much as a seemeng neglect upon that truly a Act. 17. 11. noble and Right b 1 Sam. 2. 30. Honorable c 3 Epist Joh. 1. 2. Lady with * The most excellent Lady Sophia with whom the most noble and learned Aristobulus dwells whom you reside who hath made us both happy your self especially in d Is 60. 15. the injoyment of her Acquaintance as an eminent Patern of that eternal excellencie that God communicated with his people in when he makes them his e 1 Cor. 6. 18. Sons and Daughters Let me therefore intreat you to favour me so far as to pay my due respects in full to her Honour and so much the rather because you know that I am not in a capacity of doing it * Man of himself at the greatest distance from the knowledge of God in Christ and greatest enemy thereunto my self at such a distance withal pray let the service be attended with an humble intimation that I do with much veneration and submission to the Divine Will congratulate that access of Dignity lately put upon her even by the Apostle himself where he lays his Commands upon us to f 1 Tim. 5. 8. Honour Widows that are Widows indâ—ed that is such as have been lawfully loosed or rightfully disobliged from all manner of Compacts Agreements or Combinations in the flesh to be totally affianced or espoused to * Vidua non Viduata Take this in the largest sense putting no confinement upon Lusts of the flesh that g 2 Cor. 11. 2. one Husband who always h Jer. 31. 3. Mal. 1. 2. loves and never hates and ever i Heb 7. 25. Rom 6. 10. lives to God in the Spirit and never dies to any thing but the flesh And this is that k Heb. 13. 4. Marriage that I look upon as honourable indeed and the bed that is undefiled and as for those Whoremongers and Adulterens or Fornicators of this world * Rev. 22. 11. Isa 32. 6. filthy vile persons that can easily and without remorse prostitute their Souls their Bodies their Estates their Reputations any thing every thing be it either Sacred or Civil to their own prodigious and unbridled lusts let God alone to judge them and to make it appear what they are as he daily does and will do it more and more to the praise of his holy Name and the great and singular incouragement of all those that have a secret Antipathy well and truly fixed and established in them against all such lewd and lowd-crying Abominations In the mean time or while this is doing according to the counsel and care that God takes of his own Affairs what shall we write upon the Premises but Hinc Lachrymae or that doleful saying of the Prophet l Ezek. 19. 14. This is a Lamentation and shall be for a lamentation so long as it does continue And now Sir that you have occasionally drawn me forth to this length that is not ordinary with me in things of this nature If what I have written may in the least refresh delight or do you good as a furtherance of your m Neh. 8. 10 Joy your n Mic. 5. 15. Peace your o Psal 11. 6 7. Rest in God it stands as a dish ready dressed upon the Table before you and having told you that you are kindly and heartily welcome to it I do accordingly bid you p 2 Cor. 13. 11. Farewell Yours and every one 's that loves and walks in the truth as it is in our blessed Lord Jesus Erimastix Philalethes R. C. P. Dated from Bethel near the Pool of Bethesda in the Land of our Immanuel where the Angel gives it in upon Oath That time shall be no more Apoc. 10. Or where all things are measured according to the account of God and not according to the shallow Register of Mans Day and Time A Postscript TO THE READER Courteous Reader IF the a Act. 9. 18. scales of ignorance be fallen from thine eyes and the care of thy Native Country so dear to thee as it should and ought to be b 17. 16. thy Spirit must needs be stirred as Pauls was at Athens to see the poor distressed Nation so mightily over-run with Formality on the one hand and Profaneness on the other both combining in their Rise and Progress to ruine and undo the people whilst they openly proclaim to all the world and testifie at length to our very faces the vanity of our contending about our Religious Interests and that we have fought in the shadow so long till we have lost the Substance And yet although it be true that of all Pilots he had need to be the most skilful that shall undertake to guide and carry the Ship securely and let her fall down into a safe and even course between Scylla and Charybdis or these two dangerous Rocks of Formality and Profaneness considering likewise that of all Passengers or Travellers under Heaven either by Sea or Land none have more need of an able Convoy or c Isa 4. 5. mighty Defence upon them than such as are obnoxious or in danger to be set upon by these two potent Armies of Formality and Profaneness always in a readiness on the Frontiers of Christianity under whose Conduct and in whose Magazines lie enveloped all the Counsels and Contrivances and Instruments and Executions of Cruelty and Confusion of Mischief and Sorrow that ever the World heard of Notwithstanding all this and what else might be farther mentioned look what the Prophet mentions in that formidable instance of d Isa 7. 2. 4. Syria's being confederate with Ephraim when the hearts of the people were moved as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind that 's still in use and chiefly to be regarded Take heed and be quiet he says and then fear not neither be saint-hearted for the two tails of thâ—se smoaking firebrands or portentous blazing Comets Formality and Profaneness For albeit like Jannes and Jambres and the rest of that Society they both muster up all their might and bring forth all their stock of Policy and Power to withstand the true Moses or hinder the e Mal. 4. 2. rising Sun yet shall they f 2 Tim. 3. 8. 9. proceed no farther when once their folly shall be made manifest to all men as theirs also was Whereunto if this small Epistle or slender Intimation thereby suggested may but in the least be subservient or any way advantageous let God have the Praise and his People the benefit of it which will fully and exactly answer the End or Designe of this Publication whereby nothing is more desired than to see the Life of the LORD JESVS EXALTED in the voiding of these things and his own way of WORSHIP and ADMINISTRATIONS exercised and put inpractise g Joh. 4. 24. IN SPIRIT AND TRVTH among us Even so h Revel 22. 20. Come Lord Jesus Come quickly Making the i Isa 66. 22. 2 Pet. 3. 13. Revel 21 1 -5 Heavens and the Earth and all things new k Jer. 33. 6. Revealing to us the abundance of Truth and Peace l Act. 3. 21. Restoring m Psal 104. 30. renewing and filling the n Is 27. 6. face of the World with the knowledge and love and fear of the Lord as o 11. 9. the waters cover the Sea when our flesh or tired-out condition shall p Ps 16 9. rest in hope and q Act. 3. 19. Times of refreshing come from that r Job 42. 5. Beatifical Vision or most calm and serene Å¿ Ps 16. 11. Presence that hath fulness of Joy in it and everlasting Pleasure Even so Amen Jer. 51. 7. Babylon hath been a golden Cup in the Lords Babylon detected hand that made all the Earth drunken the Nations have drunken of her wine therefore the Nations are mad Psal 87. 5 6. And of Sion it shall be said This and that Sion exalted man was born in her and the Highest himself shall establish her The Lord shall count when he writeth up the people that this man was born there Selah In thy light we see light Psal 35. 9. FINIS OR THE END of all things is at hand Be ye therefore sober 1 Pet. 4. 7. 8. and watch unto Prayer But above all things have fervent love among your selves for love will cover the multitude of sins and both timely correct and totally expunge or wipe out all the ERRATA that may be found in the Author or his Book the Workman or the Work 2 Cor. 5. 14. The love of Christ constraineth us thus to judge that if One died for all then were all dead 15. And that he died for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves but unto Him which died for them and rose again AMEN HALELVIAH Which being Interpreted is PRAISE YE GOD.
A LETTER FOUND IN UTOPIA And from thence recommended by a very good hand to the perusal of the Publisher Wherein among other things a candid Testimony to Mr. Sterryes learned and accurate Discourse of the Freedom of the Will lately Printed As also some reflections upon Contending or Disputing as of late about matters of RELIGION With a POSTSCRIPT to the READER Published to undeceive and quiet the minds of the People By one that pities th' Inscription upon th' Athenian Altar 1. Cor. 1. 20. Where is the Disputer of this World Job 15. 31. Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity for vanity shall be his recompence Isa 44 20. He feedeth on ashes A deceived heart hath turned him aside that he cannot deliver his soul nor say Is there not a Lye in my right hand All things Superable below him that is Insuperable and All things Finite below him that is Infinite Bonitas invicti non vincitur infinita misericordia non finitur Fulgent ad Mon. Diffudisti per omnem mundum religiosi nominis membra religionis vim non habentia Salvian ad Eccles Cathol Ecchoing to 2 Tim. 3. 5. Qui Coelum dependenter habet in Revolutionibus suis vari â—â— sibi influentiâ—s impartialiteâ— exhibere tanquam Principi in terris aut Potentatui amplissimâ— Is Terram similiteâ— queat expectare in Laboribus suis fructum ipsius praematurum sibi producere idquâ— tempore tempestivo absque omni solicitudine vel timore sive Hominis aut Bestiaeâ— â— G. Americanus Protomartyr Printed in the Year 1675. The Publishers PREFACE OR APOLOGY THe following Letter might have waited sooner upon the World had the liveliness of the a Exod. 1. 19. Hebrew women been upon it and nothing to hinder the celerity of its Production but it frequently so falls out among men that useful things have but slow beginnings and a Progress proportionable in their going on to maturity Jonah's b Jon. 4. 6. gourd under which he was willing to shade himself as long as he could came up in a night and perished in a night and it may well serve as an Embleme for things of a lower value or such as the darkness of the night produces and that cannot endure the light of the day much Lucifugae might be said about matters of that nature that come forth suddenly and vanish accordingly the ordinary fate of such c Col. 2. 8 20 22. wordly Rudiments as perish in the using and that are seldom long lived But when the Prophet comes to speak of Sions peculiar and supernatural Birth-right he says d Isa 66. 7 8. That before she travailed she brought forth before her pain came she was delivered of a Man-child well may this be attended with the succeeding Queries Who hath heard such a thing Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day Shall a Nation be born at once Surely this can never or no where else be but where Time and Eternity are coupled together in marriage e Rev. 22. 13. the beginning and the end the first and the last the highest and the lowest the f Esa 46. 9 10. most antient and honourable with things not yet done or of g 1 Cor. 1. 28. no account in the worlds estimation when h Isa 60. 22. a little one shall become a thousand and a small one a strong Nation and i Mic. 5. 7. comp with Job 38. 28. the remnant of Jacob in the midst of many people as a Dew from the Lord that waiteth not for man nor tarrieth for the sons of men and all this most amply aswel as most compendiously in Him who makes the Heavens and the Earth to be but one Globe or God and Man to be but one intire Being or most complete Subsistence in CHRIST OVR 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 LORD for ever If such a thing as this be creeping or stealing upon the World like k Rev. 16â— 15. a thief in the night to * Luk. 1. 35. umbrage all the dark shades of the Creature and to l Eph. 1. 10. gather up all that is but seemingly such into the full m Heb. 1. 3. Brightness of the Fathers Glory in Him that Really is so And if a savoury Specimen or Tryal hereof be candidly imparted to us in and by the ensuing Epistle let no man run among the Plot-mongers of the World for some execrable Stratagem or Hell-bred Device whereby to elude the Discovery For the Thing in it self is Spiritual and Heavenly and of a Divine Nature falling sweetly upon us like the n Deut. 32. 2. Dew upon the grass or small rain upon the tender herbs and such must they be that can give it any more than a civil Entertainment and yet surely such there are that can open their doors to such o Jâ—b 31. 32. Strangers as these and be mighty glad of their Company Heb. 13. 2. neither can there be in it matter of Disparagement or Discouragement or Prejudice or Disadvantage in the least to any but such as either p 1 Cor. 2. 14. do not or cannot or r Exod. 5. 2. Jer. 44. 16. 1 Joh 5. 20. will not understand it since of this kind of Å¿ Isa 50. 4. John 6. 45. 1 Thes 4 9. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Learning above all the rest it is most truly and properly said that non habet inimicum praeter ignorantem i. e. it hath no enemy besides the ignorant man and one whose ignorance is the mother of his Devotion The Letter Worthy Sir I Received your Love in the Lines and * A Discourse of the Freedom of the Will by Mr. P. S Book you sent me for so I do with much thankfulness acknowledge and interpret your accosting me with so free and large and noble a Present the posthumous Work of a Person that was indeed of an a Prov. 17. 27. excellent Spirit whereby b Heb. 11. He being dead yet speaketh as a Man of rich and rare Endowment a Star of the first Magnitude among those that were able to see him and understand his worth I have not yet had time to read the Book throughout but from what I have sedulously and with great delight perused I should not stick to assert if that might signifie any thing that the same Divine Glory appears in the Work that was formerly wont to c Eccles 8. shine upon the face of the Workman in all the true Lineaments of the most perfect and well-accomplished Beauty It needs not to be denied but that the same Vail that was upon his Speakings may still abide upon his Writings like that upon the d face of Moses which the Apostle 2 Cor. 3. 3 14. tells us is to this day remaining untaken away and that it cannot be removed till Christ himself removes it which vail he says is done away in Christ. The Prophet Isaiah likewise speaks of e a vail
of antient acquaintance with us and a very honest well-disposed Gentleman let us try if you please whether we may not help him a little at this dead or dying lift To this purpose I remember very well that he who writes the life of that Diogenes that he speaks of among other things hath this memorable passage concerning him He says that on a certain time he came into the Market-place Aelian Poly-hist vit Diog. Laert. at Noon-day with a candle and lantern in his hand and when they asked him what he made there in that posture He said he did it as seeking for a MAN and when they answered that the number of such was great about him being in the midst of a croud of people His Reply was Homines video sed virum desidero there were men enough indeed he said but among them all he saw not the man that he looked for Now Sir if you be free for I must not impose the next time you write to Mr. L. desire him to send us word what the man's name was that Diogenes sought for and if he finds himself to be at a loss about it as I doubt he will let him but enter into the despicable Tub I mean the secret silence of Hermes and there he may peradventure see either him or that which he never saw before and be so far satisfied with the Vision as never to look any farther But though this may perhaps surprise or come unexpectedly upon Mr. L. yet there is another Friend that looks and longs for something and to him I am hastening as fast as I can His name Mr. R. B. who sent me a Letter and a small Book together with yours heavily complaining not so much to my self as to some other of our Friends in London how negligent and careless I have been in not writing to him according to his expectation But pray Sir the next time you see him and have an opportunity be pleased to let him know that his speaking and writing may possibly be as offensive and liable to exception as my silence and not writing And i◠that I deal plainly and freely with him I do not yet see what Ground or Reason he can have to shew for interesting himself in those carnal Controversies or Combats or conflicts or fightings after the manner of men that are now so hotly pursued High Dissentions among Professors scandulous to Religion to the shame and scandal of Religion and all the Professors of it as if they could live no where in the world without driving a mighty fierce violent trade of inconsistencie among themselves What needs he to concern himself or meddle in these matters Having little or nothing else to do that I know of Can't he * See Is 30. 7. Am. 5. 13. Heb. 2. 20. sit still and be quiet waiting in * See Is 30. 7. Am. 5. 13. Heb. 2. 20. silence upon God as would best of all become him Does he not know Assuredly yes he does and cannot but know That t 2 Cor. 10. 4. 5. the weapons of the Christian warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds casting down imaginations Reasonings Disputations 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and every high thing that exalteth it self against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ And as for all other weapons managed by g Job 21. 12. vain man that would be wise though born like the wild Asses colt they are altogether useless and unprofitable about the matters we mention or things that we now speak of and such as avail not in the least to h 1 Cor. 1 32. the Resurrection of the dead rather darken and cloud and eclipse and keep under that light and life of God that might otherwise shine and come forth abundantly to the i Mat. 5 16. glorifying of our Heavenly Father and the mutual k Eph. 4 16. edifying of one another in love Thou O man of God flee these things says the Apostle What things l 1 Tim. 6. 5. 11. comp Perverse Disputings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the Truth as it is in Jesus supposing that the gain of a little empty breath in popular applause or the like is Godliness from such withdraw thy self he says in his sacred and serious advice to Timothy his dearly beloved Son 1. Tim. 6. To the same effect others though perhaps not so higlhy or divinely inspired Sir H Wotton was a very worthy Person a man of Written or engraven on the plain Marble of Sir H. W. by his own appointment Hic jacet hujus sententiae primus Auctor Disputandi pruritus fit Ecclesiarum Scabies Nomen alilias quaere Lluyd Mem. of the Statesmen of England since the Reformation p. 806. excellent parts for Learning and other useful abilities among men in his day and time who never spake more like himself or to better purpose than when he said and took it for his Motto That Disputandi pruritus fit Ecclesiarum Scabies The Itch of Disputing is made or becomes the Scab of the Churches And when was it ever more lamentably upon them than now in this Conjuncture What itching and scratching there hath been among the several Parties both at home and abroad I need not tell you the Infamy of it is too notorious yea what resisting one another even unto Blood quatenus Parties at least not in their m Heb. 12. 4. striving against sin which would have been very commendable but rather in their striving and contending to maintain and uphold sin in all those fleshly n 2 Tim. 3. 5. formalities that are sufficiently known to have nothing of the Life and Power or Spirit of God in them And yet on they go for all this and are upon their march Jehu-like and furiously enough and many sore Battles and sad Rencounters they have had of late here and there wherein man against man and Book against Book and tantene animis coelestibus irae Party against Party have been bitterly and spitefully engaged all fighting in the shadow as old Hermes said beating and buffeting one another And abatarum more blindfold and in the dark so long until they have made themselves extremely ridiculous and contemptible in the sight and view of all that are o 1 Thes 5. 8. sober and p Psal 112 5. discreet and q Jam. 2. 1. impartial and r Prov. 3. 35. Dan. 12. 3. wise-hearted among us who cannot but see the formal Spirit thus divided against it self to be in its root and fruit the very same with that which is most profane or common among men pudet haec opprobria nobis c. A shame it is for us to hear and see How sadly the Parties disagree And all this for want of yielding that Sovereign ſ Mat. 26. 18. Power and Authority in Heaven and Earth to that t