they Judge Cast and Condemn me for such a Person as hath been commonly reported but yet never could be proved I dare affirm not by God's Law consider if this be right in the sight of God let those who are my Adversaries be judge and how the Peace of the Church could be hazarded as these men tell the Nation I know not when he that spoke brought no other Doctrine then what they had before received and those few that were at the hearing thereof by their own confession were refreshed by what was delivered that to the truly understanding Christian it doth appear the Peace of the Church was rather inlarged then hazarded That so their pretended Charge is made manifest to be none at all The fifth thing I observe in the second Particular is as they say Especially to bring in such a Person as he contrary to the advice given in Acts 20. where the Elders are exhorted to feed the Church and not to ruine it Ans As to their Tautology I past it by because it cannot be proved that I brought him in to Preach and as touching the Apostles advice We are to feed the Church These Persons themselves do witness for me that I so did namely Feed the Flock of Our Lord Jesus not only in their Letter they did write to me when I was a Prisoner for the same But now also in their fifth Particular of this pretended Charge they say I made it my work to Preach three times a week besides the Church Meetings But as touching their last Term I am altogether a stranger to namely as to ruine the Church for as the Lord spoke by the Prophet to Israel saying Oh Israel thou hast destroyed thy self So do I say If they be destroyed or ruined it is done by themselves It is plainly seen that Lyes Surmisings and Suppositions is their second Particular stuffed with in this their pretended Charge that it plainly appears to such as are plain-hearted to be no Charge but a heap of falshoods 4. Par. We have great cause to suspect him very guilty of pernicious Designs against the Saints Ans This hath its dependance upon the former they do not say they charge me but suspect me and withall they would have us believe they have great cause so to do This is as false as the former for all men will believe this that if they could have shown either great or little cause they would not have spared me but without all doubt have brought it forth They talk of Pernicious Designs that I am guilty of against the Saints but nothing do they prove or can they The Reader may take notice that since this pretended Charge was hatched and patched together it is somewhat above a twelve-month And what is not one Pernitious Design discovered all this time Surely it is apprehended by such as have learned better then to live in the prejudiced mind or surmising Spirit this Babe that hath been so long in the Womb of Conception will prove an abortive at last As touching the Person whom they so much mention again and again whom they call Dangerous and Wicked as to his former Proceedings I justifie not but have rather chosen to reprove them what ever I have been thought on and laboured to make it my business to reclaim him but this I can truly say no person whatsoever in City or Countrey all the time of my society with him which was not of any long standing I do declare and affirm had not any wrong done to them by my knowledge for which I have great peace though my sufferings have been very great as to some other things in this Particular being one thing rehearsed over again I do apprehend it a superfluous thing to make a second reply thereunto Secondly As touching my Calling a Brother by Name who they say was zealous for the work of the day as if he lay in wait on purpose to catch To this I Answer As touching his zeal for the work of the day it did not very much appear forasmuch as he did not appear in the work till the day was near an end The Searcher of Hearts knows my innocency in this thing that I had no intent but what was agreeable unto the Mind of God and by this time one would have thought these persons might have seen great cause to have been deeply humbled for their evil thoughts they had against their Pastor I do now appeal to the most fearful and the most jealous Person amongst them whether to this day they have been harmed in the least by me If not as I am very confident they cannot say they have what Reason is there that S. Bradley should still remain charged upon this account to this day seeing there can be nothing of this nature proved against him but lie under scandal by reason of their unwarrantable groundless fears surmisings and suppositions I say unto these persons Is it not high time that their poor oppressed Pastor should be set free and at liberty from this bondage that he hath been exposed to by their means for a Twelvemonth together and more O when will their Goal-delivery come They will do very well to try their spirits for it may be said unto them by me as it was said by our Lord Jesus to his Disciples You know not what spirit you are of Whereas they say As if he did on purpose lie in wait to catch I answer If we take it in their own sense which will be proved to be the worst it is but as if he did they themselves cannot say He absolutely did lie in wait to catch If they had dealt fairly and honestly by me they had done well to have set down some of the particular things that were acted in a treacherous way and not keep people in the dark and act towards me as if I were conspiring some horrid things against them when there was no such thing by me thought on These kind of proceedings savour not of a good Spirit to rob their Pastor of his good name and all gathered but from their evil perswasions Would not the Heathen abhor such dealings if they should hear of them I wonder they were not ashamed to set their hands to such things to declare their weakness to the Churches abroad And whereas they say This doth deeply and effectually perswade them he could not be without very great purpose to deal very treacherously with them Answ This amounts to no Charge all this while by their own speech they cannot positively prove it but are perswaded it is so what proof is this to the case in hand by the same Rule if this may carry it I may say that these people that have reproached me causlesly and and groundlesly are turned Robbers in the High Way how so I suppose so or to speak in their own words I am perswaded it is so Surely this kinde of proof which to speak truly is no proof will not carry it here nor in
hand for their heady and rash proceedings against their innocent Pastor lest destruction be their portion notwithstanding all their Profession 14. Par. And so do now bear our Testimony against all his Evil and all his Adherents and set our hands to the truth of it Ans To this I Answer If these Assertors and Concluders did walk like persons indued with true knowledge they should have proved the things they talk of to be evils before they had set their hands thereunto by what they have done they have manifested themselves not to be wise nor right Artists at the work of accusation Again if they could have proved what they have subscribed unto to be Evils the next work had been to have layed them down before me and made some endeavour to have holpen me to a sight thereof as well as themselves and shewn me by way of aggravation the danger of them and if I had been obstinate not to have heard some of them alone to brought two more with them and took some pains with me for to recover me out of that which they are pleased to call an Evil and if I had remained in an obstinate mind then with sorrow of heart and bowels of love told it to the Church the Church to have made some endeavour to recover me and if I would not have seen my Evil then to have set a day a part for Fasting and Prayer and to have mourned bitterly under the consideration of the thoughts of the loss of a chief Pillar of the Church and when all this work was done then in a solemn reverent and godly manner to have gone trembling at the thought of what must of necessity then have been done seeing there was no avoiding of it and consider what was to be done after all this not to reproach Nay For sufficient to such a man was this punishment which was inflicted upon many 2 Cor. 2.6 7. So that contrarywise they ought rather to forgive him and comfort him lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow wherefore I beseech you that you would confirm your love towards him I say to these people Was any of this done Was the first step taken in this work much less the last that was done to the incestuous person How may these people dread the thoughts of their present Proceedings with their former for fear God may charge them with Spiritual murder at the Day of the Lord in putting a stop to conversion-work and cause Souls to stumble I say Oh what comfort can these men have that have set their hand to such a work as this is The Lord give them a sight and true sence and sorrow yea true repentance of the same Sure by this time they may plainly see if they do not harden their hearts that they were out of the way of the Lord and with what comfort can they go to the grave with this Load upon their Consciences or what peace they can have for these their irregular Proceedings I know not and truly it is to be admired they do not yet blush at that they stile their Testimony Sure they understand not what they say for the word Testimony doth signifie amongst other things a good report from others but this which they have done is found to be of no good report therefore falsely termed by them a Testimony Again a Testimony doth also import a witnessing well but they have witnessed unto that which is Lyes Suppositions and Surmisings which is very ill therefore for to speak properly have born no Testimony against Samuel Bradley but rather have made their ignorance further appear and know not what they say in this case nor what a Testimony is and yet these persons will undertake for to pass Sentence of Excommunication upon their Pastor and that as soon as his back was turned from them was it done but never to his face And whereas they seem to reflect upon the rest of their Fellow-Members which bore a better Conscience than themselves which they call Adherents they have little cause so to do for they understand the Rules of Christ better than to run rashly and headily upon things contrary to the right Order but have waited with patience upon the Lord and have proved Fellow-feelers of their Pastors Sorrows and great Afflictions that have befallen him through the means of the persons aforesaid that are turned his Accusers though falsely and they in Conscience could not joyn with them without breach of Covenant I shall say unto these my Accusers had they been as tender of the Glory of God as these they call My Adherents they might have been made partakers of true Peace with them though by their means they are made to stand alone separated from the rest of their Brethren to their great grief and could they violate the peace of their consciences as those have done they might have been their dear Friends still Let these men be careful lest they slay the Upright in Conversation with the Sword of their Mouth namely bitter words as they have not been ashamed to do lest Wrath break forth from the Lord upon them And whereas they say They have set their hands to the Truth I ask them whether their Consciences did not prick them when they were setting their Pen to Paper so as they began with a lye they conclude with a lye also O how can these People with confidence call that a Charge which they themselves confest in the last Particular thereof to be but petty Things or call that a Truth which is stuffed up with so many Lyes Suppositions and surmising Expressions as hath been proved all along O that they would lay these sad proceedings to heart that for this Twelvemonth together they have contrived against their innocent Pastor as they have owned him to be and yet have cried him up for a Trappan at such a high hand They may see if they do not wilfully shut their Eyes that his Innocencie has so shined in this matter that the Lord hath holp him to weather the storms of all sorts they have raised upon him onely from Fears and Jealousies O what will they do when God shall call them to an account How will they be able to stand before him It is not their strong-hold of Church-Fellowship that will shelter them from the wrath of God for if he set the Worm of Conscience a gnawing their Gourd will soon be destroyed and where are they then My Prayer shall be that they may repent and the Lord forgive them for I do and for ever hereafter let them be silent and never more open their mouth to reproach and as Job said of his friends so shall I say of mine Job 16.24 I have heard many such things miserable Comforters are you all And now you may see I have diligently examined this their pretended Charge that hath occasioned such a stir in the Nation and have found it to stand upon the Foundation of Untruths
the day of the Lord. I pray observe These People have as it were arraigned their Pastor at the Bar and have writ and produced his Charge against him the Evidence they produce to make good this their Charge is Supposition or Perswasion now if Reason sit Judge do these men think to carry it against their Pastor surely nay Then are not these men much to be blamed and ought they not to mourn greatly for what they have done in taking away the life of their Pastors Reputation and all upon a supposition seeing what they have said against him is not positive Then I must and ought in Conscience to be acquitted and cleared of all those scandalous Reproaches that have been and still dayly are cast upon me by this groundless means These things considered all men of understanding may discern that S. B. is an Innocent person still and altogether clear from any guilt that is cast upon him in this pretended Charge and since it is brought to light we finde they can prove no treacherous dealing against the person aforesaid 5 Par. He is guilty of a very sinful Confederacy with this Enemy of the Lord whom he hath singled out for his Company To this I answer Here they have discovered both their Folly and Ignorance A Confederacy doth imply a League or Agreement between persons as they in Act. 23.21 layed wait by way of confederacy for Paul to do him harm and bound themselves in an oath that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed him here is a Confederacy indeed Is this their meaning that I am a Confederate with that Person to do any of the People of God any harm Had the Lord at any time left me to such wickedness as this I make no question they would not have spared me a jot but the Nation should soon have had the knowledge of it Truly these dark sentences will not much promote their Cause and unwarrantable Design that for some time they have been endeavouring to keep up in the mindes of Good People they have in so doing been building upon the sand and without all doubt their Building will tumble upon their own heads ere long The Eagle-eyed Christian doth behold their sumptuous Fabrick to tumble already and though they have designed to throw down the Innocent yet let them know their surmising suppositions will never carry the day for unless they come forth in down-right positive terms they are not like to cast me in open Court but themselves for God will have Judgement and Justice to be executed speedily and they cannot charge me with any evil that I have acted with the person forementioned to any of the tender Lambs of Christ or any others Thus much may be expressed without the least wrong to any of their persons That they are all guilty of many sinful Lyes that they have forged against him who was their spiritual Pastor so that they are guilty of a sinful compliance themselves for I prove them all confederated together to murder my good Name and have cried me up through the Nation for a Trappan when they can prove no such thing so that I may say of them as 't is said in Obadiah vers 7. All you the men that were in League with me in holy Covenant yea who were once at peace with me have deceived me and by your lying falsehoods and surmising pretended Charge you have sent abroad have prevailed against me yea you have eaten Bread with me at the Table of the Lord O that I could write it with Tears of Blood yet ye have laid a wound under me and it is to be feared for these things there is no understanding in you That in the mean time they are charging of me with Confederacy though groundlesly they are proved to their faces to be great Confederates themselves in casting dirt in the face of the Innocent by scandalous Reports and all this is done under pretence of Godliness As to the latter part of this Particular I have answered already and therefore need say no more to it They are guilty of manifold Tautologies in this pretended Charge whether it be from weakness or wilfulness I shall not sit Judge in the case Secondly Whom he has singled out for his Company hugging and embracing him as a Brother A Friend that saw it when he brought him into the Congregation c. Answ And what harm was there in all this that I was in his company which thing I have answered to already Let me ask these forward persons which are so nimble to condemn the person of the Innocent before he had either a fair Hearing or a fair Tryal and what they did must be with all expedition too that is to say Reproached charged judged and condemned and all in less then one days time and what was done was behind my back too fearing to refer their Work till the very next Meeting lest they should not obtain their purpose as one of their Party was heard to say namely Benjamin Minzes which can be proved to his face he expressing himself in these terms If we do it not now we shall not do it at all which plainly demonstrates they had a Design to carry on sure it was not a good one that they should fear to miss of their purpose in the accomplishment of it But to return to the question Was my being in his company as I said before prejudicial to any from that day to this were it convenient to write what I have to say in this case I could easily make it appear I did well in so doing They have now produced one Witness to a thing I deny not however it is very well done to prove what they say and if they had so done in every Particular of their pretended Charge they had saved me the labour of writing an Answer Then I should have cried out Guilty without any more ado and had they so done all along it had redownded much unto their Credit and Reputation But now they have cracked their Credit by urging so many Lyes and are not ashamed to do so again I ask these men Did their Brother a Friend see me bring him into the Meeting whom you say I did so much hug and embrace surely nay he dares not say so Then till you can prove that your Charge still remains false and you false Accusers and how you will clear your selves of this I know not Thirdly And since is a great Frequenter of his House and Company as if it were a small thing to wrap himself in all his iniquities and so draw upon himself the vengeance due unto such vile Transgressions contrary expresly unto the Lords Commands Say not a Confederacy and Have no fellowship with unfruitful Works of Darkness Answ Whether it be for want of more Matter or of more Wisdom I know not what their Reason should be that they should stuff up their Charge with so many Tautologies and spend so much time
against me or else who can be a true and competent Judge in the matter in controversie Seeing I am thus put upon it I must speak though its possible I may be blamed when I have done but all things considered not blame-worthy it's like in this matter I being by the Lord and them appointed their Overseer and perceiving to my grief of heart a general neglect of the assembling of the Saints and other things did reprove this fault in general it being a general Miscarriage and what must I come under dealing for it and this brought as a Charge against me Surely when the Churches come to hear thereof and the Ministry too they will rather pity me than otherwise and have some Bowels of Compassion to me For me to be thrown out as an useless person when I was found in the way of my duty and reported up and down for a dangerous person when it cannot be proved so and to shift off the business think no way like this to make their Pastor to be thought odious by the Churches and for them bragging when they have done to say None of the Churches own him And this is the best Proof they have yet produced against their Pastor See the baseness of these preceedings First to broach abroad that their Pastor is a Trappan and put a fear upon all the Churches that none dare come at him to know what is the matter for fear of being trappan'd and then to give it out as if they had won the day Oh! None of the Churches owns him Let these men remember the Day of Judgement is at hand in which my Cause will be called over then I shall have a fair hearing and true judgement in the case shall be executed and then it shall be known who is the Offender whether S. B. or his Accusers May not this People take shame unto themselves to carry themselves so that they are worthy of reproof and when they are reproved cannot bear therewith but make endeavours to stop the mouth of their Preacher from reproving One would have thought they should have hearkened to reproof Prov. 13.18 19 25. it being the onely way to gain honour and that they might have learn'd knowledge by it If I may query a little with them Have they not scorned Reproof and their Pastor got a blot thereby O that they would well consider the words of the Wise Man He that hateth reproof shall die and forget not what he farther says Pro. 9.8 Reprove not a Scorner lest he hate thee Rebuke a Wise Man he will love thee Let these Persons consider what they have done If I had failed in this point what reason can they shew that it must be blazed about after Reconcilement may not such as are truly sober conclude who are out of the prejudiced minde that what they have done was more in malice than true love but this is altogether off from the thing for which they made their pretence to bring me under dealing as they call it though no such thing as was falsely asserted and afterward immediately denied by B. M. namely for being a Trappan So that their pretended Charge is come to nothing at last and is proved no Charge at all Their last Particular I shall answer unto containing several Branches First He is guilty of rash Passion and spiritual Pride in his carriages towards Vs in communication Answ I must acknowledge that I am not without personal offences which doth administer matter of true humbling and lying low at the foot of Christ May it not be apprehended that for want of a right Spirit of Judgement and Brotherly Love they may call that Passion which God may approve on as true Zeal if all things were considered from first to last it may upon true grounds be gathered that they are mistaken in this their rash Censure and while they judge their Pastor they are guilty of the same sin and bespatter him in the notion of passion and spiritual pride out of a prejudiced spirit they have took up against him of a sudden In their Letter of Recommendation they sent abroad to the Churches they write no such thing it is much to me that in eight or nine days time they should change their note at this rate first for to cry me up and then with all speed cry me down Whether prejudices be not the Engine that spurts out this dirty Water of Reproach upon me I leave the clear-sighted Christian to judge Secondly And to vindicate a scandalous Transgressor that was for to be dealt with by the Church Answ It will prove to these persons great advantage who accuse me at this rate in matters that were buried long ago and forgotten by me and promised so to be by them I say again It will prove for their advantage in the great Day of the Lord if they can clear themselves from slandering of their Pastor and were this true what they say how comes it to pass that we have very often met together at the Table of the Lord and how is it that they have not proved faithful if it be true what they assert in this matter to the Lord and my Soul to suffer me as they say a Lyar to be their Administrator in these weighty Affairs in the House of God Is not this their proceedings much like unto that of Children that quarrel and fall out one with another and in revenge call over things done in times past and hit them in the teeth with it Have not these done even so to fall upon upbraiding their Pastor of things done long ago Put case I had offended in what I had then done how far short do these People come of the Rule of Christ let them consider Ephes 4.32 As God for Christs sake forgave us so ought we to forgive one another but instead of forgiving how are they upbraiding O should not these things set out hearts a bleeding that these persons should rake up those things that were dead and buried long ago Thirdly They say He charged a Sister rashly in the face of the Church and to colour his evil made it a mistake to justifie the wicked and condemn the righteous To this I answer What I spake then was no more nor scarce so much as a Sister of the Congregation asserted and said she would undertake to prove it the business that was in controversie I acquainted the Church with when the person fore-mentioned began to speak whether it was by her being over-powered by some which would have born a sway and have occasioned all these distractions amongst us though it did not so become them to do I leave it to the Lord to judge whether she was not over-powered by words and other things to which I shall not speak at large lest I make their nakedness too much appear I then did declare it was found a mistake for me to say so was this to cover my evil and to justifie as they term it the
wicked was their Sister whom they had communion with at that time a wicked Person how did they dare to have any communion with her then and to condemn the Godly but who it was I condemned they have not named and who it is I should condemn I know not I shall not judge them that do thus falsely accuse me neither would I have them judge me in this matter but leave it to him which judgeth righteously Fourthly It was but few Weeks but some or other would meet with their wounding and burdens Answ If the Word of the Lord did at any time wound them let me tell them Gods wounding tends to healing but as to any thing else I must profess my self altogether a stranger to it for I was if I may speak without offence so far from wounding or burdening them that I did chuse rather to be wounded or burdened my self the Lord is my Witness in this matter I say unto this People Doth it not rather plainly appear that their Pastor was wounded and burdened by them they being so apt to be offended with Gospel-Reproofs Yea sure they have done more than wounded and burdened their Pastor for to deprive him of his good Name under the Notion of a Trappan when there was no such thing what will this amount to if strictly enquired into and rightly judged sure murder in some kind The Lord give them a true sight of their evil and then I shall rejoyce Fifthly We met with Repulses in our Address to him You must not teach your Elder Sometimes he scorned to be taught his Duty by any Member in the Congregation Answ True it is when some of them came as divers times they did back-biting of some of their fellow-Members whereof some made it their common practice so to do which became a heavy burden to me and when they came to me with their stories truly they had but little encouragement and I do perceive this is that they call Repulses for it was my manner first mildly to shew them their evil and then to inform them of their Duty in that concernment but finding still some who made it their business to go from house to house carrying Tales which since have been instrumental to bring their private disorderly walking into a publick disorder also witness the noise their proceedings have made throughout all the Churches I perceiving mild Instruction would not reclaim them I was fain to use sharpness which they ignorantly call rash Passion I not answering the expectation of some in this kinde but reproving them sharply for the same they have been pleased to terme it Spiritual Pride But why should I or any other think this strange for Paul the Noble Apostle of the Gentiles was judged by the Church of Corinth 1 Cor. 4.3 And counts it but a small thing to be so judged 〈◊〉 shall I for what I have â—one in this kind hath been in a faithful discharge of my duty though I have purchased to my self a blot for my labour I trust the Lord will enable me to wear it as my Crown what ever specious pretences they may have to render me odious to the People of God they carrying of it at such a rate to make the Churches believe that they have dealt with me in an orderly way when it is no such thing causing some to say His own Church hath dealt with him and cast him out when they were not in a capacity so to do being under dealing at that time themselves by their Pastor and others of the Church for their rebellion against the Righteous Laws and instituted Orders of Christ's House What they have unrighteously done hath seemed hitherto to carry the day as if they had obtained a victory and cryed it up so before the matter came to tryal But it must pass for truth right or wrong why so there is no good reason can be shewed for it I am sure some say Because the Church hath cast him out To this I shall speak in the Language of the Prophet Isa 66.5 Your Brethren that hated you that cast you out for my Names sake saying Let the Lord be glorified but he shall appear to your joy and they shall be ashamed And for all their bold assertion that I am not willing to hearken to the least Member of the Church to hear what they can say I hope I shall make it appear that I am not only willing to hearken but to learn of them too if I find them in a capacity to teach These people all men may see by their carriage to me were so far from being able to teach me my duty that they had not learnt to practise their own it doth plainly appear they judged me without a cause Sixthly Sometimes he would incompass us with fained flatteries and repentances and yet in the mean time break forth into those foul breaking parts that indeed he was become a burthen to us To this I answer What they mean by feigned flatteries I am yet to learn then very unlikely to compass them about therewith Surely these people Have bent their Tongues like their Bow for lies Jer 9.3 And we may say of them as the Prophet of old did They proceed from evil to evil If by fained flattery they mean my ready condescention to them of low degree in denying my self as often I did in having better thoughts of them than I had of my self I making of it my work to maintain the peace of the Church if this be their meaning I must needs confess my self guilty but as to any thing else I am a stranger to it Therefore that which they call fained flattery is a Paradox to me And the thing they term by the name of Repentances I do as little understand as the former unless it be thus if at any time I had spoken that which through their weakness being petrish Children and soon offended at reproof though they had need enough of it and as they truly confess to me in their Letter they writ when I was a Prisoner in Newgate That they were Children in the Matters and Affairs of the Church and need be taught then I would express my trouble in this case that I was such an Offence to them they being in the high minde when they should come down into the godly fear being apt to be self-conceited and must I be reproached for this my Love and Tenderness to them I trust my God will enable me to bear it though that which makes it the harder is Because it is from the House of my Friends and them that have been and still are as dear to me as my own Life though they have thus dealt by me and I am become to them as a dead man out of mind If these be the things that made them cry out of being burdened let all sober men judge whether they had any just cause for it May it not truely be otherwise applied more safely That these things could not
unsound and out of their own mouths are they cast and condemned and found Lyars and such Persons as these are not like to be competent Judges in such weighty matters and in the room of judging of others if they would judge themselves they should not be judged of the Lord. These Persons may do well to consider That God will one day ask them Why dost thou judge thy Brother or why dost thou set at nought thy Brother Rom. 14.10 We shall all stand before the Judgement-Seat of God But I shall pass to the next Particular 11 Par. He gives out That he is wronged and hath made his Appeal to the Churches but cannot be heard Answ The Reader may observe this to be a petty Charge indeed and this their pretended Charge hath been found false for to make people believe strange things of their Pastor and now come to wave the matter because they cannot prove what they have said and put us off with a Story or a Tale about the Churches As touching making my Appeal you may now see I have and not onely to them but to the whole World for the Innocent is neither ashamed to shew his Face nor his Cause though they were witness their under-hand-dealing for this Twelvemonth together and now their Actions are come to Light the Light hath manifested their Works are for the fire that must be burnt up and let these Persons labour to carry themselves better for the future lest they and their Works be burnt up together and let them take it into consideration That they have put me out of a capacity of making the Churches acquainted with their Proceedings but in this manner which I confess is not usual nor had it been so if it had not been long of themselves for the Churches have by their instigations been set against me and have been afraid of me though to this day I have given them no cause and I hope in God shall never so do for in the presence of God I declare my true love to them and not onely so but to the poor distressed and oppressed Seed of God under all distinctions whatsoever ever for through Grace I can truly say to this day though I have been rendered vile and base I have love to all Saints and my condition I have related to some that now are eminent in the Churches and made my moan to them telling them of my great Burden but what am I the better I must bear my own Burden for I see none so ready to search out the Truth of the Matter or bear the Burden with me but a few Lambs of Christ who for so doing are laid under Reproach though there is none can blame their upright Conversations justly By the wicked Contrivance of this back-biting People I perceive that fear and jealousie is got upon the hearts of all them that call themselves by the Name of the Churches of Christ I do not say they deserve not that Name but I wish rather they may And so much as to my Appeal to the Churches 12 Par. He now makes his Appeal to God and questions not but in a Twelvemonth he shall make Us and all the Churches know their evil Answ Can these men blame me for making my Appeal to God when I came on purpose to make my Appeal unto them and could not be heard what cause they have to do so I know not As touching my making of them know their Evil I might have been better than my word had not they carried it about so cunningly insomuch that I could not obtain a sight of my Charge upon no terms till the Twelvemonth came about but time enough to their shame who work so secretly that it was a wonder if not almost a miracle for me to come to the sight of this their pretended Charge but what God will have brought to Light who can by their cunning contrivances prevent for he is a God that will bring to light the hidden things of darkness 1 Cor. 4.5 as he hath done this blessed be his Name I have been charged upon several accounts but never in a right capacity to make my Reply till now and now I hope those of the Churches that have joyned in with them in their Work of Deceit will see it to be an evil and free themselves again of it seeing I have proved my self to be no Trappan but Innocent in the case and none can prove to the contrary and I hope so well of them that they do see it an evil by this time to fear a man that never did nor never doth intend them any harm 13 Par. They would make the Churches and Others believe that this is but a brief Copy of those many grand Evils for which our Brethren before and now have cut him off and cast him out for the destruction of the flesh Ans Their grand Evils as they are pleased to call them are proved most of them if not all grand lyes groundless Suppositions Surmisings and mistakes I pray what will their petty Evils as they term them prove but petty lyes if they were brought forth and to be weighed Job 3.6 7. In the Ballance of the Sanctuary namely the Ballance of Truth they will without all doubt be found to be too light they had need look very well about them for all the flourish they have made of casting me out for the destruction of the flesh what are their lying surmisings and the like but the works of the flesh These persons may do very well to see the Beam that is in their own eye Mat. 7.3 then shall they see more plainly to pull out the Mote that is in their Brothers eye The time may come that God may say unto them and to all the rest of their fellow-boasters Who hath required these things at your hands Though you are pleased to call it the work of the Lord take notice that backbiting and whispering and false-accusing are the works of the flesh called so in Scripture and not the works of the Lord Therefore all men may see they have more cause to lie low in the sight of God for this their evil practise for a twelvemonth together last past then to boast as they have done So They do but glory in their shame Phil. 3.19 for these works are not the works of God but their own which must be burnt up for God is coming with his sword to cut down all that is not of his own for with Fire and Sword will God plead with all flesh Oh that a word of Exhortation might fasten on these poor wandring Sheep that are gone a stray upon the dark mountains Jer. 13.16 that might cause them for to return to their first love or husband for then was it better with them then now Hos 2.7 and make haste lest the Lord our God make a breach upon them for that they sought him not after the due order 1 Chron. 15.13 Oh that they would repent out of