A Seasonable TREATISE FOR THIS AGE Occasioned by a Letter written by one Mr. Woolsey prisoner in Norwich to the then-exiled Church at Amsterdam in which he endeavours to prove it unlawful to eat blood things strangled and things offered to idols now in the times of the Gospel Which Letter is by the consent of the said Church answered the Grounds and Reasons therein examined and refuted and the contrary thereunto proved from Scripture By Francis Johnson Pastor Henry Ainsworth Teacher Daniel Studley Elder Stanshal Mercer Elder Of the same Church Written long since but never published till now Gal. 5.1 Stand fast in the liberty that Christ hath made you free and be no more entangled in the yoke of bondage Col. 2.16,17 Let no man therefore judge you in meat or in drink or in respect of a holy day or of the new moon or of the sabbath day which are a shadow of things to come but the body is of Christ London Printed by J.C. for Tho. Wall and are to be sold by J. Briscoe at the blue Bible in great Green-Arber 1657. To the Reader THe Lord hath been pleased in his tender mercy towards his Church in all ages to raise up faithful instruments as these whose names are set to this Treatise especially that faithful godly man Mr. Henry Ainsworth who appeared whilst he lived a bright Star in Christs right hand labouring abundantly in the work of the Lord in opening the Scriptures as his Commentaries on the five books of Moses the book of Psalms and the Song of Songs do manifest as likewise his Communion of Saints Counter-poyson and Defence of holy Scripture together with his Trying out of Truth Arrow against Idolatry and divers other Treatises written by him in defence of the truth of God like a faithful Shepherd who never fled from the flock over which the holy Ghost had made him overseer but like a valiant * souldier of Jesus Christ riding upon the white horse of his Word under the conduct of Christ our * Captain fought the good fight of faith and finished his course so that I may boldly say by what I have heard from some that remain alive who saw his life and death and by what I have read in his Works that he hath received a crown of righteousness and as the Apostle saith of Abel whose works were righteous that he being dead yet speaketh so in like manner though he be dead yet he speaketh in his Works as in other so in this Treatise God having given him a gift in opening the mysteries contained in the Law of Shadows Many in these days are troubled about the eating of blood things strangled and things offered to idols wherein I doubt not through the blessing of God if this Treatise be read with a single eye here will appear many reasons deduced from Scripture satisfactory to any doubting soul in that particular who owns the Scripture comparing spiritual things with spiritual according to the advice of the holy Ghost To the law and to the testament wherein is revealed the whole counsel of God so that men need not say in their hearts Who shall ascend into heaven c. as if the Lord had not left in his written Word a perfect rule for all his Saints to walk by in the order of his Gospel and to resolve all doubts And hereby Satan gets advantage to ruinate the communion of Sains in that they are carried about with every wind of doctrine till through confusion they even deny the Lord that bought them slighting his Word that shall judge them one day calling it a dead letter owning nothing as the Word but Christ though the Scripture saith Every word of God is pure But those that thus slight the Scripture believe it not for those that believe it and receive it not as the word of man but as it is in truth the word of God find its effectual work in them as a light shining in a dark place David saith Through thy precepts I get understanding therefore I hate every false way For the law of thy mouth is better unto me then thousands of gold and silver I rejoyce at thy Word as one that findeth great spoil Also Job also saith I have esteemed the words of his mouth more then my necessary food If Gospel-professors would thus esteem of the words of God surely there would not be such distraction amongst them I shall say no more in commendation of the Authors of this Treatise though praise is comely for the upright but desire the Lord to set home what is here written to the hearts of all those that are troubled in this point and preserve his elect from the dangerous Errours of these times keeping their garments always white that they may be found worthy to enter into the joy of their Lord Amen T. W. The Elders and Brethren of the English Church in Amsterdam To Mr. Woolsey prisoner in Norwich wisdom and grace be multiplied by Christ to acknowledge and walk in Christ as we have received commandment from the Father AS it is a part of our joy and comfort amidst the many afflictions allotted us in this life to behold the truth of the Gospel prevaile with those that are upright of heart and tread with a right foot in the practise of the same so it is no little grief to see or hear of the declining of any from the strait paths of the Lord to either hand of which sort there is great store this day as always hath been before time Touching whom we may complain to the Lord with the Prophet * Thou hast multiplied the Nation but hast not encreased the joy And you which in your late Letter unto us blame the diversities of Opinions in the small number of those that are Separated from the Idolatrous Church ad errours and lyes dissonant and contrary to the whole truth of God and true libertie of the Gospell c. should have laid to heart your own words and spared to publish so dangerous an error under pretence of clearing your selfe as you say both of error and heresie But as all the rivers of Damascus could not wash away Naamans Leprosie so neither can all the reasons that you have rendered excuse or cleanse your Doctrine from the contagion of heresie if you persist and go forward thus to hold your selfe to perswade and thrust upon others your abstinence from meats which is reckoned by the Holy Ghost for a Doctrine of Devils 1 Tim. 4.1.3 Touching which point although you have had heretofore sufficient answer wee doubt not by that faithful Martyr of * blessed memorie Mr. H Barrow wherein as you ought and should so we might and would rest without making further reply Yet because wee have for the present no Coppy of those writings that might witnesse for us hereafter neither as we thinke were they sent unto you in the name of the
by Moses alleadged to that end neither can by any at this day be so applied as before we shewed And as you teach contrary to Pauls Doctrine unto the Romans so do you the like to that which he taught the Corinths For will you say unto us in Amsterdam as he said to them in Corinth Whatsoever is sold in the shambles eat and whatsoever is set before you by an unbeliever eat making no question for conscience sake Then may we eat both blood and strangled seeing some such things are often sold and set on Table before us But you by your Letter would have us touch no Idolathites eat no strangled taste no blood and this you teach as firme and a sure Doctrine to this day as any other testimony of holy Scriptures to be observed of all the true faithful till the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ And if this be so then it behoveth us to ask many questions for conscience sake otherwise then Paul taught For we must enquire at the shambles touching every * little beast bird that we buy whether it were duely slaine or no and the blood let out according to the law Levit. 17.13 At every strangers table that we come we must do the like both for strangled things and blood which often is mixed with other meats especially of broths wherein meat not throughly cleansed of the blood is boiled Yea we must come to the Jews superstition that buy not their flesh at the shambles of the Gentiles but flay them themselves for the perfect letting out the blood for otherwise we may offend like the Israelites in the days of Saul 1 Sam. 14.32 33,34 Thus as Paul taught a Doctrine of Christian liberty and comfort for the conscience in meats and drinks so you teach a Doctrine of bondage yea of fear and doubt and distraction of Soul whiles you urge abstinence from these things even as any other Doctrine of the Gospel The Lord Jesus which cast out that dumb spirit that rent and tare the possessed mans body and threw him to the ground and sometimes into the fire sometimes into the water cast out by his grace this spirit of error from you that thus distracteth and tortureth the conscience and casteth it down to earthly traditions and rudiments of the world At the least he preserve us and all his from it and stablish our hearts with grace not with meats in which they have not been profited that have walked These things have we written according to the measure of grace given unto us for your good and reclaiming if such be the will of God which we desire If not yet for the confirmation of others in the truth and liberty of Christ and discharge of our duties before him who as he hath in mercie vouchsafed us the kingdome of his grace here on earth so let him in like mercie give us and all his people in due time the kingdome of his glory in the heavens Amen The Elders of the English Church at Amsterdam subscribing in the name and with consent of the whole Church Fran Iohnson Henr Ainsworth Daniel Studley Stanshal Mercer Amsterdam Mon. 12. 7. 1602. FINIS * 2 Tim. 2.3 Rev. 19.14 * Heb. 2.10 Heb. 11.4 See the 5 Books of Moses and Ains. Notes on them 1 Cor. 2.13 Isai. 8.20 Rom. 10. Act. 20.27 Eph. 4.14 Prov. 30.4 1 Thes. 2.13 2 Pet. 1.19 Psal. 119.104 72 162. Psal. 33.1 Rev. 3.4 * Isa. 9.3 2 Kings 5. * Prov. 10.7 Psal. 71.17 18. a Rom. 12.3.16 b 1 Cor. 14.36 c Heb. 7.18 d Gen. 8.20 12.7 e Gen. 7. f Gen. 14.20 c. 28.22 g Gen. 4.4 h Gen. 17. i Joh. 7.22 * Heb. 9.14 †Gen. 4. * Exod. 23.19 h vers. 2,3 c. verse 5,9,10 Prov. 12.10 Levit. 17. Deut. 12. Gen. 2.2,3 Gen. 9. Levit. 17. Exod. 20.10,11 Exod. 31.13 Heb. 11.3 Reve. 4.11 14.7 Heb. 4.10,11 1 Thes. 5.23 verse 6. verse 5. 1. Cor. 10.25,26 Psal. 24. verse 4. The like may be said for the sabbath day as before we have shewed Rom. 16.25,26 Reve. 5. Gal. 3.28 Gal. 3.24 Col. 2.2 â—8 Mat. 28.18 Psal. 8.6 1. Cor. 15.27 1 Cor. 3.21 22. Gal. 4.7 Rom. 8.17 Col. 2.16 Rom. 14.14 Matth. 15.11 1 Tim. 4.1,3 Gal. 4.9 Gal. 2.5 verse 5. verse 24. verse 20. verse 39. verse 21. verse 10. verse 12. verse 14,15 verse 19. 1 Cor. 8. verse 25. verse 27. verse 26. Psal. 24.1 1 Cor. 3.21.22 1 Cor. 8.28 Verse 4. Rom. 15.1 Chap. 14.20,21 1 Cor. 10. Rom. 14â— 1 Cor. 10â— Chap. 15 2 To Corin. Gal. Col. Tim. Titus Idolathites Strangled Mark 1.14 Mat. 13.38 Psalm 2.6 Luk. 16.16 Acts 28.31 Rom. 14.14 1 Cor. 10 1 Cor. 10 1 Cor. 10 Col. 2.21 * as coniâ—s c. 1 Cor. 10.29 Mark 9.17 verse 22 1 Tim. 4.1 Heb. 13.9