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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A91187	A fresh discovery of some prodigious new wandring-blasing-stars, & firebrands, stiling themselves nevv-lights, firing our church and state into new combustions. Divided into ten sections, comprising severall most libellous, scandalous, seditious, insolent, uncharitable, (and some blasphemous) passages; published in late unlicensed printed pamphlets, against the ecclesiasticall jurisdiction and power of parliaments, councels, synods, Christian kings and magistrates, in generall; the ordinances and proceedings of this present Parliament, in speciall: the national covenant, assembly, directory, our brethren of Scotland, Presbyterian government; the Church of England, with her ministers, worship; the opposers of independent novelties; ... Whereunto some letters and papers lately sent from the Sommer-Islands, are subjoyned, relating the schismaticall, illegal, tyrannical proceedings of some Independents there, in gathering their new-churches, to the great distraction and prejudice of that plantation. / Published for the common good by William Prynne of Lincolnes Inne, Esquire.	Prynne, William, 1600-1669.	1645 (1645)	Wing P3963; Thomason E261_5; ESTC R212456	96,461	90

Goodwin or they shall at last after long expectation set down in Writing If yea that contradicts their owne Profession and Prot●station in their Apollogy takes away that liberty of conscience they contend for and Attributes a greater Authority to them alone to oblige their party then to the whole Parliament or Synod If no then certainly it is vaine to exspect a set 〈◊〉 of Church-government from those fluctuating Divines who till neither under-take to oblige themselves or others for the future by anything they resolve on or practise for the present and a meare sottishnesse for any people to depend upon such unstable weather-cocks and roling stones who know not where to rest or settle And that way certainly can be none of Christs on which the very prime sticklers for it d●re not absolutely and immutably to fasten for the future what ever they pretend for the present 5. Whether publike preaching prophefying and expounding the Scriptures by Independent Souldiers Taylors Weavers and other illiterate Mechanicks neither publikely called to not fitted for the Ministry especially when and where there are able painfull preaching Ministers to instruct the people be not a most exorbitant arrogant scandalous and disorderly practice no where warranted by Gods word but directly condemned by Numb 18. 21. 22 23. c. 16. 3. to 41. 2 Sam. 6. 6. 7 2 Chron. ●6 16. to 23. Ier. 14. 14. c. 27. 19. Hosea 4. 4. 9. Mal. 2. 7. 2 Chron. 17. 8. 9. Neb. 9. 4 5. c. 12. throughout Mat. 28. 18. 19. 20. Mar. 16. 14. 15. 20. Acts 20. 28. Gal. 6. 6. Hebr. 13. 17. c. 5. 4. 1 Tim. 3. 2. c. 4. 14. 16. 2 Tim. 4. 2. 5. Rom. 10. 14. 15. 1 Cor. 12. 28. 29. c. 14. 29 to the end Tit. 1. 7. 9. Contrary to the very light of Nature the Priests among all heathen Nations whatsoever being distinguished from t●e people and not all promiscuously Priests Gen. 42. 22. 26. 2 King 17. 32. 1 Kings 12. 31. 32. Zeph. 1. 4. Acts 14. 13. And quite opposite to the practice of all christian Churches in all ages ● 6. Whether Mr. Hanserd Knols the illitterate Anabaptist his Moderate Answer to Dr. Bastwicks booke p. 19. 20. where he averres That the condition upon which people are to be admitted into the Church are Faith Repentance and BAPTISME and NONE OTHER And whosoever poore as well as rich bond as well as free servants as well as masters did make a profession of their faith in Christ Iesus land would be baptized he meanes re-baptized into he should say in the name of the Father Son and holy Spirit were admitted Members of the Church but such as did not beleeve and would not be baptized though formerly baptized by others they would not admit into church communion And that this hath bin the practise of some churches in this city ●ithout urging or making any particular covenant with members upon admittance Doth not herein diametrally contradict his other Independent brethren who exact particular covenants from their new admitted Members and do not re-baptize them Whether he hath not plaid the Anabaptisticall jugler with Mr. Cranford in printing onely Imprimatur IA CRANFORD in the title of his Booke and leaving out the preceding formall words of his License to the great abuse both of the Reader and Licenser viz. I have perused this Treatise called A Moderate Answer to Dr. Bastwick which THOUGH● IUDGE ERRONIOUS yet to satisfie the desire of a Friend and prevent the cavils of some Adversaries I oppose Imprimatur Ia Cranford And whether these and such like practices proclaim not the Anabaptists such as Dr. Foa●ly proves them A False and lying sect if not blasphemous too as the premised Sections declare some of them to be A Transcript of a Letter lately written from the Sommer Islands to William Prynne of Lincolnes Inne Esquire relating the Schismaticall Tyrannicall and Seditious Proceedings of the Independents there and how they Lord it over the soules and bodies of those who dare oppose them how contemptuously they speak against the power of Parliaments the Church of England and scandalize all others whatsoever who are not of their Faction Which Gods Providence newly brought to my hands from thence when I was closing up the premised Discovery Worshipfull Sir ALI health happinesse and prosperity wished unto you as to mine owne soule The occasions moveing me at present to trouble you with these unprofitable papers are great and many and happily I being a stranger unto your Worship you may account it more then boldnesse yea even peremptory saucinesse in me to presume to write and crave favour to and from one who never had the least knowledge of me But the manifold reports I have heard of you by divers good Christians emboldeneth me but especially seeing your good works which I have perused with care and diligence which from Mr Sparks his brother I procured enforceth me so much the more in this my boldnesse not doubting but that you are a true hearted Christian truly fearing God embracing piety and hateing iniquity a faithfull well-willer to the Church of God and to all the Israel of God and to all true Israelites who with faithfull hearts love the Sion of God truly and sincerely without hypocrisie or halting between opinions dessenting from it in any by or false respects the which are the only causes moving me hereunto And for which I have suffered and a●● and have beene these thirteen mōnthes prisoner in bonds for standing in defence and an opposite unto or against a certaine Independent Church hatched and forged in the braines of our Divines and by them constituted erected and fully accomplished and with us held in great repute and adoration yea and the Actors of it not as men but even as demy gods attributing that unto them which is only proper unto God especially unto their Pastor Mr VVhite the chiefe Actor of their Faction a most seditious turbulent and hatefull malicious person and as politick as Achitophell and as crafty and subtle as the Devill having as he holds the world in hand that by his wisedome none can excell him in the lawes both Ecclesiasticall and Civill and therefore amongst us a company of poore simple ignorant and undiscerning people he is so accounted of as all his words are oracles and himselfe no lesse sent from God and therefore whatsoever he saith is and must be a law whether it concernes Body Soule or Conscience for he cannot crre so perfect is he in their conceits And if Christians in griefe and distractions of soule and conscience at their courses shall sue unto our Rulers for redresse of their factious aud seditious courses by way of humble petition for a cessation of those things till we shall heare from England what Discipline the high Court of Parliament and Synod hath concluded upon and that to embrace and follow then shall we presently be summoned to an Assizes and there undergoe such penalties as by

or any other to say and affirme that this monstrous ugly botched and scabbed body is Christs true Spouse is dishonourable to his blessed being and Mediatorship His Schismaticall seditious conclusion from all these Premises is this pag. 35. Therefore let all Gods people that yet are in the bosome of the Church of England as they love their own inward peace and spirituall joy and look that their souls should prosper and flourish with grace and godlinesse look to it and withdraw their spiritual obedience and subjection from all Antichrists Laws and worship and joyne themselves as fellow Citizens of the City of God to worship and serve him in Mount Sion the beauty of holinesse and there only to yield all spirituall obedience to Christs spirituall Laws and Scepter This language and opinion of his concerning our English Church and Ministry is seconded by most Independents in their late Pamphlets of which you have had a bitter taste in the preceding Sections and their practice proves as much For first though they proclaime Liberty of conscience to all Sects and Religions whatsoever yet they have so harsh an opinion of Presbyterians and all others who submit not to their Independent Modell that they esteem them no better then Heathens Infidels unbelievers and proclaim them in their Books to be * Men who deny disclaim and preach against Christs Kingly Government over his Churches men unconverted or at least converted but in part vvanting the main thing to wit Christs kingly Office men visible out of the Covenant of Grace who have not so much as an outward profession of Faith who deny Christ to be their King to whose persons and infants the very Sacraments and seals of grace with all Church Communion may and ought to be denied which is in effect to un-Christian un-Church un-Minister all Presbyterians and to make them cast-awayes If this be their charity to us already what may we expect from them hereafter if their Faction bear the sway Secondly when they gather any Independent Congregation their practise is for their Ministers solemnly to renounce and abjure their former Ordination in and the people their Pristine Communion with the Church of England and all Congregations else whereof they have been Members and then to new-mould themselves into an Independent Church which practise they have lately begun in the Plantations of the Summer Islands as a Friend of mine from thence informed me by a Letter dated May 14. 1645. in these insuing termes The Independent Church was set up here the last year wherein they have covenanted to stand unto the death but their Covenant is not fully exprest reserving power in themselves especially in their Pastor to alter it when they will and as they think good they have exprest nothing in writing though often urged to it but he that joyns with them must do it by a kinde of implicite faith to imbrace what their Church doth or shall imbrace not knowing what it is or will be When they began it their Minister called a Fast for all that would be present where in the publique Congregation our Ministers being then but three Did lay down and renounce their Ordination and Ministry received in the Church of England and so become as they said no Ministers but did joy● themselves together in Covenant by words only to become a Church first making a kinde of confession of their sins and signifying that others might also joyn themselves to them if they were such as after such confession they should approve of and there was one principall Officer did then joyn himself with them they then continued weekly Lecturers still yet as they said not as Ministers but only as private men to exercise their gifts wherein they laboured to draw others to joyn with them and every week received in some but that confession of sins grew daily more and more out of date the rather for that * some were threatned to be called in question at the Assises for some things which they confessed there so that at this time all is in a manner implicite and though little or nothing be expressed by the party to be received in yet he is not put back But when they had gotten about thirty to joyne with them they again called a Fast for all that would be present where it seems having appointed one of our assistant Governors for their Prolocutor he nominated Master White to be their Pastor which the rest confirmed by erection of hands then it seems Master White nominated our other two Ministers Master Copland and Master Golding for his ruling Elders yet they continue to preach constantly as before but Master White only doth Administer the Sacraments and that only to such as have joyned themselves in their implicite Covenant with them Their practise therefore and their writings demonstrate what ungratefull sons and unnaturall Vipers they are to our Mother Church and Ministers of England which hath little cause to harbour these Rebellious Apostate sons who thus abominate renounce both her and her Ministers as Antichristian Surely some of their own Independent Faction had other thoughts of her and her Ministry unlesse they dissembled before God and man as they commonly do without blush or check but very few years since and among other the five Independent Apologists and Master Hugh Peter Solicit●r generall of the Independent Cause and Party whose Subscription before the Bishop of London concerning our Church of England in the late Prelaticall times when far more unreformed then now I shall here present you with the Originall whereof I found in the Archbishops study under Master Peter his own hand c●dorsed with the Archbishops thus Master Hugh Peters Subscription before the Bishop of London August 17. 1627. RIght Reverend Father in God and my very good Lord being required to make known to your Lordship my Judgement concerning some thing propounded at my last being before your Lordship from which Propositions though I never dissented nor know any cause why I should be suspected yet being ready and willing to obey your Lordship in all things especially in so just a demand as this I having consulted with Antiquity and with our modern Hooker and others humbly desire your Lordship to accept the satisfaction following 1. For the Church of England in generall I blesse God I am a member of it and was baptized in it and am not only assured it is a true Church but am perswaded it is the most glorious and flourishing Church this day under the sun which I desire to be truly thankfull for and for the Faith Doctrine and Articles of that Church and the maintenance of them I hope the Lord will inable me to contend Tanquam ut pro aris focis Yea I trust to lay down my life if I were called thereunto 2. For the Governour and Government thereof viz. The reverend Fathers the Archbishops and Bishops I acknowledge their Offices and jurisdictions and cannot see