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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A41771	The nonconformists vindication, or, A testimony given against the indulged assembly of separatists wherein the false calumnies and aspersions cast upon the suffering Presbyterians, are answered and confuted : also, the heads and causes of separation are opened and explained, together with an illustration of the Erastian state of the present church.	Grant, Patrick, 17th/18th cent.	1700 (1700)	Wing G1522; ESTC R12655	52,064	65

you and your King or any Successor hereafter whatsoever may enter in Covenant with God by renewing the National Covenant the Solemn League and Covenant That it may be manifest to the World that you deliverance is not Bastard and Evil Begotten but can run through the Channal of a Covenant of Reformation And indeed we shall not carp much at the deference of it if there shall be any possibility for the time to come to accomplish this work Experiment 4. Fourthly We desire if it may stand with the being of your Church That the sins of the Throne may be confessed and particularlie acknowledged and Faithfully reproved in Doctrine censured by Discipline and punished with the Ecclesiastical Sword in case of obstinacy Particularly these forementioned sins Namelie 1 The manifest Perjurie in Breach of the Coronation Oath in countinancing Tolerating of Poperie and Prelacie throughout the Kingdoms 2. The black Articles contained in the late Confederacie where Liberty of Conscience was proposed as the end and the Persons confederat with were Idola●rous Papists which is contrair to Scripture and the Testimonies of our Ancestors to join with such in War 3. The impowerishing of the Land by Cesses and Impositions in time of Peace Now we think the consideration of these Propositions cannot in Conscience be denyed seing they are agreeable to Scripture and consonant to the judgment of all sound Divines That sins of all sorts of Persons both High and Lo Kings as well as the meanest Subjects are Faithfullie to be reproved and Censured by Discipline or else the Church cannot be obedient and Loyal to Christ Jesus who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and has given command unto his Messengers to teach all things whatsoever he hath commanded them as in Matth. 28. 20. and Jer. 1. 7. For thou shall go to all that I will send thee and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak And doth not this command reach the sins of Kings as well as other Men the word being sent unto them I hope the Learned Assembly will acknowledge that p●r●iality is to be avoided being reproved of God as in Mal. 2. 9. And therefore let none stumble at the Faithful reproving and censuring of these ●ins mentioned seing that it is a duty Commanded of God and commened by the Example of the Holy Prop●ers who Faithfullie reproved Kings without partialitie then let the Assem●lie if they be what they profess imi●ate the P●actise of the Holie Prophets by laying aside par●ialitie and the slavi●h fear of Men That it may be manifest to the World that your Church is built upon the Foundation of the Prophets and Apostles Jesus Ch●ist being the chief corner stone Ephes 2. 20 If otherwise ●ou shall refuse this dut●e and wilful●●e out of carnal prudence l●y aside Z●al courage and Fidelitie then sha●l 〈◊〉 be guiltie of Erastianism by declaring your selves to be the Servan●s and slaves of en But some will object and say if the sins of the Throne may be so marked reproved and censured Then it would 〈◊〉 that Pre●by●●●●an Government cannot agree with Monarchie I Answer the lawful 〈…〉 and exercise of Kingly Government can well agree with Presbyterie But not the abuse and unlawful exercise thereof and that because it brings the Lords Wrath and Judgment both on the Throne Church in case of silence and connivance thereat Therefore we desire that you would consider impartially and without prejudice the Accusations Grounds and Objections led against you that so it may appear how hateful and abhoring a sinful Union is Oh! what sin is more reproved and forbidden than Union in iniquity as in Eph. 5 11. Have no sellowship with the unfruitful Works of Darkness but rather reprove them and in 2 Cor. 6. 14 15 16. What fellowship hath Righteousness with Vnrighteousness and what Communion hath Light with Darkness and what concord hath Christ with Belial or what part hath he that believeth with an unbeliever or what agreement hath the Temple of God with Idols and verse 17. Wherefore come out from among them and be separat saith the Lord and touch not the unclean thing and I will receave you Moreover hath not the Lord declared the Imposibility of Union with sinners by the Mouth of his Prophets as in Amos 3. 3. Can two walk together except they be agreed Oh can Union be in sin and defection or would you be in a happy condition if you obtained it Alas no more than Israel was in their defection Exod. 32. When with on consent they did say These be thy Gods O Israel which brought thee up out of the Land of Egypt And doth not an universal sinning bring universal Judgments on a Land and People Therefore consider this and lay to Heart your defection and be awakned with the Judgments of God upon the Land by the Plague of Famine that has been these Years bygone and now present and seek out your sins and the causes of the Lords Wrath why he thus contends with the Land according to the Example of the Godly in former times as in 2 Sam. 21. And there was a Famine in the Days of David three Years Year after Year and David enquired of the Lord and the Lord answered and said It is for Saul and for his Bloody House because he slew the Gibionites So that you see the causes of the Famine was Breach of Covenant and Bloodsheding which certainly is the causes of this Famine And did David enquire after the causes while there was three Years Famine then let the Assembly and all of us enquire after the causes Now while there hath been six years Famine And I think the causes thereof will be found to be the same that it was in the days of David viz. Breach of Covenat and Bloodshed which the Assembly are deeplie guiltie of by their past and present practise as I have plainlie held out in the forementioned Grounds and Accusations led against you Therefore examine your selves and consider what you have done and are doing by your going on in Breach of Covenant Perjurie and by your trampling on the Blood of the Saints and Martyres in condemning and burieing their Testimonies and maliciously and falsly accusing the Faithful of Separation because they will not go on with you in your Soul Murdering courses to the ruine of the Land and their own Souls But in the next place we desire you to consider what it is you have to justisie before God and the World in defence of your continued Defection in going on in your Erastian courses Have you this to say that you are in Judgment sound Presbyterians and professes sound Principles Whereas in practise you deny it by subjecting to the fear awe and unlawful commands of the Tolerating Magistrat Like 〈◊〉 these spoken of Isa 29 12. This People draw near to me with their mouth and with their lips d● honour me but have removed their heart far from me and their fear towards me are taught by the Precepts of men Or like to these 2 Kings 17. 33. Who feared the Lord and served their own Gods Or what more have you to boast of by your Learning and external form of piety or yet by Elabourat painful Preaching when in practise you are despisers of the Building like to these Jewish Doctors ' who could Learnedly hold out the signs tokens and marks of the Messias Yet when they did see him to whom their own signs did agree they would have none of him Oh then shall it so be with you will you still go on in a wilful malicious despite against the cause of Christ and the followers thereof I say beware lest your wilful hearted of Truth arising from envie bring some in the end to fall into the sin unpardonable as did these Jewish Doctors 2. We desise you to consider who it is you have to deall with in your contending I say it is God not man that you have to deall with therefore take head what was spoken to Paul Acts 9. 4 5. It is hard for you to kick against the Pricks I say Truth maintainer is Omnipotent and cannot sin and therefore will see to the cause of the Afflicted and right of the Poor Psal 140. 12. And will teach his Truths Doctrinallie by his Judgments on Backsliders i● walking contrair unto them while they walk contrair unto him as in Lev. 16 17. And will get himself honour upon your Idols by overthrowing them and by destroying the bramble under which Backsliders are sheltering as in Judges 9. 9. And seing the Lord will be glorious in his judgments then do not build that which he will destroy neither insult confidentlie over the desolations of his House and People thinking now the Witnesses are dead and buried and now you have go ten the Victorie consider that place of Scripture 1 Sam 2. ●6 The Lord Kill●th and he makes alive he bringeth down to the Grave and he bringeth up Therefore we exhort you in the sight of God to lay aside these weapons of War by which you cover and defends your sins and defections viz. These four painted complexions namelie Personal sins sins of infirmitie deadness want of Courage and Zeal and lay to heart your sins by confessing and forsaking of them seing the Lord is willing and readie to receave you and is not the suffering remanent readie to imbrace Union and Communion with you upon Repentantance and Confession But if you shall refuse this and continue obstinat in defending of your sin and will not hear then let us spread out your case before the Lord seeking his assistance to mourn over them that our Hearts may be affected with grief and our Souls made to weep in secret places for your pride and our eyes made to weep sore and run down Tears for all the Abominaations done in the Land So let all thine Enemies Perish O LORD but let them tha● love him be as the Sun when he goeth forth in his might Judges 5 31. FINIS

and receive that King who complyes with Prelacie and invests himself therewith neither can a King serve two Masters at once For this were to build and destroy simul semel which is a compleat contradiction Therefore none Godly whose Consciences are not byassed and prejudged will ever subject themselves to such a King altho they should suffer the utmost of Cruelty Secondly As to vertue and exercise of Trade how much is this Land opposed hindred and imprisoned by that Nation of England as sad experience has taught us they having the Seat of the Throne and Sitting at the Helm Advising and Counselling their Kings not to Countenance nor assist Scotland in the exercise of Trade But on the ot●er hand to declare Enmitie againg them of which we have had a late instance But I will not insist upon this head seing both Noblemen ●everal others has spoken Learnedly and reasonably upon this head And I think it is approven by the whole Land except only by these few who are by assed prejudged and bought for Self Interest to the Selling and betraying of their Nation Now from the Consideration of what is abovementioned I think we may be moved to reject that King And if we may refuse and reject him upon the account of Prelacy Then much more may we refuse that Popish Prince who pretends to a Heredetarie Succession contrair to the Lands Engagements and Laws upon the Account of Popery whose intention without doubt is to pollu●e and d●si●e the Land with Idolatrie and therefore to be resisted and oppo●ed to the outmost of our power by all the Inhabitants of the Land 2. There is a second di●siculty that do occur to these who would be for the continuing of Mon●rchy Government and for choi●ing a King from among our selves The difficulty is this the Mould of Kingly Government is lost by that unlawful and intolerable Priviledge and Prerogative that is given to Kings which is a Negative Voice which is not proper to Kings but to the Parliament as Learned Buchannan and Mr. Rutherfo●d gives an Account in his Rex Lex concerning the power of Parliaments where he gives instances that under the days of Peagantry the Parliament had the Negative Voice And downward under the Christian Faith yea to the days of our Reformation So that it is out of late crept in bu● how unlawful this Negative Voice is let Men of understanding Judge for by that they call and raise Parliaments and not any thing can pass in Act but what they please likewise in matters of Life and Death and this is done contrair to the Law and cons●quently to a Faithful Parliament For the Law and Faithful Parliamenters d●th not distinguish That whoso opposes the one opposes the other And this usurped prerogative is so in use in the Land and h●s been dispensed with silence and connivance So that now it is difficult to find the Mould of Kingly Government or to perswade M●n to imbrace it And therefore easier to change the Government than to set it up I have spoken this in a Politick way by manner of civil Policie 3. There remains now only this on mean to make use of in order to set up Government in the Land viz. A Common Wealth and this must be done by counsel and direction from Gods word Otherways the Building will be in vain Psal 127. Except the Lord Build the House they labour in vain that Build it Now you must either Build on the Foundation already laid or else you must make it unlawful and disagreeable to Gods word But this will not be as is aboundantly proven from the invincible grounds and Reasons given above For surely what we have done must either be approven or disapproven for as I have already told you that there is no Action situate in individue but must be either good or evil that is It must be either rancked up among the sins of the Fathers or else among the duties of the Fathers And I think when this is Faithfully done it shall appear that the Mercies and Deliverance of the Church shall not run in any other Channel than what we have espoused So that in this I think I have brought this contraversie to a point Now let this Generation play their Game as they will Yet surely this deserted cause will arise coast what it will And hath the Lord been at such pains if so I dare speak to keep his Church in the Fu●nace of Affliction near Twenty Years from the Year 61 to the Year 79 inorder to oring forth this duty Then c●rtainly he will bring them to the same Wilderness and plead with them there as in Hosea 2 14. I will go and return to my place till they acknowledge their offence and seek my Face in their Affliction they will seek me early Hath the Lords Church been under the Feet of cruel Boody Tyrants in Scotland already I fear there is worse dayes coming in which this Land shall be brought under the Feet of cruel Bloody Papifts And then Backsliders shall be Robbed of their Idols of Erastian Indulgence and it may be Burried Convictions will arise though more than Twenty Five Years in the Grave and that with Josephs Brethren some will say as in Gen. 42. 21. We are verily Guilty concerning our Brother c. Now you have thought that such a duty a● this would have brought furth much Blood and Confusion in the Land But it will be found that the neglect and omission shall bring furth greater But none believeth nor seeth Judgments but these who sees sins Now having commented at large upon these three heads because in them the most material and substantial part of the Contraversie did lay I shall in the next place proceed to consider the premisses that you lay out against us in your Phamphlet called the Seasonable Admonition taken from the Writings of Mr. Durham concerning Scandalous Divisions which Premisses I shall speak to in order as they lay Ye say we may and ought to endeavour Union though there be many things defective This likewise I acknowledge for no perfection is to be obtained Heir on Earth 1. But first you say Though there be differences of Judgments in many things namely in such things as are consistent with the Foundation and Edification It may be interrogat what Sins can consist with the Foundation I Answer Personal sins sins of ignorance infirmity deadness in wanting Zeal and Courage But no wilful deliberat contented sin that 's obstinatly defended nourished and maintained can be said to consist with the Foundation And that because the Attribut● and Properties of dutie are given unto it which properly belongs to the Foundation So that here Durham understands sins of ignorance of duty because he saith Mens understandings are not perfect nor of equal reach Now ignorance or simple infirmity can never be cause of Seperation Seing Separation consists either in Defect or else in Excess Now it cannot be said That a Man in

ignorance has made Defection because he never knew no better nor yet was ever furder reformed and therefore no ground there is to withdraw from him nor yet from any Church that owns him as a Member so long as his ignorance is not obstinat and wilful and that in opposition to all warning But this do●h not touch our controversie it being about Truth Revealed and receaved by the Church of Scotland and therefore not sins of ignorance or simple infirmity 2. But Secondly You say though there be dissatisfaction with many Persons whether Officers or Members To which I Ans Personal sins can never make any separat from a true Church who doth not aid and assist them in their sin nor yet from the guilty Persons themselves unless they be obstinat Desenders thereof But indeed if they shall refuse ●o be reproved and warned of their sin and if the Church shall Benjamin-like Espouse their quarrel then may we withdraw from them But we acknowledge that a Church is not to be separat from so long as there are any Remonstrators in it yea if it were but one for so long ●● there is one Remonstrator in it God and Christ hath not left that Church and therefore Man should not leave it 3. Thirdly he saith Union may be consistent with many particular failings and defects in the exercise of Govrnment as spareing some corrupt members and censuring others unjustly To which I Answer it would be interrogat if the Assembly understands these defects in sparing of some from the rod of discipline to be simple deference flowing from the sin of infirmity and deadness not obstinat but subject to faith full warning if this be then their ought not to be sepration But when the exercise of Discipline is not only defered and delayed out deneyed and the deney all thereof becometh an essential pillar of the building so that the free exercise of discipline is inconsistent with the being thereof which is the case of your Church this day and Therefore when this is then their is cause of separation so the contraversie is not about defering of discipline but the denaying and laying aside of it in its free exercise as to all Persons and Ranks without exception which is your case this day Moreover we acknowledge that no Church can be without failings and faults for no perfection is to obtained in the Church militant here on Earth But however the endeavour of dutie is not to be laid aside for we ought to seek perfection withall Christian sincerity and prudence Altho' we may faill and come short therein Furder you say there was in the primitive Churches a tollerating Iezabel and the Nicolaitans to which I answer it cannot be denayed but it was so however was it not in them a defect and sin and was it not displeasing in the sight of GOD as in Revelation 2 Chap 15 16 and doth not the Lord highly praise and commend the faithfull exercise of discipline in the primitive Church as in Rev. 2 2 I know thy works and thy Labour and thy patience and how thou canst not bear them which are evill and thou hast tryed them which say they are Apostles and are not and hast found them liars what shal I say then in this doth the great Assembly Glory in the defects and sins of the primitive Churches endeavouring to like them in evill or say you that your case and theirs is one if this ye say then I do deny 1 Their sin was not obstinat and maliciou●ly desperat in opposition to all warrning and Admonition as yours was and is have not you Sitten twentie years warning some of you of the faithfull whose sufferings and blood with heads and hands are crying to you to deliver up that Bloody Church renting Land Destroying Soul Murdering Sin of Indulgency and Errastianism unto the Sword of Ecclesiastical Discipline and yet ye will not do it but renders us evil for good in crying out against us charging us with Separation because we will not consent to your Sin and can we exercise any greater Act of Love towards you Than to testifie against your Sin by our withdrawing from your destroying courses Oh! how miserable would this ●●nd be If we were all jointly going on in Sin and resting satisfied with our Deadness and Toleration Can ye say then that the sins of the Primitive Churches were in opposition to all warning I mean after that the holy Apostles did Write unto them and if this you cannot do then ye ought not to defend the state of your Church from their Example But 2. Can it be said that the exercise of Discipline in the Primitive Churches was inconsistent with their being and Foundation certainly it was not for they could extend the Exercise of Discipline towards all that were Baptized and receaved into the Church without respect of Persons as all Faithful Churches may and ought to do But the Exercise of Discipline is inconsistent with your being and Foundation by reason that you dare not Censure and reprove the Sins of all Ranks of such as are Baptized which Sins and Persons I shali have occasion afterwards to speak more particularly when I come to the Sins and Accusations led against you 4. Fourthly Ye insist furder and says That such Defects as do not make Communion in a Church and in its ordinances sinful will not warrand a Separation Ans These def●●●s that doth not warrand a Separation are Personal Defects Or the defects formerly mentioned But the Defects we charge you with are Totall and Universal we charge you whollie as one Man to be Guiltie And that both as to your Foundation and Application and also with obstinate Perseverance therein Now this 6 Rule ye speak of in pag. 323 viz. When Men may unit● without Personal Guillt or accession to the guilt of others there may and ought to be Union This I say doth coincidat with the following Objection annent the incestous Person Therefore I shall leave it while afterward Moreover in Pag. 324. Ye say if a Man be put to condemne anything he thinks Laufwll in his own practise or the practise of others or 2. if he be put to approve the deed or parctise of others which he counted sinfull or affirme that to be truth which he counteth error these ye say may hinder union this is likeways personal sins Now consider the nature of the sin wha● the man is to condemn ye say that which he thinks lawfull in himself or others or to approve that which he thinks unlawful in others I say no privat man can Separat from any particular Person upon alleadged offence without revaling the case to the Representatives of the Church and if the offence be clearly decided already to be sin by the Church Then the Church is to Act Faithfully in it and the Accuser ha●h exonered himself But if it be some particular light in the Accuser or Speculation of New Reformation then he is to Communicat it to