, as the Scripture tells us; for it &s;aith, That he is the &s;earcher of the heart, and the tryer of the reins, and the divider a&s;under of &s;oul and &s;pirit, and di&s;cerns the thoughts and intents of mens hearts; and &s;o the &s;earcher and tryer of all things (as &s;aith the Scripture.)</P>
<P>Again thirdly, the Scripture tells us of Chri&s;ts riding upon a white hor&s;e, conquering and to conquer, and that his name was called <HI>The Word of God;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 19, 11, 12, 13.</NOTE> and not that the Scriptures were &s;o called: And let not us rob God of that honour and title due unto him&s;elf, to give to the Scripture, but what the Scripture &s;aith both of God and it &s;elf, that let us &s;ay al&s;o. The Scripture al&s;o &s;aith,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 3.6. Iohn 14.19. Rom 10.8.</NOTE> that <HI>the Letter kills, but the Spirit gives life;</HI> which &s;pirit is the Word, and the Word is Chri&s;t. <HI>I am come that you may have life</HI> (&s;aith Chri&s;t) and, <HI>becau&s;e I live, ye &s;hall live al|&s;o:</HI> And this Word (even Chri&s;t) is nigh us, in us, yea round about us, &s;till teaching of us, and giving life unto us, which is the work of Chri&s;t, and not the Scripture. But this I will &s;ay of the Scripture (which is what the Scripture &s;aith of it &s;elf) that it is an outward te&s;timony of God, his mind, Chri&s;t the Word, Faith and Eternal Life, Heaven and Salvation to tho&s;e that do believe; but not that it &s;elf is either of all the&s;e, or can give unto us the knowledge of it; and that we might know the in&s;ufficiency of it,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 9.39.40</NOTE> Chri&s;t in it bids us <HI>&s;earch the Scriptures</HI> (for &s;aith he) <HI>in them you think to have eternal life, and they are they which te&s;tifie of me; and ye will not come to me, that ye may have life:</HI> Yet this Scripture, as it is given by in&s;piration, &s;o it is profitable for doctrine,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3.16, 17.</NOTE> for reproof, for correction and in&s;tru|ction in righteou&s;ne&s;s, that the man of God may be perfect,
<PB N="47" REF="26">throughly furni&s;hed to all good works: and not as it lies in the letter, but as it is in&s;pired, revealed or made manife&s;t in our hearts and minds by the Holy Gho&s;t: for (&s;aith the Lord) <HI>I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and I will be their God, and they &s;hall be my people,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 31.33, 34.</NOTE> <HI>and cau&s;e them to walk in my &s;tatutes,</HI> of loving one another.</P>
<P>And the Word of God being once written in our hearts, it is then profitable for us, to teach reprove, correct and in&s;truct us, make us perfect in the inward man, furni&s;h us, fit and qualifie us with gifts and graces unto all good works, and no otherwi&s;e can it do it for us, but as it is within us.</P>
<P>And this is the honour and prai&s;e that I will give to the Word of God, and to the Scripture, to &s;um it all up in God, in whom I de&s;ire to know, to live, to act, and enjoy all things of God; and I de&s;ire not to &s;peak, think, act or maintain any thing that I have not the letter for, as well as the Spirit; the truth and my&s;te|ry of which letter no man knows till he hath it revealed to him by the Spirit, and Internal Word, that declares the Father plain|ly, which &s;o far as it &s;peaks in me,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 11.27.</NOTE> and declares the mind of God to me, I &s;hall not be &s;ilent.</P>
<P>And now, my Lord, I give you many thanks that you have &s;o patiently heard me, and given me liberty to &s;peak for my &s;elf. Yet before I depart, I &s;hall de&s;ire to pre&s;ent one Scripture more, which I &s;hall but onely read, and &s;o leave it to the con&s;ideration of this honourable Court.</P>
<P>Said the Judge, I thought you had done.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> If your Lord&s;hip de&s;ire it, I have.</P>
<P>Said the Judge, Nay, but we will hear your Scripture.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> It is in the &s;ixth of the <HI>Acts,</HI> from the 8. ver&s;e to the end.</P>
<P><HI>And Steven full of faith and power, did great wonders and mi|racles among the people: then there aro&s;e certain of the Synagogue, which is called the Synagogue of the Libertines, Cyreneans, Alexan|drians, and of them of Cilicia, and of A&s;ia, di&s;puting with Ste|ven, and they were not able to re&s;i&s;t the wi&s;dom and the &s;pirit by which he &s;pake; then they &s;uborned men, which &s;aid, we have heard him &s;peak bla&s;phemous words again&s;t Mo&s;es, and again&s;t God; and they &s;tirred up the people, and the Elders, and the Scribes, and
<PB N="48" REF="27">came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the Councel, and &s;et up fal&s;e witne&s;&s;es,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 6.12.</NOTE> <HI>which &s;aid, This man cea&s;eth not to &s;peak bla&s;phemous words again&s;t this holy place, and the Law; for we have heard him &s;ay, that this Je&s;us of Nazareth &s;hall de&s;troy this place, and &s;hall change the Cu&s;toms which Mo&s;es delivered us: and all that &s;ate in the Coun&s;el, looked &s;tedfa&s;tly on him, &s;aw his face as it had been the face of an Angel.</HI></P>
<P>And now I &s;hall take my leave, according as the Apo&s;tles in times pa&s;t have done, who when they had &s;uffered for the name of Chri&s;t, they <HI>departed from the pre&s;ence of the Council, rejoycing that they were counted worthy to &s;uffer &s;hame for his name</HI> (&s;o &s;hall I at this time) <HI>and</HI> (as) <HI>daily in the temple, and in every hou&s;e,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 5.41, 42.</NOTE> <HI>they cea&s;ed not to teach and preach Je&s;us Chri&s;t;</HI> &s;o &s;hall not I, my Lord, cea&s;e to do the &s;ame, &s;o far as God &s;hall enable me; and &s;o I take my leave of your Lord&s;hip.</P>
<P>And paying the fees of the Court, I was di&s;charged for that time.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="9" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. IX. </HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>The Authors &s;econd appearing at</HI> Worce&s;ter, <HI>before Judge</HI> Nicholes <HI>and the proceedings thereof: al&s;o his being bound from thence to</HI> Oxford; <HI>how, and for what.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>ANd I &s;tanding bound until the next A&s;&s;izes at <HI>Worce&s;ter,</HI> which was then &s;ix moneths to come, my accu&s;ers <HI>Ralph Nevil</HI> and <HI>Giles Collier</HI> in the mean time imployed men on pur|po&s;e to follow me from place to place, where they heard I preached or came, to enquire into my Doctrine, Life and Con|ver&s;ation, with endeavours to get &s;omething more again&s;t me, to accu&s;e me at the next A&s;&s;izes following, as my &s;elf and &s;e|veral per&s;ons well knew. And they hearing of &s;ome difference in di&s;pute that was between &s;ome Mini&s;ters and my &s;elf at <HI>En&s;tone</HI> in <HI>Oxford&s;hire,</HI> where I had before been and preached, they came to an Inn in <HI>En&s;ton,</HI> and &s;ent for the Mini&s;ters that
<PB N="49" REF="27">differed with me, of whom they got a certificate of &s;ome par|ticulars which they &s;aid I there delivered, and which they counted bla&s;phemy.</P>
<P>And when I appeared at <HI>Worce&s;ter</HI> next A&s;&s;izes, before Judge <HI>Nicholes,</HI> my accu&s;ers gave to the Judge their certificate, which was as follows: Fir&s;t, <HI>That I &s;hould &s;ay Chri&s;t ayed for his own &s;ins as well as the Peoples.</HI> Secondly, <HI>That there was no heaven and hell but what was in man.</HI> Thirdly, <HI>That everla&s;ting life &s;hould end in this life.</HI> But no witne&s;s &s;worn to it: And my ac|cu&s;ers having no witne&s;s there, they, with many fair &s;peeches u&s;ed to the Judge de&s;ired him to bind me to appear at the next General A&s;&s;izes holden at <HI>Oxford,</HI> to an&s;wer to what was in this their certificate, and what more they in the mean time could find again&s;t me: For, &s;aid they to the Judge, that being his own Countrey, we &s;hall there by that time get &s;omething more again&s;t him. And the Judge willing to do my accu&s;ers a plea|&s;ure again&s;t me, as <HI>Fe&s;tus</HI> did the Jews again&s;t <HI>Paul,</HI> when he left him bound: So Judge <HI>Nicholes,</HI> without any oath made by any man again&s;t me, demanded of me bail for my appear|ance at <HI>Oxford</HI> A&s;&s;izes which was &s;ix moneths after that, and would not &s;uffer me to &s;peak for my &s;elf, but took part with my accu&s;ers.</P>
<P>Then I de&s;ired of him law and ju&s;tice; and told him, that there being nothing upon oath proved again&s;t me, there was no rea&s;on that I &s;hould &s;tand any longer bound</P>
<P>Said the Judge, if I will have it &s;o, you &s;hall &s;tand bound, &amp;c</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> My Lord, if you will make your will a Law. I cannot help that; but this I know that as you u&s;e the exactne&s;s of the Law<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">n condemning tho&s;e whom the Law condemns, &s;o you ought to u&s;e the exactne&s;s of the Law, in freeing tho&s;e whom the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">aw frees. But the Law at this time frees me, therefore I de&s;ire it.</P>
<P>No, &s;aid the Judge, you &s;hall not be freed, for I under&s;tand that you take upon you to preach and never &s;tayed to take your degrees at the Univer&s;ity; you &s;hall therefore appear at <HI>Oxford</HI> to an&s;wer to tho&s;e things there. And &s;aid the Judge, if I would take upon me to preach, I could preach as well as you,
<PB N="50" REF="28">and better, for I was bred up to more learning then you, and yet I wil not take it upon me, becau&s;e I was not called to it, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;wer,</HI> My Lord, I was called to Preach, and you were not; do you know what the call is? if you did, you would not op|po&s;e it; and if it be the Lords will that I mu&s;t appear at <HI>Ox|ford</HI> to an&s;wer things as I have done at <HI>Worce&s;ter,</HI> his will be done; for I remember what the Lord &s;aid unto <HI>Paul</HI> when he was bound from place to place;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 23.11.</NOTE> <HI>Be of good cheer</HI> Paul (&s;aid he) <HI>for as thou ha&s;t te&s;tified of me in</HI> Jeru&s;alem, <HI>&s;o mu&s;t thou bear witne&s;s al&s;o at</HI> Rome; and now am I not only ready to be bound, but to &s;uffer for his name, and to bear witne&s;s of the Truth at <HI>Oxford,</HI> as I have done at <HI>Worce&s;ter,</HI> and &s;hall have peace in all things therein, knowing it to be the Lords cau&s;e for which I &s;tand bound. So giving in bayl, and paying the Fees of the Court, I was di&s;mi&s;&s;ed until the next appearance at <HI>Ox|ford.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="10" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. X. </HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>The Authors tryal at</HI> Oxford <HI>A&s;sizes before Serjeant</HI> Green, <HI>the particular accu&s;ations again&s;t him, and his an&s;wers to them, with the proceedings of the Court, and how; al&s;o the igno|rance of the Jury, and the malice of his Adver&s;aries di&s;cover|ed.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>VPon the tenth day of <HI>March</HI> 1652. I appeared at <HI>Oxford</HI> A&s;&s;izes, where <HI>Ralph Nevil</HI> of <HI>Emload,</HI> and <HI>Giles Collier</HI> of <HI>Blockly</HI> in the County of <HI>Worce&s;ter</HI> preferred a Bill of In|dictment again&s;t me to the Grand Jury (as they &s;aid) for bla&s;|phemy; the Charge therein is as follows.</P>
<PB N="51" REF="28">
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The Charge in the Indictment.</HEAD>
<P>FIr&s;t. <HI>(That I &s;hould &s;ay) That Chri&s;t dyed for his own &s;ins at well as the Peoples.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly. <HI>That there is no heaven and hell but what is in man.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly. <HI>That everla&s;ting life &s;hould end in this life.</HI></P>
<P>The&s;e are the things which by them I was Indicted for as bla&s;phemy, and which by the Grand Jury were &s;o found and re|turned to the Court, that I was put upon the tryal thereof.</P>
<P>But before you come to the tryal, I &s;hall &s;peak &s;omething of both Juries, as of carnal natural men, and &s;o ignorant of &s;uch things as they were to enquire into concerning me; for the na|tural man knows not the things of God, neither can he, becau&s;e they are &s;piritually di&s;cerned: but &s;ure for the mo&s;t part they were but carnal men, therefore in &s;uch things ignorant men, and again&s;t &s;uch things malitious men, as hath been known: being al&s;o men for the mo&s;t part known to be of the Bi&s;hops and Pres|byterian opinion, very few of the Independents, though there is but little difference between them in their opinions concern|ing their judgements and knowledge in &s;uch things, of whom it may be &s;aid and al&s;o proved, as hath appeared by their practi&s;e, that they aim more at their own worldly, private, and &s;elf-inte|re&s;ts, then at the glory of God, or good of other people, and which is well known have been, and gladly would be per&s;ecu|tors of tho&s;e that live godly in Chri&s;t Je&s;us, and that are not the &s;ame with them in their opinions, as hath appeared by &s;ome of them, which both I and others have already known by experi|ence: yet I love them &s;till in the &s;ame love as I love all others, and will the &s;alvation of their &s;ouls as of all others, though they may not &s;o love me, but hate me, for that they never &s;aw or heard from me.</P>
<P>And therefore it is mo&s;t evident, that they proceeded again&s;t me from the malice they had to me, and not any thing known by me for any bla&s;phemy there was in it, for I am &s;ure there was
<PB N="52" REF="29">none, neither could any be found, either by the Law of God or of man as fir&s;t for the Law of God I am &s;ure it is not, for there is nothing in all the Scripture writ again&s;t it; however all bla&s;|phemy on Gods part is forgiven, and Chri&s;t hath already an|&s;wered for it, in the behalf of all men.</P>
<P>And &s;econdly, for the Law of man or any late Act of Par|liament made again&s;t bla&s;phemy, I am al&s;o &s;ure that there is ne|ver a particular contained in this Bill that comes within the compa&s;s of the Act: as for the fir&s;t and la&s;t particulars in the Bill, that Chri&s;t &s;hould die for his own &s;ins, as well as for the peoples, and that everla&s;ting life &s;hould end in this life, there is no mention of it made in the Act. Then for the &s;econd, that there is no heaven and hell but what is in man, there is no men|tion made of it neither, as the&s;e words are laid down and ex|pre&s;&s;ed in the Bill; for the A<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters"> &s;aith, If any &s;hall avow and af|firm that there is no heaven and hell then it is bla&s;phemy ac|cording to that Act, but in this Bill, or in the&s;e words before mentioned, there is a heaven and a hell acknowledged, though not &s;uch a one as &s;ome men would have, but &s;uch a one as is in man, which is according to the Scripture, and &s;ome mens expe|rience; yet not that any other is denyed, which by others may be proved, and there being (in the Bill) a heaven and a hell ac|knowledged it therefore comes not within the compa&s;s of the Act, and then cannot be found guilty by the Act.</P>
<P>Again, the witne&s;&s;es to the Bill do confe&s;s that the&s;e words fell in by way of di&s;pute or conference after Sermon, and were not &s;poke in Sermon, therefore cannot be &s;aid to be avowed and affirmed, as the Judge did very well make it appear in the try|al: and which if the hone&s;t behaviour of the Juries had ex|tended &s;o far, they, before they had condemned it, &s;hould have examined whether the words in the Bill did reach any Act of Parliament or no, that made it appear to be what in the Bill it was &s;aid to be, without which they ought not to have found it, though the Bill &s;o &s;aid it; for let any Bill &s;ay what it will, they are to examine it whether it be what in the Bill it is &s;aid to be or no, as trea&s;on, bla&s;phemy, felony, or what&s;oever crime el&s;e in the Bill may be expre&s;t, without which they are not to find any Bill, and for want of this, many a man and cau&s;e have &s;uffered;
<PB N="53" REF="29">and now how hone&s;t and ju&s;t his Jury have been in the exami|nation of this Bill, according to Law and Ju&s;tice, when they found it, and brought guilty; let all men that read and hear it, Judge of it; but &s;o much for both the Juries; next the tryal in the Court.</P>
<P>And then the Bill being read, the witne&s;&s;es to the Bill were called to give in their evidence, who&s;e names are as follow|eth.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, one <HI>Beckingam</HI> of <HI>En&s;ton</HI> in <HI>Oxford&s;hire,</HI> the Mini&s;ter of the Pari&s;h where the&s;e words for which I am accu&s;ed were (as they &s;ay) &s;poke, and that gave me leave to preach in his &s;aid Pari&s;h Church the whole day, but afterwards finding the people to be more taken with my Doctrine (which was the Doctrine of free grace) then with his (that was not) and fearing his own &s;hould be no more &s;o well accepted, he cryes out again&s;t mine as bla&s;phemy, and &s;o comes to witne&s;s again&s;t me for it, who to excu&s;e him&s;elf, &s;aid he came not as an accu&s;er, but was brought only as a witne&s;s, who&s;e te&s;timony was according to the Bill.</P>
<P>The &s;econd witne&s;s was one <HI>Cannon</HI> of the &s;ame Town, a hear|er of the &s;aid <HI>Beckingam,</HI> who at that pre&s;ent approved very well of what I had &s;aid, as him&s;elf afterwards confe&s;&s;ed to &s;ome others, and &s;aid it was the be&s;t Sermon that ever he heard in his life, till his Ma&s;ter the &s;aid Mini&s;ter of the Pari&s;h had tutoured him and made him change his opinion, who then came as a wit|ne&s;s al&s;o, and who&s;e con&s;cience began to accu&s;e him when he was to give in his te&s;timony (as it there appeared) for when he &s;hould have &s;aid life everla&s;ting ended in this life, he could not for his life bring forth the word everla&s;ting but &s;aid that this life ended in this life; and when the Judge asked him again, he &s;aid, that when a man dyed his life ended but could not &s;ay the word everla&s;ting, till he had it given him in writing by my ac|cu&s;ers <HI>Nevil</HI> of <HI>Emload,</HI> and <HI>Collier</HI> of <HI>Blockly,</HI> two con&s;tant accu&s;ers of the brethren, and that had been my accu&s;ers before at <HI>Worce&s;ter,</HI> as before was declared; who never heard tho&s;e things delivered by me at <HI>En&s;to<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">,</HI> which they accu&s;ed me for: neither me, when I preached there though they here became my accu&s;ers, and did al&s;o plead the&s;e things again&s;t me at <HI>Oxford:</HI>
<PB N="54" REF="30">fir&s;t to the Grand Jury, and after to the Court, al&s;o laying ma|ny other things to my charge which I knew not: but I believe it was with an intent to make good what they had before &s;aid, which was, that they would not leave me till they had my life, which was the &s;ame that the Jews &s;aid of <HI>Paul,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 23. ver. 12.29.</NOTE> who made a vow that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed <HI>Paul;</HI> but they were prevented, as the&s;e my accu&s;ers have been hitherto concerning me. And <HI>Paul</HI> being accu&s;ed of que&s;tions of their Law,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 26.31, 32.</NOTE> as I now was, they kept him fa&s;t bound &s;till for many years, and examined him before many coun&s;els, but in the end nothing being found again&s;t him worthy of death or of bonds, and his accu&s;ers being weary of pro&s;ecuting, he was then freed and &s;et at liberty.</P>
<P>And the evidence being given, I was called to my an&s;wer, which begins with the&s;e Propo&s;itions, as follows.</P>
<LETTER LANG="eng">
<OPENER><SALUTE>My Lord,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>HAving here liberty to an&s;wer for my &s;elf, I therefore hum|bly be&s;eech your Lord&s;hip to grant me the&s;e particulars.</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t.</HI> That &s;eeing the&s;e my Adver&s;aries are men of a contrary di&s;covery of God; and are here come again&s;t me, that they may fairly make it appear before this honourable Court, whether they are men that have taken the ingagement or no, without which I know them not to have the benefit of the Law, and I &s;peak it for this rea&s;on (my Lord) becau&s;e they being Mini&s;ters of Pari&s;hes, and I knowing &s;ome of them not to ob&s;erve the la&s;t thank&s;giving day, with many others before, which by the Parlia|ment was appointed to be kept, makes me to que&s;tion this thing.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly.</HI> That none might be &s;uffered to &s;peak any thing again&s;t me in this honourable Court, till &s;uch time that they are &s;worn before this Court and my face.</P>
<P><HI>Thirdly.</HI> That tho&s;e men which were hearers of me at <HI>En&s;ton</HI> (the time when tis &s;aid the&s;e words were delivered, and are here pre&s;ent) may be &s;uffered to &s;peak; al&s;o a certificate which I under&s;tand is by them brought, touching the things of my charge, and of my Doctrine then delivered, with another from <HI>Oxford,</HI> and &s;everal mens names to them both, who are here
<PB N="55" REF="30">ready to te&s;tifie the truth of them, that they al&s;o may be read in this Honourable Court, for the &s;atisfaction of many people; and thereby &s;hew the mi&s;takes of my adver&s;aries, in the things which they accu&s;e me.</P>
<P><HI>Fourthly.</HI> That I may have liberty to &s;peak for my &s;elf, in an&s;wer to every particular accu&s;ation in my charge brought again&s;t me. And the&s;e things being granted, I &s;hall be thank|ful to your Lord&s;hip.</P>
<P>Said the Judge, what you de&s;ire &s;hall be granted, and you &s;hall have a fair tryal, but we &s;hall not hear any Certificates read.</P>
<P>But the time being &s;hort, the night coming on, and I ha&s;ti|ly called to an&s;wer to my charge, being my &s;elf willing al&s;o to come to it, fearing I &s;hould be &s;treightned in time, and no|thing doubting of my coming off, that &s;ome of tho&s;e things which were by me de&s;ired before to be granted, were pa&s;&s;ed by, and no more remembred; and the&s;e Certificates before mentioned, being not then permitted by the Judge to be read in the Court, it was therefore de&s;ired by tho&s;e that &s;ign|ed them, to have them printed with the re&s;t, to &s;hew unto the world what it was they &s;et their hands unto; &s;ome having &s;ince charg'd them with &s;etting their hands to vindicate bla&s;phe|my: which Certificates are as follow.</P>
</LETTER>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="letter">
<HEAD>A Copy of a Certificate pre&s;ented to the Court, by many of the godly and well-affected people living about <HI>En&s;ton,</HI> in the behalf of <HI>Richard Coppin.</HI></HEAD>
<P>WE who&s;e names are here under-written, were all at the hearing of <HI>Richard Coppin,</HI> the time when he preached at <HI>En&s;ton,</HI> and heard all that was then delivered; yet heard not any thing delivered by him, but what was truth, according to the Scripture and our experience, in which we were &s;atisfied, and &s;hould be glad to imbrace the like opportunity, as to hear the like again, if providence &s;hould &s;o order it.</P>
<PB N="56" REF="31">
<P>And whereas (through the mi&s;take of &s;ome men in their ap|prehen&s;ions) he is or may be accu&s;ed for any thing then deliver|ed: As,</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, for &s;aying <HI>That Chri&s;t &s;hould &s;uffer for his own &s;ins as well as the Peoples.</HI> We do hereby te&s;tifie that he at that time did again and again &s;ay, that Chri&s;t &s;uffered not for them as acted by him, but as imputed to him, and &s;o they became his which he proved from the&s;e Scriptures, <HI>He was made <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 word"> for us;</HI> and, <HI>The Lord hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all.</HI></P>
<P>And Secondly, That he &s;hould &s;ay, <HI>There is no heaven and hell but what is in man.</HI> He did not but did prove from Scripture, that there was a heaven and a hell in man, not denying any other, which by others might be believed, as to them.</P>
<P>And Thirdly, That he &s;hould &s;ay, <HI>That everla&s;ting life &s;hould end in this life.</HI> He did not; but &s;aid, That there was that writ|ten in Scripture, which was &s;aid to be everla&s;ting, yet had an end; as he proved from the ending of the fir&s;t Covenant and Prie&s;t-hood under the Law, with the conditions thereof, which was &s;aid to be for ever.</P>
<P>And Fourthly, as to his life and conver&s;ation, it hath been &s;o civil, hone&s;t and re&s;pective towards all men, for all that ever we &s;aw or knew of him that none ever yet could accu&s;e him; and therefore we do believe, that for the good that is in him and proceeds from him, to the edifying of many people, he is hated and per&s;ecuted. To all which particulars, we have here &s;ub|&s;cribed our names, and &s;hall be ready to take our Oaths.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="letter">
<PB REF="31">
<HEAD>A Copy of a Certificate pre&s;ented to the Court by many of the godly and well-affected people of <HI>Oxford,</HI> in the behalf of <HI>Richard Coppin.</HI></HEAD>
<P>WE the Inhabitants of the City of <HI>Oxford,</HI> who&s;e names are here underwritten, do hereby certifie, That <HI>Richard Coppin</HI> hath &s;everal times preached in <HI>Oxford,</HI> and hath been heard by us; who never heard any thing delivered by him, to our knowledge, but what hath been true and &s;ound doctrine, according to the Scripture, and the manife&s;tation of God to us: And we do al&s;o certifie, that his life and conver&s;ation hath ever been towards all &s;orts of men, hone&s;t, ju&s;t and upright, that ever we could &s;ee, know, or hear of him. Concerning which, we have here &s;ub&s;cribed our names, and &s;hall be al&s;o ready to te&s;tifie upon Oath.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The fir&s;t particular Charged in the Indictment.</HEAD>
<P>FIr&s;t, <HI>That I &s;hould &s;ay, That Chri&s;t Je&s;us the Son of God, and Saviour of the world, did &s;uffer for his own &s;ins as well as the Peoples.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> My Lord, for an&s;wer to this, I do affirm, and ever did &s;ince I knew and declared any thing of God, That Je&s;us Chri&s;t the Son of the living God, and Saviour of the whole world, as he lives in God, never acted &s;in, but imputatively all our &s;ins became his, were laid upon him,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">John 3.17. 1 John 2.2. Heb. 10.5, 6.7. Rom. 8.3. Heb. 2.14. Luke 1.74.</NOTE> and reckoned to him by the Fa|ther; and Je&s;us Chri&s;t, as the Son, in obedience to the Father, freely took them upon him&s;elf, clothed him&s;elf with our fle&s;h, &s;inful fle&s;h, and &s;o &s;uffered for &s;in, overcame and condemned &s;in, and all enemies in our nature; wherein his appearance in us, doth manife&s;t to us, that he &s;atisfied the Fathers ju&s;tice, payed our &s;core, and &s;et us at liberty; though Chri&s;t him&s;elf
<PB REF="32">(which is,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 1.23. 1 Pet. 2.22. 2 Cor 5.21. I&s;a. 53. Rom. 5.10. Iohn 14.19</NOTE> <HI>Emmanuel, God with us</HI>) <HI>did no &s;in, neither was guil found in his mouth</HI> (as &s;aith the Scripture) <HI>yet he was made &s;in for us;</HI> and, <HI>The Lord hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all, and by his &s;tripes are we healed:</HI> by his life are we &s;aved and do live; for (&s;aith Chri&s;t) <HI>Becau&s;e I live, ye &s;hall live al&s;o:</HI> And now the head cannot be &s;aid to live without the body, nor the body without the head;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor 11.3. Ephe&s;. 5.23, 29, 30. Heb. 5.3. &amp; 7.27. 1 Cor. 12.12, 13, 27.</NOTE> &s;o not Chri&s;t without us, nor we without Chri&s;t, he being our head, and we members of his body, of his fle&s;h, and of his bones: and Chri&s;t &s;uffering for the &s;in of us <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">his members) may al&s;o be &s;aid to &s;uffer for the &s;in of his own body, who&s;e body we are: for (&s;aith <HI>Paul</HI>) <HI>Ye are the body of Chri&s;t, and members in particular;</HI> and in this &s;en&s;e he may be &s;aid to &s;uffer for his own &s;ins, which is no bla&s;phemy to &s;ay.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>That there is no heaven and hell but what is in man.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> My Lord, for an&s;wer to this, I do affirm, and ever did (as afore&s;aid)</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, That there is a God (according to the Scriptures) and that this God is the God of truth, peace and love and the Fa|ther of it; who is called a Spirit, and who&s;e throne is in hea|ven,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 66.1. 1 Tim 6.16 1 King. 8.27. Jer. 23, 23, 24. I&s;a. 6.3.</NOTE> and that dwelleth in light, and which the heaven of heavens cannot contain; and who is not limitted to any time, place, or per&s;on; but heaven and earth is full of his glory. And &s;o much for God what, and where he is.</P>
<P>Secondly, That there is a Devil (according to the Scripture) and this Devil is the god of &s;in, as of this world, which darkens all appearances of good things;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 4.4. Rev. 20.1, 2, 3.</NOTE> who&s;e habitation is in hell and who is limitted to time, place, and per&s;on, and cannot go be|yond his bounds, and is the Prince of darkne&s;s, and of death, the power of the ayr,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 2.20. John 8.44. Rev. 21.8. and 12.10. John 5.45. Iude ver. 9.</NOTE> the &s;pirit ruling in the children of di&s;obe|dience, which makes them (&s;o long) to continue the children of the Devil, who is a lyar and the father of them, and all lyes and lyars are of and in him, who &s;hall together with him &s;uffer in hell fire; and who is al&s;o the accu&s;er of the brethren, from whom all accu&s;ations proceed, with all hatred, envy and malice,
<PB N="59" REF="32">and hath no part in Chri&s;t; and that this Devil,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 3.14, 15 Iohn 14.36. 1 Pet. 5.8. Gen. 3.15. P&s;al. 110.5, 6</NOTE> as a roaring lyon, goes about from City to City, from County to County, or from <HI>Worce&s;ter</HI> to <HI>Oxford,</HI> &s;eeking whom he may devour; till the Lyon of the Tribe of <HI>Judah</HI> meets with him, breaks his head, de&s;troys his power, fru&s;trates his de&s;ign, and &s;o ruines his King|dom.</P>
<P>And Thirdly, That there is al&s;o a heaven for the righteous in Chri&s;t, to be &s;aved and made happy in life and &s;alvation with Chri&s;t in God; and there is a hell al&s;o for the wicked, in which they are and &s;hall be tormented with the Devil and fal&s;e Pro|phets; but for the place, what and where it is, &s;o far as the Scripture is &s;ilent in it, we are to be &s;ilent in it, and cannot de|termine of it any further then the Scripture doth.</P>
<P>But this we may &s;ay with the Scripture fir&s;t, concerning hea|ven, that <HI>the Kingdom of God is righteou&s;ne&s;s, peace, and joy in the holy Gho&s;t:</HI> and, <HI>Behold the Kingdom of God is within you;</HI> yet on high with God,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom 14.1. Luke 17.20, 21.</NOTE> above the earth or any crea|ture</P>
<P>And as concerning hell, it is in Scripture compared to a grave; and we read that Chri&s;t de&s;cended into it; and <HI>David</HI> &s;aith to God, <HI>Thou wilt not leave my &s;oul in hell</HI> (meaning the grave) <HI>nor &s;uffer thy holy one to &s;ee corruption:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 16.10.</NOTE> and what this hell and grave is, he al&s;o calls it the lowe&s;t pit, or darkne&s;s in the deep, in which he was &s;hut up, and could not come forth, the wrath of God lying &s;o hard upon him,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;alm 88.</NOTE> or the Lord hiding his face from him; and <HI>Jonah</HI> agrees with the &s;ame, who when he was in the fi&s;hes belly, &s;aid, That he was in hell; <HI>For out of the belly of hell</HI> (&s;aid he) <HI>cryed I unto thee, and thou heard&s;t my voyce;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ionah 2.</NOTE> <HI>for when thou had&s;t ca&s;t me into the deep</HI> (or depth of darkne&s;s) <HI>into the mid&s;t of the &s;ea</HI> (or under many troubles and afflictions) <HI>and the floods compa&s;&s;ed me about, all thy billows and thy waves pa&s;&s;ed over me; then I &s;aid, I am ca&s;t out of thy &s;ight</HI> (or &s;aw thee in wrath) <HI>yet I will look again toward thy holy Temple, where I &s;hall behold thee in love, when thou &s;halt rai&s;e me up.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Amos 9.2.</NOTE> And in <HI>Amos</HI> the Lord &s;aith, <HI>Though they dig into hell, thence &s;hall my hand take them, and your covenant with death and hell &s;hall be d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;|anulled, &s;aith the Lord:</HI> But it is mo&s;t &s;ure that there is a hell for the wicked, as there is a heaven for the godly, and all that
<PB N="60" REF="33">are in Chri&s;t Je&s;us. And for this, let us con&s;ider of one Scri|pture more, in <HI>Matth.</HI> 25. where heaven is &s;aid to be at the right hand of God, and hell at the left hand, compared with <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 16.11. <HI>In thy pre&s;ence is fulne&s;s of joy, and at thy right hand are plea&s;ures for evermore</HI> (meaning in heaven with God) and how tho&s;e on the right hand, and that have increa&s;ed their talents, enter into the joy of the Lord, as into heaven, where they are at re&s;t for ever; when tho&s;e on the left hand, and that have not increa&s;ed their talents, go into utter darkne&s;s, as into hell, <HI>where is weeping and gna&s;hing of teeth,</HI> pining and mourning for &s;in, and where they are at no re&s;t.</P>
<P>And thus there is a heaven, wherein eternal life is enjoyed by Chri&s;t and all his: and there is a hell, wherein everla&s;ting puni&s;h|ment is inflicted upon the Devil, and all his: But let us u&s;e the Scripture expre&s;&s;ion for it, if we &s;hall declare it, which is ac|cording to the mind of God.</P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>That everla&s;ting life &s;hould end in this life.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> My Lord, for an&s;wer to this, I do affirm, That I ne|ver (then, and &s;o) &s;aid the words; and I do al&s;o affirm, That everla&s;ting life with Chri&s;t in God, &s;hall never have an end; and that believers, or the righteous in Chri&s;t go to it, as to God, enjoy it as God, and &s;till remain in it, as in God, with Chri&s;t,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Colo&s;. 3.4. John 3.36.</NOTE> yea, after they have been dead, according to the Scri|ptures; as the wicked go to hell and damnation, and as &s;ome who believe not, are already in it: And thus life everla&s;ting with Chri&s;t in God &s;hall never have an end.</P>
<P>Object. But for a further clearing of this, &s;ome may yet &s;ay, <HI>Is there not a life which &s;hall have an end, and yet &s;aid to be ever|la&s;ting?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I an&s;wer, That there is a life according to manife&s;ta|tion &s;poken of in Scripture, which &s;eems to have an end, or be made perfect in another life, and yet &s;aid to be everla&s;ting; as the life of works and of nature ends, and is made perfect in the life of grace; the life of grace ends, and is made perfect in the life of glory; the le&s;&s;er &s;till &s;wallowed up of the greater, the lower of the higher, the darker of the lighter, the weaker of
<PB N="61" REF="33">the &s;tronger, to be made perfect; and &s;o at la&s;t all things end and are made perfect in God.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>But how is that which ends &s;aid to be everla&s;ting?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> For further an&s;wer to this it may al&s;o be &s;aid, That if the fir&s;t Covenant and Prie&s;thood under the Law, with the con|ditions thereof,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 17. Exo. 40.13; 14, 15,</NOTE> was &s;aid to be everla&s;ting (as that it was and is during the time of that admini&s;tration unto us) then the life which we lived in obedience to that Covenant, while under it (which was a life of works, of fear, and of bondage) was as everla&s;ting as that; but when that fir&s;t Covenant and Prie&s;t|hood, with the conditions thereof, according to that admini|&s;tration, which was &s;aid to be everla&s;ting (or was made perfect in a &s;econd, a new, and more heavenly) then the life which we lived while under the fir&s;t, did end al&s;o with the fir&s;t, and &s;o with the &s;ame made perfect in a &s;econd, a new, and more hea|venly life, as in life of grace and freedom, faith and love, un|der the &s;econd Covenant, changed and brought in, confirmed and &s;ealed by the blood of the Lord Je&s;us, who&s;e life we then live, and are ju&s;tified by: for where there is a change of a Cove|nant, Law, Statute, Ordinances, Conditions, Admini&s;trations or Di&s;pen&s;ations, there is a change of a life al&s;o to the creature, even that life which we are then bound by that Law in our con|&s;ciences to live; which is a change from a Covenant of works, to a Covenant of free grace,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 2.28, 29.</NOTE> or from the circumci&s;ing of the foreskin of the fle&s;h in the letter, to that of the heart, and in the &s;pirit; which Covenant it is that God hath made with us (ac|cording to the Scripture) and which we are to live;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 8.</NOTE> <HI>For after the&s;e daies</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>a new Covenant will I make, &amp;c.</HI> therefore a new life will he give.</P>
<P>And that the word <HI>(Everla&s;ting)</HI> and <HI>(For ever)</HI> hath an end with us, I &s;hall yet prove from &s;everal Scriptures; for in &s;ome Scriptures it is &s;aid, <HI>The earth &s;hall endure for ever;</HI> as <HI>Eccle&s;.</HI> 1. in others it is &s;aid, <HI>The earth &s;hall be di&s;&s;olved and burnt up:</HI> now that earth which &s;hall have no end, mu&s;t be that which had no beginning; for what&s;oever hath a beginning, hath al&s;o an end; and what that earth is which hath neither beginning nor end, the Preacher in <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;tes</HI> will tell you.</P>
<P>But there is a earth which &s;hall have an end, and that is the
<PB N="62" REF="34">earth which the Devil feeds upon,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 3.14.</NOTE> and inhabits in, to wit, fle&s;h, &s;in and corruption, the old man in us, that is of the earth earthy, together with all carnal wi&s;dom,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 15.47.</NOTE> &s;elf-righteou&s;ne&s;s, fle&s;h, form, and formality, as that which is not &s;pirit and truth, and that cannot endure the fire (even God when he appeareth in righ|teou&s;ne&s;s) why this &s;hall be burnt up,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 12.29.</NOTE> con&s;umed and &s;catter|ed before the Lord as du&s;t before the wind; though it is &s;aid to be for ever, and everla&s;ting; as in <HI>Habackkuk</HI> 3.6. Yet when the Lord &s;hall &s;o come in his glorious brightne&s;s, as is there &s;po|ken of, then &s;hall all things of man, and that is earthy, be &s;cat|tered, bow and melt before him (as is written) <HI>Before him went the pe&s;tilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet; he &s;tood and mea&s;ured the earth, he beheld and drove a&s;under the Nations, and the everla&s;ting mountains were &s;cattered, the perpetual hills did bow;</HI> that is, the mountains of fear, &s;in, death, the Devil, and mens pretended holine&s;s, heaven and happine&s;s, which is filthine&s;s when out of its place;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;alm 64.6.</NOTE> this &s;hall all be &s;cattered and melt before the Lord, as mountains &s;tanding between the Lord and us, and as &s;o many fal&s;e gods in the way of the true God, which hath been &s;aid to la&s;t for ever; yet the&s;e &s;hall pa&s;s away, and be removed out of their places into no place, but fly away from the face of him that &s;its upon the throne, who&s;e name is called <HI>Faithful and true,</HI> and that reigns him&s;elf for ever and ever, world without end.</P>
<P>And thus one life ends in another life, the life of the old man in the life of the new man; or we changed from life to life, from glory to glory, from one everla&s;ting to another, til we can change no more;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev, 20.11.</NOTE> which &s;hews that there are more changes then one, and more everla&s;tings then one (as to men) and &s;o more lives then one, which men are &s;aid to live, and be changed from, till they are changed from all things into God, which is their la&s;t change.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<PB N="63" REF="34">
<HEAD>A word of Conclu&s;ion to the Iudge.</HEAD>
<P>AND now la&s;tly, I cannot but add a few words more, and therein affirm both before God and men, that ever &s;ince I knew any thing of God, my whole de&s;ign both in writing, &s;peaking and walking according to the utmo&s;t of my power re|ceived of God, hath ever been, and I hope ever &s;hall be, &s;till to &s;et forth the glory of God, the advancement of Chri&s;ts King|dom, peace and righteou&s;ne&s;s among men, and the throwing down of Antichri&s;t, the Devil and his Kingdom, with all de|ceivablene&s;s, and unrighteou&s;ne&s;s of men and what&s;oever el&s;e is and hath been contrary to the publike peace of this Nation, under which we &s;hould be protected, and no longer do I de&s;ire or &s;hall endeavour to write or &s;peak a word, then that it &s;hould not tend to this, even the advancement of the Kingdom of the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, without partiality, or aiming at any private or &s;elf-intere&s;t of my own or an<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> others di&s;tinct, but for the publike good of all men, whom I de&s;ire and do &s;till endeavour in love to &s;erve being made willing to &s;pend and be &s;pent for them, notwith&s;tanding the many reproaches, revilings and per|&s;ecutions I meet withal; yet &s;till that I would continue a faith|ful &s;ervant to the truth in all things, by which I am made free to &s;erve in love and for which I am not only ready to be bound, but to &s;uffer.</P>
<P>All which particulars according to your Lord&s;hips de&s;ire, I do mo&s;t humbly pre&s;ent you with before this honourable Court, and &s;o leave them to your con&s;ideration, to do as the Lord of heaven and earth &s;hall direct you who works all things according to the coun&s;el of his own will, and will glorifie him|&s;elf in all things that him&s;elf doth.</P>
<P>And now what &s;hall I &s;ay more? why let the Lords will be done, whether in life or death, in freedom or impri&s;onment, ac|cording to his own will and plea&s;ure be it, into who&s;e ble&s;&s;ed arms of mercy, love, joy, and peace. I do freely give up my &s;elf, and &s;hall for ever lodge in his bo&s;om of life and &s;alvation, there to re&s;t and abide for ever.</P>
<PB N="64" REF="35">
<P>While I was making my an&s;wer, my accu&s;ers with many others of their con&s;orts, did all the time of my pleading interrupt me, urging many things to me to in&s;nare me, and to incen&s;e the Judge and Jury again&s;t me, till the Judge reproved them for it, who after he had heard my an&s;wer, and under&s;tanding it, know|ing it al&s;o not to come within the compa&s;s of any late Act of Parliament, and withal perceiving the malice of my enemies, did as the Lord had directed him, who before the petty Jury went forth to con&s;ult upon their verdict (who under&s;tood it not them|&s;elves, neither what they had to do in &s;uch a bu&s;ine&s;s, being all ignorant men both of the Law, and of &s;uch things) acquainted them with the truth of the bu&s;ine&s;s, that &s;o Ju&s;tice and Equity might take place, who&s;e directions were according to what follows.</P>
<P><HI>Judge.</HI> You of the Jury, you have heard the evidence, and you have heard the an&s;wer of his defence, which if what he hath &s;aid to us be his meaning, it is very good, and what I believe my &s;elf to be truth, and we are to take his &s;en&s;e and meaning upon the words, and not anothers, the words being his own: but &s;hould we take the very expre&s;s words of the Indictment, with|out a qualification of them, yet it comes not under the Law, or Act of Parliament, according to the rule of which Act we are to go; as for the fir&s;t thing, that he &s;hould &s;ay Chri&s;t dyed for his own &s;ins, it comes not neer it, though indeed the &s;econd concerning heaven and hell comes &s;omething neer it, yet not &s;o neer as to be found within the compa&s;s of it; for the Act &s;aith, if a man avow and affirm that there is no heaven and hell; but that he doth not, and this al&s;o was by way of di&s;pute or confe|rence after Sermon, as you &s;ee the witne&s;&s;es to the Bill do con|fe&s;s; and what is &s;aid in di&s;pute, cannot be &s;aid to be avowed and affirmed, for it may fall in by way of an Argument, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> And as to the la&s;t words, that everla&s;ting life &s;hould end in this life, there is nothing mentioned in the Act again&s;t it; therefore we are not to meddle with it, and you are not to bring him in guilty for any thing he is here indicted, it being not within the compa&s;s of the Act.</P>
<P>And thus with other words to that purpo&s;e, did the Judge
<PB N="65" REF="35">&s;peak to the Jury before they gave in their verdict, which none that heard it but thought it had been &s;ufficient to have &s;atisfied any hone&s;t Jury in the world, had they been but rational men; yet it &s;atisfied not the&s;e, for they malitiou&s;ly brought me in guil|ty, who were prompt to it by my accu&s;ers and others that fol|lowed them forth of the Court, contradicting the words of the Judge, &s;aying that they were not to take notice of what the Judge had &s;aid, neither of my an&s;wer, but the Bill. Being asked the rea&s;on why they brought me in guilty; they &s;aid they could do no le&s;s, they were &s;o followed by the Prie&s;ts from place to place and importuned to it, that they could be at no quiet for them unle&s;s they did it. A wi&s;e Jury, to be &s;worn and then &s;wayed by other men! but this they did to do the Prie&s;ts a plea|&s;ure again&s;t me, as <HI>Fe&s;tus</HI> did to do the Jews a plea&s;ure again&s;t <HI>Paul, Acts</HI> 25.9.</P>
<P>Then the Judge examined them what crime they found me guilty of: they an&s;wered they could not tell what but according to the evidence; then &s;aid the Iudge, doth the thing evidenced come within the compa&s;s of the Act? who again cau&s;ed the Act to be read to them and bid them take notice of it; yet they could not tell what crime I was guilty of, but &s;till &s;aid according to the Evidence; then the Iudge asked them what the Evidence was, and they could not declare it tell they were told it: and now how unfit the&s;e men are to be made a Iury of &s;uch things, let all men that hear it take notice.</P>
<P>Then the Iudge as before (perceiving their ignorance) &s;hewed them how it came not within the compa&s;s of the Act, and there|fore ought not to be found; then &s;aid the Iury, we will referr it to you: Nay &s;aid the Iudge, I mu&s;t have your verdict: Not guilty then, &s;aid &s;ome of the Iury; others &s;aid guilty; what are you divided (&s;aid the Iudge) I will not receive your verdict till you are agreed, and unle&s;s you will agree upon it, you &s;hall be &s;hut up together in one room all night, where you &s;hall have neither bread nor beer, fire nor candle.</P>
<P>But when they heard this, they began to murmur within them&s;elves why they &s;hould not agree, yet the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">udge willing to &s;hew them favour, did only rebuke them, bidding them to bring in their verdict the next morning by eight of the clock, upon pain
<PB N="66" REF="36">of twenty pound a piece, and where I was then al&s;o my &s;elf to appear, and there according to the reque&s;t of the Judge I was to give in the heads of my an&s;wer in writing, which then did, and it was there read to the &s;atisfaction of the Court.</P>
<P>Then the Jury being again called, before they gave in their Verdict, u&s;ed the name or one <HI>Vey&s;ie</HI> of <HI>Tainton</HI> neer <HI>Burford,</HI> which (&s;aid they) de&s;ires to be a witne&s;s again&s;t him, for &s;aying that Chri&s;t was the cau&s;e of <HI>Cains</HI> fall.</P>
<P>No &s;aid the Judge <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> will hear no &s;uch malitious fellows, but will keep clo&s;e to the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ndictment; and you of the Jury are to mention none, but to give in your Verdict: then &s;aid they, guilty.</P>
<P>Now the Judge well knowing the Law, and how that tho&s;e things came not within the compa&s;s of it; al&s;o perceiving the malice of my accu&s;ers and the ignorance of the Jury in &s;uch things, as was then manife&s;ted; and him&s;elf willing to do ju&s;tice, took bayl for my appearance at the next A&s;&s;izes, at which my accu&s;ers began to fall mad, crying out again for my impri&s;on|ment, bani&s;hment or &s;ilencing, but the Judge told them he could do neither, but mu&s;t go according to the Law, and the Law did not require any &s;uch thing.</P>
<P>Then my accu&s;ers to lay another foundation again to en&s;nare me, having mi&s;&s;ed the former, pre&s;ented to the Judge a paper, wherein were many particular points of their own judgement, that he &s;hould prevail upon me to &s;et my hand to it, as that which I would own for truth, thereby to confirm theirs, &amp; I never more to preach again&s;t the &s;ame; but this being offered to me, I refu&s;ed it, and de&s;ired not to &s;et my hand to other mens writ|ings, but to what I write my &s;elf, unle&s;s I may read it, and al&s;o find it to be truth according to the Scripture and my apprehen|&s;ion; then &s;aid the Judge (in the pre&s;ence of my accu&s;ers) take it and read it; which I did and gave it to the Iudge again; and becau&s;e my accu&s;ers with others, reported that I &s;et my hand to all that they had writ, as a recantation of what my &s;elf formerly writ, and declared: therefore for the &s;atisfaction of other peo|ple, the proving of them lyers, and clearing my &s;elf in it, it is here publi&s;hed both what they writ, and al&s;o what part there|of I refu&s;ed, and what I &s;igned di&s;tinctly as followeth.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="paper">
<PB N="67" REF="36">
<HEAD>A Paper written by my Accu&s;ers and pre&s;ented to the Judge for me to &s;ign, which I would not.</HEAD>
<P><HI>WHereas at &s;everal pa&s;&s;ages in a printed book that goes forth in my name, and in a publike di&s;covery at</HI> En&s;ton <HI>about</HI> Iune <HI>la&s;t, &s;everal per&s;ons have been offended, and been induced to believe that I am guilty of holding and publi&s;hing bla&s;phemous opinions; for the &s;atisfying all &s;uch per&s;ons, and clearing my &s;elf, I do heartily and &s;incerely profe&s;s and declare again&s;t them, as follows.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t, That Je&s;us Chri&s;t the only begotten Son of God, being eternal God and equal with the Father, did in the fulne&s;s of time take to him&s;elf mans nature; yet without &s;in; being holy, harm|le&s;s, undefiled, as the Scripture &s;aith.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Secondly, The Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t for di&s;charging the office of Mediator&s;hip whereunto he was called by his Father, did perfectly fulfill the Law, indured the &s;hameful and cur&s;ed death of the cro&s;s, but not for him&s;elf, being perfectly free from &s;in, but that he might &s;atisfie for the &s;ins of his people.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Thirdly, The third day he ro&s;e from the dead with the &s;ame bo|dy with which he &s;uffered; with which al&s;o he a&s;cended into heaven, and there &s;itteth at the right hand of his Father.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Fourthly, The bodies of men after death return to du&s;t, but their &s;ouls which die not, return to God who gave them; the &s;ouls of the righteous are received into the highe&s;t heaven where they enjoy God in glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies; and the &s;ouls of the wicked are ca&s;t into hell, where they remain in tor|ment, re&s;erved to the Iudgement of the great day.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Fifthly, At the la&s;t day &s;uch as are found alive, &s;hall be changed; and all that are dead &s;hall be rai&s;ed up with the &s;ame body, which &s;hall be united again to their &s;ouls for ever.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Sixthly, God hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world in righteou&s;ne&s;s by Je&s;us Chri&s;t, in which day the Apo&s;tles and Angels &s;hall be judged, and all per&s;ons that have lived upon the earth &s;hall appear before the Tribunal of Chri&s;t, to give an account of their thoughts, words and deeds, and to receive according to what they have done in their bodies, whether good or evil.</HI></P>
<PB N="68" REF="37">
<P>The&s;e things I believe, and do not publi&s;h any thing con|trary to them; and for any pa&s;&s;ages that have fell from me con|trary to the&s;e ignorantly, incon&s;iderately, or wilfully I do profe&s;s my &s;elf troubled at and a&s;hamed of but this I excepted again&s;t, and would not &s;et my hand unto as follows.</P>
<P>My Lord, there are &s;ome things which I may &s;et my hand unto, but there are &s;ome things that are fal&s;e and I &s;hall not &s;et my hand to that, unle&s;s they will here make it good by Scripture before this honourable Court.</P>
<P>Then &s;aid the Judge to me; What is that you &s;ay is fal&s;e which you except again&s;t?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> My Lord, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ir&s;t wherein they &s;ay &s;everal pa&s;&s;ages have been written and &s;poken by me, to the inducement of &s;everal per&s;ons to believe that I am guilty of holding and publi&s;hing bla&s;phemous opinions, which they would now have me to de|clare again&s;t, and profe&s;s my &s;elf a&s;hamed of: when I know nothing that ever I &s;poke or writ &s;ince the time of my call, that I went forth to declare any thing of God that was &s;o or ever could be proved bla&s;phemy by them, though they have endea|voured to do it, therefore not to be declared again&s;t by me.</P>
<P>My Lord; Another thing in the fifth particular which they declare as their judgement is, that the &s;ame body which dyes, &s;hall after death be &s;o rai&s;ed again and united to the &s;oul for ever; which thing is fal&s;e my Lord, and I know no Scripture to prove it; if there be, let them produce it, for here they are.</P>
<P>Then the Judge (looking upon them) asked if there were no &s;uch Scripture; but they were &s;ilent and an&s;wered not a word; then Ju&s;tice <HI>Jenkins</HI> who &s;ate upon the bench, undertook to an|&s;wer for them, and &s;aid, there is &s;uch a Scripture: produce it you then, &s;aid I, and let me &s;ee it, or I &s;hall not believe it; but he was &s;ilent al&s;o, and there was no man to be found that could &s;hew that Scripture; then I in&s;tanced a Scripture in the 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. to the contrar<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> that the &s;ame body was not to ri&s;e again, but God giveth it a body as plea&s;eth him, which body none of them yet knew.</P>
<P>Then the Judge perceiving that tho&s;e things which by them were written, and by me excepted again&s;t, could not by them
<PB N="69" REF="37">nor any other be proved, he commanded them to be cro&s;&s;ed forth before their faces, and they had nothing to &s;ay for them|&s;elves which was to the great &s;hame and di&s;grace of my accu&s;ers, and others of their tribe, that tho&s;e things which they have &s;o long held forth and maintained to the people for truth, and as their judgments, that this &s;hould now be cro&s;&s;ed out before their faces as an error; &s;ure as bad a thing as ever they could have done again&s;t them&s;elves in things of that nature; which makes it to appear, that the greate&s;t bla&s;phemer cryed bla&s;phe|my fir&s;t, and the&s;e things being cro&s;&s;ed out, I &s;et my hand to the re&s;t, which is as follows, and which to my knowledge I never declared any thing contrar<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> to, according to the Scriptures, and in a &s;piritual &s;en&s;e, in which &s;en&s;e we are to under&s;tand all things of that nature.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="doctrinal statement">
<HEAD>The part culars which I &s;igned.</HEAD>
<P><HI>FIr&s;t, that Ie&s;us Chri&s;t the only begotten &s;on of God, being eternal God and equal with the Father, did in the fulne&s;s of time take to him&s;elf mans nature yet without &s;in, being holy, harmle&s;s, undefi|led, as the &s;cripture &s;aith.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Secondly, The Lord &s;e&s;us Chri&s;t for di&s;charging the office of Med<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ator&s;hip, whereunto he was called by his Father, did perfect|ly fulfill the Law, endured the &s;hameful and cur&s;ed death of the cro&s;s, but not for him&s;elf, being (as he was) perfectly free from &s;in; but that he might &s;atisfie for the &s;in of his people.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Thirdly, The third day he ro&s;e from the dead with the &s;ame bo|dy with which he &s;uffered, with which al&s;o he a&s;cended into heaven,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 15.</NOTE> <HI>and there &s;itteth at the right hand of his Father (but not with fle&s;h and blood.)</HI></P>
<P><HI>Fourthly, The bodies of men after death return to du&s;t, but their &s;ouls which die not return to God who gave them; the &s;ouls of the righteous are received into the highe&s;t heaven, where they enjoy God in glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies; and the &s;ouls of the wicked are ca&s;t into hell, where they remain in tor|ment re&s;erved to the Judgment of the great day.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Fifthly, At the la&s;t day, &s;uch as are found alive &s;hall be
<PB N="70" REF="38">changed, and they that are dead &s;hall be rai&s;ed up.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Sixthly, God hath appointed a day wherein he will Judge the world in righteou&s;ne&s;s by Je&s;us Chri&s;t, which day the Apo&s;tate An|gels &s;hall be Iudged, and all per&s;ons that live upon the earth, &s;hall appear before the tribunal of Chri&s;t, to give an account of their thoughts, words and deeds, and to receive according to what they have done in their bodies, whether good or evil.</HI></P>
<P>The&s;e things I do believe (according to the Scriptures) and never publi&s;h any thing contrary to them.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Richard Coppin.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="11" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XI. <HI>The Authors &s;econd appearing at</HI> Oxford <HI>A&s;&s;i&s;es before Judge</HI> Hutton, <HI>and what was there done.</HI></HEAD>
<P>I According to my engagement appeared the &s;econd time at the general A&s;&s;i&s;es holden at <HI>Oxford,</HI> there expecting again to have &s;een the faces of my former accu&s;ers, they having be|fore &s;aid they would follow me to death; but they finding nothing again&s;t me came not there; &amp; proclamation being made in the Court for my di&s;charge, and none other having any thing again&s;t me to declare, one <HI>Keat</HI> the then Sheriff for that County, &s;itting in the Court, being of a bitter &s;pirit, and al&s;o an enemy to truth, as he then appeared, &s;tood up as one among the re&s;t of the accu&s;ers and informers, &s;aying that he could declare &s;omething again&s;t me, which was &s;poke in <HI>London;</HI> but when he was asked what it was, no particular could be mention, but &s;aid that he had heard very &s;trange things declared by me at S. <HI>Dun&s;tons</HI> Church in <HI>London,</HI> before a great Congregation of people of great qua|lity, to the great di&s;honour of God, and the people di&s;turbance, as &s;aid this informer Mr. <HI>Keet,</HI> who earne&s;tly importuned the Judge to re&s;train me from preaching; in an&s;wer to which the Judge told him that a mans liberty was pretious, and there was no rea&s;on any man &s;hould be re&s;trained from his liberty therein,
<PB N="71" REF="38">by any mans words what&s;oever, unle&s;s oath were made again&s;t him that he had offended the Law. Therefore (&s;aid the Judge) I cannot do it upon your words, nor any mans el&s;e; for then I &s;hould be partial, and I came not onely to bind, but to free men</P>
<P>Then the Informer Mr. <HI>Keat</HI> by name receiving tho&s;e re|pul&s;es from the Judge, was &s;ilent, and &s;ate him down with &s;hame, and then the bitter &s;pirits of others in the Univer&s;ity, who&s;e mouthes were ready to be opened in malice again&s;t me, were qua&s;hed, my freedom ordered, and my enemies a&s;hamed.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="12" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XII. </HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>The Authors humble appeal to his Highne&s;s</HI> Oliver <HI>Lord Pro|tector of</HI> England, Scotland, <HI>and</HI> Ireland, <HI>as a General redre&s;s for all people.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<OPENER><SALUTE>My Lord,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>FOra&s;much as it hath plea&s;ed the Lord of Lords to call you to this high place of Protector&s;hip (under him&s;elf) and ac|cording as he &s;hall protect, coun&s;el, guide and direct you, as he did Chri&s;t and the re&s;t of the Kings of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> &s;o you may act like them in walking before the people to do ju&s;tice among them; <HI>For by him Kings reign, and Princes decree ju&s;tice,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 8.15.</NOTE> <HI>who him&s;elf reigns in them to be their wonderful Coun&s;ellor.</HI></P>
<P>And now, as according to the coun&s;el of the Lord, your Highne&s;s hath been plea&s;ed to declare your &s;elf both by pro|mi&s;e and oath to &s;eek the peace, freedom and liberty of the peo|ple of this and other Nations again&s;t oppre&s;&s;ion and tyranny, and to protect them in their ju&s;t rights and priviledges, accord|ing to the mind of God written in Scripture for Chri&s;tian Re|ligion, that then (in the Lords time) and as he him&s;elf &s;hall ap|pear to go before you, and act in you, &s;o you may according to his directions follow him in per&s;uit thereof, bringing glory to God in the highe&s;t, and on earth peace, and good will to|wards men.</P>
<PB N="72" REF="39">
<P>Which you &s;hall, &s;o far as you follow the coun&s;el of the Lord, and not of men,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 30.1.</NOTE> who are to be coun&s;elled by you, and not you by them; and men in their coun&s;el towards you, are onely to a&s;&s;i&s;t you in carrying on that work which the Lord &s;hall advi&s;e and coun&s;el you in; who&s;e coun&s;el &s;hall &s;tand, and he will do all his plea&s;ure, when men and their coun&s;el &s;hall fail: for as he him&s;elf hath cho&s;en you, and &s;hall put his &s;pirit within you to in&s;truct and coun&s;el you; &s;o will he him&s;elf be with you to protect you, that you in him may protect his people, and therein become a nur&s;ing father (in him) to them, to increa&s;e among them their ju&s;t freedom and liberty in the Lord Je&s;us.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 49, 23.</NOTE></P>
<P>That this freedom of theirs, as it is in the Lord, and wrought by the Lord is not to be &s;etled or e&s;tabli&s;hed upon any one &s;ort of people, under any one form of Religion what&s;o|ever, any further then the Lord hath called them, and &s;hall him&s;elf e&s;tabli&s;h it in them, but all are to have like freedom, ac|cording to the &s;everal Di&s;pen&s;ations or Admini&s;trations they yet appear to live under,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Iohn 2.12, 13, 14.</NOTE> according to the mea&s;ure of the gift of God, in their &s;everal places, or degrees of callings; as they are either children, young men, or fathers in the faith of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>And you, like Chri&s;t to be a nur&s;ing Father to them all, with|out having re&s;pect to particular times, places, per&s;ons and inte|re&s;ts, or any degree of calling what&s;oever di&s;tinct, but to a&s;&s;i&s;t and protect all who&s;e practice is not licentious, and who in their ways are not de&s;tructive to true love, peace and unity among men.</P>
<P>And how you are not to hinder any, but to further all that doth any thing of the work of the Lord, for the glory of God, and the good of one another; and &s;o according to the example of Chri&s;t,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 42.1, 2, 3, 4.</NOTE> you are not to break the brui&s;ed reed, nor quench the &s;moaking flax, to de&s;troy tho&s;e for whom Chri&s;t dyed; but ra|ther to &s;ave them, &amp; as much as in you lies follow peace with all men, &s;eek to increa&s;e &amp; blow up the coals of divine love among them, that &s;o both you and they may alike walk together in the light of God, and live in the power of divine life, and &s;o be ga|thered up with the arms, and carried in the bo&s;om of him that gently leads tho&s;e that are with yong,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 40.11.</NOTE> and by the &s;ame power
<PB N="73" REF="39">may be enabled to do the &s;ame work of love one for another,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mal. 2 10. Acts 17 28 Ephe&s;. 4.6.</NOTE> to live and act in the &s;ame life, that &s;hall bring joy and comfort to each other, having all one God, and one Father, in whom we all live, move, and have our being: and who is over all, through all, and in all, God ble&s;&s;ed for ever.</P>
<P>And now that your Highne&s;s cannot be ignorant of the op|pre&s;&s;ion and cruelty that the free-born people of the Lord yet lie under, and is &s;till continued again&s;t them by a generation of oppre&s;&s;ive people that would &s;till Lord it over their lives, liberties and e&s;tates; and endeavour to bring all men to their own ways and cu&s;toms, and &s;o keep their poor brethren in bondage and &s;lavery &s;till under them, never &s;uffering the freedom of Chri&s;t to break forth, in and among his people; but in&s;tead of increa&s;ing the light and liberty thereof, they rather &s;eek to quench and inthral it.</P>
<P>But this I know, and therefore am at peace in my &s;elf, that the Lord Je&s;us will &s;uddenly ari&s;e with deliverance for his people, to bring them out of their captivity, into their glorious liber|ty, and &s;o re&s;tore peace to all men, and him&s;elf then reign as a Prince of peace in all Nations.</P>
<P>This work of the Lord, for the glory of God, and good of all people, which is now to be done, you know to be recorded in the 58. Chapter of the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> from the 6. ver&s;e to the end; and the reward that will follow the accompli&s;hment of this work: which work, &s;aith the Prophet, is, <HI>to loo&s;e the bands of wickedne&s;s, to undo the heavy burthens, and to let the oppre&s;&s;ed go free, &amp;c. and that ye break every yoke; al&s;o to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are ca&s;t out to thy hou&s;e; when thou &s;ee&s;t the naked, that thou cover him, and that thou hide not thy &s;elf from thy own fle&s;h, &amp;c. then &s;hall thy light break fo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">th as the morning, and thine health &s;hall &s;pring forth &s;peedily, and thy righteou&s;ne&s;s &s;hall go before thee, and the glory of the Lord &s;hall be thy reward, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>That then according (as this is to be done,) as God &s;hall en|able you, and in every thing fit and qualifie you for this work of his, &s;o you may as a ju&s;t and impartial Governor in the hands of the Lord, be plea&s;ed to come forth in a general re|dre&s;s for all people to make good this good work of the Lord,
<PB N="74" REF="40">which he hath been plea&s;ed to put you upon the promi&s;e of for the deliverance of his people, that &s;o under your protection they may live &s;ecurely, walk chearfully, and &s;it down contented|ly in that which makes mo&s;t for the peace of their own &s;ouls, the &s;afety of their bodies, and the happy &s;ucce&s;s one of another in the Lord Je&s;us, to the end that God both from your &s;elf, and all others, may in all things have all the glory; his people, peace and freedom one with another, and you the reward of a true &s;ervant of the Lord</P>
<P>And therefore now ina&s;much as by your Highne&s;s (in who&s;e hands under God the power of this and other Nations is at this time &s;eated, the Lord hath been plea&s;ed to promi&s;e a perfor|mance of this work, give me leave to proceed in this humble ap|peal to your Highne&s;s, to &s;et before you &s;ome abu&s;es offered again&s;t the Laws and Liberties of the people now under your protection, as will appear in that which follows; and how ac|cording to my experience the people of God have always &s;uffer|ed for the te&s;timony of Je&s;us, in pre&s;sing after, and walking in their liberty in him, which tho&s;e that knew it not, ever did, and &s;till do oppo&s;e.</P>
<P>And that upon con&s;ideration thereof, you may to the utter|mo&s;t of your endeavour in the Lord Je&s;us, &s;tand by his peo|ple to relieve them, protect, &s;upport and defend them in their ju&s;t rights and priviledges, their lives, liberties and e&s;tates, a|gain&s;t their enemies that oppo&s;e them, you will evermore en|gage the hearts of the free born people of the Lord, in love to &s;erve you, as you in love and the pre&s;ence of God &s;hall &s;erve them&punc; and the God of love and peace&punc; give patience to all his people to wait upon the Lord, for what he in his own time &s;hal be plea&s;ed to bring forth by you:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 28.16.</NOTE> and then <HI>he that believes, &s;hall not need to make ha&s;te.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="13" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="75" REF="40">
<HEAD>CHAP. XIII. </HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>The &s;ufferings of Chri&s;t, his Prophets, and Apo&s;tles, together with the Authors &s;ufferings, briefly di&s;covered and pre&s;ented to his Highne&s;s, in his humble Appeal.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<OPENER><SALUTE>My Lord,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>ACcording to the Declaration of Scripture, we find, that what&s;oever of truth hath at any time been held forth or declared by any to whom God hath made him&s;elf known, that the publi&s;hers thereof were &s;ufferers therein: This we find in the truth it &s;elf, the Lord Je&s;us; for declaring him&s;elf in love to men, was always a &s;ufferer by men, who under&s;tood him not;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat 2.</NOTE> for from the fir&s;t day of his birth, that he was but reported to be the Son of God, did <HI>Herod,</HI> together with the chief Prie&s;ts and Phari&s;es, &s;end forth after him to de&s;troy him; and the more of God or that divine life there appeared in him, the more did they &s;eek to take his life away from him; not for the envy they had to his per&s;on onely, but to that life which was in|deed the life of God manife&s;ted in him, which life they knew not; <HI>For had they known him, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory:</HI> but they knew him not, neither would they own his life, and power to be of God, but rather of the Devil; for &s;aid they, <HI>He ca&s;teth out Devils through the Prince of Devils,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 9 34.</NOTE> <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and Chri&s;t him&s;elf tells us, that <HI>&s;o they did by his Prophets that were before him, &s;ome they &s;toned, and put to death;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 5.11.12</NOTE> <HI>others they per&s;ecuted;</HI> even &s;o is it now.</P>
<P>The like appeared in his Apo&s;tles, who after their conver&s;ion, that they were called to the preaching of the Go&s;pel, what &s;ufferings, &s;tripes, bonds and impri&s;onments, did they undergo for their faithfulne&s;s therein? and thus hath it been ever &s;ince to this day, with tho&s;e that have been faithful,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 4.9, 10 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16</NOTE> in holding forth any thing of the love of God manife&s;t in them, by Je&s;us Chri&s;t, for the glory of God, and peace of all men.</P>
<P>And now &s;ince the day that the Lord Je&s;us had made him|&s;elf
<PB N="76" REF="41">known to me, and I by the power of his living in me, as the lea&s;t and wor&s;t of all Saints, have been made to go forth, proclaim, publi&s;h and declare freel<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> to the world and &s;inners, the unchangeable love of the Lord Je&s;us, according to that mea&s;ure of the gift given me by him: I have uffered with Chri&s;t, in exerci&s;ing the gifts of Chri&s;t, which according to the manife&s;tation of that life and power in me, I have publi&s;hed and declared, not for price nor reward of men<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> but freely, and in love to the Lord Je&s;us and his people, as can be witne&s;&s;ed by the people of tho&s;e parts into which I have come: And to &s;atisfie any that &s;hall que&s;tion the truth of what I hold con|cerning God, and the things of God, and that have not at all heard me &s;peak thereof, and now have any de&s;ire to know my principle,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the &s;eve+ral Books written by me.</NOTE> judgement or doctrine therein. I &s;hall direct them to &s;everal Books of my writing now extant; the one is called <HI>Devine Teachings,</HI> in which there are three together; the other, <HI>Mans Righteou&s;ne&s;s examined, and wherein found too light, reproved;</HI> a third, <HI>Saul &s;mitten, for not &s;miting Amaleck, &amp;c.</HI> a fourth, <HI>A Man Childe born, or God man fe&s;t in fle&s;h:</HI> And what is therein written, is the &s;ame that I &s;till am in judge|ment, and for which I have hitherto &s;uffered, been indicted, fal&s;ly accu&s;ed, &s;landered reproached and reviled, and for &s;e|veral A&s;&s;izes kept bound, by a party of the Mini&s;ters of <HI>Eng|land,</HI> and enemies of Chri&s;t, who live by the gain they make of the people; and who have appeared to be the chief in&s;tru|ments and agents for the promoting of wars and divi&s;ions among&s;t men, to advance their own intere&s;ts; with whom I have al&s;o had &s;everal di&s;putes, contentions and controver|&s;ies about Religion, I being ingaged by them, who &s;ought thereby the overthrow both of me and the things of God re|vealed in me; but they not prevailing again&s;t me, have much abu&s;ed me, and &s;everal times charged me with bla&s;phemy, brought me before Rulers, Coun&s;els, and Judges of A&s;|&s;izes, twice at <HI>Worce&s;ter,</HI> and twice at <HI>Oxford:</HI> where they laid their &s;everal accu&s;ations of bla&s;phemy (as they &s;aid) a|gain&s;t me; but could never be proved by any Law to be &s;o: whereupon, according to the will of God, I was &s;till deliver|ed, both by Law and Judges, the Lord enabling me to &s;peak
<PB N="77" REF="41">for my &s;elf; and al&s;o working upon the hearts and under&s;tand|ings of the Judges, to under&s;tand the an&s;wer by me made, and thereby free me from the cruelty of my enemies, though &s;till found guilty by the Juries, who them&s;elves under&s;tood it not (being al&s;o prompt by my adver&s;aries, as &s;everal witne&s;&s;es can te&s;tifie) and for which the &s;aid Juries were reproved by the Judges in the open Court: The particulars of which tryals I &s;hall pre&s;ent to the world more at large hereafter.</P>
<P>Thus for my faithfulne&s;s to the truth, have I &s;uffered by my enemies, who behind the backs of the Judges did accu&s;e them for inju&s;tice, concerning my deliverance, when according to law and ju&s;tice they did act and that the&s;e my enemies have &s;ince vowed (by me,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 23.12.</NOTE> as the Jews did by <HI>Paul</HI>) they would fol|low me to death, as can al&s;o be proved by &s;everal witne&s;&s;es; for the performance of which vow, and to a further di&s;covery of their malice towards me, and the truth revealed in me, they yet cea&s;e not to follow me, with endeavours to make good this their evil intentions again&s;t me; but rather then they will want &s;omething whereby to accu&s;e me (for which they have watched daily over me,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 6.7.</NOTE> as the Scribes and Phari&s;ees did over Chri&s;t) Judge <HI>Green</HI> (one of the former Judges, being dead) they re|ported they would again revive &s;ome of the former accu&s;ations again&s;t me, and &s;o again bring me to a tryal thereof: Their il|legal and unju&s;t proceedings will appear in that which follows, in the reading of which, I &s;hall humbly crave and de&s;ire your patience.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="14" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="79" REF="42">
<HEAD>CHAP. XIV. </HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>A further di&s;covery to his Highne&s;s, of the malitious practi&s;es, igno|rant cen&s;urs, and illegal proceedings of two Ju&s;tices and certain mini&s;ters at</HI> Stow <HI>on the</HI> Old <HI>in<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> loce&s;ter&s;hiere, <HI>March</HI> 19. 1653. <HI>again&s;t the &s;uffering Author.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<OPENER><SALUTE>My Lord,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>VPon the ninteenth day of <HI>March</HI> la&s;t pa&s;t, being the Lords day, I (through the de&s;ire and earne&s;t reque&s;t of very many of the Town and Pari&s;h of <HI>Stow</HI> on the <HI>Old</HI> in the Coun|ty of <HI>Gloce&s;ter,</HI> and by &s;everal other of the neighbour Pari&s;hes and Towns neer adjacent) was at <HI>Stow,</HI> where I was to preach, to an&s;wer the de&s;ires of tho&s;e people that were there, and that de&s;ired me to come, where and at which time I went to the Church or common me ting place in the morning and heard one Mr. <HI>Elmes</HI> then Mini&s;ter of <HI>Winchcombe</HI> preach who there delivering &s;omething contrary to truth, and having ended his Sermon that the people were departing, I with his con&s;ent, pro|pounded to him a que&s;tion as follows.</P>
<P>Sir, Ina&s;much as by the providence of God and the civil re|que&s;t of many people, I am here this day, and at this time a hearer of you, I &s;hall, if I may in love be admitted in the after|noon, be a &s;peaker, if not in this place, then in &s;ome other place where the Lord &s;hall direct us; for to that end and purpo&s;e was I invited to Town this day.</P>
<P>He an&s;wered, that he him&s;elf was a &s;tranger and could not grant it, but &s;aid that he thought I had had &s;omething to &s;ay again&s;t his Doctrine: to which I an&s;wered, I had; and &s;o &s;hew|ing him his error, I declared again&s;t it, that the people might not be deceived by it.</P>
<P>For that which he &s;aid was this, as the whole Congregation can witne&s;s that God feeding his people <HI>I&s;rael</HI> as a Lamb in a large place, was his leaving of them to them&s;elves, a letting them loo&s;e to all manner of &s;in and wickedne&s;s to run head long
<PB N="78" REF="42">into hell; which appearing to me &s;o gro&s;s an error, I could not let it pa&s;s; but an&s;wered, that God feeding his people I&s;rael as a Lamb in a large place, was an enlargement of the manife&s;ta|tion of his love and favour to them in Chri&s;t Je&s;us, in their return to him from their back&s;liding condition; it was a bringing of them into that City and Sion of the living God,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 33.21.</NOTE> where the glo|rious Lord him&s;elf will be unto us a place of broad Rivers and &s;treams, and then &s;hall we run the way of his Commandments, (and not our own) when he hath enlarged our hearts; and peo|ple fed by God as Lambs, cannot be &s;aid to be left of God or for&s;aken, but are fed with Chri&s;t who is their daily bread from heaven, and God cannot be &s;aid to feed his people,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 119.32. I&s;a. 24 14.</NOTE> when he is &s;aid to leave them; but according to your own principle you will &s;ay, that tho&s;e that are let loo&s;e unto all manner of &s;in and wic|kedne&s;&s;es, to run headlong into h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ll, are not fed by God but the Devil.</P>
<P>And now an&s;wer being thus made in as civil a manner as could be, and there being <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">re&s;ent one <HI>John Crofty</HI> and <HI>Richard Aylworth,</HI> Ju&s;tices of the Peace for that County, who hearing this my &s;peech made to their Mini&s;ter, were much moved and enraged in their &s;pirits again&s;t me, as appeared by their rude and uncivil carriage at that time towards me who al&s;o &s;aid I &s;hould have &s;poke to their Mini&s;ter in private and not in publike; to which I an&s;wered that no time and place was &s;o fit as then and there, the people being pre&s;ent; for truth &s;eeks no corners; whereupon the &s;aid Ju&s;tices to carry on their de&s;ign of a fur|ther proceeding again&s;t me, did immediately charge the Con|&s;tables with me, commanding them to bring me into the Mini|&s;ters hou&s;e, where they and <HI>Elmes</HI> the &s;aid Mini&s;ter was, and &s;o commanding the doors to be &s;hut, they de&s;ired I would an&s;wer &s;ome que&s;tions which they &s;hould propound; I told them that what they had to propound in love and for edification to any, I &s;hould a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">r them; which was as follows.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t Que&s;tion; Whether I did believe there was a God, and a Devil-a heaven and a hell? I an&s;wered, that there was both God and Devil, Heaven and Hell,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 8.5, 6.</NOTE> &s;alvation and damna|tion: and I further &s;aid that there were al&s;o Gods many and Lords many in the world, known as to men and wor&s;hipt by
<PB N="80" REF="43">men,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 17.23.</NOTE> though but one true God and him mo&s;t men did ignorant|ly wor&s;hip.</P>
<P>Another que&s;tion they asked me, whether God would &s;ave all men or no? I an&s;wered, that what the Scripture &s;aid I would &s;ay; and the Scripture &s;aid of God, that he <HI>will have all men to be &s;aved,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 2.4, 5, 6.</NOTE> <HI>and to come unto the knowledge of the truth; for there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the man Chri&s;t Je|&s;us, who gave him&s;elf a ran&s;om for all, to be te&s;tified in due time;</HI> but we &s;ee that all men are not yet &s;aved; for all men have not yet this te&s;timony, or do not yet believe, for he that believes not is condemned already,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 3.18. 1 Ioh 5 10. Rev. 1 5.</NOTE> and he that doth believe hath the witne&s;s in him&s;elf and this witne&s;s is Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>A third que&s;tion was; Whether I did believe there were three per&s;ons in the Trinity? The Trinity I acknowledged; and de|manded of them what they meant by per&s;on, whether a material body of fle&s;h and bones or not? To which they did not an&s;wer; but asked me again, if there were not three di&s;tinct beings? I an|&s;wered,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Ioh 5.7, 8.</NOTE> that according to Scripture there were three that bear witne&s;s in heaven, and three that bear witne&s;s on earth, and each three did agree in one; &s;o that there was but one being of all things, and that being was eternal; then they asked me what the three that bear witne&s;s in heaven were, and whether they were not three per&s;ons? I an&s;wered that according to Scripture they were known by the name of Father, Son and Spirit, and were three in re&s;pect of manife&s;tation to the creature, and yet but one in union and being with the Creator and Father of all things: they again asked me how far the&s;e three were di&s;tinct one from another? I an&s;wered, that &s;o far as the Father is from the Son,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh 14 10, 11.</NOTE> and the Son from the Father, &s;o far are they di&s;tinct one from another.</P>
<P>And thus they provoking and urging me with many que&s;tions, &s;ought to en&s;are me, as it is written the Scribes and Phari&s;ees did by Chri&s;t,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 11.53, 54.</NOTE> <HI>laying wait for him, and &s;eeking to catch &s;omething out of his mouth that they might accu&s;e him:</HI> but I an&s;wered as the Lord did enable me, and according to Scripture.</P>
<P>And now I having thus an&s;wered to their que&s;tions, and they therein receiving nothing again&s;t me, told me that I had for|merly &s;poken things that were bla&s;phemy, and they would
<PB N="81" REF="43">que&s;tion me for that; I told them again that nothing of bla&s;phemy could ever yet be proved again&s;t me, though endeavoured by my enemies; and what I had been formerly charged with as bla&s;|phemy; I have already an&s;wered, and now &s;hould at any time be ready in love to an&s;wer them or any other that &s;hould ask me a rea&s;on of the hope that is in me; and the practi&s;e of Chri&s;tians (as they profe&s;&s;ed them&s;elves to be) I told them was not to lay violent hands on any, charging Officers with them, for &s;peaking of the things of God in a way contrary to their judgement or apprehen&s;ions; and &s;o to make a man an offender for a word,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">9.21.</NOTE> and how we never found in Scripture thar A Chri&s;tian living in the Faith of the Lord Je&s;us, did ever per&s;ecute, accu&s;e, charge, judge or condemn any in point of wor&s;hip towards God, but were them&s;elves alwayes accu&s;ed, judged and condemned by others that believed not; and men may differ in opinion or judgement of things, and yet be good Chri&s;tians; but though we may thus differ, yet let us be reconciled together in love, and not Judge one another; for love is a fulfilling of the whole Law; and not to love is a breach of the Law.</P>
<P>And (&s;aid I) as I have heard your Mini&s;ter, &s;o both him and you if you plea&s;e may in like manner hear me; and if I &s;hall erre in any thing I &s;peak, then you have your liberty to &s;hew me wherein, and we in love to di&s;cour&s;e it forth before the people, which thing might tend much to the glory of God and the edi|fication one of another; but this they refu&s;ed, and would not grant, but told me that unle&s;s I would come to Church in the afternoon, and hear their Mini&s;ter without objecting any thing again&s;t him, they would &s;till keep me as a Pri&s;oner; to which I an&s;wered, that unle&s;s I might &s;peak as well as hear, having an op|portunity when their Mini&s;ter had done, I would not come, but would in &s;ome other place &s;peak what God &s;hould make known to me: and I further &s;aid, that the Antichri&s;tian Law of com|pelling men to Church, was not now in force, but men were to have their liberty therein; whereupon they gave the Con&s;tables further charge of me, commanding me not to &s;peak anywhere within their liberty; and they not to &s;uffer any people to come neer me, nor I to come to them for that day, and in the time of their afternoon exerci&s;e, they commanded me to be kept clo&s;e pri&s;oner, which I was for above two hours, as will further
<PB N="82" REF="44">appear in that which follows; all which proceedings of theirs &s;eems much contrary to what your Highne&s;s hath been plea&s;ed to declare in your 36. Article in the 43. page of <HI>The Common|wealths Government,</HI> &s;igned by your Highne&s;s <HI>Decemb.</HI> 16. 1653. that none &s;hould be compelled by penalty or otherwaies to the publike profe&s;&s;ion held forth and that all Laws contrary to Chri|&s;tian liberty were to be null and void, how contrary were the&s;e mens actions then to that?</P>
<P>But the Con&s;tables being pre&s;ent all a long from the begin|ning of this bu&s;ine&s;s, who &s;eeing and hearing all that pa&s;t be|tween us, and finding no evil or mi&s;demeanor on my part com|mitted, yet were alwayes in my company, were them&s;elves wil|ling to hear me; and the people both of Town &amp; Country being many, and no hou&s;e there able to contain them, they before one of the clock that day were a&s;&s;embled together in the &s;treet, the number of which were &s;uppo&s;ed by many people to be neer one thou&s;and, to whom began my di&s;cour&s;e thus.</P>
<P>Friends, The afternoon Sermon being not yet began at Church, and becau&s;e we will not be idle, I &s;hall in the mean time, while we have an opportunity, &s;peak &s;omething to you for your &s;ouls edification and comfort; and then you that will go to the Church may; and this I &s;hall al&s;o de&s;ire of you while you are here, that nothing may be &s;aid or done on your parts con|trary to the pre&s;ent power and publike peace of this Nation, by which we &s;hould be protected in this our Godly exerci&s;e; and you that are Officers, take notice of any that &s;hall in this our meeting make any di&s;turbance, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>But after half an hours &s;pace that I had proceeded thus in &s;peaking to the people, Mr. <HI>Crofts</HI> and Mr. <HI>Aylworth</HI> the &s;aid Ju&s;tices, and <HI>Elmes</HI> the &s;aid Mini&s;ter, with their hor&s;es came ri|ding in among&s;t the people in a tumultuous manner, &amp; di&s;turbed the whole company, laid violent hands on me, commanding the people to a&s;&s;i&s;t them in it, who refu&s;ed, but rather endeavour|ed to per&s;wade the di&s;turbers of the peace (at that time) to be quiet, the people &s;till calling upon me to &s;peak on, and they would &s;till hear, in the interim two ma&s;tive Dogs fall on the Ju|&s;tices hor&s;es, as if they had known them to be the di&s;turbers of the people. Then the &s;aid Ju&s;tices departed a little from the company; but <HI>Elmes</HI> the &s;aid Mini&s;ter urged them again not to
<PB N="83" REF="44">depart away till they had di&s;mi&s;&s;ed our meeting; whereupon they came again in like manner as before; and while a Warrant was a preparing to apprehend me, they with &s;ome others would not let me go on in my former di&s;cour&s;e, but would engage me upon a di&s;pute, taking an occa&s;ion to quarrel with me for preaching with my Hat on my head, though in the &s;treet, and &s;aid it was contrary to the rule of the Go&s;pel. I demanded of them what was meant by head; they &s;aid the head of mans bo|dy; to which I an&s;wered, that it was not that head meant in the Go&s;pel: if it were, then any thing on the head were a covering; but your Mini&s;ter had this morning a Cap on his head, when he both preached and prayed, therefore was his head covered; and no greater di&s;honour could I at this time give to my head then to keep my hat off, having no cap to put on, for the wind blows very cold; be&s;ides the Sun &s;hines full in my face; but that this is not the head there meant, con&s;ider; for it is written that the head of every man is Chri&s;t,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 11 <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">.4.</NOTE> and Chri&s;t is the wi&s;dom and power by which all men &s;hould both pray and prophe&s;ie; and any mand praying or prophecying without this, having Chri&s;t his head covered, vailed or hid in him, and not manife&s;t in him or known by him,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 2.23.</NOTE> all that he &s;peaks and asks in pretence for Chri&s;t, is to the di&s;honour of Chri&s;t; and any man having thus his head covered, he di&s;honours his head.</P>
<P>Then &s;aid the Ju&s;tices in an&s;wer to this: O horrible bla&s;phe|my! what, will you &s;ay that Chri&s;t is the head of every man, and that he may be covered? you &s;hall an&s;wer for this at <HI>Gloce&s;ter;</HI> and &s;o they pre&s;ented to the Con&s;tables a Warrant to appre|hend me, commanding others al&s;o to a&s;&s;i&s;t them (but were con|&s;trained to do it them&s;elves, and then carried me to a hou&s;e in the Town, where they kept me clo&s;e pri&s;oner for the &s;pace of above two hours (while they went to their afternoon exerci&s;e) &s;uffering none to come at me, neither I to &s;peak to any &s;o much as through the window; after that I had liberty to go to my Inn until the next day; and then by the Ju&s;tices Order, I was to give bayl, or go to Jayl.</P>
<P>The next day being come, I appeared before <HI>John Crofts</HI> one of the &s;aid Ju&s;tices, with whom there were a&s;&s;embled &s;everal Mi|ni&s;ters, the &s;aid <HI>Elmes,</HI> with one <HI>Palmer,</HI> and others, who again urged many que&s;tions to me to in&s;nare me; and the Ju&s;tice de|manded
<PB N="84" REF="45">of me bail; but I de&s;ired fir&s;t to know my accu&s;ers, and what evil I had done. He an&s;wered, that my accu&s;ers were not yet known, neither the accu&s;ations; neither was I to know them till I come to tryal. But, &s;aid he, we have &s;ent warrants about the Countrey to &s;ummon in &s;everal per&s;ons whom we do believe will be your accu&s;ers; and that we are &s;hortly to have a meeting at <HI>Stow,</HI> where the per&s;ons &s;ummoned are to meet us; after which time if you &s;end to me, you &s;hall have a Copy of your ac|cu&s;ers names, and al&s;o the accu&s;ations: In the mean time (&s;aid <HI>Crofts</HI>) we have power in our &s;elves to bind you to appear, or &s;end you to Goal.</P>
<P>And &s;o without any thing being laid to my charge, either by them&s;elves or others, they according to their own wills, bound me to appear at <HI>Gloce&s;ter</HI> A&s;&s;izes following, to an&s;wer to what was not yet charged again&s;t me: and according as the Prie&s;ts and Elders de&s;ired of <HI>Fe&s;tus</HI> judgement again&s;t <HI>Paul,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act 25.14, 15, 16.</NOTE> before his accu&s;ers were come face to face, &s;o the &s;aid Mini&s;ters then pre|&s;ent with the Ju&s;tices, would have had me been &s;ent to Goal, be|fore I was accu&s;ed of any thing; and &s;aid, That both I and all that adhear'd to me, de&s;erved no better place.</P>
<P>After this, I went the &s;ame day to <HI>Stow,</HI> where was news of &s;everal other Mini&s;ters of the &s;ame Country then come to Town to enquire concerning me, &s;ome of which were my former accu|&s;ers at <HI>Worce&s;ter</HI> and at <HI>Oxford:</HI> And I being again de&s;ired by many people of the Town and Pari&s;h of <HI>Stow,</HI> went again into the &s;treet, and there preached that day; after which I took my leave of the people, rejoycing that the Lord for carrying on &s;o good a work, had again cho&s;en me as an in&s;trument in his hand, to bear witne&s;s to the truth, and &s;uffer &s;hame for his name.</P>
<P>And now, my Lord, after the con&s;ideration of all the fore|going di&s;cour&s;e, let it plea&s;e your Highne&s;s to do what to your own wi&s;dom &s;hall &s;eem meet, that your practice may an&s;wer your title, even to protect the innocent from tho&s;e that would devour them; for there are many wolves in lambs clothing, who under the pretence of &s;tanding for the truth, and the faith once delivered to the Saints, do per&s;ecute the pure appearances of God in his people;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3</NOTE> like unto tho&s;e which <HI>Timothy</HI> &s;peaks of, who <HI>having a form of godline&s;s, deny the power thereof.</HI></P>
<P>Wherefore I being per&s;waded of your Highne&s;s's tender care
<PB N="85" REF="45">towards &s;uch as love the Lord Je&s;us in &s;incerity and truth, was oc|ca&s;ioned in boldne&s;s to pre&s;ent this unto your Highne&s;s, to right|ly inform you of the rigorous and illegal proceedings of &s;ome mennow in power, who under a form of godline&s;s, do envy the pure appearances of Je&s;us Chri&s;t in &s;pirit and truth: Where|fore, as the eye of Je&s;us is continually toward tho&s;e that love him, for good; and that <HI>in all their afflictions he is afflicted;</HI> &s;o you may be like Je&s;us Chri&s;t, in tendering tho&s;e that are preci|ous in his &s;ight, that &s;o the beloved of the Lord may lie down in &s;afety.</P>
<P>And la&s;tly, as it hath plea&s;ed the Lord to advance your High|ne&s;s above your Brethren, for their protection, pre&s;ervation and deliverance, as he did <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> above his brethren, when he made him Lord of all <HI>Pharaohs</HI> hou&s;e, and Ruler throughout all the Land of <HI>Egypt;</HI> &s;o you (like him) may not always be as a &s;tranger to your poor, grieved and oppre&s;&s;ed brethren, to try them,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 45.</NOTE> but that you (like <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI>) may al&s;o make your &s;elf known to them, by doing good for them, to comfort and relieve them in their &s;everal wants and nece&s;&s;ities, as <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> did his brethren, that &s;o you may not onely be ble&s;&s;ed in the Lord, but that both this and after-generations may al&s;o call you Ble&s;&s;ed, according as it is written, <HI>The memory of the ju&s;t &s;hall be ble&s;&s;ed,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 10, 7.</NOTE> <HI>but the name of the wicked &s;hall rot.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><DATE>July 1. 1654.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED><HI>So waiting upon what the Lord &s;hall be plea&s;ed to direct your Highne&s;s to do, in reference to the&s;e particulars, I remain,</HI> Yours to &s;erve you in the Lord,<HI>Richard Coppin.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="15" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XV. </HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>The Authors Tryal at</HI> Gloce&s;ter <HI>A&s;&s;izes, before Serjeant</HI> Glyn'; <HI>and the unju&s;t proceedings of two Ju&s;tices,</HI> John Crofts, <HI>and</HI> Richard Aylworth <HI>again&s;t him, the</HI> 22 <HI>of</HI> July, 1654.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>VPon the day and year above written, I made my appear|ance at <HI>Gloce&s;ter</HI> A&s;&s;izes, there expecting a tryal with my
<PB N="86" REF="46">then two adver&s;aries <HI>Joh. Crofts</HI> &amp; <HI>Richard Aylworth,</HI> two Ju&s;tices of the Peace for that County, who them&s;elves were there with many Mini&s;ters of the &s;ame County, conferring together con|cerning what they might inform again&s;t me, having nothing be|fore; for nothing ju&s;tly could they find then; but their malice being great, the Ju&s;tices with the &s;aid Mini&s;ters had fram'd a &s;candalous Paper, in which were many fal&s;e and &s;candalous in|formations of their own inventions, as a map of malice, which they pre&s;ented to the Court, to which was onely the name of <HI>John Crofts,</HI> and to which they them&s;elves dur&s;t not &s;wear, nei|ther could they get any other, though they &s;ought much for it; which particulars were as follow;</P>
<LIST>
<HEAD>The Information.</HEAD>
<ITEM><HI>FIr&s;t, That I had &s;everal times cau&s;ed to come together to hear me, a very great multitude of wicked and prophane people, to the di&s;turbance of the peace.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Secondly, That I di&s;turbed their Mini&s;ter in the Church, and that &s;ome of my company &s;hould call out to have the Mini&s;ter pul|led down, &s;aying, Touch</HI> Coppin <HI>who dare.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Thirdly, That believers need not pray for the pardon of &s;in.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Fourthly, That there was no heaven nor hell, but belief and un|belief.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Fifthly, That I &s;hould call to the people to &s;tand to their liberty, and not to &s;uffer the Ju&s;tices to entrench upon it.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sixthly, That I would not obey the Ju&s;tices Authority.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Seventhly, That I was a continual breaker of the peace.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>And now I being called into the Court on Saturday night, a little before the Court ro&s;e, the informations again&s;t me were read; but nothing of it being proved, there was no an&s;wer re|quired of me; and the Judge being removed to the other Court, my accu&s;ers would have been my Judges, and al&s;o witne&s;&s;es for them&s;elves; but I excepted again&s;t them, and the Court re|proved them.</P>
<P>Then I declared again&s;t their informations, &s;hewing them to be fal&s;e, and they them&s;elves to be no true Chri&s;tians living in the faith of the Lord Je&s;us, &s;o long as they did inform again&s;t, or pro&s;ecute any for their judgements; whereupon their pro|ceedings upon the informations were &s;topt.</P>
<P>Then they pre&s;ented to the Court &s;everal books with my name
<PB N="87" REF="46">to them: And the Court demanded of me, if I would own them. To which I an&s;wered, That I had written &s;uch books, with &s;uch titles; but whether tho&s;e particular books they pro|duced were the &s;ame I writ, I knew not, unle&s;s I heard them all read. And I further &s;aid, That if they had any thing again&s;t me, for breach of any <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">aw, I de&s;ired them to proceed accord|ing to the Law, and I would further an&s;wer them. Whereupon the Court told them, That they could proceed no further by the&s;e informations; but if they had any thing to accu&s;e me with|al, they were to proceed by way of indictment.</P>
<P>But my accu&s;ers not yet knowing with what more to charge me, de&s;ired to know of the Court if they might not indict me for di&s;turbing their Mini&s;ter in the Church. The Court an&s;wered They could not do &s;o the Mini&s;ter having done before I began, and therefore it could not be proved any di&s;turbance. But &s;aid the Court, If you can pick any thing forth of the books which you &s;ay are his, and prove it to be bla&s;phemy, you may indict him for that, proving fir&s;t that he &s;aw every line of the books printed: But at this my accu&s;ers were much daunted, knowing not how to prove any thing again&s;t me, and &s;o could not find any thing ju&s;tly to accu&s;e me. Whereupon they de&s;ired longer time, until Monday; which time the Court granted them.</P>
<P>And now Monday being come, I was again called into the Court before the Judge; where the &s;aid Ju&s;tices, my accu&s;ers, were pre&s;ent, but no Mini&s;ter with them, for they were onely the &s;etters on of the Ju&s;tices: who then proceeded as before, and finding nothing more again&s;t me, the fore&s;aid informations were again read: But the Judge perceiving them to be in malice, and there being no proof to them, he &s;eem'd to &s;light them, &s;ay|ing, He did not like informations in &s;uch a nature; to which my accu&s;ers an&s;wering not; I then de&s;ired to &s;peak my &s;elf (though I might have chu&s;ed, there being nothing proved again&s;t me) and the Judge giving me leave, I declared unto him in open Court the &s;ub&s;tance of the whole bu&s;ine&s;s acted again&s;t me by the &s;aid Ju&s;tices at <HI>Stow,</HI> as is before written at large; and there|by proved my accu&s;ers them&s;elves to be guilty of what they in|formed again&s;t me; and for the proof of which I would have produced &s;everal witne&s;&s;es that were then pre&s;ent&punc; But the Judge an&s;wered, he was already &s;atisfied in what I had &s;aid, that
<PB N="88" REF="47" MS="y">the wrong was done to me, and therefore de&s;ired no further witne&s;s.</P>
<P>Then my accu&s;ers again urged the books. To which I an&s;wer|ed as before, naming the &s;everal titles of the books I had written. Out of which books my accu&s;ers had pick'd here and there &s;ome part of &s;ome particular &s;entences, which they preferred to the Judge to examine me upon. But the Judge, after he had read it, told them, that they had given him that which was non-&s;en&s;e in taking part of a &s;entence, and not the whole; for in &s;o doing (&s;aid he) you may wrong the &s;en&s;e of any mans words; and you are not to do &s;o; but you are to take the words before, and the words after, and then the one might explain the other, as &s;aid the Judge. To which my accu&s;ers were &s;ilent: &s;o nothing at all being proved again&s;t me, the Judge asked them, what my life and conver&s;ation was; again&s;t which they al&s;o had nothing to &s;ay. Then they gave the Judge a note of my former accu&s;ations at <HI>Oxford,</HI> declaring that I had &s;ince &s;poke the &s;ame things; and &s;o importuned the Judge to keep me bound till the next A&s;&s;izes. But the Judge told them, he could do no &s;uch thing, unle&s;s they could prove that I had tran&s;gre&s;&s;ed the Law: and, &s;aid he, for that which ye reckoned an offence already committed by him, which for my part I cannot, you have already puni&s;hed him contrary to the Law, in keeping him bound till now.</P>
<P>And, &s;aid the Judge, as touching the accu&s;ations at <HI>Oxford,</HI> I under&s;tand he there an&s;wered them before my brother <HI>Green,</HI> then Judge of that A&s;size, and I am not to que&s;tion him any more upon that; therefore unle&s;s you have any thing again&s;t him, he ought to be freed.</P>
<P>But nothing el&s;e could they find, though they &s;ought and tryed every way for it, to the uttermo&s;t of their endeavours. Whereupon I was freed, to the &s;hame of my enemies.</P>
<P>And now what an advantage might I take again&s;t tho&s;e men, for the wrong done unto me by them, if I would proceed accord|ing to the Law? but my principles lead me to no &s;uch thing, as to &s;eek revenge again&s;t any man, but freely to forgive my ene|mies; and to love them which hate me, as Chri&s;t in me gives me Commandment; and in &s;o doing, though in many things I &s;uffer, yet in God I find re&s;t for my &s;oul.</P>
<PB REF="47">
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
