once and againe out of the Church of Alexandria once whist he was Deacon as Sozomene reporteth in Lib. 1. Ecclesiast Historia Chap. 14. And though afterwards he got into the Church againe yet he was againe excommunicated when he was Presbyter and cast out of his Presbytery as Socrates reporteth in his lib. 1. Ecclesiast Hastoria Cap. 6. of the Greek Edition Chap. 3. of the latine So that Hierome complaining of the great hurt which the sparke of Arius did because he was not timely put out he did not meane of putting out of the Church which was done timely enough and twice for failing but because he was not put out either out of the world or at least out of the Confines of Neighbour Churches Say not yet Paul doubtlesse spake of putting out of the Church For though that be true yet now the Question is not of Pauls judgement in this place but of Hieromes judgement which the Author of the Letter alledgeth as a witnesse for himselfe and the Discusser would maintaine it though Ieromes words will not beare it It argueth men are more led by will then judgement to uphold a cause when the witnesses which themselves produce beare witnesse against them Neither let any man say That this graunt of his That Heresie must be cut off with the Sword of the spirit doth imply an absolute sufficiency in the Sword of the Spirit to cut it downe according to 2 Cor 10.4 5. For though Spirituall weapons be absolutely sufficient to the end for which God hath appointed them as hath been opened above to wit for the conviction and if he belong to God for the conversion of the offender for the mortifying of his flesh for the saying of his soule and for the cleansing of the Church from the fellowship of that guilt yet if an Hereticke still continue obstinate and persist in seducing creepe into Houses lead captive silly soules and destroy the faith of some it may be of many such Gangrenes would be cut off by another Sword which in the hand of the Magistrate is not borne in vaine Discusser But the eye of this Answerer could never be so obscured as to run to a Smiths shop for a Sword of Iron and steele to help the Sword of the Spirit if the Sunne of righteousnesse had once been pleased to shew him That a Nationall Church which elswhere he professeth against a State-Church whether explicite as in Old England or implicite as in New is not the Institution of the Lord Jesus Christ The Nationall Typicall-State-Church of the Jewes necessarily called for such weapons But the particular Churches of Christ in all parts of the world consisting of Jewes and Gentiles is powerfully able to defend it selfe and offend men and Divells although the State and Kingdome wherein the Churches be had neither carnall Sword nor Speare as once it was in the Nationall Church in the Land of Canaan 1 Sam. 13. Defender I should think mine eye were very obscure indeed if I should run to a Smiths shop to fetch the Authority of the civill Magistrate from thence or if I should thinke his Authority could not be put forth against all evill doers and amongst others against Hereticks without a Sword of Iron or Steele If their be stones in the streets the Magistrate need not fetch a Sword from the Smiths shop nor an Halter from the Ropers to punish an Heretick A pleasant wit can play with a feather of every flying Fancy and yet which is to be lamented bring in such light conceits into grave Discourses and Disputes about the holy things of God But two things let the Discusser understand 1. That the Lord through his grace hath opened mine eye many a yeare agoe to discerne that a Nationall Church is not the Institution of the Lord Jesus And himselfe confesseth that elswhere I have profest against such a Church State nor will he ever be able to make it good that the Church in New-England is implicitely any Nationall or State-Church 2. Let him understand further that I should thinke mine eye not onely obscured but the sight of it utterly put out if I should conceive as he doth That the Nationall Church State of the Jewes did necessarily call for such weapons to punish Hereticks more then the Congregationall State of particular Churches doth call for the same now in the dayes of the New-Testament For was not the Nationall Church of the Iewes as compleately furnished with spirituall Armour to defend it selfe and to offend men and Divells as the particular Churches of the New-Testament be Had they not power to convince false Prophets as Elijah did the Prophets of Baal Had they not power to seperate all evil doers from the fellowship of the Congregation what power have our particular Churches now which their Nationall Church wanted or what efficacy is their found in the exercise of our power which was wanting to them If it be said Their Nation was an holy Nation and an uncleane person might not live amongst them Ans It is true he might not enter into the Congregation with the rest of the Israelites to worship the Lord but he was permitted to live in the Common-wealth of Israel men uncercumcised both in heart and flesh It is therefore a Sophystical imagination of mans Braine to make a mans selfe or the world believe that the Nationall Church-State of the Iewes required a civill Sword whereas the particular Church-State of the Gospel needs no such help Why not I pray you Because particular Churches are powerfully able by the Sword of the Spirit to defend themselves and to offend men or Divells And was not the Nationall Church of Israel as powerfully able by the same Spirit to doe the same Surely it was both spoken and meant of the Nationall Church of the Iewes Not by might nor by power but by my Spirit saith the Lord of Hostes Zach. 4.6 And doth not the Discusser himselfe observe that time was in the Nationall Church of the Land of Canaan when there was neither carnall Speare nor Sword to be found 1 Sam. 13. And was not then the Nationall Church powerfully able by the Spirit of God to defend it selfe and to offend men and Divells aswell as particular Churches now CHAP. 69. A Reply to his Chap. 72. discussing the Testimony of Brentius Discusser BRentius upon 1 Cor. 3. saith no man hath power to make or give Lawes to Christians whereby to binde their Consciences For willingly freely and uncompelled with a ready desire and chearfull minde must those that come run unto Christ To this the Answerer returneth Brentius saith he speaketh not to your cause Wee willingly graunt you that man hath no power to binde Conscience but this hindereth not that men may see the Lawes of God observed which doe binde Conscience But the graunting this That men have no power to make Lawes to binde Conscience overthroweth such his Tenent and practise as restraine men from their worship
Philistims and yet not disanull their Church-estate And by like proportion so may a Church of Christ take up some orders as the carting of some part of their worship upon a Book after the manner of Antichrist and yet not forthwith evacuate their Church-estate But this let me further adde that a godly person may have some kinde of communion so farre as hearing the word from a Minister well gifted by Christ to whose calling some corruption may cleave both in his Church-estate and in his Ordination And yet neverthelesse no Antichristian Pollution at all may cleave or redound to the hearer by his hearing of him And this being the Principall Exception which the Examiner taketh against some of the members of our churches against all the churches for their sakes we shall further God willing cleare when the Examiner putteth it upon us in the sequele Meane while we professe as we doe beleeve that such an action is not any Church-cōmunion with Antichrist nor doth so enthrall the People of God unto Antichrist as to separate them from Christ no not as he is Head of the visible Church The Answer which upon occasio of this Point the Examiner giveth to the Papists Question Where was your Church before Luther though it seeme to him well and good yet it gratifieth the Papists and straitneth the holy Counsell of God in Scripture The Question saith he is thus well answered to wit That since the Apostasie of Antichrist Truth and the holy Citie according to the Prophecy Rev. 11. 13. have been troden under-foot and the whole Earth hath wandered after the Beast yet God hath stirred up witnesses to Prophecy in sackcloth against the Beast during his 42 moneths Reigne Neverthelesse these witnesses have in their times more or lesse submitted to Antichrist and his Church Worship Ministery c. And so consequently have been ignorant of the true Church that is Christ taken for the Church in the true Profession of that holy way of worship which he himselfe at first appointed This Answer giveth away the cause to the Papists They demand Where was your Church before Luther This Answer giveth it for granted that since the Apostasie there was no particular church extant in the world This fully satisfieth their desire and expectation for if there were no Church of Christ in the world for so many Centuries of yeares till Luther then they readily conclude That their Church of Rome was before Luther the onely Church in the world For they urge it and I know not how we can fairely deny it that the Church of Christ even that Church to which the keys of the kingdome are committed which is the visible Church is that against which the Gates of Hell shall not be able to prevaile and so not all the Power of Antichrist If then the visible Church of Christ shall never cease and yet during all that time of the Apostasie of Antichrist no Church was extant in the world but the Church of Rome then during all that time which is not yet expired the Church of Rome is and hath been the onely Church of Christ these many ages Besides as this Answerer gratifieth the Papist and maketh the promise of Christ Mat. 16.18 19 of none effect so it straitneth the Counsell of God in the very Texts of Scripture alledged by himself For in that Text Rev. 11. where the outward Court is given to the Gentiles that is Ecclesiasticall Courts given to Antichrist his Clergy v. 2. There also a rod or reed is given by the Angel unto John to measure the Temple of God and the Altar and them that worship therein v. 1. Which evidently holdeth forth that even then there was somewhere extant the Temple that is the visible Church of Christ which had communion with Christ as Head of the Church there called The Altar and the Temple was furnished with true worshippers and all measured according to the Patterne of Apostolicall Rule What if Ecclesiasticall Stories be deficient in telling us the times and places of their Church-Assemblies Is therefore the Word of God deficient or the Church deficient because humane Stories are deficient Great hath been the industry and vigilancy of Satan and Antichrist to blot out as much as in them lay all Monuments and Records of such holy Assemblies but yet sometimes their own Inquisitors confesse that the Churches of the Waldenses or men of that way have been extant a tempore Apostolorum Furthermore evident it is that when the Dragon persecuted the woman that is the Church the Church fled into the Wildernes and was there nourished for a time and times and halfe a time Rev. 12.14 which is all the time wherein the Beast reigned Rev. 13.5 And wherein the Gentiles having obtained Rule in the Court trod downe the holy Citie under-foote Rev. 11.2 Moreover evident also it is that all the Angels or Ministers of Gods wrath that poured out their Vialls upon the Antichristian State did all of them issue forth out of the Temple and out of the Temple as then opened Rev. 15.5 6 Which argueth that the Temple or Church was not onely then visible but openly visible not visible onely to the secret Assembly of the true worshippers but openly conspicuous to them that had not seene it before Now how all those seven Angels should come out of the Temple and it openly visible and all of them poure out their Vialls upon the Antichristian State by seven Degrees to the utter desolation of it and yet no Church extant either before Luther or since Luther till the utter extirpation of Antichrist passeth all my comprehension TO CHAP. XIII HIs 13th Chapter is taken up in Examining and Answering a second Answer which I gave to his Objection propounded above in Chap. 10. The Answer was this as he setteth it downe Secondly we deny that it is necessary to Church-fellowship that is so necessary that without it a Church cannot be That the members admitted thereunto should all of them see and expresly bewaile all the pollutions which they have been defiled with in their former Church-fellowship Ministery worship Government c. If they see and bewaile so much of their former pollutions as did enthrall them to Antichrist so as to separate them from Christ and withall be ready in preparation of heart as they shall see more light so to hate more and more every false way This we conceive to be as much as is necessarily required to separate them from Antichrist unto fellowship with Christ and his Churches c. For Answer hereunto the Examiner desireth three things to be observed 1. Mr. Cottons own Confession of that two-fold Church-estate worship c. The former false or else why to be so bewailed and forsaken The second true to be embraced and submitted to Reply This observation is more then is intended or can justly be gathered from my words For even a true Estate of a Church Worship Ministery c. may be bewailed
of their Parishionall Churches but onely the falsenesse of the Power from whence their Ministery is derived to wit from Episcopall Ordination But the Examiner is much mistaken if he take us to conceive or if he himselfe conceive that the Power of the Ministeriall calling is derived from Ordination whether Episcopall or Presbyteriall or Congregationall The Power of the Ministeriall Calling is derived chiefly from Christ furnishing his servants with Gifts fit for the Calling and nextly from the Church or Congregation who observing such whom the Lord hath gifted doe elect and call them forth to come and helpe them For from that ground Paul and Silas to use the words of the Text assuredly gathered that the Lord had called them to preach the Gospel to the Macedonians Acts 16.9 10. to wit because a man of Macedonia in the name of the rest had called unto them to come into Macedonia and helpe them Pastor and flock are Relatives and Relatives doe consist ex mutuâ alterius affectione Their mutuall acceptance of one another is the essentiall cause of their Relation Ordination is but adjunctum consummans as Dr. Ames rightly observeth of the Ministers Calling the Relation between him and the people was truly wrought before As the Coronation of the Prince is not that which giveth the Essency of his Princely Calling but Election by the People where the Government is Elective so neither is Ordination that which giveth Essence to the Ministers Calling but the peoples choice Ordination by Imposition of Episcopall hands doth pollute an Adjunct of the Ministers calling to wit the solemnitie of it but doth not destroy the essence or nature of it much lesse derive a false power to it to evacuate the true The third Falshood which the Examiner chargeth upon the English-Parish-Churches is the False worship And truly whatsoever hath been corrupt in their worship whether Prescript Liturgies or undue Honour put upon Saints or Angels in denominating Dayes or Temples after them and such times and places dedicated to God which he never required and what ever other Devices of like nature I had rather bewaile before the Lord then excuse or justifie before men And I should thinke it had been a better service to God and his Churches and a greater comfort to the soule of the Examiner to have expressed particularly what the false worship had been which he beareth witnesse against and to have cleared wherein their falshood lyeth rather then to have rested in condemning all false worships in overly Generalities and especially at such a time when through mercy the State is set upon Reformation and calleth for light He that shall cry out against all false wayes in Travels by Land and exclaime against all Rocks and Quick-sands by Sea and give no particular notice where they lye what helpe doth he afford to the carefull Passenger or Marriner either by Land or Sea When Trumpets give such an uncertain and obscure sound who shall prepare themselves to avoyd the danger on the one hand or on the other But for the present two things would I say touching the point in hand 1. It is not every corruption in worship that denominateth the worship to be false worship It was doubtlesse a corrupt worship to Sacrifice in the High Places yet God doth not call it a false worship but rather seemeth to accept it as done to himselfe 2 Kings 33.17 False worship to speake properly is as good as no worship nor is the God of Truth wont to accept that which is false But there may be many aberrations in the manner of worship when yet both the object of the worship is the true God and the substance of the worship is true worship and God may accept that which is Truth from an honest and true heart and passe by many aberrations as infirmities and not reject all as falsities The second thing I would say is That whatsoever we have discerned to be corrupt or irregular in the worship of God we have beleeved it to be our duty both to judge our selves for it before the Lord and to reforme it in our practise If any shall discover any further failings in our worship or in the worship of those Churches whom wee communicate with I hope the Lord will not shut our eyes against the light The fourth Falshood which the Examiner chargeth upon the English-Churches is false Government which if he meane the Government of the Parishes by the godly Ministers with whom our people communicate in hearing that Government is chiefly administred by the publick Preaching of the Gospel and by private admonition Which he that shall challenge it to be a false Government though it may be defective in some Directions verily the spirit of Truth and Grace in those who are governed and led by it from darknesse to light from the Power of Satan unto God from a state of Grace to assured hopes of eternall Glory in Christ Jesus will convince all such slanderous tongues of notorious falshood But if he speake of the Nationall-Church-Government we must confesse the Truth there indeed Truth is fallen and falshood hath prevailed much For whether we speake of the Hands by which that Government hath been administred or of the Ecclesiasticall Courts in which it is administred or of the Rule according to which it is administred or of the End for which it is administred All of them are forsaken of Truth and can challenge no warrant of Truth but falsly The Hands by which that Government hath been administred are the Prelacy and their Servitors who though they have of late challenged Institution by Divine Right yet the claime is utterly false The Divine Authoritie hath none to attend upon Rule and Government in the Church but such as are inferior to Pastors and Teachers in Congregations who labour in Word and Doctrine 1 Tim. 5.17 Diocesan Bishops in the dayes of the Gospel are like Kings in Israel in the dayes of the Judges both of them wanting Divine Institution What a pity is it that some men eminent for Piety and Preaching and others for learning and moderation should come to be as Jothams Parable speaketh advanced over their Brethren and so leave their fatnesse and sweetnesse and fruitfulnesse wherewith they had been wont to serve both God and man The Ecclesiasticall Courts in which that Government is administred are like the Courts of the High Priests and Pharisees which Solomon by a spirit of Prophecy styleth Dens of Lyons Mountaines of Leopards Cant. 4.8 And those who have had to doe with them have found them Markets of the sinnes of the People the Cages of uncleannesse the forgers of Extortion the Tabernacles of Bribery The Rule according to which the Government is administred is not the word of God which alone is able to make a Church-Governour perfect to every good worke 2 Tim. 1.17 but in stead thereof the Canon Law the Decretalls of Antichrist and most unworthily and falsly applyed to the Government of
into the true Reply I said indeed that Godly Persons repenting of all knowne sinnes may be received to Church-fellowship although they doe not see the utmost skirts of all the pollution they have sometimes been defiled with But saith he the Question is not of utmost skirts but of the substance of a true and false Bed of worship What he meaneth by the Bed of worship I know not If he meane the Church to be the Bed of worship and the Churches of England to be false Churches that Point hath been cleared above that no voyce of Christ hath declared the Churches of England to be false Churches But yet further the Examiner answereth That if there were but filthinesse in the skirts of an Harlot he beleeveth Mr. Cotton would not receive an Harlot infamous for corporall whoredome without sound repentance not onely for her actuall whoredomes but also for her whorish speeches gestures appearances provocations And why should there be a greater strictnesse for the skirts of common whoredome then for spirituall and soule-whoredome against the chastitie of Gods worship Reply 1. There may be the greater strictnesse about the skirts of bodily whoredome not because it is a greater sinne but because it is more easily discernable and convinceable by ordinary light 2. Where any speeches gestures appearances provocations of spirituall whoredome shall discover themselves we beleeve there ought to be as great strictnesse about them as about the like whorish appearances of bodily whoredome But when will the Examiner discover to us what those spirituall whorish gestures or speeches be wherein we shew lesse strictnesse then the chastitie of Gods holy worship requireth Touching the Polygamy of the Fathers the Examiner answereth three wayes 1. By observing what great sinnes Godly Persons may be subject to notwithstanding Godlinesse in the Roote Wee consent to that especially in case of ignorance 2. He demandeth If any godly Persons should now beleeve and maintaine that he ought to have many wives and accordingly did so Practise whether Mr. Cotton would receive such a godly Person to Church-fellowship Yea whether the Church of the Jewes if they had seene the evill of it would ever have received such a Proselyte into fellowship with them The same Answers may serve to both the Demands 1. Neither would I receive them nor doe I thinke the Church of the Jewes would in case the sinne had appeared so plaine and palpable as by the light of the Gospel it hath been discovered 2. This is not the case in hand what my selfe or a Church ought to doe about receiving a member living in knowne sinne but when he that liveth in no knowne sinne none knowne either to himselfe or the Church whether the Church if they receive him doth thereby evacuate their Church-estate Or whether the Church and every member thereof be so farre bound to a distinct knowledge of all appearances of spirituall whoredome that if they be ignorant of any one or two of them they are utterly uncapable of Church-estate For a third Answer to the case of Polygamy the Examiner demandeth what was this personall sinne of Polygamy in the godly Patriarchs Was it any matter of Gods worship any joyning with a false Church Ministery Worship Government from whence they were to come before they could constitute his true Church and enjoy his Worship Ministery Government c. Reply 1. Polygamy if it had been knowne to be as great a sinne amongst the Israelites as it is now knowne to be by the Doctrine of the Lord Jesus it is of so hainous a nature now that every godly person guilty of it must come out of it before he could lawfully be received into a pure Church of Christ 2. If a Church were now ignorant of such a knowne case and should in their ignorance admit sundry members living in that sinne into fellowship with them though it would much defile them yet I doe not conceive it would evacuate their Church-estate 3. The Examiner will never proove that the estate of the Churches in England is false their Ministery false nor their worship false And as for their Episcopall Government he is not ignorant we have come out of it both in place and heart Neither will he ever be able to prove that any of our Churches partake in the communion of any such knowne sinne either in Church-estate Worship Ministery Government as Polygamy is But touching that place in 2 Cor. 6.14 15 16. urged by the Examiner that I might give a further Answer then before I adde further in my Letter That the place was wrested besides the Apostles scope when Mr. Williams argued from it That such Persons are not fit matter for Church-fellowship as are defiled with any remnants of Antichristian Pollution nor such Churches any more to be counted Churches as doe receive such amongst them For were there not at that time in the Church of Corinth such as partaked with Idolaters in their Idolls Temples And was not this the touching of an uncleane thing And did this sinne reject members from Church-fellowship before Conviction Or did it evacuate their Church-estate for not casting out such members To this Argument the Examiner giveth as he calleth it an Answer in foure Paragraphs whereof the three former hold not forth so much as the face or shape or colour of an Answer For in the first Paragraph saith he This was indeed an uncleane thing from which God calleth his People and Mr. Cotton confesseth that after conviction any member obstinate in these uncleane Touches ought to be rejected But what is this to the Argument Againe In the next Paragraph Vpon the same ground saith he that one obstinate Person ought to be rejected out of Church-estate upon the same ground if a greater company or a Church were obstinate in such uncleane touches ought every sound Christian Church to reject them and every sound member to withdraw from them But is this any more to the Argument In the third Paragraph Further saith he it is cleare that if such uncleane Touches obstinately maintained as Mr. Cotton professeth and practiseth be a ground of a rejection of a Person in a Church questionlesse it is a ground of rejection when such Persons are to joyne unto the Church And if obstinacy in the whole Church after Conviction be a ground for such a Churches rejection questionlesse such a Church or number of persons obstinate in such evills cannot congregate nor become a true constituted Church of Christ But still the Argument is where it was not onely unshaken but untoucht Neither is the Text in 2 Cor. 16. any whit at all cleared by these discourses to argue them to be no true constituted Churches who live in such uncleane touches without conviction without obstinacy For the Text speaketh nothing of obstinacy nor conviction but onely implieth that such uncleane Touches were found in the Church of Corinth and yet that did not evacuate their Church-estate His last Paragraph holdeth forth some more
shape of an Answer but as little substance The greatest Question here saith he would be whether the Corinthians in their first Constitution were separate or no from such Idols Temples And this Mr. Cotton neither doth nor can deny A Church estate being a state of marriage unto Christ Jesus and so Paul professedly saith He had espoused them as a chaste Virgin unto Christ 2 Cor. 11. Reply 1. To put any substance into this Answer or any force pertinent to the cause in hand it must be no great Question but cleare out of Question that these Corinthians in their first constitution were cleane and absolutely separate from such Idolls Temples and that not onely locally but in their soule and iudgement minde and heart utterly cut off from such uncleane Touches so that they both undoubtedly saw the evill thereof and from their hearts abhorred it and forsooke it For all these Acts of coming off in a way of separation from the Churches of England he requireth from us as absolutely necessary to enter into a true Church-estate Now if he thinke that Mr. Cotton to use his words neither doth nor can deny that in their first constitution they were thus separate from Idolls Temples I must professe though not to him yet to all that love and seek the Truth without prejudice that I both can and doe deny it that in their first constitution they were locally separate from Idolls Temples it is likely enough or else I suppose the Apostlewould have admonished them thereof in their first Plantation But that in their minde and judgement they saw the evill thereof and did in heart and soule bewaile it and confesse it before the Apostle and their Brethren and so enter into solemne Covenant expresly against it this is altogether incredible to me For would not the Apostle then out of his faithfulnesse have reproved them as well for their Apostacy as for their Fellowship in Idolatry Would he not as well have rebuked the prevarication of their Covenant as their pollution of their communion with Pagans What though a Church-estate be a state of Marriage unto Jesus Christ May not a married Spouse of Christ be ignorant of some part of her marriage-dutie towards him And what though Paul professe He had espoused them as a chaste Virgin to Jesus Christ May not he call them a chaste Virgin who had seene and bewailed their former worship of Idolls though they neither bewailed nor saw the evill of feasting with their neighbours in Idolls Temples Reply 2. Though the Examiner make it a great Question whether a Church can be truely constituted that in her first constitution is not seperate from all uncleane Touches so as both to see them and come out of them howsoever they may fall into such sinnes afterwards yet I looke at it as an ungrounded distinction to require more purity to the being of a Church in her first constitution then is necessary to the being of it after it is constituted I should thinke the longer a Church hath enjoyed communion with the Lord Jesus Christ the more shee ought to grow both in knowledge and purity Where more hath been given the more will be required of the Lord. Yea I conceive it more agreeable to the word of Truth that God will sooner separate from a Church constituted for their whorish pollutions then deny them Church-estate for the like pollutions in their first constitution The people of Israel were not constituted a Nationall Church till the Lord gave them Nationall Ordinances and Nationall Officers and entered them together into a Nationall Covenant Exod. 19.5 6. Their Church-estate before was rather domesticall dispersed into severall Families When they were thus constituted a Nationall Church and afterwards fell into an Idolatrous crime the Lord directed Moses to breake the Tables of his Covenant between them and did also seperate his Tabernacle from them till upon their repentance he renewed communion with them Exod. 32.19 with Exod. 33.3 to 7. But yet the like Idolatry if not worse being found in the same People when they dwelt in Aegypt it did not hinder the Lord from accepting them unto a Nationall Constitution of a Church-estate To CHAP. XVII XVIII XIX HIs 17 18 19. Chapters are taken up in Examining and Answering my Answers to his second Objection which he made to prove a Necessitie lying upon Godly men before they can be fit matter for Church fellowship to see bewaile repent and come out of false Churches Ministery Worship and Government To prove which his first Objection or Argument was taken from Isaiah 52.11 2 Cor. 6.14 15 16. Whereto we have returned a Reply in the former Chapters His second Objection was taken from the Confession made by Johns Disciples and the Proselyte Gentiles before admission into Church-fellowship Mat. 3.6 Act 19.18 Whence he gathered That Christian Churcher are constituted of such members as make open and plaine confession of their sinnes and if any sâ—â—â—es be to be confessed and lamented Jewish or Paganish then Antichristian drunkennesse and whoredome much more c. Yea every sipping of the Whâ—res Cup. To which Objection of his to passe by all verball velitations for I love not to take up time about words the substance of my Answer was two-fold 1. That it was not necessary to the Admission of members that they should see and bewaile the sinfulnesse of every sipping of the whores Cup as he called it though the Whores cup doe more intoxicate the minde then the drunkards Cup doth the Body because bodily drunkennesse and whoredome are such notorious and grosse sinnes that no man having true Repentance in him cannot but be convinced of the sinfulnesse of them and of the necessitie of repentance of them in particular if he doe remember them But the whores Cup being a mystery of Iniquitie the sinfulnesse of every sipping of it is nothing so evident and notorious as that every repentant soule doth at first discerne it And therefore as the 3000. Converts Acts 2.37 to 47. were admitted into the first Christian Church upon the Profession of their repentance of the murther of Christ though they neither saw nor confessed all the superstitious leavenings wherewith the Pharisees had bewitched them so here c. Yea and the Disciples of John whom he instanceth in though they did confesse their sinnes the Publicans theirs the Souldiers theirs the People theirs to wit the notorious sinnes incident to their callings yet it doth not appeare that they confessed their Pharisaicall pollutions And the Gentiles in Act. 19.18.19 Though they confessed their curious Arts and burnt their conjuring Bookes yet it doth not appeare that they confessed all their deeds Whereunto the Examiner returneth a two-fold Answer 1. That spirituall whoredome and drunkennesse is not indeed so easily discerned as corporall but yet not the lesse sinfull but infinitely transeendent as much as spirituall sobriety exceedeth corporall and the bed of the most High God exceedeth the beds of men who are but
first of these I answered in my Letter That in stead of halting betwixt Christ and Antichrist the Lord hath guided us to walke with an even foote between two extreames so that we neither defile our selves with the remnants of pollution in other Churches nor doe we for the remnants of pollution renounce the Churches themselves nor the holy things of God amongst them which our selves have found powerfull to salvation This moderation so farre as we have kept it in preaching or printing we have seene no cause to repent of it But if any shall shew us cause why we should repent of it we shall desire to repent of it yea and to repent that we repented no sooner The Examiner here undertaketh to prove this middle walking to be no lesse then-halting of which we have cause to repent And this he endeavours to prove to me out of mine own Confessions First saith he Mr. Cotton himselfe confesseth that no Nationall Provinciall Diocesan or Parish Church wherein some truely godly are not are true Churches Secondly He practiseth no Church-estate but such as is constituted onely of godly persons nor admitteth any unregenerate or ungodly persons Thirdly He confesseth that a Church of Christ cannot be constituted of such godly persons who are in bondage to the inordinate love of the world Fourthly That if a Church consist of such Gods people ought to separate from them Reply If these which he calleth confessions of Mr. Cotton have been stumblings to him I shall by the helpe of Christ soone remove them out of his way For I doe professe that I never made any such Confessions but looke at them all as contrary to my judgement both in former times and to this day For the first Though there were no truely godly persons in a Church yet if there be such as professe godlinesse such as they call visible Saints to meete together in a Congregation to worship the Lord and to edifie one another in the administration of his holy Ordinances I doe beleeve there is truth of Church-estate It is true I doe beleeve and confesse that God requireth more then profession of godlinesse even sinceritie of holinesse in Church-members and it is no small sinne in them if it be wanting But what if some if most if all beleeve not Shall their unbeliefe make the faith of God of none effect God forbid Rom. 3.3 4. If an hypocriticall Church were no Church then an hypocriâ—â—call Minister were no Minister and his administrations nullities Cultus institutus in the whole latitude of it as Churches Min isteries Seales Censures c. they are all ordained for the Elects sake And the Elect God would have them to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without carefull scruples and distractions If truth of Churches and Ministeries and Ordinances depended upon the personall sincerity of the godlinesse of the dispensers the Elect of God would ever be intangled with inextricable scruples touching their coÌ„munion here or there with this or that Church or the administrations of the Officers thereof But God hath called us in peace For the second part which he maketh of my Confessions he had said true if he had said I endeavour such a thing that our Church should be constitute of godly persons but I doe not say I have attained it for God seeth not as man seeth man looketh at the outward appearance but the Lord regardeth the heart 1 Sam. 16.7 And sure I am we looke at Infants as members of our Church as being foedurally holy but I am slow to beleeve that all of them are regenerate or truly godly As for the third and fourth point which he maketh of my Confession That a Church of Christ cannot be constituted of godly persons taken with the inordinate love of the world or that a Church consisting of such ought to be separated from These are onely his own palpable mistakes of those words of mine which I expressed as the summe of his words which he through hast conceived to be mine whereof we have spoken in the 20th Chapter Let him not say as he doth that when I would not have Parish Churches to be separated from for the remnants of pollutions I mean onely Ceremonies and Bishops neither let him say that I doe extenuate and mince the roote masse and substance of the matter of Nationall Churches though for the greater part unregenerate by naming onely a remnant of pollutions For he knoweth we wholly avoyde Nationall Provinciall and Diocesan Government of the Churches by Episcopall Authority He knoweth also we avoyde their prescript Liturgies and Communion with openly scandalous persons in any Church-order He knoweth likewise or at least may know that it is a continuall sorrow of heart and a mourning of our soules that there is yet so much of those notorious evills which he nameth still continuing in the Parishes worldlinesse ignorance superstition scoffing swearing cursing whoredome drunkennesse theft lying I may adde also murther and malignity against the godly suffered to thrust themselves into the fellowship of the Churches and to sit downe with the Saints at the Lords Table But yet I count all these but remnants of pollution when as the substance of the true estate of Churches abideth as I opened above in their Congregationall Assemblies And in so speaking I follow the holy patterne of the Prophet Isaiah who acknowledging a great forsaking or Apostacy in the midst of the Land yet resembleth the estate of the Church to an Oake whose substance is in it when the leaves fall off and maketh the holy seed to be that substance Isai 6.12 13. TO CHAP. XXII THe second offence which the Examiner tooke at our neglect of the Churches of the separation Was the reproach of himselfe and others at Salem for their separation To which I answered in my Letter That I knew no man who reproached Salem for their separation nor did I beleeve that they did separate Howsoever if any did reproach them for it I did thinke it a sinne meete to be Censured but not with so deepe a Censure as to excommunicate all the Churches or to separate from them before it doth appeare that they doe tolerate their members in such their causlesse reproachings The errors of men are to be contended against not with reproaches but with the sword of the Spirit But on the other side the failings of the Churches are not forthwith to be healed by separation It is not Chirurgery but Butchery to heale every sore in a member with no other but Abscission from the body Whereto the Examiner answereth That the Church of Salem was knowne to professe separation and publickly reproached yea he could mention a Case wherein shee was punished for it implicitely Reply This answer is so implicit that I cannot make an explicite answer to it That which I said was I knew no man that reproached Salem for their separation nor did I beleeve that they did separate His answer is That the Church of Salem was knowne
is Christs feeding of his flock Cant. 1.8 Christs kissing of his Spouse Cant. 1.2 Christs embracing of his Spouse in the marriage bed Cant. 1.16 Christs nursing of his Children at his wives breasts Cant. 4. And is there no communion between the Shepheard and his sheep the Husband and the wife in chaste kisses and embraces the Mother and the child at the breasts Answer 1. The dispensing of the word in a Church-State that is by Church-Officers to Church-members united together in Church-State it is indeed an expression of familiar and deare Communion between Christ and his Church as between the husband and his spouse between the nursing mother and the child and between the shepheard and his flock But suppose Pagans and Indians should ordinarily frequent our Church Assemblies as they are wont to doe in hearing the word doth he think I would maintaine that there is the like spirituall and familiar Communion between Christ and them as between Christ and his Church Answer 2. Besides the question is not what communion Christ may have with a stranger in the hearing of the word in the Assembly of his Church but what communion there is between the Officer of the Church who preacheth the word and the stranger Christ out of his soveraigne grace may dispense himselfe to the stranger in what relation he pleaseth hee may make the word both as spirituall seed and as food to him and so may declare himself both a father and a Pastor and husband and a mother to him and yet no such Church-relation passe between the Church-Officer and the stranger Aâ—swer 3. Suppose there did grow some spirituall relation between the Church-Officer and the stranger as God might so blesse his Ministery as to make him a spirituall Father and feeder to the stranger yet this Relation is not between the Preacher and the stranger in respect of his Office but in respect of his gif as I declared above The reason of the difference is evident 1. Church-relation between a Church-Officer and Church-member is constant and permanent and not to be dissolved but by consent of the Church but this relation between the Preacher and stranger is transient and the intercourse of the exercise of their relation easily changeable at the discretion of the stranger without the consent or cognizance of the Church 2. Church relation between an Officer and a member carrieth on the duties of Church-worke between them unto full accomplishment If any offence grow between an Officer and a member the one hath power to deale with the other in a Church-way unto a perfect healing but there is not the like power or liberty either in preacher or stranger so to proceed one with another in case of any such offence The Examiners second Argument is taken also from mine own confession as if there were no waighty Argument to be found in this case but what might be gathered up from the weaknesse or unwarinesse of my expressions But thankes be to God that hath so guided my words that no such advantage can justly be taken from them as to countenance so ungodly an error Mr. Cotton saith he confesseth that the fellowship in the Gospel Phil. 1.5 is a fellowship or Communion in the Apostles doctrine Community breaking of bread and prayer in which the first Church continued Acts 2.46 All which overthroweth the doctrine of lawfull participation of the word and prayer in a Church-state where it is not lawfull to communicate in the breaking of bread or seales Answ If this be all the Conclusion that he striveth for that participation of the word and prayer is not lawfull in a Church-estate where it is not lawfull to communicate in the seales I shall never contend with him about it I should never thinke it lawfull there to enter into a Church-estate where I thought it lawfull onely to partake in hearing and prayer and not in the seales also But this is that I deny A man to participate in a Church-estate where he partaketh onely in hearing and prayer before and after Sermon and joyneth not with them neither in their Covenant nor in the seales of the Covenant To CHAP. XXVII THe third part of the Examiners discourse touching English Preachers taketh up this 27. Chapter and it is concerning the calling and commission of the English Preachers Mr. Cotton himselfe saith he and others most eminent in New-England have freely confest First That notwithstanding their profession of Ministery in Old England yet in New-England till they received a Calling from a particular Church that they were but private Christians Secondly That Christ Jesus hath appointed no other Calling to the Ministery but such as they practise in New England and therefore consequently that all other which is not from a particular Congregation of godly persons is none of Christs As first a Calling and Commission from the Bishops Secondly From a Parish of naturall and unregenerate persons Thirdly From some few godly persons yet remaining in Church-fellowship after the Parish way Fourthly That eminent gifts and abilities are but qualifications fitting or preparing for a Call to an Office 1 Tim. 3. Tit. 1. All which premises duly considered he desireth that Mr. Cotton and all that feare God might try what will abide the fiery Triall in this particular when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed in flaming fire c. Reply It is a weake cause that is maintained onely by the testimonies of adversaries and them either mistaken or falsified It is in him either a mistake or a fraudulent expression of our mindes to say That notwithstanding our former profession of Ministery in Old England yet till we received a Calling from a particular Church we were but private Christians This speech may be so conceived as if notwithstanding our former profession of Ministery in Old England yet indeed we confest our Ministery there was no Ministery and this is a false expression of our mindes It may be also conceived that we confest we had no calling from a particular Church till we came to New-England And this is also a false expression of our mindes likewise Or it may be conceived that notwithstanding our former profession and exercise of Ministery in Old England yet being cast out from thence by the usurping power of the Prelacy and dismissed though against their wills by our Congregations save onely such as came along with us we looked at our selves as private members and not Officers to any Church here untill one or other Church might call us unto Office This sence of our profession is true but nothing availeable to the Examiners intendment Secondly It is in him another mistake or else a fraudulent expression of our mindes when he saith Wee hold and freely confesse that Christ Jesus hath appointed no other Calling to the Ministery but such as we practise in New-England And that any other Calling to the Ministery which is not from a particular Congregation of godly persons is none of Christs Though we doe
beleeve and professe the calling which we have received to the Ministery in New-England to be of Christ yet 1. It is an insolent phrase that savoureth of more arrogancy then either we dare use or allow in our selves or others to seeme to make our calling to the Ministery in New-England a Rule and patterne and precedent to all the Churches of Christ throughout the world Did ever any man meete with such an expression in any of our writings That Christ Jesus hath appointed no other Calling to the Ministery but such as we practise in New-England Such language doth neither become the lips of Mr. Williams nor of any Minister in New-England 2. Though we beleeve our calling to be of God yet we doe neither beleeve nor professe that every difference from us which other Churches may use in the calling of their Ministers doth straight way make their callings no callings or no callings of Christ Though it be our manner and as wee beleeve according to the word that every Church chooseth and calleth their own Ministers and ordaineth them by the Presbytery of the same Church yet if the Presbytery of other Churches commend a Minister to a vacant Church and upon the acceptance of the Church if the presbyters of those Churches doe ordaine him with the consent of the Church we doe not professe that this is no calling of Christ or that these are no Ministers of Christ The fâ—ee choice of the Church is preserved for ought we know in their free acceptance of a Minister commended to them And whether the Minister be ordained by imposition of hands at all or no and if by imposition of hands by the hands of fellow-Elders of other Churches with the consent of the Church We neither put so much waight in such a Rite though Apostolicall nor doe we so farre restraine the libertie of communion of Churches that if they shall communicate such entercourse of Church-actions one to another then all their callings and administrations to be of none effect Wee are not so masterly and peremptory in our apprehensions And yet with submission we conceive the more plainly and exactly all Church-actions are carried on according to the letter of the rule the more glory wee shall give unto the Lord Jesus and procure the more peace to our Consciences and to our Churches and reserve more purity and power to all our Administrations 3. Though we doe beleeve and professe that a Church by rule ought to be a Congregation of godly persons or at least of such as professe godlinesse yet if through neglect of the power of doctrine few godly persons be left in a Congregation through neglect of discipline few of those who professe godlinesse be found so blamelesse as the purity of the Sanctuary requireth yet we doe not straight way professe that such Congregations are no Churches or that a Ministery chosen by such a Congregation are none of Christs It is true Gods chiefest regard is of his chosen Saints godly persons To them and for them he hath given Church-estate Church-Covenant and seales Church-Officers with all the power of the administrations of the holy things the ordinances of Christ Ephes 4.11 12 13. But yet that his holy Saints might be preserved 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without scruples and distracting perplexities in their Church-Communion the Lord is pleased for their sakes to tolerate much hypocrisie and many aberrations in Church-matters before he reject Churches as no Churches Ministery as no Ministery of Christ callings as no callings To speake then a word to the inferences which the Examiner gathereth from the two former mistaken confessions of ours As 1. That a Calling or Commission received from the Bishops is none of Christs Reply 1. We doe not beleeve nor professe that the Ministers of England who received Ordination from the Bishops did receive their calling from the Bishops their Episcopall ordination is no part of their vocation to the Ministery Their vocation or calling is from Christ by the Election or at least acceptation of the Congregation The ordination is onely Adjunctum Consummans of the solemnity of their calling as hath been shewed above Reply 2. Episcopall ordination though it be an aberration from the institution yet we doe not conceive that it maketh an abrogation of the calling of a Minister Extrinsecall pollutions though they defile the calling yet they doe not destroy it His second inference is That a Calling from a Parish of naturall and unregenerate persons is none of Christs Reply 1. It is an hard saying to say that all of the Parish are naturall and unregenerate Persons Such as are swift to judge themselves are slow to judge others Reply 2. Suppose they were all naturall and unregenerate persons yet they professing Christianitie and meeting together every Lords day for the worship of the Lord Jesus and desiring to have a Minister to instruct them therein their calling is not a nullitie I cannot say that the worshippers of God at Philippi whereof Lydia was one who met together for prayer every Sabbath day were any of them better then unregenerate persons before Paul and Sylas came amongst them And yet if a man of Macedonia come and call Paul and Sylas to come and helpe them they assuredly gather that the Lord had called them to preach the Gospel to them Acts 16.9 10. His third inferâ—nce is That a Calling from some few godly persons yet remaining in Church fellowship after the Parish way is not of Christ Reply Then it would follow that a remnant of godly persons is not sufficient to constitute and denominate a Church if the greater part be corrupt and uncleane But the Prophet Isaiah was of another minde and hath taught us by the Holy Ghost to judge otherwise Except saith he Isai 1.9 the Lord of Hosts had left us a very small Remnant wee should have been as Sodom wee should have been like unto Gomorrah In his judgement it is not a multitude of hypocrites and prophane persons that maketh a Church where a remnant of godly persons are found to become as Sodom or Gomorrah But it is a remnant a very small remnant that preserve the Church from becoming as Sodom or Gomorrah His fourth and last inference is That eminent gifts and abilities are but qualifications fitting and preparing for a Call or Office according to 1 Tim. 3. Tit. 1. Reply We readily acknowledge it but yet if a few godly persons shall call for the employment of these gifts to their spirituall edification The men who are qualified with these gifts are not onely fitted and prepared for a call or office but actually called unto office at least to preach the word unto them though not to administer the Covenant or seales of the Covenant but onely to them and their seed who yeeld professed subjection to the Gospel of Christ Jesus If any through ignorance or infirmitie proceed further in their administrations I doe beleeve the repentance of the Ministers for sinnes
yeild obedience to such Doctrines and worships as are by men Invented and Appointed As the three famous Jewes were cast into the fiery Furnace in a non-conformity to the whole conforming world before the Golden Image Dan. 3.21 c. Defender Thus a man may find a knot in a Bulrush yea thus a man that were disposed might find fault with the Comforts of God for not being full and Compleate with the Affirmative Comforts because they doe not expresse the Negative and with the Negative because they doe not expresse the Affirmative He that maketh it persecution for cause of Conscience when a man is punished for professing such Doctrine which he beleiveth in Conscience to be the truth he maketh it a Pari Persecution for cause of Conscience when a man is punished for Renouncing such Doctrines which he beleiveth in Conscience to be Erroneous And he that maketh it Persecution for cause of Conscience when a man is punished for practising such a worke which he beleives in conscience to be a Religious duty He maketh it no lesse Persecution for cause of Conscience when a man is punished for not practising such a worke which he beleiveth in Conscience to be a sin CHAP. 4. A Reply to his fourth Chapter touching the distinction of Doctrines Some fundamentall others circumstantiall and lesse Principall IN points of Doctrine I said in my Answer to the Prisoners Letter some are Fundamentall without right beleife whereof a man cannot be saved others are circumstantiall and lesse Principall wherein one man may differ from another in judgement without prejudice of salvation on either part Discusser To this distinction He saith Truth dare not subscribe for then thousands ten thousands should everlastingly be condemned yea the whole Generation of the Righteous who since the falling away have and doe erre fundamently concerning the true matter Constitution Gathering Governing of the Church And yet farre be it from any pious Breast to Imagine that they are not saved c. Defender Fundamentall Doctrines are of two sorts Some hold forth the foundation of Christian Religion as the Doctrines of salvation by Christ and of faith in his Name Repentance from dead workes Resurrection from the dead and the like Others concerne the Foundation of the Church as the matter and forme of it and the proper Adjuncts accompaning the same The Apostle speaketh of both these sorts of Foundations together Heb. 6.1.2 I speake of the former sort of these onely namely the Foundation or fundamentall points of Christian Religion which who so subverteth and Renounceth he renounceth also his owne salvation The other sort I looke at as lesse principall in comparison of these though some of them have a fundamentall vse in Church order It was pertinent to the Question propounded in the Prisoners Letter to expresse how farre I allowed Toleration even in such fundamentall Errors as subverted the Foundation of Christian Religion And in other Errors lesse dangerous such as neither subverted Religion nor Salvation It would easily be conceived that Toleration might more easily be allowed How farre New English Churches partake with the Old English Parish Churches in any of the Ordinances of God and upon what ground hath been declared in the Reply to the Answer of the other Letter Where also it hath been cleared how farre off the Churches here have been from persecuting or oppressing any of their Brethren for presenting light to them about this point which may prevent and still the lamentation of peace in the beginning of this fith Chapter CHAP. 5. A Reply to his fifth Chapter Concerning a distinction of Points of Practise IN Answer to the Prisoners Letter I said in points of Practise some concerne the weightier Duties of the Law as what God we worship and with what kinde of Worship whether it be such as if it be right Fellowship with God is held If false Fellowship with God is lost Discusser It is worth the Inquiry what kinde of worship he intendeth whether in generall acceptation the Rightnesse or Corruptnesse of the Church or the Ministery of the Church or the Ministrations of the Word Prayer Seales c. And because it pleaseth the Spirit of God to make the Ministery one of the foundations of Christian Religion Heb. 6.1.2 and also to make the Ministery of the Word and Prayer in the Church to be two speciall workes even of the Apostles themselves Acts 6.2 I shall desire it may well be considered in the feare of God 1. Concerning the Ministery of the Word If their new Ministery and ordination be true then the former was false And if false then will it not follow according to this distinction that fellowship with God was lost 2. Concerning Prayer the New English Ministers have disclaimed and written against that Worship of God by Common or set formes of Prayer which yet themselves practised in England And though they were faithfully admonished for vseing the Common Prayer yet at that time they satisfied their hearts with the practise of the Author of the Councell of Trent c. But now I aske whether or no fellowship with God in such Prayers was lost c. 3. Gods People may live and die in such kinde of worship notwithstanding light presented to them able to convince yet not reaching to a conviction and to forsakeing of such wayes which is Contrary to his Conclusion That Fundamentalls are so cleare that a man cannot but be convinced in Conscience after once or twice Admonition And therefore such a person not being convinced he is condemned of himselfe and may be persecuted for sinning against his Conscience 4. I Observe here that Mr. Cotton herein measureth to others that which himselfe when he lived in such practises would not have had measured to himselfe As 1. That it might have been affirmed of him that in such practises he did sin against his Conscience having sufficient light shinning about him 2. That he should or might have been cut off by death or Banishment as an Hereticke sinning against his Conscience c. Defender 1. It needs no inquiry what worship I meanes whether Church and Minister or Ministrations of the Word Prayer Seales c. For I meane none of these as they are dispenced in the Churches of England Though there have been corruptions in the order and dispensations of these things amongst them especially in the times when we lived there yet neither their Churches nor Ministry nor Ministrations were such or so false that fellowship with God could not be held of them not onely inwardly and secretly but also outwardly and visibly not onely in inward conversion and conviction but also in outward and visible Reformation according to light received Take my words as I wrote them and as he relateth them and my meaning is plaine enough I speake of such worship which if false fellowship with God is lost which cannot truly be avouched of any part of the Worship of God in England It is not truly said
Chapter Onely 2. Things more remaine in this Chapter which may not passe without some touch 1. That he saith Gods People in all their awakenings acknowledge how sleightly they have listned to the checks of their owne Conscience This the Answerer pleaseth to call sinning against Conscience for which he may lawfully be persecuted to wit for sinning against his owne Conscience Wherein there is found a double falshood 1. That he saith I call the sleight listnings of Gods People to the checks of their Conscience their sinning against Conscience For I speake not of the sinning of Gods People against Conscience but of an Heretick subverted turned off from the Foundation much lesse doe I call their sleight listnings to Conscience to be Hereticall sinning against Conscience 2. Least of all doe I say that for such sleight listnings to the checks of Conscience he may lawfully be persecuted to wit as for sinning against Conscience Thus men that have time and leasure at will will set up Images of clouts and then shoot at them The 2. Thing in this Chapter which I said might not passe without some touch is that having fastned upon me a conclusion which is none of mine but an invention of his owne He addeth howsoever it be painted over with vermillion c. yet he hopeth to manifest it to be the overturning and rooting up of the roote of all true Christianity and absolutely denying the Lord Jesus to be come in the flesh Whereto I Reply no more but this If he doe manifest that which Magnanimously he undertaketh It may happyly be also manifested by the helpe of Christ that it will overturne no conclusion of mine But howsoever let him remember it was a proverb in Israel Let not him that girdeth on his Armour boast himselfe as he that putteth it off 2 Kings 20.11 CHAP. 15. A Reply to his fifteenth Chapter touching the admonition and rejection of an Heretick THe first and second Admonitions in the place of Titus were not Civill or corporall punishments on mens persons or purses But they were the reprehensions convictions exhortations and perswasions of the word of the Eternall God charged home to the Conscience in the Name and Presence of the Lord Jesus in the midst of his Church Which being despised and not hearkened unto in the last place followeth rejection which is not a cutting off by heading hanging burning nor an expelling out of the Countrey and coasts but the dreadfull cutting off from the visible head and body Christ Jesus and his Church Spirituall cutting off by Excommunication Defender All this the proofes of this in this Chapter I willingly consent and subscribe unto nor doth this touch any conclusion of mine at all much lesse Discusse or shake it For though I said indeed that for an erroneous and blinde Conscience even in Fundamentall and weighty Points It is not lawfull to persecute any till after Admonition once or twice according to Tit. 3.10.11 Yet in alledging that place to prove that Conclusion I intended no other persecution but the Churches prosecution against such an Heretick by excommunication no syllable in my conclusion looketh at more If it be said but Excommunication or any other Church-prosecution cannot fitly be called persecution Yes verily excommunication is a persecution and a lawfull persecution if the cause be just offence as the Angell of the Lord is said to persecute the wicked Psalm 35.6 But the Excommunication is a cruell and bitter persecution If it be without just cause and due order yea and the more greivous persecution by how much the more greivous it is to a Christian man to be excluded from the Communion of the Saints then to be banished from a civill Society sure it is the Lord Jesus accounteth it a persecution to his Disciples to be delivered up unto the Synagogues and to be cast forth out of the Synagogues Luk. 21.12 with Joh. 16.2 CHAP. 16. A Reply to his sixteenth Chapter touching To leration in Points of lesse moment Discusser For a third Position or Conclusion the Answerer gave this that in things of lesse moment whether Points of Doctrine or Worship If a man hold them forth in a spirit of Christian meeknesse and love though with zeale and constancy he is not to be persecuted but tolerated till God may be pleased to manifest his truth to him This conclusion I acknowledge to be the Truth of God yet 3. things are very observeable in the manner of laying it downe 1. That such a Person may be tolerated till God may be pleased to reveale his truth to him upon the same ground the Apostle calleth for meeknesse and Gentlenesse towards all men and towards such as oppose themselves 2. Tim. 2. because it may be God may give them repentance Hence a soule that is lively and sensible of Gods mercy cannot but be patient and gentle towards the Jewes towards the Turkes yea to all the severall sorts of Anti-Christians yea to the Pagans and to the wildest sort of the Sonnes of men who have not heard of the Father and of the Sonne c. Yea not onely be patient to such but also to pray for such yea and to endeavour their participation of the same grace and mercy Defender This nothing shaketh no nor so much as toucheth our cause or defence we thinke it unlawfull for the Church to censure such as are out of the Church And for the Civill State we know no ground they have to persecute Jewes or Turkes or other Pagans for cause of Religion though they all erre in Fundamentalls No nor would I exempt Anti-Christians neither from Toleration notwithstanding their Fundamentall Errors unlesse after conviction they still continue to seduce simple soules into their damnable and pernicious Heresies as into the Worship of false Gods into confidence of their owne merits for Justification into seditious conspiracyes against the lives and States of such Princes as will not submit their Consciences to the Bishop of Rome Which if the Discusser shall in the sequell pluck off as the silken covering of an Image as he calleth it we shall further attend him Discusser 2. I observe from the Scriptures he quoteth for this Toleration Phil. 3. Rom. 14. how closely yet I hope unadvisedly he maketh the Churches of Christ at Philippi and Rome all one with the Cities of Philippi and Rome c. Defender No such matter I never thought these Scriptures to belong at all to the Cities of Philippi or Rome Paul writeth to both the Churches not only to tolerate but to receive their weake brethren who dissent from them in matters of lesse moment but to the Cities I never read any Epistle of his Who would ever imagine the Discusser should be so farre transported beyond all bounds either of reason or truth or candor as to surmise the Answerer should conceive That what those Churches must not tolerate in their holy communion that the Cities of Philippi and Rome must not tolerate within the compasse
wit whilest they remaine bad yet it is their worke to seek the changing of the bad into good ground that so they may come to prosper and flourish For is it not the proper work of the Church to bring on their children to become the sincere People of God as well as to keep themselves in that estate Is it not a maine Branch of their Covenant with God that as God giveth himselfe to be a God to them and to their seed so they should give up themselves and their seed to be his People Besides hath not God given Pastours and Teachers as well for the gathering together of the Saints as for the edification of the body of Christ And hath he not given the Church and the Gospel Preached in the Church to lye like Leaven in three Pecks of Meale till all be Leavened Mat. 13.33 Answ 4. There is not such resemblance between High-way-side ground and good ground as is between Tares and Whea nor would the servants of the Husbandman ever wonder that weeds should grow in the high-way-side ground as they do at the growing of Tares in the Field Nor would they ever aske the Question whether they should pluck up weeds out of the High-way-side or stones out of the stony ground or pluck up Thornes out of the Thorney CHAP. 23. A Reply to his Chapt. 23. Still touching the Tares Discusser These Tares I shall evidently prove to be Idolaters and in particular properly Antichristians For first these Tares are such sinners as are opposite and contrary to the Children of the Kingdome visibly so declared and manifest ver 38. Defender Answ 1. These Tares are not such sinners as are contrary to the children of the Kingdome for then none should be opposite to them but they For contraries are such quorum unum uni opponitur But evident it is there be more wicked ones opposite to the children of the Kingdome then Idolaters and Antichristians to wit those notoriously scandalous wicked ones whom the Discusser nameth in the next Chapter Drunkards Thieves uncleane Persons Answ 2. It is a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a begging of the Question to say that these Tares are such sinners as are opposite and contrary to the children of the Kingdome visibly so declared and manifested For the Tares were not discerned at first as hath been shewed above till the blade was sprung up and brought forth fruit Discusser These Tares are the Children of the wicked one which wicked one I take to be not the Devill for the Lord Jesus seemeth to make them distinct The Tares saith he are the Children of the wicked one or wickednesse the Enemy that sowed them is the Devill Defender Answ 1. The Devill and the wicked one may well meane one and the same Person For if the Devill sowed these Tares then these Tares were the seed and so the children of the Devill Why should they be called the seed of one and the children of another Answ 2. Suppose 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be translated the children of the wicked one or wickednesse that style will agree to hypocrites as well as to other Persons Sure it is the Lord Jesus often calleth the Scribes and Pharises Hypocrites Mat. 23. and he calleth them also a wicked and adulterous Generation Mat. 16. And therefore still these Tares will not appeare to be others then Hypocrites CHAP. 24. A Reply to his 24. Chapter Still touching the Tares Discusser Though all Drunkards Thieves uncleane Persons c. be opposite to Gods Children yet the opposition of the Tares here against the Children of the Kingdome is such an opposition as fights against the religious state and Kingdome of the Lord Jesus Christ 2. It is manifest the Lord Jesus intendeth no other sort of sinners in this Parable then Antichristians unto whom here he saith let them alone in Church or State For then he should contradict other holy and blessed Ordinances for the punishment of Offenders both in Christian and Civill State For 1. In the Civill State God hath armed Parents Masters Magistrates to punish evill doers Murderers Quarrellers uncleane Persons stealers extortioners such ought not to be let alone neither in lesser nor greater Families Townes Cities Kingdomes Rom. 13. but seasonably supprest c. 2. In the Kingdome of Christ whose Officers Lawes punishments weapons are all Spirituall and of a Soule-nature he will not have Antichristian Idolaters Extortioners Covetous c. to be let alone but the uncleane Lepers to be thrust forth c. Therefore if neither the Offenders against the Civill Lawes State and Peace ought to be let alone nor the Spirituall State the Church ought to beare with them that are evill Rom. 2. I Conclude that these Tares are sinners of another nature Idolaters false Worshippers Antichristians who without discouragement to true Christians must be let alone and permitted in the world to grow up untill the great Harvest Defender Answ 1. As all wicked Persons be opposite to Gods children for the children of the Kingdome of Light and the children of the Kingdome of darknesse cannot but be opposite so the opposition that is in all the wicked against the children of God doth fight against the religious state and Kingdome of the Lord Jesus For such as stand for the Kingdome of Satan as all wicked men doe they stand in opposition to the Kingdome of Christ No man can serve two Masters If he cleave to the one he standeth in enmitie to the other Mat. 6.24 Answ 2. It followeth not that because Christ biddeth his Ministers Let the wicked alone in Church or State That therefore he intendeth no other then Antichristian Idolaters Neither should Christ contradict any Ordinance of his own for the punishment of Offenders both in Christian and Civill State though he should command other offenders to be let alone besides Antichristians For no Ordinance or Law of God nor just Law of man commandeth the rooting out of hypocrites either by Civill or Church-censure though the Church be bound to endeavour as much as in them lyeth to heale their hypocrisie Answ 3. Neither is it true that Antichristians are to be let alone by the Ordinance of Christ till the end of the world For what if the members of a Christian Church shall some of them Apostate to Antichristian Superstition and Idolatry as often falleth out by the seduction of the Emissaries of Babel doth the Ordinance of Christ binde the hands of the Church of which they are Members to let them alone In chapter 19. The Discusser himself would not have the superstitious observation of Lent-Fasts to be let alone And surely Christ ordained by his blessed Apostle Paul that if any Brother proved an Idolater whether Pagan or Antichristian such an one should be cast out by excommunication 1 Cor. 5.11 Besides What if any Antichristian Persons out of zeale to the Catholick Cause and out of conscience to the command of their Superiours should seeke to destroy the King and Parliament
a City or civill State and for the suppressing of uncivill and injurious Persons or Actions by civill punishment And therefore this Sword cannot extend now as it did in Israel of old to spirituall and soule causes to spirituall and soule punishments Defender I easily hold with the Discusser that the civill Sword doth not extend to spirituall and soule punishments But if the civill Sword ought to extend to the defence of civill men in civill Liberties then why not also to the like defence of Churches and spirituall persons in their spirituall Liberties It is the Office of the civill Magistrate to governe his people in righteousnesse And if spirituall Liberties be in righteousnesse due to spirituall persons as well as civill Liberties to civill persons doubtlesse the Magistrate is defective in Rules of righteousnesse if he onely attend the defence of the civill people in their civill Rights and neglect to defend his spirituall people in their spirituall Rights What though the Sword be of a materiall and civill nature so it was in the Old Testament as well as in the new It can therefore reach no further either then or now then unto the punishment of men in bodily life or civill Liberties But it can reach to punish in these things not onely the offenders in bodily Life and civill Liberties but also the offendors against spirituall Life and soule Liberties What though it be called a civill Sword in common speech It is not a Scripture-phrase so to call it It may as fitly be called the Sword of God as well as the Sword of warre is so called Judges 7.20 which the Discusser guilefully or else unskilfully distinguisheth in this chapter from the civill Sword Now if the Sword of the Judge or Magistrate be the Sword of the Lord why may it not be drawne forth as well to defend his Subjects in true Religion as in civill Peace And as Magistrates are called in common speech civill Magistrates so are they called also in the Language of the Sanctuary Gods Psal 82.1.6 If civill Magistrates are to attend to civill matters are not Gods to attend to Gods matters It was wont to goe for a good Argument â conjugatis homo sum humani nihil â me alienum puto But now by the Discussers Doctrine the Magistrate may say Ego dignatione Divinâ Deus sum Psal 82. quatenus autem Deus sum Divina omnia â me aliena puto Now farre be all such reasonlesse and Paganish yea worse then Paganish Atheology from us Worse then Paganish I say for Pagan Princes accounted their Religion their chiefe care prima cura sacrorum And can a Christian forbid the care of Religion to Magistrates I say not without blushing but without trembling Object But Magistrates were called Gods in the Old Testament not so in the New Now under Christ all Nations are meerely Civill without any such Typicall holy respect upon them as was upon Israel a Nationall Church Ans It is written in the New Testament the Kingdomes of the world are become the Kingdomes of the Lord and of Christ Rev. 17.15 And if the Kingdomes be Gods Kingdomes and the Kingdomes of Christ then the Kings of those Kingdomes are Gods Kings and Christian Kings and what Title is there in all the New Testament that either derogateth from the Titles or Office of Kings Though the Nations now have not that Typicall holinesse which the Nation of Israel had yet all the Churches of the Saints have as much Truth and reality of holinesse as Israel had And therefore what holy care of Religion lay upon the Kings of Israel in the Old Testament the same lyeth now upon Christian Kings in the New Testament to protect the same in their Churches CHAP. 51. A Reply to his Chap. 51. Discusser A Fourth Argument from this Scripture Rom. 13. I take in ver 6. which is a meerely civill reward for the Magistrates worke Now as the wages be such is the worke but the wages are meerely Civill Custome Tribute not the contributions of the Saints or Churches of Christ c. Defender The Contributions of the Saints and Churches are truly called by the Apostle carnall things Romans 15.27 and againe 2 Cor. 9.11 But shall a man therefore thus reason as the wages be such is the worke But the wages are carnall things therefore such is the worke of the Ministers of the Gospel to whom such wages are paid It is true the contributions of the Saints may be called Holy because they are given to God and by his appointment to the maintenance of such as minister in his house about his holy things But these are mentall relations no reall differances in the thigns given to Magistrates and Ministers The wages given to them both are carnall things And consider them both in their proper ends as the rewards given to Ministers are given for their service about holy things so the rewards given to Magistrates are given for their service about righteous things Now if the Purity of Doctrine worship and Government be righteous priviledges of all the Churches in the Common-wealth surely Magistrates doe not well deserve all their wages that suffer the Churches to be bereaved and dispoyled of their spirituall priviledges which is the greatest and best part of their Birth-right Besides the Apostle commandeth the Churches and Saints not onely to pay to Magistrates Tribute and Custome which are civill things but also to poure out all manner of Prayers and Supplications Intercessions and given of thanks for them 1 Tim. 1.1 2. And surely these are spirituall dues and not Earthly And therefore Magistrates owe to the Churches and Saints some Spirituall recompences which the Apostle also there nameth that we may live a quiet and peaceable Life in all godlinesse and honesty ver 2. If therefore the Churches and Saints be not suffered to live a quiet and peaceable Life in Godlinesse and honesty or if they be suffered to live a quiet and peaceable life in ungodlinesse and dishonesty the Magistrates fall short of returning spirituall recompence for the spirituall Duties and services performed for them Discusser Lastly that the Spirit of God never intended to direct or warrant the Magistrate to use his power in spirituall affaires and Religions I argue from the Terme or Title given by God to such civill Officers to wit Gods Ministers ver 6. Defender One would thinke the Argument would rather evince the contrary For what is a Minister but a Servant and what is a servant but he that is at his Masters command for his efficient cause and for his Masters ends as his finall cause How shall then a Magistrate carrie himselfe as a Minister of God and yet fall short and intended so to doe both of Gods Commandements in his Lawes and of Gods worship and glory in the execution of them Discusser But at the very first blush any man will acknowledge a double Ministery the one appointed by Christ in his Church to order the
Now whether be the greater mischeife the whole world to become Arian or to become Christian Let Christians judge The Discusser indeed speaketh of it as a soliscisme in Religion that the whole world should become Christian and quoteth for it Rev. 12. and 13. But Rev. 12. speaketh nothing to the purpose and Revel 13. speaketh of it as a marveilous evill that the whole world should wonder after the Beast ver 3. But their wondering after the Beast not a becoming Christian for they were that before nor did it spring onely from the unknowing zeale of Christian Emperors in persecuting Apostate Hereticks But rather from their sinful Indulgence in the Toleration of Hereticks in Doctrine and Idolaters in Worship For had they been zealous and watchfull against such how is it possible that ever Antichrist should have been hatched up to carry the world after him into such a notorious Apostacy It was not persecution that made the world Christian but Toleration that made the world Antichristian Furthermore the hurt of the unknowing zeale of good Emperors did to the Church came in also another way by advancing Church-Officers to Mountaines of high preferments and settled indowments Rev. 8.8 9. The Church never tooke hurt by the punishment of Hereticks Moreover when God advanced Constantine and other good Emperors to sit on the Throne It is true the Church soone became a wildernesse but that came not to passe because those Emperors forced Pagans into Church-Fellowship by the materiall Sword as the Discusser intimateth but untruly But because the common sort are willing to follow the example of great ones Regis ad exemplum totus componitur Orbis as also because of the sleepinesse of the watchmen the Elders of the Churches who should not have suffered such store of Tares to come into the communion of the Church Had the world renounced their Paganisme and professed Christ to be the Sonne of God but yet had been kept out of the Fellowship of the Church till they had approved their profession by a sincere Christian conversation It had been no soliscisme at all howsoever the Discusser judge of it though the whole world had been come Christian and stiled Christendome But it is too grosse and palpable a mistake to make this the cause why the Garden of the Church and the Field of the world became all one because the zeale of Christian Emperors intending to exalt Christ did not attend to the command of Christ to permit the Tares to grow in the Field of the world For they did permit them to live in the Field of the world they seldome or never put any to death for Hereticall pravity though it had bin better they had so done with some of them But onely exiled them from such Cities and Countryes as were most Populous where if they had continued they might have had too great an opportunity of spreading their leaven which as the Apostle speaketh fretteth like a Gangrene 1 Tim. 2.17 CHAP. 62. A Reply to his Chap. 65. Discusser I Desire you to glance your eye on this not unworthy observation how fully this Answere hath learned the Language of Lyon like Persecution c. for thus he writeth more and greater Princes then these you mention have not Tolerated Hereticks and Schismatiks notwithstanding their pretence of Conscience and their Arrogating the Crowne of Martyrdome to their sufferings T is true these termes Hereticks or wilfully obstinate and Schismaticks are used in holy writ t is true also that such pretend Conscience and Arrogate the Crowne of Martyrdome to their sufferings But this is the common clamour of Persecutors against the witnesses of Jesus in all ages you are Hereticks Schismaticks factious Seditious rebellious Defender If it be true that these be Scripture termes and by his owne acknowledgement truly applyable to Hereticks and Schismaticks then it seemeth the Discusser hath learned this Language of Ashdod that the Scripture it self and Truth it selfe speaketh the roaring Language of Lyon-like Persecution For he acknowledgeth the Scripture useth the same termes and Truth verefieth the same things In Summe It is as much to say as Paul had learned the roaring and railing Language of Lyon-like Pharoah Pharoah told the Children of Israel yee are idle yee are idle Exod. 5.17 And Paul had learned to say as much to the Cretians by his Letter to Titus The Cretians are alwayes liars evill beasts and flow bellyes Tit. 1.12 But is it so indeed may not the same reproofe unjustly cast upon Gods servants be justly applyed to Gods enemies wâ—en by the Discussers owne confessiâ—n it may be applyed truly If Persecutors misapply Scripture Termes rebukes to Christs Witnesses falsely may not a servant of God apply the same truly as the Scripture applyeth them but he shall be thought to learne to speake not the Language of Scripture but the Language of persecutors Discusser Ob it is hard for Gods Children to fall to Opinion and practise of Persecution without ready learning the Language thereof And doubtlesse that soule that can so readily learne Babels Language hath cause to feare that he hath not yet in Point of Worship left the gates or suburbs of it Defender If this Language used by me be the Termes of Scripture and by the acknowledgement of Truth rightly applyed then it is the Language of Canaan and not of Babel What Language they have learned who in point of Worship have left Zion but not the gates and Suburbs of Babel for they set up Bulwaâ—ks of Impunity to secure them Let themselves in the feare of God confider But what Language is it to speake of me as having learned the opinion practise of persecution I desiâ—e the God of Truth to teach him to know It is the Language of him that stood not in the Truth and of such also as call evill good and good evill Discusser Againe in blaming Julian the Apostate and Valens the Arian for Tolerating all weeds to grow he noteth their sinfull end that thereby they might choake the vitalls of Christianity and seemeth herein to consent on a speech of Jerome That the weeds of false Religions tolerated have a Power to kill true Christianity in the Church But when Christianity began to be choaked It was not when Christians lodged in cold Prisons but Downe-Beds of ease and Persecuted others Defender I noted indeed the sinfull end of Julian the Apostate in tolerating all Religions and Heresies to aime at the choaking of the vitalls of Christianity Of Valens I noted the like finfull practise of Tolerating all Religions but did not expresse his end But what I spake of the end concerned Julian and I spâ—ke of it not of mine owne imagination though he that shall read the stories of his Apostacy and malignity against the Name of Christ and Christians might easily beleive and speake it without rashnesse but I speake it out of a grave and judicious Authour who lived neere those times I meane Aligustine who in his 166
and rule a thousand yeares Revel 20.4 Shall their freedome from persecution be a dissolution of the Church-Estate The like may be said of the New Jerusalem the Churches of the Jewes after the destruction of Gog and Magog when God shall wipe away all teares from their eyes and take away Death violent Death sorrow crying and paine Rev. 21.4 shall they then cease to be Churches when persecution ceaseth Beside to persecute is not alwayes a marke of a false Church for then it would be a marke of a false Member of a Church or a marke of a Member of a false Church but the contrary appeareth in the example of Asa who persecuted the Prophet of God for his holy Message sake 2 Chron. 16.10 And it hath been shewed above that Stephen complaineth of the persecution of all the Prophets Acts 7.51 And if they were persecuted it was by the Church of the Old Testament and if therefore the Church of the Old Testament was false God had then no Church extant upon the face of the Earth It is therefore a begging of the Question to affirme that those Churches cannot be truly Christian who by themselves or by the Civill power of Kings doe punish such as dissent from them or are opposite against them And indeed a double begging of the Question it is For 1. It beggeth that for the Question which is not the Question for it is no Question but out of Question that it is not lawfull for a Christian Church to punish men for dissenting from them or being opposite to them But the Question is whether Christian Magistrates may not punish Apostate Hereticks and Seducers not for dissenting from the Church but for seducing from Christ and blaspheming against his Name And if you will whether the Church may not stirre up the Christian Magistrate after all milder helps used without a vaile to doe his Duty in such a case 2. It is another begging of the Question to take that for granted which is not yet proved that it is a marke of no true Christian Church to procure the civill punishment of incurable obstinate Hereticks and Seducers Discusser When the Answerer saith that to Excommunicate an Heretick is not to persecute I answer If the Answerer were throughly awaked from the Spouses spirituall slumber Cant. 5. and had recovered from the Drunkennesse of the great Whore who intoxicateth the Nations Rev. 17. It is impossible that he should so answer For who questioneth whether to excommunicate an Heretick be to persecute Excommunication being of a spirituall nature a sentence denounced by the word of Christ Jesus the spirituall King of the Chureh and a spirituall killing by the two edged Sword of the Spirit in delivering up the person Excommunicate unto Satan Therefore who seeth not this Answer cometh not neere the Question Defender I must still professe my selfe to be one of them that see it not For first the Author of the Letter did no where expresse himselfe to put any difference neither between Church and Court in point of censure for cause of Conscience nor between causes of Religion whether true or false If it be unlawfull to banish any from the Common-wealth for cause of Conscience it is unlawfull to banish any from the Church for cause of Conscience The Church ought to be more tender of the Liberty of Conscience then the Court as being more acquainted with the tendernesse of Conscience Secondly if the censure of a man for cause of Conscience by the civill Sword be persecution it is a farre greater persecution to censure a man for cause of Conscience by the Spirituall Sword by how much the more sharp and keen the spirituall Sword is above the civill Sure I am Christ Jesus reckoneth Excommunication for persecution Luke 21.12 They shall lay their hands on you and persecute you delivering you up to the Synagogues and into Prisons To deliver up into Synagogues is as much persecution as to deliver into Prisons And will the Discusser then say that if Christ had been awakened from his spirituall slumber and from the Drunkennesse of the great Whore it had been impossible he should have accounted Excommunication a persecution Me thinks if a soule were awakened unto spirituall sobriety he should judge it a sorer and a deeper affliction to be bound with spirituall chaines both in Earth and Heaven then to be bound in materiall chaines on Earth onely Discusser But Hilary his complaynt speaketh not to Excommunications but to civill censures Defender Therefore my Answer was to him partly by proportion partly by concession Hilary said the Christian Church did not persecute but is persecuted Whereto I Answered 1. That Excommunication of an Heretick is no persecution and therefore by proportion neither is the civill punishment of an Heretick persecution And the Reason in my words following reacheth both for to persecute is to punish an Innocent But an Heretick is not an Innocent but a culpable and damnable person 2. I answered by concession of Hilaryes words in Hilaries meaning it is true what Hilary saith neither did the Apostles nor may wee propogate Christian Religion by the Sword c. Discusser But a Christian Church doth no more persecute then a Lilly doth scratch thornes or a Lamb pursue and teare the Wolves or a Turtle Dove doth hunt the Hawkes or Eagles or a chast modest virgin fight and scratch like Whores and Harlots Defender If by persecution the Discusser meaneth as it seemeth he doth the infliction of the civill punishments his speech is true and the proportion holdeth civill punishments are as improper for Christian Churches to inflict as for Lillies to scratch Thornes or Lambes to teare Wolves c. But if the Lambes he speaketh of in his comparison were as reasonable as the Lambes of Christ be though they would not themselves pursue and teare the Wolves yet they would runne to their Shepheards and civill Magistrates are the shepheards of all their people to send out their dogs after the Wolves to pursue and teare them I see no reason why the chast and modest eye of a Christian Church should any more spare and pity a spirituall Adulterer that seeketh to withdraw her from her spouse to a false Christ then the eye of an Holy Israelite was to spare and pitie the like Tempters in dayes of old Deut. 13.8 CHAP. 66. A Reply to his Chap. 69. Discusser THe Answer by concession to Hilaryes words may surther be discussed It is true saith the Answerer as Hylary speaketh that neither the Apostles nor we may propagate Christian Religion by the Sword But if Pagans cannot be wonne by the word they are not to be compelled by the Sword Neverthelesse this hindreth not but if they or any other should blaspheme the true God and his true Religion they ought to be severely punished and no lesse doe they deserve who seduce from the Truth to damnable Heresie and Idolatrie In which Answer I observe First his Agreement with Hilary that Christian
were it not also needfull that the Lord of the soyle who hath his Officers both to dresse his Garden to keep his wildernes should provide that the keepers of his wildernesse should suffer no venomous weeds to grow neere his garden hedge or pale least the seeds thereof should annoy his Garden and poyson those within the Garden that feed on them It is true which the Discusser saith poyson will not hurt the body unlesse it be taken or touched yea and Antidotes taken against it But who shall prevent the Members of the Church from touching or taking poyson or who shall provide that all the Members shall take the Antidotes which are prepared for them Here will be needfull the faithfull vigilancy of the Christian Magistrate to assist the Officers of the Church in the Lords worke the one to lay in Antidotes to prevent infection the other to weed out infectious noysome weedes which the sheep of Christ will be touching and taking when they will sometime neglect their Antidotes It is a very unlikely thing which the Discusser saith is most likely that Tertullian meant one of these two cases For doubtlesse his meaning was to plead for the Innocency and impunity of his owne Religion which was indeed the Truth of God And he might safely plead that if the Pagan Religion did not hurt their civill Government as the Romane Governours doubted not of that he biddeth them to be secure of the Christian Religion it will never hurt them at all When therefore he speakes of Religion indefinitely that one mans Religion will not hurt another it is Argumentum ad hominem let not Scapula suspect hurt from Christian Religion to the Romane State If the Romane Religion be the preservation of the Romane Empire as Scapula thought Christian Religion though tolerated yea though received and advanced will never be their destruction nor disturbance CHAP. 68. A Reply to his Chap. 71. Discussing the Testimony of Ierome Discusser I Erome saith the Answerer confesseth not the Truth nor advantageth your cause for wee graunt what he saith That Heresie must be cut off by the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God But this hindereth not but that being so cut downe if the Hereticke doe still persist in his Heresie to the seduction of others he may be cut off also by the civill Sword to prevent the perdition of others And that to be Jeromes meaning appeareth by his Note upon that of the Apostle Gal. 5. A little Leaven leaveneth the whole lumpe Therefore saith he a sparke as soone as it appeareth is to be extinguished and the Leaven to be removed from the rest of the dough Rotten pieces of flesh are to be cut off and a scabbed Beast is to be driven from the sheepfold least the whole house body masse of dough and Flock be set on fire with the spâ—rke be putrified with the rotten flesh sowred with the Leaven perish with the scabbed Beast But to this I Answer 1. He granteth to Tertullian that Heresie must be cut off with the Sword of the Spirit yet with all he maintaineth a cutting off by the second Sword the Sword of the Magistrate and conceiveth that Tertullian so meaneth because he quoteth that of the Apostle a little Leaven leaveneth the whole lumpe Ans 2. It is no Argument to proue that Tertullian meant a civill Sword by alledging 1 Cor. 5. or Gal. 5. which properly and onely approve a cutting off by the Sword of the Spirit and purging out of leaven in the Church And if Tertullian should so meane as the Answerer doth yet 1. The cutting off of Heresie by the Sword of the Spirit implyeth an absolute sufficiency in the Sword of the Spirit to cut it downe according to 2 Cor. 10.4 2. It is cleare to be the meaning of the holy Spirit and of the Apostle in the words alledged by him a little Leaven c. Defender Reply 1. This Testimony of Jerome which the Authour of the Letter alledgeth against persecution for Conscience I might justly refuse to spend time about it till either the Author or the Discusser doe make it appeare to be the words of Jerome For though I at first gave Answer to it as presuming the Letter had not forged it yet now looking into the place of Jerome whence it is quoted I finde no such matter The Letter quoteth it out of Hieroms Proaeme upon the fourth Booke of his Commentaryes upon Jeremy But perusing the place I finde no such words neither in that Proaeme on his fourth Booke on Jeremy nor in any other Proaeme of any other of his Bookes on Ieremy which are six in all Reply 2. I might here observe if I should deale with him as he doth with me in his Chap. 38 the like failings in the Discusser in putting Tertullian fouretimes in this passage instead of Ierome whom he hath in hand When I had once named Titus for Timothy he observeth the hast and light attention and sleepinesse of the Answerer But I will not make such an observation upon his misnaming of an Author which might easily slip from his pen or from his Scribe or from the error of the Printer Reply 3. In this he doth me wrong to puâ— upon me that for a Reason which hath no reason in it to wit that I should conceive that Te tullian lerome he would say meaneth a civill Sword because he quoteth that of the Apostle a little leaven leaveneth the whole lumpe For I gather it not from his quotation of those words of the Apostle which I easily graunt doe clearly speake of Church censure not of civill censure But I gather it partly from his exposition of the parralell words in the same Chapter and partly from the words he useth in opening that very Text. The parralell place in the same Chap. is ver 12. I would saith the Apostle they were cut off that trouble you This cutting off or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He expoundeth the cutting off of their virility which no manwill say is a Church-Censure I spake not here of the true meaning of the Text which doubtlesse speaketh of a Church-Censure but of the true meaning of Ieromes words Againe when Ierome would have the spark assoone as it appeareth to be extinguished and the leaven to be removed from the rest of the Dough c. though it be true which the Discusser speaketh that the Apostle intendeth a Church-Censure yet doubtlesse Ierome aymed at more in those comparisons even to a civill censure also For to these comparisons he immediately subjoyneth these words Arius in Alexandriâ una scintilla fuit sed quia non statim oppressa est totum orbem eius flamma de populata est Arius saith he was but one sparkle yet because he was not speedily executed or supprest his flame depopulated all the world Where by the extinguishing of that spark he doth not meane by excommunication for he was not ignorant that Arius had been speedily excommunicate
wisdome and Truth that the Disousser should publish the delights of Christ in a confussed way without distinguishing things that differ and so not dividing the Word aright It is true that Christ delighteth not in the bloud of men but shed his owne for his bloudiest enemies and gainsayers to wit whilst they gainsaying him and bloudily persecute him or his out of ignorance In this case indeed he prayeth for them and dieth for them Father forgive them they know not what they doe Luk. 23.34 whilest wee were enemies Christ died for us Rom. 5.8 10. But to say that Christ delighteth not in the bloud of men who after the acknowledgement of his Truth doe tread the bloud of his Covenant under foote and wittingly and willingly reject him from reigning over them To hold it forth that Christ delighteth not in the bloud of such men or that he would not have such molested by the civill Sword who gainsay Christ known and professed and joyn with his enemy Antichrist in blaspheming and persecuting Christ and his Saints This the Discusser can never make good to be the word of Christ It is indeed to publish the glad Tidings of the Gospel not to the humble and meeke Lambes of Christ but to the seed of the Serpent to sow pillowes under all elbowes to make the hearts of the righteous sad whom God would not make sad and to strengthen the hands of the wicked in their Apostacy from the truth and malignity against it Christ hath pronounced it upon earth and ratifyed it in Heaven Those mine enemies that would not that I should reigne over them bring them hither and slay them before my face Luk. 19.27 Are these the words of him that delighteth not in the bloud of his bloudyest enemies and gainsayers when the Lord Jesus sendeth forth his servants to powre out bloudy vengeance upon Antichristian emissaries and openeth the hearts mouthes of his Saints to praise him for thus judging Rev. 16.4 7 Is this to proclaime a Magna-Charta of highest libertyes even to his gainsayers and to such as joyn with his enemy Antichrist Time was when Jehu justly demanded What peace what hast thou to doe with peace so long as the whor domes of thy Mother Jezebel and her witcherafts are so many 2 Kings 9.22 And are the times now so farre changed that the Sword of Jebu shall proclaime peace to Jezebel and peace to all that call her mother and peace to her whoredomes and peace to her witchcrafts and then to blesse our selves with a glorious expectation That soone shall every Brow and house be stucke with O live branches The Lord keepe us from being bewitched with the Whores cup lest whilst wee seeme to detest and reject her with open face of profession wee doe not bring her in by a back doore of Toleration and so come at last to drink deepely of the cup of the Lords wrath and be filled with the cup of her plagues Amen CHAP. 79. Touching the Modell of Church and civill Power composed by Mr. Cotton and the Ministers of New-England and sent to the Church of Salem c. Examined by the Discusser and Answered THis Title or Inscription which the Examiner setteth up of this Modell holdeth forth to the world a double falshood 1. That the Modell was composed by Mr. Cotton and other Ministers of New-England This is one falshood What other Ministers of New-England did in it themselves know But for Mr. Cotton I know that he was none of them that composed it 2. That this Modell was sent to the Church of Salem if he meane sent by those Ministers as the following words imply for the confirmation of their Doctrine that is another falshood The Ministers themselves that composed the Modell doe deny it Howsoever the Modell came to Salem the Ministers say it was not sent by them But see when men are left of God openly and boldly to write against the truth in matter of Doctrin how readily and freely they can write and speake falshood in matter of fact It is therefore lesse marvell that in Answer to the preface of the Modell he breaketh forth into such vast hyperboles That the Modell awakeneth Meses from his unknowne Grave and denyeth Jesus yet to have seen the earth A speech as devoid of reason as of truth The observation of Moses Lawes doth not awaken Moses out of his grave nor is there any reason it should The validity of Lawes doth not in reason depend upon the life or resurrection of the Lawgiver the Examiner himselfe I suppose would not doubt but the Lawes of Moses were of force to the Israelites in the Land of Canaan when yet Moses was dead and buried before their entrance into the Land Neither did their observation of them awaken Moses out of his grave but argued his Lawes to be in force as well after his death as whilst he was yet living If it be said That Christ at his coming in the flesh when he was buried himselfe buried also the Lawes of Moses with him in his grave Then the Examiner should not have said that the Modell raised up Moses out of his grave but that it raised up Christ out of his grave If it be said againe the Examiner saith It denyed Christ to have seen the earth which was of as ill consequence Be it so but yet still this maketh nothing to the rasing up of Moses out of his grave I Answer further Neither doth it at all deny Christ to have seen the earth For Christ came not to destroy the Law of Moses Mat. 5.17 Neither the Morall Law for in the sequele of that Chapter he doth at large expound it and establish it No nor did he come to destroy the judiciall Lawes such of them as are of Morall equity Or else the Conscience of the civill Magistrate could never doe any act of civill justice out of faith because he should have no word of God to be the ground of his action if the Lawes of judgement in the Old-Testament were abrogated and none extant in the New As for the exception which the Examiner taketh against the Preface It is as easily avoided as Objected If saith he the civill Magistrate even the highest being a Member of the Church be subject to Church-Censure how can this stand with their common Tenent that he must keepe the first Table Reforme the Church be Judge and Governor in all causes as well ecclesiasticall as Civill Secondly how can a Magistrate both sit on the Bench and stand at the Bar of Christ Jesus Is it not as impossible as to reconcile east and west together Yea is not the Text in Isa 49 23. Lamentably wrested to prove both these Reply One Answer may easily remove both Exceptions And that one Text doth expresly hold forth both these Points which the Examiner conceiveth to be so irreconcilable For if Princes be nursing Fathers to the Church as that Text speaketh then they are to provide that the children of
the Church be not nursed with poison in stead of milke And in so doing they keepe the first Table Reforme the Church judge in causes Ecclesiasticall Againe If the the same Princes shall bow down to the Church with their faces towards the earth and lick the dust of her feet as the same Text expresseth then they being members of the Church shall be subject also to Church-Censure In one word Princes sit on the Bench over the Church in the offensive Government of the Church yet may themselves being members of the Church be subject to Church-Censure in the offensive Government of themselves against the Rules of the Gospel The Examiner himselfe contesseth that in severall respects He that is a governor may be also a Subject Behold here are severall respects to wit severall objects of Judicature In the Mal-Administration of the Church the Magistrate sitteth as Judge and Governor in the Mal-Administration of a Church-Member-Magistrate contrary to the expresse rules of the Gospel he is subject to the power of Christ in the Church If it be said nay rather The Church is subject to the Magistrate in civill causes and the Magistrate is subject to the Church in spirituall causes I Answer That easeth not the difficulty no more then the other For suppose the Magistrate a Church member live in Incest breake forth into murder and notorious oppression these are all civill causes belonging to the second Table If the Magistrate sit as Judge and supreme Governor in this case then must the Church tolerate him herein to the dishonour of the great Name of Christ to the leavening of the Church and to the perdition of his soule If it be granted that in such a case though civill the Church is bound to deale faithfully with the Magistrate and not to suffer sinne upon him let the like power be granted to the Magistrate to deale faithfully with the Church in the notorious transgressions of the first Table as is granted to the Church to deale with the Magistrate in the notorious transgressions of the second Table and the controversie is ended If any further matter be claimed in making the Supreme Magistrate the Supreme Judge and Governor in all causes aswell Ecclesiasticall as civill I doe not understand that the Ministers or Churches of Christ are called to acknowledge such a meaning Sure I am the Interpretation of that high stile which godly learned Reynolds made of it in the 10. Chap. of his Conference with Hart It was accepted of the State in the dayes of Queene Elizabeth And the same Interpretation if no more be intended by that stile doth well stand with our defence But wherefore doe I put my Sicle into the Harvest of my Brethren my Brethren who penned that Modell are richly furnished by Christ with ability to defend it I therefore leave it to them whom it cheifly concerneth to maintaine the Truth which themselves have witnessed in that Modell And the Lord Jesus Christ himself the God of Truth who came into the world that he might beare witnesse to the Truth be pleased to beare witnesse from Heaven to his owne Truth and bl … that peace a fraudulent and false peace which the Examiner proclaimeth to all the wayes of falshood in Religion to Heresie in Doctrine to Idolatry in worship to blasphemy of the great Name of God to Pollution and prophanation of all his holy Ordiannces Amen Even So Come Lord Jesus A REPLY TO Mr. VVILLIAMS his EXAMINATION And Answer of the Letters sent to him by JOHN COTTON SUch a Letter to such a purpose I doe remember I wrote unto Mr. Williams about halfe a score yeares agoe But whether this printed Letter be a true Copie thereof or no I doe not know for the Letter being sent so long since and no Copie of it that I can finde reserved by me I can own it no further then I finde the matter and style expressing the judgement which I then had of his cause of Separation and the affection I bare unto his person And for ought I see the Letter doth not unfitly expresse both But how it came to be put in print I cannot imagine Sure I am it was without my privitie and when I heard of it it was to me unwelcome Newes as knowing the truth and weight of Plinies speech Aliud est scribere uni aliud omnibus There be who thinke it was published by Mr. Williams himselfe or by some of his friends who had the Copie from him Which latter might be the more probable because himselfe denieth the publishing of it and it sticketh in my mind that I received many yeares agoe a refutation of it in a brotherly and ingenuous way from a stranger to me but one as I heare well affected to him Mr. Sabine Staresmore To whom I had long agoe returned an Answer but that he did not direct me where my Letter might find him But I doe not suspect Mr. Staresmore nor Mr. Williams himselfe to have published it but rather some other unadvised Christian who having gotten a copie of the Letter tooke more libertie then God alloweth to draw forth a private Admonition to publick notice in a disorderly way But howsoever it was upon the publishing of this Letter Mr. Williams hath taken occasion as is observed by some who are acquainted with the Spirit of the man first to rise up against me the meanest of many in the examining and resuting of that Letter And then as if one Mordecai were too small a morsell to stand forth against all the Churches and Elders in New-England in his Bloudy Tenent And then as if New-England were but an handfull from thence to rise up against the choisest Ornaments of two populous Nations England and Scotland the reverend Assembly of Divines together with the reverend Brethren of the Apology and above them all to addresse himselfe according to his high thoughts to propound Quaeries of high concernment as he calleth them to the High and Honourable Court of Parliament So a Bird of prey affecting to soare aloft getteth first upon the top of a molehill and from thence taketh his rise from Pale to Tree till he have surmounted the highest Mountaines In this apprehension of him they are the more confirmed as having discerned the like frame of Spirit in his former walking amongst us Time was when of all Christian Churches the Churches of New-England were accounted and professed by him to be the most pure and of all the Churches in New-England Salem where himselfe was Teacher to be the most pure But when the Churches of New-England tooke just offence at sundry of his proceedings he first renounced communion with them all and because the Church of Salem refused to joyne with him in such a groundlesse Censure he then renounced communion with Salem also And then fell off from his Ministery and then from all Church-fellowship and then from his Baptisme and was himselfe baptized againe and then from the Lords Supper and
against him was an act of Persecution 3. Nor did I ever see cause to doubt but that in some cases such as this of his was Banishment is a lawfull and just punishment if it be in proper speech a punishment at all in such a Countrey as this is where the Jurisdiction whence a man is banished is but small and the Countrey round about it large and fruitfull where a man may make his choice of variety of more pleasant and profitable seats then he leaveth behinde him In which respect Banishment in this Countrey is not counted so much a confinement as an enlargement where a man doth not so much loose civill comforts as change them And as for spirituall liberties liberty of Church Ordinances they were a burden and bondage to his spirit here And therefore he cast them off before they left him neither doth he to this day look at it as a way of God for any Christian man to look after the Ordinances of God in a Church-estate at all As conceiving that the Apostasie of Antichrist hath so farre corrupted all that there can be no recovery out of that Apostasie till Christ shall send forth new Apostles to plant Churches anew But as for the true cause why I medled not in his civill Censure it was chiefly because Civill Censures belong unto another Kingdome then that which we are called to administer Civill Censures are not the weapons of our warfare and partly also because I was carried as still I am with a compassion of his Person and likewise of his wife a woman as then of a meek and modest spirit who a long time suffered in spirit as I was informed for his offensive course which occasioned him for a season to withdraw communion in spirituall duties even from her also till at length he drew her to partake with him in the errour of his way But Mr. Williams affirmeth That in Letters past between him and me he proved and exprest that if he had perished in that sorrowfull winters flight onely the bloud of Christ could have washed me from the guilt of his Answ That he did expresse such a thing in some Letters to me as I doe not remember it so neither will I deny it but that he proved it I may as safely deny it as he boldly affirme it Could he then have given any such proofes doubtlesse he would not have concealed them now when he undertaketh to cleare to the world the pretended innocency of himselfe and the supposed iniquitie of his supposed Persecutors How precious the bloud of Christ is to me and how needfull I blesse the Lord my soule knoweth but that I needed it to wash away the guilt of any injurious proceedings against the bloud of Mr. Williams I speake it in holy confidence I never discerned it to this day The proofes which he alledgeth in the sequell for my hand in his Banishment I shall God willing cleare them anon in due place Meane while what answers I made to him concerning the same in other Letters he wisely concealeth but contenteth himselfe to tell us that my finall Answer was That had he perished in his flight his bloud had been upon his own head It was his sinne to procure it and his sorrow to suffer it If this was my finall Answer it seemeth I gave him other former Answers what they were I have now forgotten but I suppose had they been insufficient or impertinent I should have heard of them But what is amisse in this finall Answer The margent noteth it as an unmercifull speech of a mercifull man But when it shall please the Father of mercies of soften the heart of Mr. Williams and to give him an heart and eare to hearken unto the wholesome Counsell of his true friends he will at length see the speech was truly mercifull as well as the man that spake it When a Fountaine is opened to Hierusalem for sinne and for uncleannesse the Prophets who have deceived the people shall at length see and acknowledge their errour and being demanded the cause of the wounds in their hands They shall answer each of them for himselfe thus was I wounded in the house of my Friends Zach. 13.1 with verses 4 5 6. An heart softened with the Bloud of Christ will judge the wounds of his friends faithfull Prov. 27.6 I meane such reproofes for sinne which though they may seeme to wound yet wound to heale David thought such smiting to be a kindnesse yea an excellent Oyle which doth not breake the head but heale the heart Psal 141.5 There is one thing more in his Epistle to the Reader which calleth for Answer It cannot now saith he be justly offensive that finding this Letter publick by whose procurement I know not I now present to publick view my formerly intended Answer Answ It had not been offensive to me that he did present his Answer to publick view if he found my Letter publick without his own or his friends procurement especially if his Answer had been returned in words of truth and faithfulnesse Which how farre they fall short of I hope by the help of Christ will appeare in the sequell Meane while I feare it is justly offensive to the Spirit of Grace and Love That whereas he judged me to allow my selfe and others to rest securely in the Doctrine and Practise of bloudy Persecution that all this while even for the space of nine or ten yeares he suffered me to sleep so long so quietly under the guilt of such a crying sinne Nay it may seeme by his own words if he had not found my Letter publick it may be doubted whether ever I should have heard any further word from him hereabouts at all If I had been esteemed as a Brother sinne should not have been suffered to lie so long upon a Brother Levit. 19.17 If an enemy yet the very Oxe or Asse of an enemy is not to be suffered to lye so long groveling under his burden Deut. 22.4 But when he addeth in the next sentence That he rejoyceth in the goodnesse and wisedome of him who is the Father of lights and mercies in ordering the season of his own present opportunitie of Answer I confesse we on the contrary have cause to admire and adore the wisdome and dreadfull Justice of God herein That seeing Mr. Williams hath been now as a branch cut off from the Church of Salem these many yeares he should bring forth no spirituall good fruits in due season and that which he bringeth forth now at the last is bitter and wild fruit and that in such a season when the Spirit of Error is let loose to deceive so many thousand soules of our English Nation So that now their hearts are become as Tinder ready to catch and kindle at every sparke of false light Even so O Father because thy good pleasure is such to let loose this Spirit of Error in the mouth of this Backslider in the very houre and power of darknesse
himselfe ver 11. it may appeare he is not persecuted for Cause of Conscience but for sinning against his own Conscience 3. In things of lesse moment whether Points of Doctrine or worship if a man hold them forth in a spirit of Christian meeknesse and love though with zeale and constancy he is not to be persecuted but tolerated till God may be pleased to manifest his Truth to him Phil. 3.17 Rom. 14.11 12 13 14. 4. But if a man hold forth or professe any error or false way with a boysterous and arrogant spirit to the disturbance of Civill Peace he may justly be punished according to the measure of the disturbance caused by him This is that way of Persecution which Mr. Williams expresseth to be mine In all which I durst appeale to Mr. Williams his own Conscience were it not Leavened with over-deepe prejudice whether in all this way there be any crevise opening a doore for the Persecution of Christ himselfe bringing further light Let no man take it amisse that in the Parenthesis I intimate the Conscience of Mr. Williams in this case to be leavened with overmuch prejudice For if extreme prejudice were not predominant in him in this case I should stand amazed how a man of understanding could out of such Conclusions make up this Inference which he gives in the Title of the Chapt. pag. 7. That I doe professedly maintaine Persecution for Cause of Conscience I that doe expresly professedly deny Persecution of any even of Hereticks unlesse it be when they come to persist in heresie after conviction against conscience how can I be said to maintaine Persecution for Cause of Conscience But oh the wofull perversenesse and blindnesse of a Conscience when it is left of God to be so farre transported with prejudice as to judge a Cause of Conscience and a cause against Conscience to be all one For the shutting up of his Chapter he is pleased to Comment upon a phrase in my Letter wherein I styled my selfe a man of uncircumcised lips And he doth acknowledge it to be an holy Character of an heavenly Spirit to make an ingenuous and true acknowledgement of an uncircumcised lip Yet saith he that discerning Spirit which God graciously vouchsafeth to them that tremble at his Word shall finde that not onely the will-worships of men may be painted and varnished over with the glittering shew of Humilitie Colos 2. but even Gods dearest servants eminent for humility and meeknesse may yet be troubled with a swelling of spirituall pride out of the very sence of their humilitie c. Humilitie is never in season to set up superstition or persecute Gods children Answ I could intreat some or other of Mr. Williams his acquaintance whose words may finde better acceptance with him then mine doe to perswade him not to attribute too much to his own Spirit of discerning which though he truely saith God doth vouchsafe to them that tremble at his word yet I never read nor heard that God did vouchsafe a Spirit of discerning to any that are so farre from trembling at the word that they doe not vouchsafe to heare the word from the mouth of so many thousand faithfull Ministers of the Gospel As for me I desire not to neglect any word from the mouth of Mr. Williams upon what pretence soever spoken that putteth me in minde of spirituall pride arising out of the very sence of humilitie Such smiting shall not breake my head But when he concludeth with this Aphorisme Humilitie is never in season to set up superstition or to persecute Gods children I desire it may be considered what is Superstition what is Persecution and whether my Letter unto him tended to set up the one or to set forward the other Superstition is properly cultus supra statutum which I speake not from the Etymology of the word for I know Latinists doe otherwise derive it but from the nature of the thing And what is Persecution It hath been answered above the affliction of any for their Righteousnesse sake If it appeare in the sequele that my Letter tended either to set up any worship of God which he hath not appointed or to afflict any for their Righteousnesse sake then I will confesse it tended to set up Superstition and Persecution And the humilitie which he acknowledgeth to be expressed in my Letter I shall acknowledge to be out of season Meane while Affirmanti incumbit Probatio To CHAP. II. His second Chapter is spent in answering to a double charge which he saith he observeth I laid against him Though in very Truth I layd neither of them downe as charges against him but as discharges to my selfe from expecting that He should vouchsafe to hearken to my voyce who had refused to hearken both to the voyce of the body of the whole Church of Salem whereof he was a member and to the voyces of so many Elders and brethren of other Churches But suppose I did charge him with a double sinne in refusing to hearken to this double voyce though I did not say it was a sinne how doth he discharge himselfe For neglect of the former he excuseth himselfe by the charge of his Office which lay upon him on a Fast-day to discover to them eleven publick sinnes as causes of the present and publick calamities Which most of the Church seemed at first to assent unto untill afterwards the greater part of the Church whether for feare of Persecution or otherwise was swayed and bowed to practise such things which with sighes and groanes many of them mourned under But will this indeed discharge an Elder of the Church before the Lord from coming into the presence of the Church when they send for him because the greater part of them are bowed and swayed for feare of Persecution to slip and slide and to say and practise that which with sighes and groanes they mourned under Why then if the Wolfe come and scatter the sheepe and they slip out of the way let the Shepheard fly and leave them that the word of the Lord Jesus might be fulfilled He that is an Hireling and not the Shepheard whose own the sheepe are not he seeth the Wolfe coming and leaveth the sheepe and fleeth and the Wolfe catcheth them and scattereth the sheepe Joh. 10.12 Or will it goe for currant Doctrine before the Lord that if the greater part of a Church fall through feare or otherwise into sinne and such a sinne which they mourne under with sighes and groanes and which in it selfe is not hainous that then they doe ipso facto cease to be a Church and utterly to be cast out Why then let the Covenant between the Lord and his Church be no more reputed any branch of the Covenant of Grace but let it stand and fall as a Covenant of workes But surely if the greater part of the Church were gone astray I should think it would well become the faithfulnesse of a Church-Elder to hasten to them specially when he
is lovingly and respectively sent for and to convince them of the errour of their way before the Lord and to seek to bring them back againe to the Bishop and Shepheard of their soules Sure I am that in a case of greater defection of the Churches of Galatia then Mr. Williams imagined was found in the Church of Salem Paul did not reject them but professed I desire saith he to be present with you now and to change my voyce for I stand in doubt of you Gal. 4.20 Mr. Williams acknowledgeth in the next Paragraph That the Church of Colosse might say to Archippus Take heed to thy Ministery and that Archippus might negligently and proudly refuse to hearken to them but for his case his faithfulnesse and uprightnesse to God and the soules of the people will witnesse for him when his soule shall come to Hezekiahs case on his death-bed and in the great day approaching I do not know but that Archippus might as justly refuse to hearken to the Church of Colosse as Mr. Williams to the Church of Salem What though Colosse was more eminent in gifts then Salem yet the mutuall power and subjection of Pastor and people dependeth not upon eminency of gifts but upon the Institution of Christ and their mutuall Covenant and Relation If it had been a negligent and proud part in Archippus as Mr. Williams confesseth to refuse to hearken to the lawfull voyce of the Church of Colosse admonishing him of his slacknesse in his Ministery I know not but it might be such a like part in Mr. Williams to refuse to hearken to the voyce of the Church of Salem admonishing him to take heed of deserting his Ministery Whether is a greater sinne in a Minister not to fulfill his Ministery or to desert his Ministery Neither doe I know but that Archippus might have pretended the like evasions with Mr. Williams if not fairer For he might plead there were amongst them such as spoyled them through Philosophy and vaine deceit after the Traditions of men and Rudiments of the world and not after Christ Col. 2.8 that beguiled them also in a voluntary humilitie and worship of Angels not holding the Head ver 18 19. Yea so farre that themselves come to be dogmatized with the Traditions of men ver 20 21 22. And why might not then Archippus as justly refuse to heare the Church of Colosse as Mr. Williams refuse to heare the Church of Salem Let not Mr. Williams please himselfe in suiting his faithfulnesse and uprightnesse to Hezekiahs case Hezekiah faithfully and uprightly endeavoured and through grace procured the reformation of the Apostate Church of Hierusalem in the dayes of his Father Ahaz But Mr. Williams in stead of reforming one Church renounceth all For his neglect of hearkening to the second voyce the voyce and testimony of so many Elders and Brethren of other Churches He saith because he truely esteemeth the Persons he will not answer the Argument of numbers and multitudes against one as our men are wont to answer the Popish universalitie that God stirreth up sometimes one Elijah against eight hundred of Baals Priests c. But this he saith that David himselfe and the Princes of Israel and 30000. of Israel carrying up the Arke were not to be hearkened unto in their holy intentions of rejoycings and triumphs when the due order of the Lord was wanting to them In which case one Scripture in the mouth of a Mechanick is to be preferred before a whole Councell Answ I will not here observe as Mr. Williams doth in a like case in Chap. 38. of his Bloudy Tenent his hast and light attention to the Scriptures which himselfe alledgeth The Text speaketh but of 450. of Baals Priests 1 Kings 18.19 Now for him to multiply them to 800 is to fetch in also the Prophets of the Groves the Prophets of Jeroboams Calves whom the Text expresly distinguisheth from the Prophets of Baal But to let that passe as not materiall to the Argument no more then the misquotation which he observeth of Titus for Timothy we will not reply as the Papists doe against single witnesses let him call for fire from Heaven as Eliah did and we will submit the testimonies of many to one single witnesse No we call not for Miracles at his hand but let him produce one testimony of holy Scripture rightly understood and applyed against the advice and voyce of those Elders and Brethren and then though he be but one yea though that one were but a Mechanick too we shall gratifie his demand and by the Grace of Christ be ready rather to hearken to him then require that he should hearken to us Meane while we answer him as the Apostle did to the Corinthians 1 Cor. 14.36 What came the word of God out from you or came it unto you onely It is true David and the Princes and the 30000. of Israel were not to be hearkened unto nor followed in their disorderly carrying of the Arke because the word of the Lord had given expresse order to the contrary requiring that the Kohathites should beare the Arke upon their shoulders and not touch it least they dye Num. 4.15 Let him shew us the like order violated by us and we shall freely excuse him yea and justifie him in not hearkening to us nor following of us But suppose some one Prophet or Brother of Israel had discerned the disorder of David and of the whole Congregation of the 30000. of Israel and had therefore not onely refused to follow them but had proceeded further as many of Christs Disciples did with him Joh. 6.66 to goe back from them with an utter Apostasie and to walke no more with them no not though they were willing to reforme their disorder if any were made knowne to them Would Perez Vzzah have justified that Or did that disorder of David and of that Congregation of Israel dischurch them all from fellowship with God or discharge their Brethren from having any fellowship with them as with the Church of God TO CHAP. III. HIs third Chapter is taken up in answering to a Phrase in my Letter in which I had said I endeavoured to shew him the sandinesse of those grounds upon which he had banished himselfe from the fellowship of all the Churches in this Countrey The summe of his Answer is That his grounds were the firme rocke of the Truth of Jesus and that my endeavours to prove them sandy are but the weake and uncertain sand of mans Invention which shall therefore perish and burne like hay or stubble And the Rocky strength of his grounds shall appeare in the Lords season and that my selfe also may yet confesse so much as I have since I came to New-England confest the sandinesse of the grounds of many of my Practises in Old England and the rockinesse of their grounds that witnessed against me and them for Instance that himselfe had discovered to me and other servants of God his grounds against the use of the
worship and Gods worship was not to be put upon carnall persons as he conceived many of the People to be So by his Tenent neither might Church-members nor other godly men take the Oath because it was the establishment not of Christ but of mortall men in their office nor might men out of the Church take it because in his eye they were but carnall So the Court was forced to desist from that proceeding which practise of his was held to be the more dangerous because it tended to unsettle all the Kingdomes and Common-wealths in Europe These were as I tooke it the causes of his Banishment two other things fell in upon these that hastened the Sentence The former fell out thus The Magistrates discerning by the former passages the heady and turbulent spirit of Mr. Williams both they and others advised the Church of Salem not to call him to office in their Church neverthelesse the major part of the Church made choice of him Soone after when the Church made suit to the Court for a parcell of Land adjoyning to them the Court delayed to grant their Request as hath been mentioned before because the Church had refused to hearken to the Magistrates and others in forbearing the choice of Mr. Williams Whereupon Mr. Williams took occasion to stirre up the Church to joyne with him in writing Letters of Admonition unto all the Churches whereof those Magistrates were members to admonish them of their open transgression of the Rule of Justice Which Letters coming to the severall Churches provoked the Magistrates to take the more speedy course with so heady and violent a Spirit But to prevent his sufferings if it might be it was mooved by some of the Elders that themselves might have liberty according to the Rule of Christ to deale with him and with the Church also in a Church-way It might be the Church might heare us and he the Church which being consented to some of our Churches wrote to the Church of Salem to present before them the offensive Spirit and way of their Officer Mr. Williams both in Judgement and Practise The Church finally began to hearken to us and accordingly began to addresse themselves to the healing of his Spirit Which he discerning renounced communion with the Church of Salem pretending they held communion with the Churches in the Bay and the Churches in the Bay held communion with the Parish-Churches in England because they suffered their members to heare the word amongst them in England as they came over into their native Countrey He then refusing to resort to the Publick Assembly of the Church Soone after sundry began to resort to his Family where he preached to them on the Lords day But this carriage of his in renouncing the Church upon such an occasion and with them all the Churches in the Countrey and the spreading of his Leaven to sundry that resorted to him this gave the Magistrates the more cause to observe the heady unruelinesse of his spirit and the incorrigiblenesse thereof by any Church-way all the Churches in the Countrey being then renounced by him And this was the other occasion which hastened the Sentence of his Banishment upon the former Grounds If upon these Grounds Mr. Williams be ready as he professeth not onely to be bound and banished but also to dye in New-England let him remember what he knowes Non poena sed causa facit Martyrem No Martyr of Christ did ever suffer for such a cause When he feareth not to professe that he did in open Court maintaine the rocky strength of his grounds to the satisfaction of his own and as he saith of other mens Consciences I can but wonder at the rocky flintinesse of his selfe-confidence To give a taste of the rocky strength of his maintenance of these things He made complaint in open Court that he was wronged by a slanderous report up and downe the Countrey as if he did hold it to be unlawfull for a Father to call upon his childe to eate his meate Our reverend Brother Mr. Hooker the Pastor of the Church where the Court was then kept being mooved to speake a word to it Why saith he you will say as much againe if you stand to your own Principles or be forced to say nothing When Mr. Williams was confident he should never say it Mr. Hooker replyed If it be unlawfull to call an unregenerate person to take an Oath or to Pray as being actions of Gods worship then it is unlawfull for your unregenerate childe to pray for a blessing upon his own meate If it be unlawfull for him to pray for a blessing upon his meate it is unlawfull for him to eate it for it is sanctified by prayer and without prayer unsanctified 1 Tim. 4.4 5. If it be unlawfull for him to eate it it is unlawfull for you to call upon him to eate it for it is unlawfull for you to call upon him to sinne Here Mr. Williams thought better to hold his peace then to give an Answer But thus have I opened the grounds and occasions of his Civill Banishment which whether they be sandy or rocky let the servants of Christ judge Howsoever my Letter gave him no occasion at all to put me upon this Discourse for in my Letter I intended only to shew him the sandinesse of those grounds upon which he banished himselfe from the society not of the Common-wealth but of all the Churches in these Countreyes But whether I intended the one or the other he giveth an Answer for both If Mr Cotton meane saith he my own voluntary withdrawing from all these Churches resolved to continue in those evills and in persecuting the witnesses of the Lord presenting light unto them I confesse it was mine own voluntary act yea I hope the act of the Lord Jesus sounding forth in me a poore despised Rams-horne the blast which shall in his own holy season cast down the strength and confidence of the Inventions of men in the worship of God and lastly his act in inabling me to be faithfull in any measure to suffer such great and mightie Tryalls for his Names sake Reply That I meant onely his own act in withdrawing himselfe from these Churches doth plainly enough appeare both from my expresse words and fro mthe Reasons which I expresly assigne of that act of his which I called the sandy grounds upon which he built his Separation My expresse words are He had banished himselfe from the society of all the Churches in this Countrey The society of the Church is one thing the society of the Common-wealth is another And the Grounds upon which he built his Separation were not the causes of his banishment but of his withdrawing from the society of the Churches But if I so meant He confesseth it was his own voluntary act and professeth also it was a double act of the Lord Jesus in him The ground which he giveth of his own voluntary act was because these Churches were resolved
to continue in those evills and persecuting the witnesses of the Lord Jesus presenting light to them Reply Those evills What were those evills which wee were resolved to continue in He expresseth none but sure meet it had been that as his voluntary withdrawing from these Churches was publickly known so the evills in which we resolved to continue and for which he withdrew himselfe should in like manner have been publickly knowne also It is an unrighteous thing to passe publick known acts upon private unknowne evills But whatsoever those unknown evills were I suppose he conceiveth them to be such wayes either of Judgement or Practise wherein wee walke according to the light of our Consciences And then by his Rule he should have allowed us the like liberty of conscience which himselfe requireth And surely by the Royall Rule of the Lord Jesus no Brother may be so much as admonished much lesse separated from till he be convinced 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mat. 18.15 And as for persecuting the witnesses of the Lord presenting light to us himselfe for ought I know was the first in this Countrey that ever pretended suffering for bearing witnesse in any matter of Religion true or false And for him to withdraw himselfe from the society of all the Churches for their persecution of him before he had suffered from them any thing but conference and conviction is to make them sufferers for well-doing and to choose suffering that he might have cause to complaine of sufferings Let him if he be able name any one in this Countrey of the witnesses of the Lord for he speaketh of witnesses that ever did so much as pretend before himselfe to suffer Persecution for presenting light to us Thus he maketh that the ground of his withdrawing which was not then in Rerum naturâ no not in pretence till after his withdrawing As a furious School-master will beate a childe for nothing till he cry and then beate him for crying But he further presumeth to affirme That his withdrawing was the act of the Lord Jesus in him sounding forth that Blast which shall one day cast downe the strength and confidence of the Inventions of men in the worship of God Reply If a particular visible Church consisting of visible Saints and united by holy Covenant into one Congregation to worship the Lord and to edifie one another in all his holy Ordinances If such a Church be an Invention of man If Elders called and ordained by them for Administration of these Ordinances be an invention of man If the Covenant of Grace between the Lord and his Church and the Seales thereof and the Censures dispensed against the violation thereof If all these be the Inventions of man then indeed the Lord hath sounded a blast in Mr. Williams his horne to cast down the Inventions of men in the worship of God But if all these be the holy Institutions of the Lord Jesus then let Mr. Williams know that this speech of his is a blast of blasphemy against the Lord Jesus to put upon him that which is the proper worke of Satan to blast all the Churches and Ordinances of Christ And whereas it was wont to be the worke of Antichrist to defile all the Ordinances of Christ it is now the worke of this examiner to deface and abolish them all from the face of the earth Whether of these workes are the more Antichristian It may be he will be ready to say as the Prophet said in another case of Senacherib Isai 10.7 he meaneth not so nor doth his heart thinke so and as Hazael said to the Prophet Is thy servant a dog that he should doe this great thing 2 King 8.13 Sed quid verba audiam cùm facta videam Why doth he separate from all Churches under Heaven and refuse to gather into any Church where himselfe liveth if he did not in these times look at all Church-Estate and Fellowship and Ordinances as not to be found in the Land of the Living Lastly He looketh at it as an act of Christ enabling him to be faithfull in any measure to suffer such great and mightie Tryalls for his Names sake But if the Spirit of the Apostle John had in some measure rested upon him he would no more have mentioned much lesse have magnified his great and mighty Tryalls till he had seene John goe before him in such a like predication of his sufferings who doubtlesse had lesse deserved it and yet suffered more great and mighty Tryalls Revel 1.9 But full vessels make least sound Againe He recoyleth to his civill Banishment and observeth That if by banishing himselfe I meant his Civill Banishment then 1. He discerneth the language of the Dragon in a Lambes lip to put the sufferings of the Saints upon themselves and the Devill 2. That I silently confesse that the frame and constitution of our Churches is implicitly Nationall Else if the Common-wealth and Church were not one how could he that is banished from the one be necessarily banished from the other also Reply It was farre from my meaning and words when I spake of his banishing of himselfe from the Fellowship of all the Churches in the Countrey to intend his civill banishment I knew his civill banishment was not meerly his own Act. I knew also that he might have been banished from the Common-wealth and yet have retained as some others have done Fellowship with some Churches if not with all the Churches in the Countrey And therefore both his observations are but empty flourishes and vanish like Bubbles It is the wilinesse of the Spirit of the Serpent to hide his head under fig-leaved evasions But suppose I had meant by his banishment of himselfe his civill banishment and had meant that by exposing himselfe deservedly to that censure he had deprived himselfe of enjoying all the spirituall liberties of the Churches in the Countrey might I not so have said and yet not have spoken the language of the Dragon What if the Dragon use such language to the Saints suffering innocently may not the Spirit of God use the same words to a guilty person suffering deservedly The language of the Dragon lyeth not alwayes in the words or meaning but in the application and intent of them The Dragon said to Christ I know who thou art the holy One of God Mar. 1.24 Peter might say the same or the like words Mat. 16.16 And yet in his mouth it was not the language of the Dragon but of the Holy Ghost Neither will it imply That the Church and Common-wealth are all one because he that deservedly is banished from the Common-wealth banisheth himselfe also from the communion of the Churches For the same sinnes which may be offensive civilly to the Common-wealth may be also spiritually offensive to the Church and both proceed to censure the same person in their own way severally TO CHAP. IV. IN his fourth Chapter the Examiner answereth to a speech of mine wherein to prevent his prejudice
for this cause because we doe not separate these English hearers from us he separated himselfe and withdre others from hearing the word in our Churches with us which I accounted as great and as unsufferable an injury to the soules of Gods people as it would be to their bodies to withhold the Corne from them or them from the Corne and for that end I produced this Scripture That I produced this Scripture alone to justifie the Sentence of the Court it was not for want of others if that had been the Question but because the scope of my Letter was not to confirme the equitie of his Banishment but to convince the iniquitie of his Separation The mention of the cause of his civill Banishment fell in onely upon the by to remove an objection out of the way that because I denied the act of the Court to be done by my counsell or consent therefore it might seeme I disallowed the sentence To prevent that mistake I acknowledged the righteousnesse of the Sentence and for that end produced that Scripture as that which might give both some just reason before God of his Civill Banishment and also make way for the discovery of his sinne of groundlesse Separation Let no man be so farre mistaken as to thinke that his Separation from the Churches was either the chiefe difference between the Court and him though it was the chiefe between him and me in my Letter or that it was the chiefest offence for which he suffered though he so pretended What though neither corporall nor spirituall food may lawfully be sold or bought but with the good will and consent and authoritie of the owner c. Let him make it appeare that Christ hath not committed the Ministery of the Gospel to us and wee shall give place to others whom Christ shall send Meane while if the budding and blossoming and fruit-bearing of Aarons rod was a witnesse from Heaven that the Lord approved his Ministery against all the murmurings of the Children of Israel Num. 17.5 to 8. We must leave him and others to their murmurings against us and quiet our conscices in an humble blessing of the Lord for his gracious blessing upon our weake labours in that holy Ministery wee have received from him What though the Apostles were to turne away and to shake off the dust of their feete against scorners contradictors despisers persecutors It was not till they had sinned against the Holy Ghost and scorned and persecuted the convincing light of the Gospel Acts 13.45 to 51. Otherwise the Jewes were scorners and persecutors of Christ himselfe and of all that confessed his Name Joh. 9.22 yet still the Apostles ceased not to Preach to them and pray with them Acts 3.1 c. to wit whilest their Persecutors sinned of ignorance ver 17. What though the Apostles were forbidden to Preach to some places He wisely quoteth no Text for it lest the quoting might be the confuting of himselfe He knoweth it was but for a time that others according to the good pleasure of Christs will might be served before them What if Mr. Cotton saw just cause to refuse to sell spirituall Corne in a mis-hallowed Surplice Is it safe therefore for Mr. Williams to shut up his sacks mouth and to refuse to sell corne in his ordinary apparrell What if Mr. Cotton forbeare to administer the Lords Supper to all beleevers or Baptisme unto their children untill the beleevers professe their Faith and Repentance before the Church Is it safe therefore for Mr. Williams to refuse to Breake the Bread of Life unto the Church of Salem whereunto their Election and Ordination of him and his own voluntary acceptance thereof had engaged him unto stuwardly office What though in all Civill Transactions and in all the present disturbances of England principall respect is had unto a right Commission and right Order Let him shew wherein our Commission or Order is defective and reason would we should hearken to him But see the warinesse and slinesse of the Examiner I judge it not saith he seasonable here to entertaine the Dispute of the true Power and call of Christs Ministery An handsome evasion Now when the grounds of his Separation are questioned now when he standeth upon his open justification now in Print before the eyes of all men now he thinketh it not seasonable to entertaine any dispute of such things at all Thus Foelix would heare Paul when he had a more convenient time and yet that was the very time and houre of his visitation Acts 24.25 His evasion of this Text in Prov. 11.26 by comparing it with Deut. 17.12 doth but adde a delusion to an evasion Deut. 17. I suppose he meaneth though his printed copie say Deut. 15. For it is a delusion to make the capitall punishment prescribed against the presumptuous rejection of the Sentence of the chiefest Court in Israel a figure of Excommunication in the Church of Christ For first no Scripture of old or new Testament giveth any intimation of any such figure in this Law And to make a judiciall Law a figure without some light from some Scripture is to make a mans selfe wise above that which is written 2. That law is of morall equitie that is of universall and perpetuall equitie in all Nations in all Ages He that shall presumptuously appeale from or rise up against the sentence of the chiefest and highest Court in a free State is guilty Laesae majestatis publicae and therfore as a capitall offender to be censured in any free Common-wealth 3. This Law in Deut. 17. provided an effectuall punishment against such presumptuous offenders and an effectuall remedy against all such like presumption in others that all Israel might heare and feare and doe no more presumptuously ver 13. But so doth not Excommunication For what if an Excommunicate person presume against the sentence of Christ in his Church as Mr. Williams doth against the Sentence of the Church of Salem doth the power of the Church provide that all the Israel of God may heare and feare and doe no more presumptuously Is the figure become more powerfull and effectuall then the substance the shadow then the body the type then the Antitype From this mistaken Figure the Examiner would inferre The withholding of the Corne presumptuously to be death in Israel but not so in every State of the world much lesse the pleading against a false Ministery to be a capitall crime for as for Banishment never such a course was heard of in Israel Answ That law in Deut. hath nothing to doe with the withholding of Corne presumptuously unlesse there had first passed some sentence of the Soveraigne Court against the withholding of Corne. But otherwise ordinary sinnes of presumption doe fall under the Judicature of another Law Num. 15.30 31. Neither hath this Text in Solomons Proverbs any thing to doe with that Law in Deut. 17. nor with capitall punishment Solomon doth not say that every man that withholdeth his corne
dust and ashes Reply 1. It is an exorbitant Hyperbole to make every passage of spirituall whoredome a sinne infinitely transcendent above bodily whoredome For spirituall whoredome is not infinite in the act of it but onely in respect of the object of it to wit in respect of the infinite God against whom it is committed And is not bodily whoredome infinite in that respect also Can a man defile himselfe with bodily whoredome and not sinne against the infinite God What saith Joseph Gen. 39.9 2. What if spirituall whoredome though lesse evident be more sinfull then bodily The nature of true Evangelicall Repentance standeth not in seeing and bewailing every sinne no nor alwayes of the greatest but of those which are most evident and notorious A Christian man may more safely omit repentance of greater sins if unknowne then of lesse sinnes knowne I suppose the Israelites were guiltie of many Idolatries and superstitions in the dayes of Samuel yet their repentance was chiefly fastned upon their asking of a King of which they were then principally convinced 1 Sam. 12.19 And such Repentance was then accepted of the Lord and of Samuel ver 22 23. The very truth is the ground and roote of the Examiners Error in this case is That he maketh Church-Covenant to be no better then a Covenant of workes whereas indeed if Church-Covenant be not a branch of the Covenant of grace the Churches of Christ are not built upon Christ In a Covenant of workes all sinnes must be avoyded or if not avoyded yet repented of expresly and the greatest sinnes most But in Evangelicall Repentance God dealeth not with us after our sinnes nor rewardeth us according to our Iniquities Psal 103.10 The Grace of Christ is not given either to his Church or to any Christian upon the perfection of our Repentance nor upon our Repentance of our greatest sinnes in the greatest measure But if the heart be truly humbled for any knowne sinne as sinne though the sinne knowne be often lesse hainous then others unknowne yet God accepteth his own worke and putteth away all sinne in the acknowledgement of one Yea in sinnes that be knowne the compunction of the heart is sometimes more expressed for the occasions and inducements of the sinne which are lesse hainous then for the greater sinnes which are more grievous and dangerous Solomon in his solemne Repentance in the Booke of Ecclesiastes doth more expresly bewaile his entanglement with lewd women Eccles 7.27 28. then all his Idolatrous Temples and worship which were erected and maintained at his charge By the Examiners Doctrine Solomon had never been received and restored to the Church upon that Repentance His second Answer is That though the converted Jewes did not see all the leavenings of the Pharisees yet they mourned for killing of Christ and embraced him in his Worship Ministery Government c. and thereupon necessarily followeth a withdrawing from the Church Ministery and Worship of the false Christ c. Reply This answer doth not reach the defence of his cause to wit That it is absolutely necessary unto Church-fellowship to see and bewaile not onely actuall whoredomes but also whorish speeches gestures appearances provocations Yet here he granteth that the converted Jewes did not see all the leavenings of the Pharisees which yet were such as in the end of that Paragraph he implyeth they had deteined them under a false Christ But whereas he saith that they by embracing Christ in his Worship and Ministery there necessarily followed a withdrawing from the Church Ministery and worship of the false Christ It may truely be Replyed 1. That he will not grant us that liberty that upon our embracing of Christ in his worship Ministery there necessarily followeth our withdrawing from the Church Ministery and Worship wherein we had been formerly polluted in any sort Is not this to deteine the glorious Truth of our Lord Jesus with respect of Persons 2. It is evident by the Story that some of those members of the Church of Hierusalem who had been leavened by the sect of the Pharisees they did neither see nor bewaile nor did come off from fellowship with the Pharisees in their Ministery and false Doctrine which taught the necessitie of Circumcision and of the whole Law of Moses to justification and salvation Acts 15.1.5 As for the confession of sinne by the Disciples unto John Baptist Mat. 3. and by the Gentiles unto Paul Act. 19. though it be not said that the one sort confessed their Pharisaicall pollutions nor the other all their Deeds Yet saith he if both these confest their notorious sinnes as Mr. Cotton confesseth why not as well their notorious sinnes against God their Idolatries superstitions worships c Surely throughout the whole Scripture the matters of God and his worship are first and most tenderly handled c. Answ It is not true that the matters of Gods worship and defects there are alwayes most tenderly acknowledged throughout the Confessions of the Saints in Scripture Solomon in his Repentance was most sparing of confession of his Idolatrous Temples and worships And the People in Samuel did more repent of asking a King then of all their other sinnes and yet their Idolatries were then flagrant 1 Sam. 12 9 10 11. Besides wee never reade of such deepe Humiliation of David for carting the Arke after the manner of the Philistims as of his bodily adultery with Bathshebah and murder of Vriah The substance of my other Answer to his former Objection which was to prove a necessitie lying upon godly men to see and bewaile their pollutions in a former Church-fellowship before they can be fit matter for a new It was to this purpose that we have not been wanting through the guidance of the grace of Christ to performe that which he pleadeth for so farre as God hath called us to it the which I expressed in my Letter in two particulars 1. That the body of our members doe in generall Professe that the reason of their coming over to us was that they might be freed from the bondage of humane Inventions and Ordinances under which as their soule groaned there so they have professed their sorrow so farre as through ignorance or infirmitie they have been defiled there 2. That in our daily meetings especially in the times of our solemne Humiliations we doe generally all of us bewaile all our former Pollutious wherewith we have defiled our selves and the holy things of God in our former Administrations and Communions the which we have rather chosen to doe then to talke of and therefore doe marvell that he should so resolutely renounce us for that which he knew not whether we had neglected or no and before he had admonished us of our sinfulnesse in such neglect if it had been found amongst us Whereto his Answer is That we make no mention what such Inventions and Ordinances what such Administrations and Communions were which we confessed and bewailed Reply And yet lest he should
themselves from their hypocrisie and inordinate love of this world or else they and their duties will still be uncleane in the sight of God notwithstanding their Church-Estate This Collection tendeth to edification the other to dissipation and destruction of the Church and wresteth Bloud instead of Milke from the Breasts of holy Scripture This Text is so evident and pregnant and full against himselfe that I could not but marvell why he should alledge it and especially why he should desire it might be throughly weighed and the Lord to hold the scales himselfe How doe you then thinke that he will hence inferre his Conclusion That Godly persons if uncleane cannot constitute a true Church or if they doe they are to be separated from Surely not from the words of the Text nor from the sence which I make of it nor from any sence which himselfe can give of it How then Onely from his mistake of my words and that surely either through a drousie Oscitancy or a sleighty Precipitancy What saith he have I spoken more then Mr. Cotton himselfe hath uttered in his Explication and Application of this Scripture As 1. That Godly persons may become defiled and uncleane by hypocrisie and worldlinesse 2. While they lye in such a condition of uncleannesse all their offerings persons labours are uncleane in the sight of God notwithstanding their Church-estate 3. The Church cannot be constituted of such worldly Persons though otherwise godly and Christian Or 4. If they doe the People of God must separate from them These be saith he Mr. Cottons own expresse words Reply He might as well say these be the expresse words of Christ Hang all the Law and the Prophets because Christ saith Mat. 19.40 upon these two Commandements Hang all the Law and the Prophets So these be my expresse words The true and genuine meaning of the place if you doe apply to the Point in hand it will reach nothing neere to your purpose Hypocrites in the Church and godly Christians themselves whilest they attend to the world more then to the things of God their persons their labours their Civill Oblations are all uncleane in the sight of God Ergo. The Church of Christ cannot be constituted of such or if it doe consist of such the People of God must separate from them Who seeth not that attendeth to what he seeth that in these words I expresse not mine own meaning or reasoning but his and that I expresly say The true meaning of the Text will nothing neere reach to his purpose and so bring in his reason in forme of an Enthymeme which he draws from it But if I had made that Enthymeme the expression of mine own meaning and of the meaning of the Text it had sully and closely reached his own purpose The next words following might also plainly have cleared my meaning to him when in stead of that false collection which he gathered I tell him you might well have gathered therefore the Church of Christ and the members thereof must separate themselves from their hypocrisie and their inordinate love of this world Or else they and their duties will he still uncleane in the sight of God notwithstanding their Church-estate This Collection tendeth to edification the other to the dissipation and destruction of the Flock and wresteth bloud instead of milke from the Breasts of holy Scripture Doe I not here plainly expresse two severall and contrary Collections from the Text the one his the other mine own the one tending to edification the other to destruction And yet this false collection and misapplication of the Text which is his own and a manifest Perverting both of the Text and of my words he will needs force upon me contrary to my meaning and contrary also to my expresse words above in the entrance of mine Answer to this Text. Where I say Your purpose was to prove That Churches cannot be constituted by such persons as are uncleane by Antichristian pollutions or if they be so constituted they are not to be communicated with but separated from To prove this you alledge this place where the Prophet acknowledgeth the whole Church of the Jewes to be uncleane and yet neither denieth them to be a Church truely constituted nor stirreth up himselfe or others to separate from them What by the way he discourseth of the Excommunication in the Nationall Church of the Jewes somewhat hath been spoken to it above When he saith That their Ceremoniall Excommunication was either putting to death in Canaan or Captivitie out of Canaan If he meane this was all their Excommunication I cannot assent to it King Vzziah was neither put to death in Canaan nor carried captive out of Canaan and yet he was Excommunicated both from Temple-worship Synagogue-worship and all familiar communion of the Saints Againe when he maketh it an Excommunication from God in case God sell his Church into spirituall Captivitie to confused Babylonish Lords and worship and that so he driveth them out of his sight He might remember that God sometime sold his people under the Bondage of Babylonish Lords even in the Land of Canaan Jer. 40.9 42.10 11 12. And yet he had not straight way driven them out of his sight TO CHAP. XXI IT was my serious and unfeigned endeavour in my Letter which the Examiner hath answered to have removed those two stumbling blocks out of his way which I perceived had turned him off from holding fellowship with these Churches The former was The want of fit matter of our Churches The latter Our dis-respect to the separate Churches in England under affliction when neverthelesse our selves practise separation in peace From the beginning of his tenth Chapter he hath endeavoured to fasten the former of these stumbling blocks that it may still lie in his way and stand as an everlasting wall of partition between us Which neverthelesse I have as you see through the helpe of Christ endeavoured to dig through the sandinesse thereof that if it were the holy will of God it might fall downe like the walles of Jericho before the Arke of the Lord and neither detaine him nor others from Communion with us The latter stumbling block he goeth about to re-establish in this and the following Chapters to the end of his Booke Come we therefore to consider whether there may be any hope of removing this stumbling block also and the establishment thereof by the same helpe The stumbling block lieth somewhat broader then at first was propounded The Examiner takes it as a great offence That we walke between Christ and Antichrist 1. In practising separation here and not repenting of our preaching and printing against it in our own Countrey 2. In reproaching himselfe at Salem and others for separation 3. In particular that my selfe have conceived and spoken That separation is a way which God hath not prospered as if saith he the truth of the Churches depended upon the countenance of men or upon outward peace and libertie To the
not first a Puritan For as Mr. Can hath unanswerably proved the grounds and principles of the Puritans against Bishops and Ceremonies and prophanesse of people professing Christ and the necessitie of Christs flock and discipline must necessarily if truly followed lead on to and enforce a separation Reply 1. If there were hardly ever any conscientious Separatist who was not first a Puritan then it seemeth that if there be any Conscience in the Separatists it was first wrought in them by the Ministers of those whom he calleth Puritans 2. Say it were true that he pretendeth That the principles and grounds of Puritanisme did enforce Separation yet I doe not understand what it maketh to the point in hand 3. Neither doe I understand how it suiteth with the Examiners profession who is wont to renounce all communion with Antichristian inventions so frequently to take up into his mouth and pen the Nickname of Puritans which was at first devised by Sanders the Jesuite to cast a reproach upon the persons and way of reformers to render them suspicious and odious to the State The righteous hand of the Lord struck him with madnesse who invented the name nor doth he delight in them that delight to take up a reproach against the innocent 4. How unanswerably Mr. Can hath proved the necessity of Separation from their grounds and principles I will not judge because I have not seene his Booke But to separate from the Churches of England as no Churches or false Churches from their Ministery as a false Ministery from their Sermons as false worship from their professors as no visible Saints And to prove all this out of the Principles and grounds of those holy Saints of God whom he misnameth Puritans will require a strong efficacy of delusions to make it appeare probable to a sad and judicious spirit that is not sorestalled with prejudice or partialitie But the Examiner proceedeth in his Answer to enquire What should be the Reason why the Separatist who witnesseth against the Roote of the Constitution it selfe should finde more favour then the Puritan or Non-conformist And he telleth us Doubtlesse the reasons are evident 1. Because most of the Separatists have been poore and low and not such gainfull Customers to the Bishops their Courts and Officers Mr. Ainsworth himselfe though a worthy instrument of Gods praise lived upon nine pence in the weeke with roots boyled c. Reply In part I will not deny some truth and weight in this reason But take it for granted and it doth but confirme what I said that the Separatist found more favour then the Non-conformist whatsoever the reason was The second reason that he giveth is That it is a principle in nature to preferre a professed enemy before a pretended friend The Separatists have been looked at by the Bishops and their adherents as knowne and professed enemies whereas the Puritans have professed subjection and submitted to the Bishops their Courts their Officers their Common Prayer and worships And yet the Bishops have well knowne with no greater affection then the Israelites bore the Aegyptians cruell task-masters Reply 1. What the Non-conformists did beare it was no more then they thought they might beare with a good Conscience according to the light they had received If they did beare more then what in Conscience they judged lawfull to be borne they had no reason to beare with themselves in so doing But if the Bishops bore the lesse with them in such their subjection it was because they looked at them not as pretended friends but as more dangerous enemies as knowing both that the Lord was with them which made Saul the more afraid of David 1 Sam. 18.28 29. as also that the grounds which they gave of their judgement and practise were more agreeable to Scripture and to the judgement of all reformed Churches and therefore more likely in time to prevaile to the utter overthrow of their usurped Hierarchy But as for the Separatists the Bishops did not discerne either the Lord going forth in like sort with them or their grounds so likely to subvert their freehold Though the Separatists struck at the roote of the Constitutions of their Churches which was indeed a greater blow then to strike at the roote of Episcopacy yet because the Episcopacy saw that the Separatists struck at the things of Christ together with themselves they knew such stroakes would not much hurt their standing The next word which the Examiner answereth is unto that I said God hath not prospered the way of Separation neither with peace amongst themselves nor with growth of grace His answer is 1. That want of peace may befall the truest Churches of the Lord Jesus as them at Antioch Corinth Galatia Reply The distraction at Antioch was soone healed by the Counsell of the Synod at Hierusalem which is a way of peace which the Churches of the rigid Separation have not knowne nor will condescend unto which makes their dissentions destitute of hopes of reconciliation without separation one from another The like may be said of the Churches of Galatia and Corinth I doe not read their differences were healed by Separation but by listning to Apostolicall Counsell 2. His second Answer is that it is a common Character of a false Church maintained by the Smiths and Cutlers shop to enjoy peace none daring for feare of civill punishment to question or differ c. Reply Though it be a common Character of a false Church to enjoy a forced and violent peace yet it is a peculiar Character of a true Church to enjoy holy peace with God and one with another which where it is wanting there is something else wanting either in their Faith or Order 3. His third Answer is That Gods people in that way have sometimes long enjoyed sweet peace and soule contentment in England Holland New-England and other places c. Reply The Answer had been more cleare and evident if he had named those Churches who have long enjoyed such peace in that way in that way I say of rigid Separation separating from the Churches of England as altogether false in their Constitution Ministry worship and therefore refusing to heare the word in the best of the Parish Assemblies It is a wise Proverb of a wiser then Soloman The back slider in heart from any Truth or way of God shall be filled with his owne wayes They that separate from their brethren further then they have just cause shall at length find cause or at least thinke they have found cause just enough to separate one from another I never yet heard of any instance to the contrary either in England or Holland And for New-England there is no such Church of the Separation at al that I know of That separate Church if it may be called a Church which separated with Mr. Williams first broke into a division about a small occasion as I have heard and then broke forth into Anabaptisme and then into Antibaptisme and Familisme
I acknowledge the ordinary Ministers of the Gospel to be Pastors and Teachers yet it is farre from me to thinke howsoever the Examiner against my mind reporteth my mind otherwise that they are not properly Preachers to converts beget or make Disciples c. For first though the worke of ordinary Ministers were not to convert but to feed soules yet their act of feeding is properly exercised by preaching the word Timothy as a Minister is taught of Paul how to behave himselfe in the house of God which is the Church of God 1. Tim. 3.15 And this he gave him in charge as one great part of his worke to preach the word in season and out of season 2 Tim. 4.1 2. Besides they were neither Evangelists nor Apostles surely for then they could not have been so miscarried but the ordinary Ministers of the Gospel Pastors and Teachers of Churches of whom Paul speaketh Phil. 1.15 16. Some preach Christ saith he even of envie and strife and some of good will The one preach Christ of contention not sincerely the other of Love Againe Paul saith the Lord hath ordained that they who preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel 1 Cor. 9.14 Speaketh he that only of Apostles and Evangelists onely and not of ordinary Church-Officers of all doubtlesse according to Gal. 6.6 Moreover what are Preachers but publishers of the Gospel or glad tydings of the word of God for so saith the Apostle preach the word 2 Tim. 4.2 And what is preaching the word but explication and application of it and is not the explication and application of the word as fit to feed soules as to convert them Secondly when he makes it to be not the proper worke of Pastors and Teachers to preach for conversion but accidentall onely and counteth and calleth it a most preposterous worke for ordinary Ministers to preach for conversion c. He must needs give me leave to dissent from him my Reasons be 1. from the institution and worke of the Ministery to the worlds end whereof one is to make Disciples Matth. 28.19 20. Say not that is a peculiar Act of the Apostolick Office for the Lord Jesus speaketh of three Acts making Disciples Baptizing Teaching and in the exercise of these he promiseth to be with his Apostles and their successours unto the end of the world ver 20. Successours I say for the Apostles themselves were not to continue themselves in the exercise of those Acts to the end of the world in their owne persons but in their successors the ordinary Ministers of the Gospel Secondly from the end why Christ gave Pastors and Teachers as well as Apostles and Evangelists which was for the worke of the Ministery for the gathering together of the Saints as well as for the building of them up to a perfect man Ephes 4.11 12 13. Thirdly from the Estate of the Church wherein it seldome or never falleth out but some Hypocrites are found and besides them many Infants and these had need of converting Grace Fourthly from the ordinary way of Conversion which is by hearing the word and the word preached by a Minister sent Rom. 10.14 to 17. either therefore there must be no conversion of soules after the decease of the Apostles and Evangelists or those who are to be converted must be converted by private Christians or by the ordinary Ministers of the Gospel the successors of the Apostles but surely not the first for God will have in every age some or other converted to his Grace to praise his name throughout all Generations Not the second for they shall not be ordinarily converted by private Christians for the Apostle saith Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by a Preacher and him sent Therefore the third way remaineth that Faith is intended of God to be wrought from age to age by the ordinary Ministery of the Gospel If the Conversion of soules were accidentall to the worke of the Minister it were then praeter scopum efficientis besides the intent of the worker But it is neither beside the intention of the principall worker God for he worketh all things according to the Counsell of his owne will Ephes 1.11 nor besides the intention of the Minister for as hath been said it is one maine intent and end of his Office to make Disciples and gather Saints and Solomon maketh it an act of wisdome and therefore not an act of accidentall casualty to winne soules Prov. 11.30 If it be said why are they called Pastors if they be also Fathers Pastors are for feeding not for begetting Answ Pastors are also Fathers and though they be called Pastors yet the ordinary Ministers of the Gospel have other Titles also which imply more then feeding as they are called Teachers and Teachers of the ignorant Rom. 2.20 to minister saving knowledge to them as well as of men of understanding And Elders in the greek Language have their name from Embassadors 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Elder from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Embassador and it is one worke of heavenly Embassadors to beseech men to be reconciled unto God 2 Cor. 5.20 yea and Pastors themselves whose worke is properly to feed their feeding is with the word of Life which is able to quicken dead soules to life as to nourish living soules to growth in Christ Jesus The whole worke of Peters Apostolicall calling was wrapped up in a Pastorall name and worke John 21.15 16 17. Those two Reasons therefore are voyd of true and sound reason which moved the Examiner to enter upon this passage First because saith he so many excellent and worthy persons mainly preach for Conversion and yet account themselves fixed and constant Ministers to particular Congregations c. Secondly that in these great Earth-quakes of all Estates civill and spirituall such a Ministry might be sought after whose proper worke might be preaching for converting of soules to Christ For by that which hath been said may plainely appeare that those constant Ministers who mainly preach for Conversion so be it they attend not to that onely but to building up also they doe herein attend to a proper worke of their calling and now to looke for another new Ministry say of Apostles or Evangelists to attend conversion of soules onely is to looke for a blessing which the Lord hath not promised and besides himselfe hath ordained sufficient ordinary meanes for that end as hath been shewed both here and in some former passages of this Treatise TO CHAP. XXVI IN this Chapter the Examiner falleth upon the second part of discourse about English Preachers to wit about the lawfulnesse of hearing of them and though he said before in the former chapter he would not engage himselfe in this Controversie yet here he giveth a double Argument against it His first Argument is from my testimony which how much he weighteth is better knowne to himselfe then to me Mr. Cotton saith he himselfe maintaineth that the dispensing of the word in a Church-state
separation of holy from unholy penitent from impenitent godly from ungodly And that to frame any other building upon such grounds and foundations is no other then to raise the forme of a square house upon the keele of a Ship which will never prove a soule saving true Arke or Church of Christ Jesus according to the patterne Reply I cannot acknowledge what he saith that I have not duely considered that all the grounds and principles leading to oppose Bishops and Ceremonies c. doe necessarily conclude a separation of holy from unholy c. For I have considered and well weighed after my slender measure that they doe indeed conclude a three-fold separation of holy from unholy 1. Doctrinall that the Minister of Christ whilest he liveth amongst such dissolute and scandalous persons he is to separate them in the application of his doctrine between the holy and unholy between the precious and the vile so as to make sad the hearts of the wicked whom God would have to be made sad and to strengthen the heart and hands of the righteous whom God would have to be comforted Secondly A practicall separation in a mans own person that what a man findeth upon those grounds and principles to be unwarrantable and sinfull he doe forbeare the same in his own practise and disswade others from the same by his doctrine and example Thirdly An Ecclesiasticall separation that when a man cannot continue in fellowship with such a Church but that he shall be compelled to the practise of some sinne or of necessitie to communicate with the sinnes of others then after all good means used in vaine to redresse those evils meekly to separate and withdraw himselfe from fellowship with them in Church-Communion as one that cannot enjoy the good which is found amongst them without partaking in sundry evils that cleave to them Thus farre I have considered the grounds and Principles of Reformation of which the Examiner speaketh and doe finde that they doe necessarily conclude a separation of holy from unholy thus farre But I confesse I have not considered nor can I finde out by any further due consideration that the principles and grounds of Reformation doe necessarily conclude a separation from the English Churches as false Churches from their Ministery as a false Ministery from their worship as a false worship from all their professors as from no visible Saints Nor can I finde that they doe either necessarily or probably conclude a separation from hearing the word preached by godly Ministers in the Parish-Churches in England Nor can I finde that the building of our Churches in these ends of the world is the raising up of a square house upon the keele of a Ship unlesse it be the Arke of Noah for as the soules in the Arke were saved from water so we finde by experience and good evidence from the word that the Lord blesseth our Church-Communion and administrations with soule-saving efficacy through his grace in Christ Thirdly The third particular which the Examiner saith I have not duely considered is The multitudes of holy and faithfull men and women who have witnessed this truth from Queene Maries dayes by writing disputing and suffering farre above what the Non-conformists have done c. Reply This particular hath been considered above in Answer to Chapter 23. Fourthly The fourth particular which he desireth might be better considered Is our own practise and profession Our practise in constituting our Churches of none but godly persons and uniting them into a body by voluntary mutuall Covenant and adding none to them but persons carefully examined and approved and entering by way of confession both of their sinnes and of their faith Our practise also in suppressing other English who have attempted to set up a Congregation in a Parishionall way Our profession in the late Answer we gave to many worthy persons whom yet we account godly Ministers and people that we could not permit them to live in the same Common-wealth together with us if they should set up any other Church and Worship then what our selves practise Reply 1. Our practise in the constituting and ordering our own Churches here holdeth forth what matter and forme and order of the Church we doe beleeve to be most agreeable to the patterne set before us in the Gospel of Christ And our not receiving all commers unto the Communion of the Lords Table and other parts of Church-fellowship saving onely unto the publick hearing of the Word and presence at other duties it argueth indeed that such persons either thinke themselves unfit materialls for Church-fellowship and so they never offer themselves to us or else that we our selves conceive them to be as stones standing in need of a little more hewing and squaring before they be layed as living stones in the walls of the Lords house All which amounteth onely to this That we doe consider and bewaile the defects of the Churches of England in receiving ignorant and scandalous persons to all the liberties of the Lords Table and of his house as other wayes But it doth not at all argue neither is it our minde it should argue their Churches and worship and Ministery and members should all of them be separated from as false or none at all Our practise in suppressing such as have attempted to set up a Parishionall way I never heard of such a thing here to this day And if any such thing were done before my coming into the Countrey I do not thinke it was done by forcible compulsion but by rationall conviction But as for our profession that wee should answer many worthy Ministers and people in England that wee could not permit them to live in the same Common-wealth with us if they varied from us I have cleared it above in Answer to Chapt. 11. to be a notorious falshood and but that I know the Devill is able to create slander of nothing as God is able to create truths of nothing I should thinke it incredible that any man who hath been in New-England should be able to say as the Examiner here doth that we persecute the Parishes in New-England and yet frequent the Parishes in Old England Fiftly The fift particular which he thinks I have not duely considered is That in the Parishes which Mr Cotton holdeth but inventions of men how ever they would have liberty to frequent the worship of the Word yet they separate from the Sacraments And yet according to our own Principles there is as true Communion in the ministration of the Word as in the Seales What mystery saith he should be in this but that here to wit in Old England the Crosse of Christ may be avoyded if persons come to Church Reply 1. It is an untruth that Mr. Cotton holdeth the Parishes to be but inventions of men for though I hold that the receiving of all the Inhabitants in the Parish into the full fellowship of the Church and the admitting of them all unto the liberty of all
the Ordinances is an humane corruption and so if he will an humane invention yet I doe not hold nor ever did that their Parishes were onely an humane invention For I beleeve the Lord Jesus hath the truth of his Churches and Ministery and worship in them notwithstanding the inventions of men superadded to them Reply 2. Though I doe beleeve there is as true Communion in the ministration of the Word in a Church-estate to wit to such as are in Church-estate with the Minister of the Word as in the Seales Yet it is farre from me to hold and from any principle of mine to inferre that there is as true Communion in the ministration of the Word to every hearer as in the Seales for then we might as easily admit our Indians to the Seales as we doe admit them daily to the ministration of the Word Reply 3. It is a malignant and Satanicall misconstruction of the intentions of such godly persons who out of sincere affection to spirituall growth doe heare the Ministry of the Word from godly Preachers in England to accuse them before God and Angels and men that they doe it to avoyd the Crosse of Christ to wit persecution which may be avoyded in a great measure if persons come to Church It is well knowne that sundry of them are so sincere and constant in their profession that as they have suffered much for the cause of Christ against humane corruptions in Gods worship so they would be ready to suffer yet more for neglecting to come to Church if they suspected any humane corruption at all in it Againe It is well knowne that any stranger in London by removing now and then his lodging may escape not onely persecution but observation for a longer time then any of our hearers are ordinarily wont to sojourne there Besides in this time of universall freedome from all persecution during this long Parliament why doe not our members of these Churches forbeare to heare the Word in the Parishes now when there is no feare nor danger at all of persecution for not coming to Church His sixt and last particular consideration is That how ever Mr. Cotton saith He hath not found such presence of Christ and evidence of the Spirit in such separate Churches as in the Parishes What should be the reason of their great rejoycings and boastings of their own separations in New-England in so much that some of the most eminent amongst them have affirmed that even the Apostles Churches were not so pure Surely if the same new English Churches were in Old England they could not meete in Old England without persecution which therefore in Old England they avoyde by frequenting the way of Church-worship in the Parishes which in New-England they persecute Reply 1. The Examiner might easily have satisfied himselfe in this consideration if he had been willing to understand that which he knoweth to be our meaning He knoweth very well and hath often told us of it before that we our selves in our Churches doe practise some kinde of separation here to wit separation not from the Churches in Old England as no Churches but from some corruptions found in them In such Churches as so separate wee never speake of them that we had not found the presence of Christ or evidence of the Spirit in such Churches But I speake of such rigid Separatists Churches as renounce the Churches and Ministery and worship and Saints of England as if they were all false or none at all and therefore utterly doe refuse to heare the word in their Assemblies which is such a way of separation as I told him in my Letter the Lord Jesus never delivered nor any of his Apostles after him nor any of his Prophets before him Of which he taketh no notice nor giveth any ground either from Christ or his Apostles or Prophets for such practise but putteth us off that we practise separation our selves and rejoyce therein as if our separation and theirs were both of one nature and measure which indeed differ as much as I said before as Chirurgery and Butchery Reply 2. When he telleth us We boast of our separations in New-England yea so farre as that some of our most eminent have said that even the Apostles Churches were not so pure I must needs professe I never heard nor read of such a speech but onely in this Examiners Booke The speech it selfe savoureth I know not whether of more ignorance or arrogancy or blasphemy The broadest speech in this kinde that ever I heard to fall from the lips of any in this Countrey was that of Mr. Williams himselfe who whilest he lived at Salem as I am credibly informed would say That of all the Churches of Christ in the world the new English were the most pure and of all the new English the Church of Salem I am so well acquainted with the liberty and boldnesse of the Examiners tongue in calumniations that untill I know the name of that eminent person whom he reproacheth to have so spoken he must give me leave to feare either a mistake or that which is worse Reply 3. It is a double calumny but suitable to many other of the former that wee in New-England doe persecute the way of separation whether the one kinde of separation or the other It is true of neither for we practise the one and tolerate the other And againe that we frequent the Parish-Churches in Old England to avoyd persecution Unlesse mens tongues were their own I wonder how they can allow themselves to speake so excessively at random These his six Considerations having so little considerable truth or waight in them I justly said That he in withdrawing the people of God from hearing the voyce of Christ in so many Congregations both in New-England and in Old did not helpe Jehovah against the mighty but Satan against Jehovah and against the mighty Ordinances of his Word and Ministry But he answereth that he helpeth the zealous soules of the Separatiâ—n and he helpeth us to seeke the Lord Jesus without halting How he helpeth them I know not unlesse it be by depriving them of many precious meanes of grace which they might enjoy by hearing the Word in either England or unlesse by his own example he now helpe them Proficere in peius to separate further from all instituted worship of the Lord to cast off their own Churches Ministery Worship as they have cast off others before that so they might seeke for that which will never be found under the Sunne new Apostles to make all things new And as little doe I know how he helpeth us to seeke the Lord Jesus without halting unlesse it be to seeke him as he himselfe doth without Church-Ordinances For the Conclusion of his Booke he is willing to take up the conclusion of my Letter That whosoever will not kisse the Sonne that is will not heare and embrace the words of his mouth shall perish in their way Psal 2.12 This word is established in heaven and will take place in the earth throughout all generations But least this word might profit himselfe as selfe-love is apt to apply a word of threatening to any rather then to it selfe he applieth it to Mr. Cotton and to every soule to whom these lines of his may come seriously to consider in this Controversie if the Lord Jesus were himselfe in person in Old or New-England what Church what Ministery what Worship what Government he would set up and what persecution he would practise toward them that would not receive him For Answer let me say in a word this point hath been seriously considered already and let it be still considered and pondered in the Ballance of the Sanctuary and doubtlesse for the first of these points it will be found that if the Lord Jesus were here himselfe in person he would set up no other Church nor Ministery nor worship nor government then what himselfe hath appointed in his Word which though the Examiner and many others have sought and searched what enormities they might finde in it yet they have wearied themselves and found nothing So true is the faithfull promise of the Lord Jesus that he hath built his Church upon a Rock and the gates of Hell shall not prevaile against it nor against the Ordinances thereof And for the latter point What persecution the Lord Jesus if he were on earth would practise against those who would not receive him The Answer is neere at hand and is written for the warning of all gain-sayers Those mine enemies which would not that I should reigne over them bring them hither and slay them before my face Luk. 19.27 And yet I would not be so understood in alledging this Scripture as if Christ did allow his Vicegerents to practise all that himselfe would practise in his own person For not all the practises or acts of Christ as the Examiner seemeth to intimate but the Lawes of Christ are the Rules of mans Administrations But of that more distinctly in due time if the Lord shall give libertie to enquire further into the Examiners Bloudy Tenent To the Lord Jesus be the kingdome power and glory Amen FINIS
of it For may it not justly be conceived That the Lord therefore hid the place of his buriall least the Children of Israel knowing it might goe a whoring after his Sepulchre and it may be offer sweet incense upon it and so such false worship against the law of Moses might come to be Tolerated for honor to the body of Moses But Christ hath abolished a Nationall State or Church which Moses set up in Canaan Though Christ abolished a Nationall Church-State and instead thereof set up a Congregationall Church yet Christ never abolished a Nationall Civill State nor the Judiciall Lawes of Moses which were of Morall equity but established them rather in their place and order He that shed his own bloud to plant his Church did never abolish that Law which enacted that his bloud should be upon him who should supplant his Church If Christs bloud goe to plant it let the false Christs bloud goe for supplanting it Discusser In the King of Bohemias speech the Answerer passeth by that Foundation in grace and Nature that Conscienee ought not to be violated and forced it is a spirituall Rape Defender This was not passed by but prevented in stating the Question where it was said it is not lawfull to censure any no not for error in Fundamentall points of Doctrine or Worship till the Conscience of the offendor be first convinced out of the word of God of the dangerous error of his way and then if he still persist It is not out of Conscience but against his Conscience as the Apostle saith Tit. 3.11 so he is not persecuted for cause of Conscience but punished for sinning against his Conscience Discusser The King observeth that most lamentably true experience of all ages That persecution for cause of Conscience hath ever proved pernicious c. Defender No experience in any age did ever prove it pernicious to punish seducing Apostates after due conviction of the error of their way Wherein did the burning of Servetus prove pernicious to Geneva or the just execution of many popish Preists to Queene Elizabeth or to the english State But the Kings speech may passe if it be meant of persecution properly so called to wit Oppression of the faithfull for the Truths sake yea if it be the punishment of any for error If not Fundamentally pernicious either to Religion or Church-order and that after conviction of Conscience persisted in with obstinacy Discusser Lastly the Kings observation of his owne time that Persecution for cause of Conscience was practised most in England and such places where Popery reigned Implying as I conceive such practises commonly proceed from the great Whore whose Daughters are like their Mother all of a bloudy nature as commonly all wolves be Defender It is no marvell if I passed by this observation in the Kings speech For there is no such observation there to be found If the Discusser had well observed it himselfe he would have found it was not the speech of the King but of the Prisoner And the persecution he speaketh of was not of Antichristians or Hereticks or Idolaters but onely of such as the world nick-named Puritans or the like and of them too without conviction of the error of their way But in that the Discusser maketh England a Daughter of the great Whore and of a bloudy nature like her Mother he speaketh as some other of the rigid Seperation have done before him But I could never yet see awarrant from the rule either of Truth or Love for such a speech Did ever the holy Scripture call any Church an whore that worshipped the true God onely in the Name of Jesus and depended on him alone for righteousnesse and salvation Is it not the part of a base childe or at least a base pare of a childe to call his Mother whore who bred him and bred him to know no other Father but her lawfull Husband the Lord Jesus Christ CHAP. 60. A Reply to his 63. Chap. Discusser NOw Thirdly In that the Answerer observeth that amongst the Romane Emperors they that did not persecute were Julian the Apostate and Valens the Arian Whereas the good Emperors Constantine Gratian Valentian and Theodosius they did persecute the Arians and Donatists Let it be for an Answer It is no new thing for godly and eminently godly men to performe ungodly actions nor for ungodly persons for wicked ends to act what in it selfe is good and righteous c. Defender This may goe for a truth but not for an Answer The Letter would Justifie Toleration of Religion from the judgement and speeches of three Kings I Answered that was no Argument for I could bring him Kings more in number and greater in the sight of God and man who judged it meet not to tolerate Hereticks nor turbulent Schismaticks To this the Discusser Answereth sometimes the Godly doe that which is evill and the wicked that which is good This I say is a Truth but doth not take away my Answer but by a Petitio Principij a begging of the Question That Kings alledged by him did that which was good but the Kings alledged by me though better persons did that which was evill CHAP. 61. A Reply to his Chap. 64. Discusser THe unknowing zeale of Constantine and other Emperors did more hurt to Christ Jesus his Church and Kingdome then the raging fury of the most bloudy Neroes In the persecution of those wicked Emperors Christians were sweet and fragrant like spice pounded in Morters But those good Emperors persecuting some erroneous persons and advancing the Professors of some truthes and maintaining their Religion by the materiall Sword by this meanes Christianity was eclipsed The Professors of it fell asleepe Cant. 5. Babel was usher'd in and by degrees the Churches of the Saints were turned into the Wildernesse of whole Nations Rev. 12.13 untill the whole world became Christian or Christendome Those good Emperors intending to exalt Christ but not attending to the command of Christ Jesus to permit the Tares to grow in the Field of the world they made the Garden of the Church and Field of the world all one c. Defender If the unknowing zeale of Constantine other Christian Emperors did more hurâ— to the Church then the raging fury of bloudy Neroes It was not because the raging fury of those Persecutors was more accepted of God then this unknowing zeale of the good Emperors For though the unknowing zeale of the one was finfull yet it was the friut of humane frialty Error Amoris But the rage of the others was divelish fury Amor Erroris Besides the unknowing zeale of the good Emperors lay not in punishing notorious Hereticall Seducers nor will the Discusser be ever able to shew that the Church of Christ suffered any hurt at all by that meanes The contrary is evident Constantius and Valens by Tolerating and favoring the Arians the whole world became Arian Ingemuit orbis Christianus et miratus est factum se esse Arianum
Court which was the act of the body of the Magistrates and of the Deputies it was neither done by my counsell nor consent For the body of them neither required my counsell nor received my consent What one of them did for I remember but one that consulted with me about it was not the act done by the Magistrates whereof I spake And let the occasion and scope and matter of that speech be remembred and it will be found to tend to that purpose and no other About a yeare before the Sentence in Court passed against Mr. Williams the Governour and other Magistrates having understood of the disturbances put upon the Civill State by Mr. Williams which have been declared above they sent for the Elders of the Churches in these parts to acquaint us therewith and to declare thereupon the just grounds which they had to proceed against him yet willing to conferre thereof with us because he was an Elder of a Church I doe not love to predicate mine own good offices to any but his importunitie forceth me to utter it when I heard the motion I presented with the consent of my fellow Elders and Brethren a serious Request to the Magistrates that they would be pleased to forbeare all civill prosecution against him till our selves with our Churches had dealt with him in a Church way to convince him of sinne alledging that my selfe and brethren hoped his violent course did rather spring from scruple of conscience though carried with an inordinate zeale then from a seditious Principle To which the Governour replyed That wee were deceived in him if we thought he would condescend to learne of any of us And what will you doe saith he when you have run your course and found all your labour lost I answered for the rest we hoped better things if it fell out contrary to our hopes we could not helpe it but must sit downe and quiet our conscience in the Lords acceptance of our will and endeavour for the deed This interceding of my selfe and other Elders in his behalfe gave me just occasion of that profession above-mentioned That I had sought to deliver him who without cause reproached mee The issue was when the Church of New-Towne with our owne and others had endeavoured to convince both Mr. Williams of these offences and the Church of Salem of their indulgent toleration of him therein it pleased the Lord to open the hearts of the Church to assist us in dealing with him but he in stead of hearkening either to them or us renounced us all as no Churches of Christ and therefore not at all to be hearkened unto Whereupon the Magistrates being to assemble to the next Generall Court at New-Towne intending as appeared by the event to proceed against him And one of the Magistrates of our Towne being to goe thither acquainted me that it was likely Mr. Williams his cause would then be issued and asked me what I thought of it Truely said I I pitie the man and have already interceded for him whilest there was any hope of doing good But now he having refused to heare both his own Church and us and having rejected us all as no Churches of Christ before any conviction we have now no more to say in his behalfe nor hope to prevaile for him Wee have told the Governour and Magistrates before that if our labour was in vaine wee could not helpe it but must fit downe And you know they are generally so much incensed against his course that it is not your voyce nor the voyces of two or three more that can suspend the Sentence Some further speech I had with him of mine own marvell at the weaknesse and slendernesse of the grounds of his opinions motions and courses and yet carried on with such vehemency and impetuousnesse and prefidence of Spirit To this purpose was my speech to him nor can I call to minde that I spake so much as this to any man else nor can I remember at all that further then so I gave him any grounds to prove the sentencing of him to Banishment to be just and warrantable to his Conscience Nor would it infringe the truth of my speech if I had so done seeing it is not one mans vote nor two if there had been two that denominateth the sentence of the Court or the act to be done by the Magistrates much lesse done by the Magistrates with my counsell and consent but though I looked at the Sentence of the Court as neither hastened nor done by my counsell and consent yet I did never intend to say that I did not consent to the justice of the Sentence when it was past Not that I withdrew my selfe out of the Court as he is pleased to construe it out of some reluctation or that I meant it I neither counselled nor consented in the very time of the sentence passing but that I did not before-hand either give counsell or consent to the body of the Magistrates or Deputies to passe that Sentence against him TO CHAP. V. I see I have been so large in answering the former foure Chapters of this Examination of my Letter that if I should proceed in the like sort in a particular search of the other twenty-foure Chapters which remaine I should take up more time then were meet about the personall concernments of him or my selfe Who are wee that we should publickly invite the servants of Christ who are employed in more weighty affaires of their Lord and ours to attend unto personall Transactions between him and me Where any thing shall occurre tending to more publick edification I shall insist with more attention thereupon and passe over other lighter Discourses with a lighter touch Yet who so can spare so much time and leisure as to compare each Chapter of his with each Chapter of this Discourse he shall finde if I be not mistaken no passage of weight passed over without returning due Answer to each particular That Text in Prov. 11.26 He that withholdeth the Corne which is the staffe of life from the people the multitude shall curse him I alledged to prove that the people had much more cause to separate such from amongst them whether by Civill or Church-Censure as doe withhold or separate them from the Ordinances or the Ordinances from them which are in Christ the bread of life Let not the Reader be so farre mis-led by the Examiner his mis-information as to thinke that this Scripture was produced against him to justifie either a false Ministery or an unfit people to choose and enjoy a true Ministery The Ministery and people are the Ministery and people of this Countrey of which the people he acknowledgeth to be Saints and the Ministers of the Churches chosen by them not to be destitute of such qualifications as Christ requireth save onely that we doe not forbid the people when they goe over into England to heare the word of God preached by godly Ministers in the Parish Churches Now