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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A95897	The schismatick sifted. Or, The picture of Independents, freshly and fairly washt-over again. Wherein, the sectaries of these times (I mean, the principall seducers to that dangerous and subtile schisme of Independency) are with their own proper pensils, and self-mixed colours, most lively set forth to be a generation of notorious dissemblers and sly deceivers. Collected (for the most part) from undeniable testimonies under their own hands, in print; for the more fair and full satisfaction, and undeceiving of moderate and much misled Christians; especially by the outward appearance of their piety of life, and a pretence of their preaching sound-doctrine. / By John Vicars.	Vicars, John, 1579 or 80-1652.	1646 (1646)	Wing V326; Thomason E341_8; ESTC R200902	40,154	51

Master Simpson another of these so deep Protesters as aforesaid In his Sermon called Reformations Preservation on Isaiah 4 5. And on Proverbs 8. 15 16. hath there many things for their Church-way and for a Toleration p. 25 26. 27. of those Sermons Thirdly also Master Bridge another of them in his Sermons Printed and published and entituled Babylons Downfall And that on Zech. 1 at 18 19 20 21. Together with many other to be seen in Master Edwards his most excellent Antapol afore-said But this Truth being thus confirmed under the hands of three such eminent proofs and testimonies I think it may give sufficient satisfaction herein Besides the very many other Books and Pamphlets Printed and reprinted for their Church-way since this Parl. began and since there Covenant made to the Contrary all which for brevities sake I say and to avoid tediousnes I willingly pretermit and will not so much as mention as indeed I need not they being so notoriously known or may be known abroad to all that know ought herein And as for their other kinds of acting by themselves and others in and for their Church-ways advantage and advancement I shall I say to avoid prolixity referre the Reader to the learned Antapologie p. 220 221 c. very worthy the reading for abundant cleer satisfaction in these premises Only I cannot forbeare to give thee one particular instance more hereof which may mee thinks be Instar omnium to shew to the World their faithlesse craft and subtilty yea and most palpable Double-Dealing with their single-hearted Presbyterian Brethren and thus according to my promise to let all men see that will not obstinately shut their eyes against such cleer and known truths what a godly-party and what holy-Saints these Independents are The thing in brief is this About the beginning of the second yeer of the sitting of the Parliament The Presbyterian Pastors in London and the Independents met together at reverend and religious Master Calamies House in Aldermanbury where with mutuall consent they all entred into an engagement one party to the other That for advancing of the publike Cause of a happy Reformation neyther side should Preach Print or Dispute or otherwise act against others way And this to continue til both sides in a full meeting did declare the contrary and by mutuall consent set each other at liberty touching these things And for the confirmation of this agreement a Writing or Instrument was drawn with full and cleer desire and assent of all and also by all there and then present it was subscribed with every mans name And this so done was with a generall consent to be left and so to abide with Master Calamy at his House there to be seen at any time by any of them that would have recourse unto it to shew and see their agreement all which was accordingly done and this Writing or Instrument was left in Master Calamies custody Heere now let me hint this to the Reader by the way That notwithstanding this Writing or Instrument of this their so solemne agreement no nor their own fore-mentioned Protestation of their own voluntary forbearance so deeply but deceitfully professed and protested in their Apologie to be so sacred unto them to be kept so strictly by them with such deep silence for these are their very words All these I say notwithstanding they in the interim immediatly after went on in a too evident cōtrary practice as hath bin before sufficiently declared and all these their Protestations proved the most advantageous Piece of Policy on their side of any one that was or could be done by them for the increasing of a Party for them Just like the Declarations set forth by King CHARLES by means of the crafty Bishops in their late flourishing and domineering times that their should be no Disputes no Preaching or Printing on either side for or against the Arminian-points which then were in great controversie Which Declarations and Inhibitions being observed by many Ministers but not so by the Arminian-faction was a mighty means to increase them and to suppresse Orthodox-Doctrines Even so I say it fell out heer for by this means of the Agreement nothing was Preached or Printed or any way acted against their way according to the foresaid agreement to hinder the growth of Independents on our side Ours making conscience most honestly and tenderly of their engagement But in the mean time I say many things were both Preached and Printed for it as I have touched before which if it were not apparent unfaithfulnesse and plain Double-dealing I know not what is But now to come to this notable trick of theirs acted by Master Philip Nye that notable Independent-Politician and nimble-Agent for their Schismaticall Church-way which was this The fore-mentioned Writing or Instrument of the mutuall Agreement between the Presbyterian and Independent parties being as aforesaid left in the hands of reverend Master Calamy by him to be kept and shewn and seen as occasion was offered It so fell out that Master Nye came one day to Master Calamy and pretended some reasons for his desire to see and borrow this Writing of him for a little while whereupon good Master Calamie in his courtesie and singlenesse of heart suspecting nothing amisse but thinking he meant fairly and would bring it again presently as he had promised let him have it But he after he had it carried it away with him into Yorkeshire that so upon any complaints of the breach of the agreement when ours should have consulted with that writing or shewn it against them and brought their own hands subscribed thereunto the Writing was gone and nothing now to shew against them As for conscience they as it seem'd car'd not a rush for it no marvell then that they so cry out and plead for Liberty of conscience for this Master Nye hath ever since kept away this Writing and having been often intreated to restore it his answer still hath been that hee left it at Hull among his other papers This Truth is also fully related by reverend and faithfull Master Edwards in his learned and most excellent Independent frighting Antapologie and is backt also by the unquestionable testimony of our most grave and godly Assembly of Divines in their most excellent Answer to the seven Independents most false and scandalous Remonstrance lately printed and published by the Independents for the honour forsooth of those seven Authours thereof but which in the issue turned to their most just eternall indelible dishonour And are not these then my deare Presbyterian friends most soule blots and blemishes in so godly apartie so gracious and holy Saints so cryed-up rare Christians as Independents are now a dayes hugely boasted to be Doe these their practises in word and deed answer to the Characters of Davids holy Citizens of the New-Jerusalem To speake the truth from their hearts and to keepe their promise though to their prejudice Or are they like

way of introduction to what is to follow namely that this hath ever been even in all ages and times Satans old-Cloke too well known to be almost worne quite thread-bare by frequent and familiar use among Deceivers For if we look back to by-past times and read Ecclesiasticall Histories we shall most truly know and unquestionably understand that those grand and grosse Hereticks and Ring-leaders to dangerous and damnable Heresies Errors and Schismes in the Church of God especially in the Primitive Churches and former times as Arrius Pelagius Arminius c. were all of them men of extraordinary outward holy lives and to see to of most integer conversation even to generall admiration and approbation for their parts and piety and to the singular love and liking of all the people among whom they then lived And yet they were all of them most notorious dangerous yea damnable Hereticks And look up also even to our most blessed Saviours time and there we shall finde the Scribes and Pharisees to be outwardly such demurely seeming Saints such pure and holy persons to see to that it was an universally received opinion among all the common-people the Jews of those times That if any two men in the world should goe to heaven and be saved it was a Scribe and a Pharisee And yet by our Saviours own Testimony These were most notorious dissemblers deceivers and horrible hypocrites And indeed one main foul fault among them also was a most vile perverting of the Law to their own ayms and ends and teaching false-doctrines and their own false glosses and intentions in stead of sound-doctrine which very thing made our blessed Saviour himselfe to inveigh most bitterly against them as notorious hypocrites as is most evident in all the foure Evangelists The experience whereof also made the blessed Apostle Paul say having found false Apostles in his times also deceitfull-workers transforming themselves into the Apostles of Christ That it was no marvail for Satan himselfe sayes he is transformed into an Angel of light And indeed there is very great politick reason hereof for should not Hereticks and Schismaticks first put-on that brave embrodred-cloke of seeming holinesse to dazle the eyes and understanding of their honest innocent Proselites as I believe many of these to be Who I pray that had any light and sight of reason and Religion would so easily have received their so dangerous Opinions or damnable Doctrines If Satan should at first shew his cloven-foot and the hornes on his head as fools formerly were made to believe the Devill had such to be frighted by them who I say would not then fly from him as easily discerning him to be a Devill So I say if Heretical Erronious Schismatical Deceivers should at the very first shew the inside-danger poyson of their aymes plots self-interests and designes intended by their Heresies errours and Schismes who would so easily and instantly entertain them and be so misled and abused by them Therefore dear Christians take heed for Gods sake of being taken with painted pretences of holinesse of life in any man whatsoever he be swallow not down so easily such gilded-pils or catching fish-hooks which are onely covered-over with deceitfull baits to catch and undoe your poor plain-meaning soules Believe it my Christian friends you try your mettalls by a very false and deceitfull touch-stone if you look so on mens holy-lives and conversations alone nay rather read sound and try men mainly and most especially by their soundnesse of Doctrine for if this fails all is naught I 'le warrant you And that you may see 't is not mine but the blessed Apostle Paul's judgement and right rule of tryall which cannot deceive marke what he sayes in two most pertinent places to this purpose Be yee followers of me even as I also am of Christ No farther or no otherwise than I folow the Lord Jesus Christ in sound Doctrine and holinesse first and principally sound Doctrine and then holinesse and to strengthen and back this to be his true meaning indeed observe what this same blessed Apostle and faithfull servant of the Lord sayes farther There be some that trouble you and would pervert the Gospel of Christ But if either We even any of us Apostles though ever so holy or an ANGEL from heaven for seeming sanctity or holinesse preach any other Gospel or pretended truths than that which we have preached to you let him be accursed to you See here a time Touch-stone indeed my friends see first to soundnesse of Doctrine without which believe not nay abominate the seeming holiest men or Angels even Angelicall-men that may pretend the greatest parts and piety that may be But having first seen by the right-rule Gods Word their Doctrine to be sound then on Gods name search and see into their Sanctimonie and integrity in life and conversation and then you take the right way indeed cordially to love and like to follow affect and imitate them Nay I will bee bold to say and assure and dare undertake to prove and justifie by Gods assistance that There is far more safety and sweetnesse for the soule to love and like to follow and imitate a Christian or Pastor that is most Sound and Orthodox in Doctrine and Judgement though subject to weaknesse and humane infirmities Than him that seems to be most exact and strict in his outward walking and conversation if he premeditately and invincibly against all perswasions and Scripturall convictions goe on in the publike profession of Errors and Schismes destructive to the peace and edification of Gods Church and Sound Doctrine But now without any farther digression having Thus laid down these most necessary and pertinent premises I will by Gods assistance come up close to the promised point even our present main matter touching the much boasted Holines of Life of our Independent Sectaries shew how neer they come-up to down-right Deceivers in their reall practice testified I say by their own undeniable hand-writings And here give me leave good Reader in the first place for the better making fair way and that most briefly for what follows to give unto Thee and from Scripture it selfe The perfect Character Cognizance and Description of a truly Godly-man a sure pure Saint indeed and sacred Citizen of the New-Jerusalem especially in these two or three remarkable marks of him among divers others viz. Hee is such an One as speaks the Truth from his heart And having thus spoken promised or sworn keeps his promise though to his own prejudice Both These being fully and fairly connected and bound up together in our blessed Saviours most Royall-Law and Golden-Rule Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you doe yee even so unto them And then also doe but consider herewith what the Spirit of the Lord sayes concerning the contrary practisers He that loves or makes a lye shall be shut out of the New Jerusalem among

herein writ of these unhappie Independents viz. Their most unreasonable and irreligious slandering of the Assembly all along in that Remonstrance not having delivered the Truth from their heart in any part thereof but altogether spoken deceitfully or falsly in every of their assertions or aspersions rather laid upon thē And now say good reader Are these dealings of these prime Independent-Remonstrants the practises of precious Saints are these fit actions think you for the Heads of a Godly-Party so bigly boasted of and most mightily blazed abroad in the world by the trump of flying I had almost said lying fame Certainly then am I extremely mistaken in my poor ●udgement and knowledge in Piety and Probity Concerning which their most injurious molesting of the peace of Gods Church and their unbridled endeavours to obtrude wayes and rules of governing Gods Church after their own conceited opinions not having any ground out of Gods Word for the same I shall here desire to minde them of a most pertinent passage very fit for this our present purpose related by my reverend friend M. Burton in his Sermon entituled For God and the King Where hee writes thus Were it a Law in England as once it was among the Loctians that whosoever would propound a new Law should come with a halter about his neck that if it pleased not the Senate the Hangman being ready should doe his office on him This passage Master Burton then applyed and I confesse most fitly to the Prelates of his time for their illegall innovations and this passage I verily believe I may as properly apply to our Schismaticall Independents and the rest and best of their fraternity of Sectaries who so strive and struggle to introduce by their new lights forsooth such new Laws or ways of a Church-Government which so justly may and doe displease our honourable Senate and molest the whole Kingdom because they cannot prove or justifie them from Gods Word If therefore that Law were on foot and in force among us at this time and that these our Sectaries should be made to come with halters about their necks on that condition what a case these our Independents together with their waspish-brethren the Anabaptists and the rest of their rabble of Sectaries would be in let all wise men judge Again see yet farther I pray thee good Reader more of their palpable and apparent halting and Double-dealing still manifested under their own hands against themselves For heretofore Mr. John Goodwin in his Innocencies Triumph his Theomachia pag. 48 49 50. and diverse others of his late Pamphlets Mr. Burton also my old entirely beloved friend for whom my soule mournes in secret to see him so falne off from his former faithfull principles in his vindication pag. 49 50 51. and pag. 68 69 c. Christ upon his Throne Master Lilburn also in his frothie and most scurrilous Letter to ever to be honoured M. Prinne The Jesuiticall Author or Authors of The Arraignment of Mr. Persecution together with very many others too tedious to recite and to whose own abusive words in their own writings in high derogation of the Parliaments honour and authority in Ecclesiasticall affairs for brevittes sake I refer the Reader All these Independents and Sectaries I say and many others of them did heretofore in those times of their then writings and Rebus sic stantibus when their fears were exceeding strong that the Parliament would certainly establish the Presbyterian-Government and their hopes extreme weake and flat of having their Independent Church-way set up or so much as a Toleration tolerated to them O then I say how was the power of Parliaments in Ecclesiasticall jurisdiction or matters of Religion cryed down abased and abused by M. Goodwin and the rest Alas for the Parliament to take upon it the ordering of Church Government or Church discipline O this was a most high and intollerable presumption in them this was a most bold intrenching upon Christs royall prerogative with many such like terrible taxations and heavy imputations of wrongfull usurping an Antichristian Legislative power and authority over the consciences forsooth of Christs free born Holy-ones But now adays of late the case is altered since the election of New-Members of Parliament in the House of Commons whereby they begin to dream and I trust in God they doe but dream that their hopes are now upon the wing and raised up to a high-flown pitch of conceit that the Presbyterian-Government shall either quite down and not be established at all or else so clog'd and clipt with Commissioners and such like supposed yokes curbs and restrictions as shall like Pharao's Chariots in the Red-Sea take off the wheels and make it drive on so heavily that Independents Anabaptists and the rest shall have fit and fair oportunities mightily to advance and hurrie on their own designes their crafty ayms and ends and in time bring them to perfection and for the present enjoy a full allowance of that cursed cause of the ruine of all sound Religion and sincere holinesse Libertie of conscience for all damnable Sects and Schismes whatsoever O now therefore I say how is the power of Parliament in matters of Religion and setling of Church Government cryed-up and magnified yea and wholy and onely as it were appropriated to them as the main master builders of Gods House his Church And as for the Assembly of Divines they have nothing to doe therein but so far onely as the Parliament pleases to use or refuse them Witnesse first The Peace-maker lately printed and published which now so struggles to uphold a peaceable-union between the Parliament and the City of London especially wherein he does well if that were all But why Ipray is this designe so fairely prest and put on O because we in the City may assure our selves sayes this Peace-maker if through our dis-unions the Parliament should miscarry in the main cause in hand not all our most professed friends in the World can preserve us from perishing Marke these words well good Reader The main Cause in hand and consider the times now and certainly the Peace-maker must needs mean Religion and Church-Government not the businesse of War to be the main Cause in hand and then take speciall notice also of his so zealously maintaining of the Parliamentarie-Covenant but with this proviso that it be in his sense and with his glosse set upon it which I should wonder how this Author dares thus to doe but that I now see they dare to doe any thing since as he well knows what a most deadly danger the Author of The Protestation Protested was in in former dayes for putting his sense as the Parliaments sense upon that Parliamentarie-Protestation Besides how does this Peace-maker agree with that crafty Caution-contriver Mr. I. G. in his twelve Cautions against the Hot-pressers of Reformation as hee flashingly termes the pious Presbyterians who cannot endure