God in his word that putting away lying every man should speak truth with his neighbour Ephes 4. 25. Now I thinke I have made it appeare and shall make it appeare farther that this Paper which you have set your hands to hath not one page of it but what is stuft with lyes and falsehood I leave to the Lord and to the world to judge betwixt us of them And therefore here again you have walked contrary to the revealed will of God Againe 'T is the revealed will of God that you should not backbite with your tongue nor doe evill to your neighbour nor take up a reproach against your neighbour Psal 15. 3. Againe that all bitternesse anger wrath clamour and evill speaking be put away with all malice Ephes 4. 31. Now looke upon your Paper There you call us Praters Time-servers Weathercocks blinde Pharisees Ministers of Antichrist Popish persecutors of the Saints haters of godlinesse lovers of prophanesse false Apostles selfe seekers penny Masters Drunkards Swearers Lyars men that endeavour to keep others in ignorance Seducers men of no religion proud covetous blood thirsty men for-swearers vain teachers men of perfidious opinions that we preach destructive and damnable doctrines destroyers of truth and true religion perfidious men that will destroy soules for gain Ale-house hunters Hereticks Jews Monsters men that condemne the practice and precepts of Christ for heresie enemies to true grace Ministers of Antichrist nay Divels This is the language you afford us in your Paper and you have set your hands to it that we are such as these Now whether this be a walking according to the Word or contrary to the revealed will of God in his word let your own consciences be Judges or else let the Lord the righteous Judge judge betwixt you and us I thinke I need goe no farther in this particular I hope this may be sufficient to convince you if the Lord will set it on upon your consciences and if so then be thankfull and blesse God for it if there be any truth or ingenuity in you Paper In the next particular you tell me you are grieved in spirit to see and heare my light and frothy carriage in the mentioning of Scripture as to say that 's a nimble Place You say a carnall and wâ—cked heart will abuse the best thing even grace mercy and love you say a Stage Player could doe no more nor the Divell himselfe to abuse and mock at Scripture and you close thus for shame come not in publick to act such Diabolicall parts Ans I answer This whole accusation is from the Divell the Father of lyes too you are grieved you say to see and heare pray how many of you ten dare say you saw and heard me in that carriage or that expression which you have here set your hands to if I am not much mistaken not neare the one halfe of you and yet you have set your hands to it I hope you will not turn Knights of the post these be some steps towards it Me thinks you should not call men Divels meerly upon heare say if you had any Charitie in you you could not he or they that informed the rest of you of this may be ashamed to looke an honest man in the face as we say to come to Publicke ordinances under a pretence of worshipping and to bely the truth of God in this manner the Lord will finde out such one day But as you say a carnall and wicked heart will abuse the best things I am able to bring you twenty for one of your informers of this who will passe I beleeve both in the presence of God and account of men for as honest conscientious Christians as your informer whosoever he be of you that will be witnesses that there was no such word spoken and I call God that heard and recorded every word to witnesse of it You tell me that a Stage Player a Devill could have done no more I answer For what I did and speak then and there in publicke the Lord knows that as David said to Michal it was before the Lord and for the Lord and if this be to be vile and a carnall wicked man a Stage Player a Divell I shall desire that I may be more vile yet Paper You bid me not come in publick for shame to act such Diabolicall parts Ans When the Lord shall again call me I shall not be ashamed to come again in publick and to act that part which the Lord hath put me upon as for your expression Diabolicall the Lord forgive you I do and I value it not The Lord Jesus hath taught me that the disciple is not above his Master nor the servant above his Lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub how much more shall they call them of his houshold Fear them not therefore for there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed and hid that shall not be known Matth. 10. 24 25 26. In the next place you come to make your requests to me Paper First that I would define what heresie is Ans I define heresie thus Heresie is a voluntary chusing of an opinion against some Article of Faith without ground of Scripture and an obstinate maintaining of it against all lawfull determinations of the true Church for some sinister and particular respects Or if you will have it more briefly thus Heresie is an error in the foundation of Christian Religion taught and defended with obstinacy Thus Paul saith Tit. 3. 11. that an Heretick is perverted that is put besides the foundation and condemned of himself in his sin that is he erres obstinately This heresie is differenced from a simple error by its obstinate maintaining from a schisme for that schisme is in discipline heresie in doctrine from Heathenish superstition Jewish perversnesse stupâ—d Mahometisme and the like because heresie is a revolt from the faith contrary to the Word of God which such never had no profest The father of it is the devill the mother pride the nurse singularitie the attendant hypocrisie the promoters of it inticing perswasions and peremptory will-worship Apostacie is an eminency in it it being a falling away from the truth profest self-condemning the top of it The outrages of it will be blasphemy against God virulent persecution of his Church and children The end finall impenitencie and despair the dismall fore-runners of eternall damnation Having thus shewed you what Heresie is you may easily resolve your selves the 2d Quaere what an Heretick is And can likewise best satisfie your selves in the 3d. viz whether there be any such among you The Lord help you to search narrowly and to deal truly with your selves that if there be any amongst you you may see them and beware of them For your 4th desire to satisfie you in that I give you all this under my hand And for the 5th I leave it to the world to judge whether I have answered it or no. And whereas in your close you again desire a meeting in a sober and in a Christian way I have told you my mind before and here tell you again that the most safe and sure way to cleare up the truth to satisfie doubts to discover errors to establish Saints that are wavering wil be to deal by setting down under yours and my hand what we would speak face to face at such a meeting one thing we shall more probably avoid this way which would frustrate our endeavours in the other that is clamour passion and tumults Again from written words we shall not so soone start and fly as from words spoken which in such a way with such people have seldome proved any better then wind For my part I professe it in the presence of God that it is and by Gods grace shall be my endeavour that love may be increased that jealousies heart burning and evill surmisings may be removed And that we may live in love and peace as becomes Christians I trust the Lord Jesus who is the great Prophet of his Church and the teacher of Israel will alwayes direct me not onely to speak of but to endeavour after the peace of the Church by convincing and stopping the mouthes of gainsayers who are crept in to disturbe our Peace by perverting the truths of God once delivered to the Saints And my prayers in speciall are that that God whom I serve in my spirit who knoweth the heart and prayers of his servant would onely so be with me in these endeavours of mine as it is the truth which I endeavour to maintain Amen You subscribe your selves My loving friends so farre as I love the Lord Jesus For your love and friendship to me I know not how I have of late forfeited it There are but few signes of it at present to be seen But for love to the Lord Jesus I here set my heart tongue pen to that of Paul as the conclusion of his Epistle 1 Cor. 16. 22. If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema Maranatha March 1648. Kemble Yours to serve you in the work of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus THO THACHE Postscript FRiends If hereupon you finde grace to see and heal your Errors we shall with all brotherly meeknesse love and humilitie be willing to receive you and shall blesse God on your behalf But if the sway of your mis informed and mis-resolved Conscience be heady and unresistable and your return hopelesse Even these poore endeavours of mine shall one day be a fearfull and materiall evidence against you before that awfull Judge who hath already said That judgements are prepared for scorners and stripes for the back of fools FINIS
stand for truth and justice as now they doe Secondly We dislike the misapplication as indeed is your common practice whereby youleade people in dark paths of that expression the base are risen up against the honourable who do you mean by base and who by honourable this Riddle wants an Interpreter these are but bals of wilde-fire to set the Kingdome fresh on fire and to fill the hearts of the sons of Belial with dishonourable thoughts of the Kingdoms Worthies in the Army But if truth may take place with our time-serving generation who are base but such who are content to be basely cheated out of all their priviledges spirituall and temporall by a few fine empty notions who basely betray the lives and liberties of themselves and posterities for present shadows who are base but such as basely falsifie and betray the trust reposed in them but such as seek their own advancement by a Kingdomes ruine And who honourable but such that venture their lives rather then they and theirs should be vassels to the base wils of any though never so great Is not that honourable service to bring Delinquents to punishment such Vipers that would eat out the heart of our liberties which is as dear as our lives which the Army only doth Doth not the Scripture declare that Righteousnesse exalts a Nation but what shall we say to this gainsaying generation or generation of gainsaiers who will not understand may it not be truly said to them as Christ said to Nicodemus Art thou a Ruler in Israel and knowest not these things or rather as Christ said to seeing blinde Pharisees that sin open-eyed Ioh. 9. last If you were blinde you should have no sinne but now you say we see therefore your sinne remaineth and this we fear is your condition because we cannot but remember carriage and zeal for those who you now condemn Oh! what pains was spent in their behalf what praiers was put up for them what The ANSWER Friends SO in charity I call you because you subscribe your selves so though your Paper from the beginning to the end be full of gall and bitternesse and savours as much as may be of that enmitie which God from the beginning did put 'twixt the seed of the woman and the seed of the Serpent Having received your Letter and perused it I took it and as Hezekiah did with the reproachfull letter of Sennacherib 2 King 19. I did spread it before the Lord who knoweth the secrets of all hearts and judgeth righteously And for Answer to it which you desired speedily in that I have been thus long about it I must say as Paul did to his Thessalonians 1 Thess 2. 18. I would have come unto you even I Paul once and again but Satan hindred me So I say to you in this case I would have answered you once and again ere this but Satan hindred me You desire me to answer you in Scripture language I promise you here in the beginning that I will indeavour in 2 Tim. 2. 2 last ver meeknes and love to answer and to instruct you with much patience if God peradventure will give you repentance to the acknowledging of the truth and that you may recover your selves out of the snare of the devil But me thinks 't is strange that you who desire Scripture language from others you who pretend so much to the Spirit should yet so farre forget Scripture language and so far put off the meeknesse of the Spirit in this your Letter as you do for I appeal to the world or rather to God who knows the hearts from whence these expressions come whether it be not fill'd up with that which St. Paul saith grieves the Spirit viz Bitternesse wrath anger clamour evill speaking malice Ephes 4. 31. whether it savour not of many of the works of the flesh reckoned up Galat. 5. 20 21. viz. hatred variance emulations wrath strife seditions envie with that reviling which the Apostle reproves 1 Cor. 6. 11. Look upon some of your expressions you call us Time-servers Weather-cocks blinde Pharisees Ministers of Antichrist false Apostles blood-thirsty men Popish swearers forswearers drunkards lyars seducers Jews Hereticks men of no Religion that our Doctrines are destructive and damnable yea Devils and the like and this you have set your hands to But I shall indeavour with the Apostle being reviled to blesse or as the Apostle commands us to imitate Christ who being reviled reviled not again but committed himself to God who judgeth righteously 1 Pet. 2. 23. I would willingly speak something to every materiall passage in your Letter but I shall passe by many of those extravagancies which I am willing charitably to beleeve did unadvisedly drop from your pen and not take notice of them for should I stay upon every piece of your madnesse and folly the profit redounding to you or me of such a work would not countervail the labour I shall therefore passe over all your bitternesse base slanders your reproaches your reviling and railing accusations with the words of Michael the Archangel contending with the Devill The Lord rebuke you and the Lord help you to see from what spirit they come I heartily pitie you as knowing the Author of these and that nothing of what you have sent comes immediately from your selves though by reason of your ignorance you have been easily seduced and led to set your hands to and in that to speak evil of those things you know not I shall therefore speak onely to such passages in your Letter as do demonstrate to any common eye the undeniable footsteps of the spirit of Error walking amongst you I hope the Lord will inable me so to discover it to you that you may at present be ashamed and grieve that you have been nursing fathers to any of Satans brood and that for the time to come ye may with all carefulnesse learn to avoid the deepdeceit of that seeming Angell of light To begin You first say you present me with such particulars as you could not but dislike except you should be as many now adayes meer Time-servers and men-pleasers and so prove perfidious to your principles and profâ—ssions and make shipwrack of faith and a good conscience and betray your freedoms into the hands of your blood-thirstie adversaries that have so long sought your downfall To this I answer First that many of your dislikes presented in your Paper are such that if you father the ground of them upon me you are false accusers if you look into the 8. Joh. 44. ver Christ will tell you that the Devill is a lyar and the father of lyes And therefore look to it if I am not mistaken the one half of you at least who have subscribed this Paper and these exceptions against my praying and preaching were not present when either of those Sermons were preached yet it seems that beleeving by an implicite faith you have set your hands to them 't was bravely and boldly ventured 2ly
mistake and your mistakes are very foule ones such that every understanding man cannot but wonder at that they should come from such men as you who pretend so to light But it appeares plainly that the new light which hath lately shune about you t is as that extraordinary light that did shine about Saul at his conversion if I may make such a comparison it hath struck you quite blinde at present and the light that is in you appears to be darknes and how great must that darknes be as our Saviour saith Matth. 6. 23. The Lord in mercy to your Souls hasten the time wherein the Scales may fall from your eyes I shall indeavour to pluck off some of them at present Paper We have you say our call from the Bishops and they from the Pope and this if you mistake not is our call to the Ministry Ans First in that you say our Bishops are from the Pope do you meane in their Names or Functions These are both from Scripture from the Apostle See 1. Tim. 1. 3. If any man desire the Office of a Bishop he desires a good work Againe 20. Acts 18. Take heed to your selves and to all the flock over which the holy Ghost hath made you Bishops so the word is in the originall Or 2ly do you meane that they are Popish in their opinion and religion if some have been so you cannot condemne them all for that no your ignorance and your malice would then shame you to all the world for the contrary hath been witnessed by the blood of many famous Martyrs eminent in the Prelacy which in fresh Records you shall reade hath been shed for God against the Harlot of Rome and by the excellent labours of Bp. Hall Apolog against Brownists others and those late Bishops of this Church whose learned Pens have puld downe more of the Walls of Rome then all the Corner-Creeping Brownists and Separatists will be able to do while the World stands Or 3ly Do you meane that they are from the Pope in their Superintendency superiority and Lordlines if in any thing it must be in this Now to this I answer That we received our Ordination from them as they were Bishops and Elders of the Church not as they were Lords and if they were Lords for their externall dignity yet they were not Lords of of our faith and if we looked upon them in any thing of their Superiority it was as they were our Elders and Fathers not our Masters Farther yet I shall desire you to take notice that in the making any man a true Minister of the Gospell there are some things required which are essentiall to the Ministery without which a man is not a true Gospell Minister Againe there are some other things which are but circumstantiall or Accidentall which a man may have or may not have and yet be a true Gospell Minister Now if I may make it appeare to you that we have all the Essentiall requisites of Gospell Ministers I hope you may be convinct that we are Ministers and Ministers of the Gospell how opprobriously soever you censure our calling or else you must make the contrary appear to us Now then if God hath made us able to teach if he hath inclined our hearts to the office of the Ministry and hath made us desirous to teach if he hath separated us for this cause to the worke if our People have had a lawfull Election if we have been admitted upon due tryall both of Ministers and People if we have been ordained by imposition of the hands of the Eldership and prayer if I say we have had all these things which appeares to all the World and yet be no true Ministers pray let me know from you what is further required to the substance of a Gospell Ministry If we have all this and yet have our calling from the Pope let me know I say from you what is a Gospell calling and if this be not according to the will of Christ and his Apostles in the Scriptures but Popish shew me what is A little farther yet in this point if God upon this call hath commited a charge to us if he hath followed our Ministry with power and blest our labours with gracious successe if I say God hath done this for us and by us with what face dare you challenge our Ministry as Popish and Antichristian I am sure you cannot but grant the Ministry in generall to be the ouâ—ward means by which God gives grace and increases inward grace Now then that Ministry by which God hath given grace increast it that ministry is of Gods appointment now whether God hath not given grace and increast it by our Ministry some of your owne hearts and consciences if ever you had grace which you will be loath to deny shall be our witnesses I am able to make it good to some of you and that by your own confessions that God hath followed our Ministery with power and blest our labours with gracious successe even in some of your hearts whose tongues are now so busie to call in question and to deny the truth of our Calling Lastly If Episcopall Ordination be a Popish and Antichristian rite as you say t is I desire to learne from you what was the Christian for me or manner of admitting men into holy places for 1500. yeers after the Apostles time can you shew me any other Ordination that was heard of at least approved of for the space of 1500 yeers during which time it there were no lawfull Calling there were no Pastors feeding and governing the flocks and if no lawfull Pastors then no visible Churches Now pray tell me if they were not a true Church in those severall Centuries and ages while they lived under Bishops where had Christ a visible Church upon earth since the Apostles times Certainly if the Calling of their Pastors and Teachers were not at least for substance sufficient though perhaps not perfect Christ never had any in his Church since the Apostles left the earth And having thus given you an account of ours I pray tell me seriously seeing you have separated from ours as abominable as you speak afterward in your Paper whence is that office of the Ministery which you now follow I dare say not from Christ nor his Apostles nor their successors what Church ever in the world can be produced unlesse in case of extremitie for one turn whose conspiring multitudes made themselves Ministers at their pleasure what â—ule of Christ prescribes it what reformed Church ever did or doth practice it what example warrants it where or when have the inferiors layed hands on their superiors what Congregation in Christendome affords you a pattern The Apostle indeed tels us that the time should come when men should not indure sound doctrine but after their own lusts should heap to themselves teachers having itching ears And they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned
among you Your loving acceptance of my former pains and labours in preaching amongst you assures me that this also will with the same love be accepted and received by you as 't is in love presented to you from me I shall speak no more to you at present but the rest I shall speak to God for you that he would sanctifie all means both preaching and printing for the converting of those that are unconverted amongst you for the preserving those that are yet sound for the recalling and restering those that are gone astray and are seduced to live in errour and for the performing of that good work which is begun in any of you that the God of all grace would make you perfect stablish strengthen and settle you and preserve you by his own Pet. 5. 10. power through faith unto salvation If your souls reap any benefit by any of my poor endeavours let the Lord alone receive all the glory and praise all that I shall desire of you is that which Paul so earnestly desired of the Romans I beseech you Brethren 〈◊〉 15. 30. for the Lord Jesus Christ his sake and for the love of the Spirit that ye strive together with me in your praiers to God for me And let me be known to you as one whose desires praiers and endeavouss have been are and by Gods grace shall be to the the utmost in my sphaear for the making up of the divisions that are amongst you and the building up of your souls in your most holy faith Ever resting The Churches and your servant though the weakest and unworthiest of all in the work of the Gospel Th. Th. To the Reader Friendly Reader SEeing divine Providence hath made it my lot and a calling hath induced me who am lesse then the least of all the servants of Christ to appear among others in the cloud of publike witnesses to the truth of Iesus Christ I desire for thy better satisfaction to give thee a word or two of the occasion of these sheets coming abroad Whosoever thou art thou canst not but know that we live in times wherein diversities of opinions are blown with all license by the spirit of errour over all the land to the great dishonour of God and the indangering of mens salvation And that there are many Simons abroad who though they are but sorcerers doyet give out of themselves that they are some great ones and many people give heed to them as to the great power of God though indeed as Paul said of his Galatians they are but bewitcht by them that they should not obey the truth By these men the way of truth is evill spoken of the Ministers of Christ brought into contempt and despight the Ordinances of God slieghted and cast off all the truths of the Gospet miserably invaded by them and the sons of thousands poisoned and perverted This is certainly an hour of darknesse wherein all sorts of devils are crept out of their dens and walk familiarly amongst us and hinc lachrimae O that we could weep tears of bloud and sigh to the breaking of our loins for this that we could smite with the hand and stamp with the foot and cry out Alas for this that there are no Orders nor Acts made no new Laws made nor old Laws execuâ—ed for the restraining punishing preventing of the spreading of the most cursed heresies errours and blasphemies that ever bell hatcht or heaven or earâ—h heard of But that under a cursed pretence of conscience and liberty our poor Church and Kingdome should be a quiet habitation for all the devils in bell Surely these are dales wherein the saith of Gods people needs all props that either praier or preaching pulott or presse publike or private instructions or admonitions can afford them And nothing is more necessary in these times then a spirit of discerning whereby we may be enabled to know chaff from wheat gold from drosse a serpent from a Saint Aâ—â—ichrist from Christ And surely it errours were set out In their true clear and liveâ—y shape that they might be seen as they are in themselves without any diâ—guise their bare and unmasked face would be very ugly and abominable to judicious and intelligent mindes Now in the ensuing pages thou shall finde First Satan appearing as an Angel of lâ—ght whilst he is in a great shew of zeal ralling against the truth And in the answer thou host his mask so far taken off that thou maist plainly perceive him to be the Prince of darknesse The Occasion both of that Paper and my answer was this Being cald to preach in the Lecture at â—irâ—â—â—ester where with grief of soul I think of it and speak it Satan hath been suffered exceedingly to prevail of late with many to the sucking in of most grievous errours The Paper which thou wilt see here subscribed by no lesse then ten being a sad Testimony of this I being directed by Providence to preach upon the latter part of the 2 d verse of the 2 d chapter of the Revelation viz Thou hast tried them which say they are Apostles and are not and hast found them lyars The prosecution of the severall doctrines raised from the words some seemed to be offended at as 〈◊〉 I had preached untruths persecuted the Saints c. I hearing of this offence taken though none given when God brought me to preach among them again in my next turn I preacht upon the same text again and publikely desired the Congregation that if I had or should deliver any thing in which they were not fully satisfied that they would either speak there or come to me ere I went out of the town and I shou'd in all love and willingnesse endeavour to satisfie them not one of them ever come to me but continued still to revile and slander me and those truths that had been delivered I being enformed of this by their worthy Minister Mr Gregory could do no lesse but write to one of them who seem'd to be somewhat offended and made often complaints to their Minister about it which Letter I had here in the first place given you but that I had no copy of it and I know not how to gain it out of their hands again But I appeal to God and to their own conscienâ—es whether it was not written in expressions of sobernesse love and meeknesse and whether there were any passage in that which might justly give any offence to any of Gods people I desired him to whom I wrote in that Letter to set down under his hand seeing be refused to come in person to me what or wherein the offence was which they had taken or what it was that so much troubled them And I there engaged my self to endeavour a satiâ—faction and a clearing of all their doubts to the utmost of my power in a loving and brotherly way This M. Rudge for to him I wrote communicated this Letter to some others of that faction who as it
me in the next branch that true Ministers should be no false accusers May the people be such The same spirit tels us that every righteous man will hatelying Prov. 13. 5. The Lord in mercie give you grace to repent if that be not too legall a grace to be wisht to such high flown Christians but however let me tell you that except you repent the Scripture saith that A false wiâ—nâ—sse shall not be unpunished and he that speaketh lyes shall not escape Prov. 19. 5. Paper In the fifth place you say you cannot but wonder at that abominable assertion and false aspersion hinted in our expressions as if the Army would down with truth with Government faithfull Ministers and set up false Apostles c. and how false this is the world sees Ans 1. I cannot but wonder at your abominable ignorance and impudence to call that a false assertion and aspersion and so cruelly to condemne it as abominable and a false accusation which yet in the same place you say was but hinted at in some expressions blush and be ashamed if you be not past it 2ly For what the Army puls down or intends to set up it is not for you nor me to meddle with now therefore no more of that let it suffice that the world sees as you say Paper 3ly That only which I chiefly would answer in this fift place is this you say you conceive that none are true Ministers in our account but such as come by State approbation and have their call from the Bishops and they from the Pope and such is ours if you mistake not Ans To these things I will answer particularly First whereas you say that you conceive that none are true Ministers in our account but such as come by State approbation 1. I answer I shall herein give you a certain account of my judgement and opinion herein which I hope I shall be able to make good against you and all other gainsayers To proceed plainly and by degrees First then I say that our Lord Jesus Christ as he doth invisibly teach and govern his Church by his holy Spirit so in gathering preserving instructing building and saving thereof he uses Ministers as his instruments and hath appointed an order of some to teach and others to learn in the Church and that some should be the flock and others the Pastors Again besides the first founders of the Church of Christ extraordinarily sent and furnished with the gift of miracles whereby they might confirm the doctâ—ine of the Gospel he appointed also ordinary Pastors and Teachers for the executing of the Ministery even untill his coming again unto judgement See Ephes 4 11 12 13. 2ly I say that it is not lawfull for any man how fit soever and how much soever inriched with gifts to undertake this Office of the Ministery in the Administration either of the word or Sacraments by the will of private persons or others who have not power and right to call much lesse is it lawfull for any by their owne judgement or arbitrement to assume arrogate the same to themselves But before it be lawfull to undergo that sacred Ministry in Churches constituted a speciall calling yea beside a lawfull Election which alone is not sufficient a mission or sending or as commonly it is termed ordination is necessarily required I say necessarily required not only to avoid confusion and to shut out Imposters but by reason of divine institution delivered to us in the holy Scriptures See these places Rom. 10. 15. How shall they preach except they be sent 1. Tim. 3. 10. where the Apostle shewing how Bishops and Deacons should be qualified saith Let these first be proved and then let them use the Office Againe 1. Tim. 4. 14. Neglect not the gift that is in thee which was given thee by Prophesie with the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery Againe 1. Titus 5. For this cause left I thee in Creet that thou shouldest ordaine Elders in every City as I had appointed thee Again Acts 13. 2. 3. c. where you find that the Holy Ghost commanded the Prophets and Teachers in the Church at Antioch to separate Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto he had called them and the Text saith that when they had prayed and fasted and layd their hands on them they sent them away Can any thing be more cleare Barnabas and Saul were questionles gifted men they had a Call from the Holy Ghost the text saith so plainly but yet this was not sufficient till the Prophets and Teachers there had fasted and prayed and layed their hands on them Once more see the 5. Heb. the first 4 verses Every High Priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God that he may offer c. And in the 4 th verse And no Man taketh this Honour to himselfe but he that is called of God as Aarou was Now you must know that there is a double calling necessary to a dispencer of the myderies of Salvation viz. inward and outward the inward inableth them the outward authorizeth them to discharge their sacred Function Where there are gifts if God incline the heart of the heart of the Party to enter into the Ministry there is an inward calling yet this alone as I have shewed sufficeth not without an outward calling either ordinary or extraordinary extraordinary callings seeing miracles are ceased we are not now to expect and if any as many now do pretend to such we are not easily to believe and give way thereunto to the ordinary calling by fasting and prayer and the imposition of the hands of the Presbytery as before mentioned 1 Tim. 4. 14. and by the way you may take notice that though the word Presbytery be in these dayes so distastfull yet 't is Scripture proof From hence now my account which you said before you did conceive is this that all that take upon them to execute the office of a Minister of the Gospel ought to have a Calling not only inward but outward thereunto I say not by the Approbation of the State but the probation and approbation of the Presbytery the imposition of their hands And they who presume to undertake to be your Ministers without these whatever their gifts be which many Lay-men Artizans Mechanicks and broken Tradsmen in these dayes pretend to they are no Ministers of the Gospel but deceivers and Intruders And thus I have shewed you whom we account Gospel Ministers In the next place I shall indeavour to remove the great block at which you stumble so often that Crum which troubles you so much even to your choaking almost and that is the Ordination of some of our Ministers by the Bishops Paper You say we have our call from the Bishops and they from the Pope and such is our Call if you mistake not Ans T is well you put in an if here if you mistake not T is no news for you to
practise against all humane inventions in the worship of God and for the truth once delivered to the Saints And here you very well put in a parenthesis so far as the Lord shall discover it to you Ans Here I cannot but commend your zealous profession but withall cannot but tell you plainly that yet the Lord hath not discovered that truth to you which was once delivered to the Saints or else you have shut your eyes that you will not see it For were your eyes open and were you but clear sighted you must needs fall first upon your selves if you look discerningly into your wayes and into your judgements here declared in this your Paper if you will bring these to the Texâ— viz the written Word you will finde abundance of evill both of opinion and practice which tends rather to the subverting then the defending and maintaining of the truth once delivered to the Saints The Lord discover it to you for men are very blear-ey'd and dim-sighted when they look upon their own wayes Solomon tels us that every way of man is right in his own eyes Prov. 21. 2. Said we not well thou art a Samaritane and hast a devill said the Jews to Christ but I say let you and I lay by our selves and let us bring our wayes and worship our opinions and practises to that text in Isa 8. 20. To the Law and to the testimonies and if they speak not according to this word there is no light in them Paper In the next place you tell me you are resolved the same power assisting you that if I or any other as we have done do or shall vent any opinion or hold any practise contrary to what is held forth in the Word of God in the simplicitie of its own sence and spirituall meaning that we shall hear of it c. Ans I answer First I must here reprove you again for a falshood and a base slander in that you say I have vented and do hold any opinion or practice contrary to what is held forth in the Word if we vent any thing say you as you have done I challenge you and all the world to make that good or if you do not or at least cannot then be ashamed and repent acknowledge your fault else you will be seen and known to the world to be such as you are Secondly if when I do vent or hold any such opinion or practice you will be as good as your word and promise viz. to let me hear of it I professe seriously to you I will thank you for it but let it be done then in a more civill Christian-like way then this is leave off rayling and slandering and I shall say as David Psal 141. 5. Let the righteous smite me and it shall be a kindnesse and let him reprove me and it shall be an excellent oil which shall not break my head In the third place if any thing be vented contrary to what is held forth in the Word of God in the simplicitie of its own sence and spirituall meaning then I shall hear of it I say again I desire it But pray tell me who shall be judge of the same sence and spirituall meaning of the Word in its simplicitie will you be Judges Alas you are not fit you can go no farther then the letter and where the place requires more then a literall exposition to set forth its meaning you must be at a stand And I am much mistaken if your new Pastor can help you as spirituall a man as you take him to be I am sure where you stumble upon some places and do venture to give the meaning of them your Paper shews you somtimes mistake fouly and do make good that place of the Apostle 2 Pet. 3. 16. where he saith that in the Epistles of Paul there be some things hard to be understood which they that are unlearned and unstable do wrest as they do also the other Scriptures unto their destruction And if you fly to the old shift of the new lights of these times and tell us that the Spirit will help you I answer first 't is the Spirit of God alone that must help you if any spirit to understand it 's own spirituall meaning And I must plainly tell you that there be but few of the foot-steps of the Spirit of God to be seen in this your Paper if those who are best acquainted with them were to search for them here Again the Spirit doth not now help by miraculous wayes as it hath done by immediate revelations and infusions and by giving men the gifts of tongues to understand all languages as in the Apostles times and they that pretend to such things in these times are led along and seduced by a lying spirit Paper In the next place you say you trust God will give you courage and boldnesse to maintain the truth by sound doctrine and to convince all gainsayers though never so sophisticall that ye shall not need to use as some do indirect means as stirring up the Magistrate against them there being no footsteps for such practice in the Gospel to maintain the truth but is the way of Antichrist to set up his kingdome Rev. 13. 7. 15 16. but the Saints overcome the devill and his Instruments by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony Revel 12. 11. Ans I answer First I know not what courage and boldnesse God may give you to maintain the truth but I am sure Satan hath supplyed you with abundance of courage and boldnesse even to Impudencie in speaking evill of the way of truth and in endeavouring to hold up errors And what worthy Patrons such as you are are like to prove your selves to Truth 't is much to be suspected if one view you well in that shape you appear in in this your Invective 2ly Whereas you say the Magistrate is an indirect means that there are no footsteps of it in the Gospel that 't is the way of Antichrist c. I answer It may be you have a means that 's more direct in your concelt then by the sword of the Magistrate though it hath fewer footsteps in the Gospel and that is by the Sword of the Souldier Paper But I know you expect I should say something here because you give the occasion concerning the power of the Magistrate under the Gospel The power of the Magistrate in maintaining truth you say hath no footsteps in the Gospel 't is an Antichristian way Did I not tell you in the beginning how exceedingly a carnall heart loves libertie and freedome Oh 't is a sweet morsell how passionately do men pursue it every coercive and vindictive power that would restrain it and punish it's wickednesse oh this is an Antichristian way And to prove this you urge Rev. 13. 7. 15 16. Ans To this I answer Now you speak like your selves Here 's the pure pute language of all the Anabaptists that I ever
for their living in their former Trades and Callings but had maintenance by the preaching of the Gospel and had power to receive it And Paul himself tels them there as you have seen that he and Barnabas did not work for this that they had no power to receive maintenance by the Gospel as well as the other Apostles and power to leave working with their hands but they did it for other ends Hence now as you say if you be not quite blinde ye may see that liberall maintenance is due to the Ministers of the Gospel as Ministers for their works sake That they have power to take this from the people and power to leave working with their own hands for their maintenance Let me hear what you have to say to these things Again see 1 Tim. 4. 15. Meditate on these things give thy self wholly to them that thy profiting may be known to all Answer me what doth Paul mean by bidding Timothy to give himself wholly to these things had it not sounded like a contradiction if it had run thus Labour with thy own hands at some trade for thy living and give thy self wholly to reading exhortation doctrine meditation do you see your simplicity and ignorance now in this malicious objection against us Farther yet I hope by this reasonable men may be convinc'd that it is a divine right that Ministers should have a maintenance and that for their preaching the Gospel And for the proportion distribution the manner of the peoples paying and their receiving that maintenance their use and enjoyment of it if you look upon it and we acknowledge it to be of a civill right Then if by the Laws of the Kingdom the proportion of Tithes be allowed us and we by the same Laws hold and possesse them there being nothing in the whole written Word to forbid such a way and such a proportion it appears to rationall men that we have as lawfull a Freehold in our Tithes as any man hath to his Lands and can enjoy and possesse them without being guilty of abominable heresie and without a denying of Christ to be come in the flesh Again as for our receiving so for your paying Tithes know this that it being the Apostles doctrine that Ministers of the Gospel should live by the Gospel And the Ministers of this Kingdom being allowed and authorized by the just Laws and lawfull Magistrates of this Kingdom to receive Tithes of their people and every man being compell'd under the penalty of the Law of this Kingdom to the payment of them there being nothing no not a word in the Word of God to forbid such a law I say Tithes becoming this way due to us by the Law of the Land and the Apostle commanding all Christians Rom. 13. 7. to render to all their dues whosoever shall go about to defraud or to deny their Minister this his due he is in this most impious and sacrilegious Will you be ashamed now of your ignorance and be a little more wary for the time to come how you give liberty to your unbridled tongues and distempered passions to censure misreport or slander or scandalize the persons parts callings maintenance of such men against whom Timothy was not to receive an accusution without two or three witnesses 1 Tim. 5. 19. and to take notice of the ill consequences of the same you do not onely contract the guilt of sin to your selves but you expose your selves in your madnesse ignorance malice and folly to be the object of sorrow and grief to those that know you and pitie your poore souls and the object of laughter to all others that have any knowledge of the truth In your next passage you expresse more of that bitternesse that is in your spirits poore men There be some Symons crept in amongst you which as he did in Act. 8. do bewitch you who seems to you to be some great one and as the people beleeved of him so do many now give heed to many that be abroad as if they were the great power of God whereas indeed in the end they will prove to be but sorcerers And as for all your wicked and false accusations I shall onely say to you as Peter did to Simon Repent of this your wickednesse and pray God if perhaps the thoughts of your hearts may be forgiven you For 't is easie for a Christian to perceive that these are the expressions of those who are in the very gaul of bitternesse and bond of iniquity Look upon some of them and you your selves shall be Judges Paper You say peremptorily that we strike at the very foundation of Truth as he that is spirituall may easily discern c. Ans I answer First I will not undertake to judge your spirits but this I must tell you that how spirituall soever you pretend to be that spirit that charges us with striking at the very foundation of Truth is a spirit of envie hatred malice reviling evill speaking lying and slandering and what spirit this is I leave it to your selves to judge 2ly Me thinks you should not so cruelly have condemned us for this but you should have told us what truth we did ever strike at you have quickly forgotten your own rule but now given to us concerning heresie and hereticks you told us that the Gospel way was first to prove men such and then to reprove but it seems you walk not in the same Gospel way Remember here that of Paul Rom. 2. 1 3. Thou art inexcusable O man whosoever thou art that judgest for wherein thou judgest another thou condemnest thy self for thou that judgest doest the same things And thinkest thou this that judgest another and doest the same things that thou shalt escape the judgement of God you should first prove us such and then condemne us 'T is your own counsell and therefore I hope will not be rejected by you I desire that this may be proved against us else surely 't will condemne you 3ly I doubt not but in the end and upon the tryall it shall be made appeare that in those very things wherein you rashly condemne us for striking at the foundation of truth the Lord himselfe whose eyes are upon the truth and all that are acquainted with any of the truths of God will acquit and justifie us as contending only for the truth that was once delivered to the Saints and striving for the faith of the Gospel which is now invaded and miserably wounded by those spirits that are already whom as the Apostle fore-told the way of truth is evill spoken of Paper In the next place you charge us with deceiving the hearts of the simple and endeavouring to deceive the very elect that we make truth looke every way like Janus faces that you have need of the wisdome of God to discover us and the depths of Satans deceipts and wiles that the Lord who hath begun to uncover unvayl unmask uncloath c. will do it fully and
fit your selves and then and not before to preach and that unlesse you do you must not preach Ans Oh ridiculous simplicitie and syllinesse may I not as well ask you Thomas the Clothier Giles the Mercer Roger the Shoomaker Samuel the Boddice-maker and William the Ironmonger you professe that Christ is your Lord and Master where 's his command that you should serve seven yeers under a Master at your Trade and that then you should set up your trade for your selves and not before I will answer your quaere in such a comparison Thus you know that it is God's will that every man have some or other lawfull Calling to abide in and to labour See 1 Cor. 7. 20. 22. 24. Now the Common-wealth in which you live hath in Christian policy thought it good to Enact such a Law that none shall have leave to set up any Trade in the Common-wealth till they have served such a time in the Trade And this is grounded upon severall reasons As first to avoid confusion in the Common-wealth 2ly that men might be thereby enabled and fitted for their callings lest entring upon them without knowledge they first abuse and undo their selves for want of skill and 2ly that the Common-wealth be not abused by their venting and selling Wares not vendible and usefull and the like To clear this to you in an instance if every man that had a will to it should freely set up the Trade of a Mercer Shoo-maker Boddice-maker Ironmonger Clothier c. who had not served at the Trade and had no knowledge in the Trade you would presently judge that here were like to be a fair Trade the Common-wealth was like to be well served and we should have strange commodities from them poore Cloth Shooes Boddice c. This by way of comparison And from this to shew you in like manner that the office of preaching the Gospel of Christ and administring of Sacraments is a distinct office in the Church It is the will and command of Christ that such as undertake and enter into this office should be qualified with abilities parts and gifts fitting for so great a work he must not be a novice 1 Tim. 3. 6. he must be able to teach others 2 Tim. 2. 2. he must be a workman so able to divide the Word of God aright as that he need not to be ashamed 2 Tim. 2. 15. Where this ability is wanting the Church of Christ is like to be as ill served as the Common-wealth by simple and unskilfull Tradesmen Now the Apostle tels us that the Scriptures are sufficient to make the man of God perfect and to furnish him throughly to all good works that is to all the services of his profession to those works of his calling he mentioned before viz doctrine reproof correction and instruction for these things the Scriptures are sufficient to furnish a man But now for the sufficient understanding and not perverting and wresting of the Scriptures learning is requisite and necessary 2 Pet. 3. latter end To clear this farther to you you must know that there be two great works which belong to this high calling first Instruction of the scholar 2ly conviction of the adversaries Now every understanding man can judge how many different parts of learning are requisite to the perfection See Dr. Reynolds Exp Psal 110. pa. 268. of these two services First there must be knowledge in the tongues for the better understanding of the holy Scriptures by their originall Idiom and emphasis for in Translations there may be and are some errors for though the Scriptures be the infallible Word of God yet the Translators are men which are subject to errour and may mistake 2ly There is required the knowledge of the Arts to observe the cōnnexion the argumentation and method of them 3ly there is required knowledge of ancient customes History and Antiquitie of the Babylonians Persians Greeks and Romanes without in-sight whereinto the full meaning of many passages of holy Scripture cannot be clearly understood and apprehended 4ly there is required School-learning for the discovering and repelling of the subtilty of the adversaries and because Julian the Apostate saw that the Christians in his time made excellent use of this in repelling and beating down his errors he therefore interdicted them the use of Schools of Learning whose examples many Apostates from our Church follow in these dayes who cry out against all humane Learning as the weapons of Gentiles and not fit for Christians to use Lastly there is required a knowledge of the Histories and Antiquities of the Church that we may observe the succession of the Professors and doctrines thereof the originals sprouting of Heresie therein and the better to answer the reproaches of our insolent adversaries who lay innovation to our charge In a word men cannot understand the Scripture in their originall languages without the tongues they cannot expound without Grammar nor perswade without Rhetoricke nor divide without Logick nor sound the depth of any controversie without Philosophy and school divinity Now seeing all this learning is requisite for the understanding expounding dividing the word aright and for instructiing exhorting and perswading thereby and for the convincing the gainsayers thereof You must know that there are but two waies that ever we heard of for the gaining of these requisites The first is extraordinary the immediate inspiration of the Holy Ghost and the miraculous gifts of Tongues and Prophecy And 2ly The ordinary acquiring of these by the means which God hath vouchsafed viz. Schools of learning and our applying our selves to and our endeavours in them The first of these waies viz. the gaining of these abilities by immediate inspiration and revolation hath ceased in the Church of Christ these many hundred yeares even ever since the time of the Apostles of Christ who being in themselves some of them before their calling to their Apostleship unlearned men did receive their gifts and abilities this way Acts 2. And many other Primitive Christians with them in those daies but those Irradiations Revelations and Inspirations of the Spirit together with the fiery Tongues have ceased for many hundred yeares and have not been seen in any Christian Church of late Therefore there remains onely that other ordinary way of gaining these abilities which I have mentioned viz. in the lawfull and diligent use of the means by going to the University as you call it or to some Schooles where learning is to be had to fit our selves Now then seeing the office of the Ministery is a distinct office seeing those that enter into it must be furnisht with abilities gifts and partes enabling them to teach and by the word to instruct to correct to exhort and to convince seeing these parts and abilities are not inspired miraculoully but acquired in and by the use of means seeing these means are the Schools of Learning seeing through the use of these means by Gods blessing on our endeavours we attain to