A Word to LONDONS Provinciall Assembly OR A View of some Passages in the Ministers late Vindication of their Government To which is added A Vindication of the Covenant against all Intruders and Opposers By NEHEMIA CENT Isa 62.1 For Sions sake will I not hold my peace and for Jerusalems sake will I not rest c. Jer. 5.30.31 A wonderfull and horrible thing is committed in the Land The Prophets prophesie falsly and the Priests beare rule by their meanes and my people love to have it so and what will yee doe in the end thereof Jer. 23.39.40 Therefore behold I even I will utterly forget you and I will forsake you and the City that I gave you and your Fathers and cast you out of my presence And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you and a perpetuall shame which shall not be forgotten LONDON Printed for the Author and are to be sold at the Crowne in Popes-head Alley 1650. TO THE Christian Reader Christian Reader WHEN I consider the divisions that are among us arising from the diversities of the Judgements and opinions of men and the dangers we are in thereby it makes me feare we are fallen into those times which are said shall come which are called perillous times 2 Timothy 3.1 Men shall be lovers of themselves Covetous Boasters Proud Blasphemers c. And from selfe it is that men seek to set up themselves and the brats of their owne braine and fall so in love with them as for the obtaining of their desires they run desperate hazzards for they are not willing that truth should prevaile nor those that seeke to hold it forth in their practises and therefore they indeavour to make all stoope to them and to that end they use all meanes to obtaine their owne wills and therefore they that stand against them they indeavour to loade with reproach and slander and to draw off peoples hearts from them and after themselves nay they give many privy nips at the power of Godlinesse under smooth pretences and expressions which is very sad to thinke of especially comming from such men as Ministers and Elders and in the Province of London the cheife City and place in the Kingdom which makes it the more dangerous and the more to be lamented And therefore my desire is for thy good that thou wouldest begge of God such a heart that thou maiest observe what our Saviour sayes that thou wouldest Take heed what thou doest heare or read and that of the Apostle Beleeve not every spirit but try the spirits whether they be of God or not and that try all things and hold fast that which is good For it is said by our Saviour that there shall arise many false Prophets and shall deceive many nay if it were possible they should deceive the very Elect and therefore we had need watch and pray that we enter not into temptation and therefore be very carefull when thou art to read the booke called the vindication of the Presbyterian Government and Ministers for although there be many faire words and pretences yet thou shalt finde many things in it which if thou doest not take heede may prove very dangerous unto thee for there thou mayest see godlinesse pretended but those that desire to walke up to the power of godlinesse reproached and called Schismaticks c. and charged with rending the Church and people warned to reject their doctrine and many such kind of aspersions they are laden with in many parts of that booke which is sad to thinke of But my intent is to speake but a word to them in this booke nor to say more of them at this time But my intent is as thou maiest see mainly to answer a booke that was set out with forty seven of their names to it which I think were all of the same society the reason that causes me to thinke so is because many of them are known to be of them and yet there is not a word spoken against their proceedings in that booke which may give occasion to fear they are all of one mind which is sad to think of there being so much sin in it and that thou mayest not think it strange that it should come forth row so long after I had brought it neare to a readinesse for the Presse a good while since but seeing so many Answers come to it I resolved to let it alone But now seeing a book come forth with such a dresse as A Vindication of the Presbyterian Government and Ministery I tooke it and did read it and finding still the same frame of spirit as before so farre as I was able to perceive although it were in a smoother way It put me upon thoughts to put forth what I had formerly taken some paines in especially concerning the Nationall Covenant it being that which I perceive is their strong hold to runne unto upon all occasions and also that is one of their maine Pillars to beare them up in what they do speake and write against such as walk more strictly in the wayes of God then themselves doe And besides I perceive that many of those that I beleeve fear God are much stumbled at it and caused to thinke and speake evill of the present Parliament and Army for their late actings and therefore for the vindication of the Covenant Parliament and Army and yeelding some little light to the godly Readers I have brought it forth that so if it bee the will of God people may bee more settled in the way the Lord hath cast us into and give him that praise which is his due and their duty to give him And that it may appeare neither the Parliament nor Army in what they have acted nor the godly people in what they have Petitioned have broken the Covenant especially in such a manner as some would make the world beleeve they have but those that cry out so of the breach of Covenant are the greatest breakers of it themselves and therefore that prejudice may bee taken off from the Parliament Army and godly people and the thoughts of unbyassed Readers may bee established and those that have beene and are the great Censurers of others may come to see their sinne and bee willing to take the shame of it and so cease to condemne others and learne to condemne themselves by owning their owne sinnes and that the consideration thereof may be a meanes to stop them from such high and violent courses and also from such uncharitable ways and practises And others may be kept from doing or approving these or the like practises is and shall bee my earnest desire And therefore Christian Reader my desire is that thou wouldest reade this booke with such a frame of spirit as may cause thee to read it with judgement and consideration of every part of it so as to be willing to see the truth and to stoope to it so as thou mayest understand love and practise it and therefore my desire is
whom you load with so many sad aspersions as rending the Church and hindring of Reformation and of Schisme and warn your people to take heed of them and of their doctrine as being strict above what is written c. And does not all this shew what is formerly said is apparent the Lord help you to consider it that so you may take heed how you load others with such aspersions especially such as your owne conscience will tell you walke with God in uprightnesse Would it not be better for you to lay before them the truth of your waies by the word of God and confute them by the word of God if you be able so to doe But your taking this course will give wise men to thinke or at least to feare you are not able so to doe or else that you have not found by experience the power of the truth of God in your selves for if you had you should not need to feare but that it is of farre more power to convince and prevaile with persons then all such waies as you take for all arguments although they be according to the word of God are not able to convince any except the Lord go with it by his Almighty power and therfore not such kind of courses as these be which his word allows not of and therefore you cannot have the least hope to prevaile with persons by them but you may fear the Lord will appeare against you for them and so blast you and your wayes which you seek to set up by such kind of doings I dare not think you are so little acquainted with the Lord and his power that he puts forth in his word when it is purely and truly held forth as that he is not able and willing to vindicate his owne truth when it is held forth in an humble manner without such sinfull waies as you take nay assuredly he will never owne much lesse goe out with such waies I beseech you therefore feare and tremble to goe on in them for it is just from him that you should not onely lose your labour but should meet with disgrace and if not contempt for your so doing for God will resist you in such waies And beside the persons you write to exhort I hope have not lived so long within the bounds of the Province of London where the word of God hath been so long taught and in such a manner as it hath beene and is still taught by some faithfull Ministers of the word of God but they have learned to esteeme more of one Argument out of the Word of God then of thousands of such kind of expressions nay I hope they have learned to know the Lord above such kind of expressions in such a way and therefore all such who are godly will be so farre like unto him as they will doe the like especially when they are brought forth against the generation of the just as your owne Consciences cannot but tell you these be as hath been formerly said at least some of them and therefore you must not thinke to prevaile with any that feare God by such Arguments or rather by such revilings and I desire for your sakes you be not judged at the last day for Raylers and I feare you see so much your selves that if those you so speake against if they should speake so of you it would be esteemed rayling by you and that you would make the world take notice you did so esteeme them but blessed be the Lord they doe not so nor I hope wil not deale so by you but will rather say the Lord rebuke you or rather him that furthers such courses and also pray that the Lord would please to honour you so farre as to make you see the evill of such waies and be humble and also will bring the Word of God and such Arguments therefrom as the Lord may be pleased to goe with all as may convince you and all those to whom you write and all those that shall read what you write as you and they may have cause to blesse God for while they live in this world and to all eternity and be a meanes to make you and them to study and pray the Lord to bring your hearts into such a frame that you may be willing to finde and also to submit unto the way that the Lord Jesus Christ hath appointed his people to worship him in which I hope will be the end and â—yme of all such as take pen in hand to write to answer you in this Book that so truth and not victory and the glory of God and his Will may be submitted unto and not their owne wills may be obtained of all that love the Lord Jesâ—â— in sincerity and unity and love procured therein and contention and divisions may cease among us and that we may come to serve him and one another in love that so the Lord Jesus may take deliâ—ht in us and dwell with us and in us and among us while as he shall see we seeke not our owne ends but his glory walking in selfe deniall and humility and keeping to his truth exactly and not doe as you have done to wâ—rne people to reject such doctrines as hold forth a strictnesse above what is written and therein bring in all such as teach that whosoever will enter into Church Fellowship must first take a Church Covenant I pray consider if it be not necessary they should so doe for are not all men free where they will sit down and dwell and when they are set down are they not still free whether they will joyne to the Church or not and if they doe not if they offend you may tell them if they refuse to heare you goe and tell the Church and if they send for him if he refuse to come you can proceed no further against him by your Church-way and what is meant by joyning if it be not by covenanting to walke together with the Church in the waies of the Gospel and if a person so doe then you have power over him so as the Covenant gives you all the power you have over a person to exercise the Church Discipline upon him or else you have none and if you have not power over them that are in the Church then wherefore is Church Discipline and therefore the Covenant giving you that power it must needs be necessary for that the Church hath such a power is written and must exercise it upon the offending Brother and therefore by necessary consequence from Scripture-grounds there must be a Church Covenant which you may see far more at large and more clearly inreverend M. Hookers Book of the survey of Church Government and therefore it is not a doctrine above what it written and therefore not to be rejected but such as we must have an eare to heare and a heart to beleeve being agreeable to the Word of God and for what you speake of the Lords Supper that
there is more required then freedome from ignorance and scandall if you meane grosse ignorance and scandall it is a truth and such a truth as is written and the Lord hath a mouth to speake and therefore we must have an eare to heare and a heart to beleeve and therefore it ought not to be rejected for are we not bidden to examine our selves and is it not necessary to discerne the Lords Body and also to know the danger if we doe not come worthily all which persons grosly ignorant or grosly scandalous cannot nor will not doe and if you meane by freedome from these that we should be wholly free then except you be able to prove what you say against any that they teach so it is a slander and that which you have cause to acknowledge and repent of especially you having put it in print that it may come abroad in the world for we know none require any qualifications above these and therefore I pray consider if beside the slander of that you hold forth be not dangerous to your selves and those you have written to and also to as many as shall read your Book and which is worse derogatory to the glory of Gâ—d And then consider how you will answer for it before him at that great and dreadfull day when you shall be called forth and must appeare to answer for all you have done in the body And whereas you speake of persons casting reproaches upon the Ministers of Christ I beseech you by this little that hath been said if you may not feare it may be a just hand of God against you that people should so doe as also if you doe but look whether you have not gone before them by your owne example to lead them so to doe for have you not done so witnesse what hath been already said of your dealing with others and then is it a wonder you should meet with it your selves nay have you not reproached them with unseemly names as calling them Sectaries and Schismaticks nay have you not gone against the light of your owne Consciences in what you have done while as they walke peaceably and conscientiously among you in the waies of God and so you have done worse then those you condemn which have spoken so of you for although it be not to be approved of that any should reproach you but condemned yet consider if you have not given them just cause so to doe which I hope by that time you have read this Book and considered you will smite upon your owne hearts and confesse you have and then I hope you will take the counsell is given you elsewhere in this Book and learne better language hereafter especially to publish it to the world for I cannot but beleeve you are convinced not only they are the Sâ—rvants of Christ but the Ministers of Christ especially some of them and what a sad thing it is that Ministers should so speake of Ministers if this be not rending of the Church and if it may not be called Schisme yet if it be not very like it let the judicious conscientious and impartiall Reader judge as also what hurt this may do in every place where it shall come especially it being in print and I beseech you consider what root this came from if it be not from pride as hath been formerly said for why should you thus cry out and speake so much evill of them because they will not stoop and come in to you and be of your judgement and goe on in your way why may they not as well finde fault with you because you doe not condiscend to them especially if you consider what hath been said and what is in reverend Mr. Hookers Book and we may the rather beleeve they are in the right way then you because they hold forth most selfe deniall and I beseech you therefore again and againe take heed you be not found raylers at the Churches and people of the living God and such as he will owne at the last day and bring them in Judgement against you for you know what became of him that railed on the Hoast of the living God there was a stone came and made him fall upon the earth and he was destroyed But yours being not only of the Hoast but also of the Ministers of the Lord Christ that stone that is spoken of which is hewn out of the Mountaine will fall upon you and crush you if you be found such for the Church is compared to an Army with Bannors and the Lord Christ is their Generall before whom you will never be able to stand if he come against you which the Lord in his abundant mercy give you hearts to consider of together with all the arguments besides that are written in this book and also al that hath bin or shall be written in any other book that some or all of them may be so gon along withall by his blessing the powerfull working of his Spirit as that it may throughly convince you of your sin that he may follow it on to bring you to true humiliation and acknowledgement of it in such a publike way as may be to hiâ— glory and your owne peace and true comfort that so it may be pardoned and your soules everlastingly saved and that it may doe good and keep from evill all those to whom it shall come whom he shall give a heart to read it impartially which is the whole aime and desire of him who caused it to be printed and to that end shall follow it with his prayers so farre as the Lord doth assist I should have written much more in answer to your Vindication but that I having written so much in answer to your former Booke and not doubting but that others farre more able and fit will give you full answers unto whom I shall willingly leave it and pray they may doe it effectually and with such ends and aimes as the Lord who is the searcher of all hearts may be pleased to goe along with them and it as it may become effectuall to his glory the peace and comfort of their soules and the good of all the Church and people of God and so for this time I shall commit it to him and wait and expect his gracious answer by his blessing upon it The Covenant vindicated against all Intruders and Opposers Gentlemen YOu have in a Letter of yours to the Generall and his Councell of war laid many things to the charge of the Army and so as you make them great offenders which you and all others have cause to consider of because the things therein contained do concerne the Parliament and many of the godly party in the Kingdome they having been such as have been approved of by the one and petitioned by the other and therefore it will be good to consider them againe and againe before we censure them for God does usually reveal his mind to them that feare him and therefore if it