he slighted that and hath taken libertie in pulpit and in print to render our names and our persons odious to all the world as if the sword of excommunication had not been sharp enough unlesse it were sharpned by him at the Philistins forge and in the meane time takes liberty to himselfe to practice that for which he pretends he hath censured me as for lying I could instance in severall of their charges that they are no other but lies Not to mention the severall reports that have been spread concerning me as not worth the taking notice of which have one contradicted the other and not two of the Reporters found in one tale as hath been taken notice of as I am informed by a person of credit this is not worth the taking notice of But that false report that hath been raised by them and spread in citty and countrie on Mr Ford the minister that he should slight lying and that say lying was the property of a woman Whereas the truth is that when Mr Ford and Mr Bartlet Ministers and Mr Stucley and Mr Eveleigh were met at Mr Fords house Mr Stucley and Mr Eveleigh accused me of Scandall and brought in a charge of lying against me instancing in Mris Eveleigh and my speaking against the Presbyterians which I have allready answered Mr Ford still cald for more more charge then to make up their accusation they said that I was fickle Mr Ford answered them that is as much as to say she is a woman this I know to be the truth and yet the report is spread by them in City and Country that he said that lying was the property of a woman and herein have they discovered their falsehood and rage against such an Eminent labourer in Christs Vineyard who hath given abundant Testimony that he seeks not himselfe but the things of Christ And as for Contention how hath Mr Stucley discovered himselfe guilty to all the world Doeg like falling on Magistrates and Ministers whom he supposeth stands in his way as his Sermon and printed books do witnesse Give me leave to take notice of it as David when he heard how Saul had cut off the Lords Priests saith he I have occasioned the death of all these And for Censoriousnesse how doth it appeare not by secret search but upon their severall Accusations wherein the greatest ground of their proceedings against me hath been a censuring of the ends of my words and actions which is Gods prerogative alone who searcheth the heart and tryeth the reines Let the Impartiall Reader judge whether they sought the glory of Christ to convince me of this sin whē it is that which was yet is usually practised by themselves Witnesse their usuall calling Mr Fords preaching Rayling and nonsence and some of them would have the Pulpit shut against Mr Ford and Would have had the notes of his Sermons to pick occasion against him and perswaded me not to hear him and I was questioned many times for hearing of him not only the Lords daies but on Lecture daies also I cannot but take notice of Mr Mall in his reasons pressing them to renew their Covenant He saith such poor wretches are given up to Judiciall hardnesse so that they are sorry for nothing so much as that they with such a Church entred into Covenant with God and again such wrethes they have renewed their Covenant with hell and Satan For answer what Covenant I have ented into with God whether with them or any other I desire still to own and acknowledge that I am engaged unto to performe and am resolved in the strength of Christ never to retract And if in any particular I have denyed my Covenant with God it lies upon them to convince me of it It is not enough for them to charge Covenant breaking and perjury and Schisme it lies upon them to prove their charge otherwise I am not engaged to an Implicite faith to believe them I think our letter we sent to them will testifie that we did not retract our Covenant with God when we did professe our submission to the law and will of Christ wherein I think we did own our Covenant with God more than they did who by their Explicite Covenant engaged themselves to an Implicite faith in subjection to Mr Stucley's ministeriall guidance and teaching without any restriction or limitation And yet how doth he boast pag. 13. as if they were a company of believers that will part from life rather then from a little command and their hands are fill'd with both Tables is not this practice of theirs a contradiction to this profession yet pag. 29. exhorting them to keep to the Church of Christ he tells them he cannot but approve of their purpose to subscribe a covenant that will be a fence against a lawlesse Spirit Moses who was a servant in the house of God and God testifies of him that he was faithfull in all the house of God see Deut. 33.4 Moses commanded us a law even the Inheritance of the congregation of Jacob. Is not this fence against lawlesse Spirits that God hath prescribed his Church sufficient but that Mr Stucley must engage the people to himselfe as if his designe were to seek himselfe and to espouse a people to himselfe and not to Christ It was the commendation that the Apostle gives of his hearers that they received the word with all readinesse of mind and earched the Scriptures dayly whether those things be so or no but here they Ingage to absolute subjection to Mr Stucleys Ministry without any Caution I the rather take notice of it because they may consider that whiles they are Censuring us they forget themselves and their Engagements to Christ and to his Lawes that whereas they have profest the taking Christ for their King and Law-giver now they set up men in the roome of Christ without any mention of the Law and Septer of Christ And yet he pretends that his booke called Manifest truth is set forth by him to prevent the Gospells suffering although he ha h had a Bratherly admonition given him by the unknowne author Diotrephes detected and Archippus admonished yet he never takes notice of this particular to give any Satisfaction unto it or to remove the offence taken by it And now for a close of all I shall desire Mr Stucley to retyre himselfe a little from the world and those multitudes of designes hee is at present so much entangled with having done this seriously and sadly consider a while of that great day of accounts wherein the hidden workes of darknesse shall be fully discovered by him whose eyes are as a flame of fire if he doth thinke in good earnest that there is such a day coming wherein he must by accountable for all his actions let him I say consider what account he can give to Christ of his late proceedings against Mris Allen and my selfe will it thinks he be enough to say that his credit and esteem in the world could not be upheld without it that the Interest of that party with whom he sided consisted therein that he had Majors Collonels Knights Ladies to stand by him if he account these vaine and foolish pleas now why should hee how dared he act upon such grounds now His only way therefore will be to repent of this his wickednesse and pray God if perhaps the thoughts of his heart may be forgiven him which will be more to his honour then by Printing any more angry bookes against two weake women who are not able to speake for themselves in Print neither is it required so well as men especially Schollers to withold the truth in unrighteousnesse to oppresse the Innocent and to cover his own Sin which whosoever doth shall not prosper the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it FINIS
thereby that I was under Church admonition before that time Then I say it could be but for one thing onely which is omitted neither is there any mention made of it throughout the whole booke And that was my hearing Mr Forde It s true Mr Stucley told me my speaking was disrelished whereupon I left that practice neere two yeares before I left them It s true likewise that the Elder accused mee of contention upon which I made my appeale unto the Church who with one consent acquitted me of that charge The Elder also accused me of censoriousnes for opposing Ganicle who not longe after turned Quaker and therby cleered me of that imputation so that I could not be at this time when as they say I lyed so egregiously under church admonition for either of these And as for any other things I cannot remēber any that they did ever manifest the least dislike of unlesse my practice of hearing Mr Forde which is the thing not things for which I was under Church admonition the thing which hath occasioned all this trouble and for which as Mr Stucley in a letter formerly threatned they have proceeded to censure mee though it be daubed over with lying other forged crimes This practice of hearing Mr Forde was permitted mee or at the least winked at by them so long as I had a friend that might pleasure them in the City and in the Parliament Mr Stucley presently upon his being an Officer told mee that he did expect I should heare him and no other to which I presently replyed that it would be hard for mee to leave that Ministry which the Lord had made so profitable unto mee and withall gave him my grounds for that practice At length at the close of our discourse he said we should not disagree about it and yet afterwards Master Stoneham was put upon it to preach and pray against mee for this practice To take mee off from this practice also was Mr Sprague sent unto me by Mr Stoneham the very same day at the meeting the Elder told me they had two things against me one was Contention the other my hearing Mr Forde which the Church neither could nor would bear the Elder the next day after the businesse of contention was ended told mee that he had nothing against mee but my hearing Mr Forde Mr Slade also and Mr Rolls came to mee as messengers from the Church as they said to admonish me in particular of hearing Mr Forde Mr Stucley himselfe wrote me two long letters about this very thing in one of them threatned to censure mee for it they kept a fast for this very particular the 24. of February 1654. They omitted the administration of the Lords Supper for this reason as Mr Raddon told me yea Mr Stoneham said that if I would not sit downe under his Ministry he would be no Officer unto mee When I was desired afterwards to forbeare coming to the Sacrament without giving any other reason then this That some body did desire me to forbeare who this somebody was I could never learne I went forthwith to severall members to know what they had against mee who answered they had nothing but my going to heare others which practice they said was destructive to the Church By all which it is manifest that this was the onely thing they had against mee untill I had left them and yet this is omitted and other things are pretended Let all the world judge whether this be not Serpentine subtilty As to this charge of lying I shall desire the Reader to consider farther these three or fower particulars 1. The time when they found me Tripping as he saith it was after I had left them Before I had sent them word that I was resolved to withdraw from their Society I was never questioned for a lye what doth this imply but that they resolved my going off should cost mee dearer then my coming in among them according to the Elder Mr Eveleighs threatning Again it was at that time when I went to thē in love in the simplicity of my heart to give them satisfaction why I left them as I did at the first why I associated my selfe with them thinking as little to be charged with lying as with theft murder or other sins not to be named among Christians And here I cannot but commend Mris Allen her discretion in refusing to adventure her self singly among them which had she done they would have made her as great a lyer as my selfe thereby Mr Stucley would have been freed from the trouble of framing two indifferent bills of indictment against us 2. Secondly the matters about which they examined me at that time were such as had been done and past long before some yeares so that if through weaknesse of memory my tongue had tripped how will it follow hence that I lyed so egregiously as to deserve Excommunication How could they be sure that I made a lye though I had spoken an untruth unlesse they knew certainly that I spake against my knowledge 3. Thirdly I did in my answers to their frivolous and cavilling questions insert by way of caution viz. as I remember according to my best remembrance c. which might have satisfied them as it did Mr Rolls at that time had they not beene fully bent to slander mee for leaving them 4. Fowerthly I was onely accused not convicted of lying Mr Stucley said here are they who will witnesse but yet they did not witnesse any particular that I absolutely denied except John Whitehorne whose testimony though he offered to confirme it with oath was presently contradicted by another of their members Why did not Mr Stucley according to the manner even of heathenish Romans Act. 25.16 who in this shew the worke of the Law written in their hearts require as an Officer every one to speake out what they had to say against me was it for feare lest they should be found Tripping as John Whitehorne was I appeale to all impartiall Readers whether it be not a most unrighteous judgement thus to condemne mee without being convicted yea when I was cleared by Mr Rolls And farther let it be considered that I was so farre acquitted by the Ministers of this City as that they gave mee the right hand of fellowship notwithstanding their impeachments which I believe they are ready to witnesse unto the Church of God when it shall be required of them This may suffice to be spoken in reference to the charge of lying in the generall I shall in the next place proceed to Answer the Particulars of this lying Charge as I find them laid down by Mr. Stucley in another Pamphlet of his Intituled Manifest Truth Being an Angry Answer to Mr. Toby Allein in in which he hath unbosomed and discovered himselfe more fully then in Mr. Mall's Book In pag. 41. and so onwards he reduceth the grounds of my Suspension to three heads Contentiousnesse Censoriousnesse and Lying each of which
the first Article vvhich concernes the Presbyterians I ansvver I must acknovvledge confesse that difference in judgement did likewise cause some breach in affection that I vvas too much svvayed vvith a spirit of separation vvhich made mee prone to censure those vvho differed from mee in judgment more then vvas fit vvhich I have cause to bevvaile and lament But yet I cannot but vvonder that Mr Stucley should be so farre blinded vvith passion as to censure mee for this vvhen it is vvell knovvne that neither himselfe nor any of his Congregation are in a capacity to fling so much as one stone at mee upon this account It is now the fifth time hee hath mentioned the Presbyterians in his threefold Accusation for what reason though he himselfe knowes best yet others cannot be ignorant of and as for the hope he puts in this I believe it will prove but a Spiders web I shall onely adde this That if my Tongue were against the Presbyterians so would my hand likewise had I harkened to Mr Stucley As to my uncharitable language concerning themselves he doth instance in severall particulars which I shall answer in that order he layes them downe having desired him in the generall to consider those reproachfull bitter unchristian Raylings against Mris Allen and my selfe wherewith both his Pamphlets are full and see whether they doe not farre exceed all the hard speeches I have given of them As for the particulars they are viz. 1. My reporting one to be fallen from the faith Resol I do not remember that ever I used such an expression in reference to any of them as fallen from the faith There was its true one concerning whom when they were about to choose him to be an Officer I said that I did feare he was not sound in the faith for which I had good ground neither did I hereby intend to reproach that person but to prevent the evill that might follow in case one not sound in the faith were chosen an Officer 2ly That another had nothing of God in her Resol I never heard the least hint from them of any such expression neither do I remember that I ever used it concerning any among them If it be that person which I admonished that is meant by Mr Stucley as I have some ground to conjecture for I cannot conceive who it should be else Then I say that it is a grosse mistake if no worse to affirme that I reported that shee had nothing of God in her Shee was a person that pretended to a great deale of Assurance whereupon I was willing to have some conference with her to know if shee had any ground for such an assurance To this I was the more willing because a member of the Church did somewhat question it who desired me to try whether it were so or no which I did in my discourse I told her that they who had this assurance knew how they came by it that where there is assurance there is likewise adherence a closing with the promises the workings whereof will be evident to that soul which hath attained it that therefore she should do well to look to the ground of her confidence and be sure that she had Scripture for it What her answers were I shall not here mention but it seemes she did not like this my plaine and faithfull dealing with her as appeares by her complaining of it to some who hereupon have now accused mee for being so censorious as to affirme that she had nothing of God in her which is false yea I was so unwilling to dishearten her as that I told her that grace was in the hidden man of the heart and not discernable many times where it is though assurance hath alvvayes its evidence Had I knovvne that they had been offended vvith me for this I should have given them a full Account of vvhat passed betvveen us whereby they vvould have knovvne the truth of vvhat was reported concerning her this had beene farre better then to accuse mee for it so many yeares after 3. As to that of Mr. Stoneham c. Resol I must confesse that when Mr Stoneham refused to declare the End of that fast mentioned in my Narrative I did look upon it as walking in Craftinesse contrary to that of the Apostle 2 Cor. 4.2 And as to his Expressions in preaching c. I conceived Mr. Stucley the fittest to admonish him of his weaknesse and therefore in a letter I wrot unto him these following words I shall intreat you to speak to Mr. Stoneham of those Expressions he doth often use to expresse spirituall things by the word I conceive is fittest to expresse spirituall mysteries and duties I am sure that is the sword of the Spirit and that is able to make the man of God perfect throughly furnished to all good works The more wise the preacher was the more he sought to teach the people wisdome and to find out acceptable words words of wisdome that are as nailes and goads fastned by the master of the Assembly I must confesse I cannot close with his Expressions which are usuall and ordinary both in prayer and preaching which is as the Chaffe to the wheate and what is the chafte to the wheat I should speak to him my selfe but I fear he will not hear it from me The ground on which I went was that of the Apostle say to Archippus take heed to thy ministry that thou fulfill it Would it have been an ingenuous returne of Archippus to censure suspend or excommunicate a person for giving him such an admonition let Mr. Stucley judge Lastly concerning my imputing the affliction of some of the church to their unworthy receiving c. Resol For answer hereunto I shall here set down what I wrote in the same letter concerning it viz. It is and hath been a great trouble to me that there is no meanes of instructing by Catechising which is like in my apprehension to put a stop in the way of the Gospell And I conceive the ordinance of the Lords supper cannot be kept pure without instructing those that are of the Church younger ones especially in the mystery of discerning the Lords body for this many are weake and sick the Apostle laies it down as a Cause of that sicknesse and death that was amongst them For my part it is my feare that the Lord hath a controversie with us for not discerning the Lords body and not judging our selves Surely the Lords hand that is upon us and those afflictions that have been upon me hath put me upon serious enquiry after the Lord in his word and I am afraid we do not walk up to our own principles and keep the ordinances pure Behold Mr. Stucley's discretion and ingenuity in censuring me for censuring my selfe which I did in that letter as well as others I did impute the afflictions on my selfe and them either to the omitting of the administration of the Lords supper for a long time