among people or to exhort them unto good and to follow Christ and to deny the wickedness of this world or such like as they are moved some are moved to reprove a hireling teacher who deceives the people and walks in the steps of the false Prophets and lives in pride and vanity and evill contrary to the doctrine and practise of Christ and the Apostles and this practise of the servants of the Lord in reproving evill and exhorting to good is called a disturbance of the peace and an unlawful practise and such like it is falsly judged by unjust men who knows not the spirit of the Lord nor the moving thereof and because of this many innocent men are caused deeply to suffer contrary to a good conscience and some are sent to the house of Correction there suffering cruell things from hard-hearted men and some are put in the Stocks and whipped and others fined and cast into prison and such like sufferings are unjustly imposed upon them and not for evill doing as I have said for though they reprove sin in teachers or in people or exhorts them to good whether in Steeple-houses Markets or other places yet they do not hereby wrong any mans person or estate neither is this any matter of wilfull wrong or to such an intent neither doth it disturb the peace nor is any unlawfull practise but onely out of a good conscience to God and man is it done and it is a matter of conscience to the servants of the Lord to do so and they cannot leave it undone least they should transgress the law of God in their own consciences because they are commanded of God so to do that people may be Instructed in the right way to God and be converted out of every false way and this is the very end of their work and their intent in doing it and they ought not in justice to suffer for it for it is according to the law of God and in reason and a good conscience and the Lord justifies them in it then that law and Iudgment must needs be corrupt and unjust which condemnes the people and servants of the Lord as for evill doers for obeying the commands of God and for the exercise of their pure consciences and no mans person or estate being wronged or Injured but onely sin and wickedness reproved and exhorted from And hereby thus is the law perverted and true Iudgment turned backward and the guiltless is condemned guilty and the guilty is set free and the obeying the commands of God and the excercise of a good conscience is unjustly iudged a transgression and this is a shame and will be great condemnation to such in the day of the Lord by whose Authority this is done even that the excercise of a good conscience even reproving of sin and exhorting unto that which is good to follow that and to forsake all evill should be iudged and punished as a hanious transgression in a nation and Common-wealth professing Christianity and pure Religion and this makes the sin much more great and unpardonable because the practise and faithfull excercise in Christianity and in the pure and true Religion is adiudged transgression condemned by such who professes the same thing in words and yet persecutes and punisheth the excercise of it in others and this shews them uniust iudges and hypocrits who causes the Servants of the Lord to suffer for the practise of that which themselves profess in words to wit Religion and Christianity for I affirme against all opposers whatsoever that it is a practise in Religion according to the Scriptures to goe into the Steeple-houses meeting places Markets Highways or other places and reprove sin and wickedness and cry against evill in Priests and people and exhort to good and to forsake evill and therefore it ought not to be prosecuted and punished but defended and maintained by the just Government of a Common-wealth and by just Laws and Magistrates for this the Lord requireth that justice and truth and true iudgement be exalted and the innocent and upright defended in all their ways of a good conscience and that evill doers and sinners and transgressors be condemned and righteously iudged Also many of the servants of the Lord doe deeply suffer and is deeply afflicted by iniustice for the exercise of a good conscience in other things as because they cannot put off their Hats and bow in respect to mens persons according to the vaine customs of the Heathen and because they cannot swear upon a Book by kissing it and laying the hand upon it according to the idolatrous forme and for such like causes because many cannot fulfill the lusts and wills of men that lives in pride and evill wayes in these and other things therefore are the people of God put to great sufferings though they deny not the honour due to all men in the Lord without bowing the Hat nor to affirme the truth in every cause in faithfulness without an oath now to keep on the Hat which is a cover for the head to keep from cold or heat for healths sake before any man whatsoever though never so great or noble is not any wrong or iniury to the mans person or estate before whom it is done but onely the high minde and the proud nature and that which is exalted above the fear of God which would be Lord over his fellow creatures that same is offended and troubled which bears not the image of God but of the Devil as Hamman was and would be bowed to and had in honour and respected because of knowledge or parts and proud gestures or apparell and the Children of the Lord cannot doe it nor give honour to him nor be subiect and pleasing to that man who is of that spirit and of that nature which is not of God but exalted in pride and vain-glory above the fear of God and against him and would be worshipped and had in honour and reverenced of his fellow-creatures who hath not so much riches in this world as he nor is so proud in apparell as he and because of that he looks to be bowed unto with Hat or Knee and is offended if he be not and then in his pride he rages and is vexed and seeks revenge against such as cannot honour him and respect him in his pride and vaine-glory but as I said this is not done as a matter of wrong unto any though the Hat be not bowed or put off but it is a matter of conscience unto the people of God and for a good conscience sake they doe deny and may not give obedience and honour and respect out of the fear of God to proud flesh and to men which is not in the fear of God which expects reverence out of the Lord and they know it is nothing else that is offended but proud flesh and an exalted mind and a man that fears not God neither walks in his ways I say it is nothing else nor any besides
to be both accusers and Iudges of any one in any cause You have a late act for the taking up and punishing of idle loose and dissolute persons such as are vagrants and wandering Rogues vagabonds and sturdy beggars Now this Law is good if it be duly and iustly executed upon such as are truly guilty herein and it is right that sturdy Beggars and Rogues and idle and disorderly persons should be taken up from wandering and set on work in some good imployment in the Creation which may maintain themselves and prevent them from worse things But now you must take heed of iudging any to be such who are not really so for many of the servants of the Lord now as it was in generations past are moved to leave their own Country and dwellings and relations and goe abroad in the Nations to preach the Gospell of Christ and to bear witness of his name in the world to the turning of people from the ways of sin and death to the way of righteousness and truth and it may be such cannot give you an account or sufficient cause of their travelling abroad so as to satisfie you For that is lawfull in the sight of God which you may not iudge to be so for Gods ways are not mans ways neither his thoughts as mans thoughts Therefore I say unto you if you cause any such of the servants of the Lord to suffer by that Law you abuse your power and subverts the Law for such are not vagabonds nor idle dissolute persons nor Rogues nor sturdy beggars No more than Christ was who had no where to lay his head and the Prophets and Apostles were some of which had no certain dwelling place but left their Countries and relations and wandred up and down the world from town to town and from one Country to another even as the servants of the Lord doth by the same spirit at this day who can no more be truly judged for Vagabonds and Rogues c. than Christ and his Apostles could be who were a perfect example to us in these things For it is a lawfull occasion in the sight of God whatever you judge of it to travell up and down not being burthensome or chargeable to any to bear witness for the name of the Lord and against all sin and iniquity that people may be reformed and instructed in the right way Therefore you must make a speciall distinction in your iudgements between such as are Rogues and idle and dissolute persons who are hurtfull to the Creation and such as are innocent and harmeless and not of evill behaviour though you may through preiudice otherwise iudge of them this is to informe you herein that your iudgements may be according to God and not according to man neither with respect of persons Also you have another late Act for the Observation of the Lords day wherein is inserted that none shall wilfully maliciously or of purpose disturbe or disquiet the publick preacher or to make any publick disturbance in the Congregations Now the Law is good and it is right that all such be punished who doth maliciously wilfully or of an evill purpose disturbe or disquiet any man or people to the danger of breach of publick peace and let all such be punished according to their desert But yet you must take heed in this cause for many of the servants of the Lord are and may be moved by the power of the Lord to come into a Congregation or an assembly of people to declare against sin and iniquity and the ways of wickedness in people or to aske a question soberly of the teacher or to instruct people to edification in the way of the Lord or such like may they do as they are moved and yet not maliciously nor wilfully nor of wicked purpose For it was the Apostles practise and the practise of the Saints to goe in the Synagogues and meeting places and to dispute with the Teachers on the Sabbath days and sometimes they spoke to the people by way of exhortation and the people bid them speak on and yet these were not disturbers of the assembly neither were they malicious men or wilfull neither did they these things to any evil purpose and it was the practise of the Saints that all may speak one by one in the Church when they were assembled together and this is the practise of the servants of the Lord now and yet they cannot justly be condemned by your Law though they come into your assembly as they are moved of the Lord to object or reprove or exhort for they doe it not in malice towards any but in love towards all and they can no more justly be condemned than the Apostles and Saints in the Primitive times who were unto us a just example in these practises as you may read in the Scripture and you may as justly condemn them as us who are guided by the same spirit in the same things Therefore you have need to take heed of condemning the innocent by a Law least you bring innocent blood upon you and you must make a perfect difference between such as comes among you wilfully and maliciously and on evill purpose to disturbe and molest any man or Congregation and such who comes in the name and fear of the Lord who are moved of him contrary to their own wills and in love to all people And in these causes you have need of discerning and sound judgement least you condemn the guiltless and abuse your power and subvert the Law and so bring condemnation upon your selves And as you will answer it before the Lord in his dreadfull day cause not any to suffer through your envy and surmizings or false suspition through over-reaching the words of the Law to a wrong sense and to a wrong end Also it is inserted in the same Act against many evill things as drinking in Taverns Innes Ale-houses strong-water houses or to tipple unnecessarily or any other house c and also against travelling and walking on that day vainly and prophanely c. Now the Law is good that evill exercise be prevented and prophaneness in every respect on that day and on every day and that such be punished that are found in any evill exercise whatsoever But yet you must take heed that none of the innocent suffer hereby for many of the people of God may and doth travell on that day to meet together to worship God and to waite upon him to find his presence and to receive of his refreshments to their souls But this cannot be judged an evill practise or prophane travelling or breach of the Sabbath For we read of a Sabbath days iourney Acts 1. 12. where some of the servants of the Lord returned from Ierusalem to Mount Olivet which is a Sabbath dayes iourny so that such who now travels to waite upon the Lord on that day though it be severall miles to and from the place of meeting cannot iustly be iudged to be
then to offend the Lord and their own consciences neither is there good reason or equity in it nor any part of a good conscience that people by iniustice should be compelled to maintain a minister whom they know is not the minister of Christ by his fruits and effects and workes and practises and so are forced against their own conscience to uphold a man in pride in idleness in coveteousness and in a vain and evill life by unrighteous wages now if their mony were to maintain a man that 's poor or if that man had not of his own sufficiently to preserve his wife and Children from want then it were a work of charity to give something if it were every year or oftner to maintain him and his family and the people of God would not refuse to give something for this end no man should compell them nor have cause to spoyl their goods for it but as he professes himself a minister of Christ and a labourer in the gospel but is not so but lives in pride and the vanities of this world upon such an account they cannot maintain him nor give him any thing at all with a safe conscience neither is there any reason in it that they should for they receive not his ministery neither doth hear him neither doth own him as a minister of Christ nor doth not partake of his labours nor doth not set him on labouring and this is greatly uniust that any man should pay or be compelled to pay by force and oppression wages to a man as his labourer and as his servant who doth not at all labour for him or do him any service neither doth the man partake of his works or labours neither hath any benefit thereby but rather loss and disadvantage because of his labours which he doth for others and not for him nor by any order from him for he knowes his labouts to be nothing but vanity and a cheat and deceiving of people and for him to be compelled to maintain such a man in such ill imployment against his conscience this is uniust and unreasonable and what man in the world would do it or be compelled thereunto without crying out of great oppression as to maintain a man with great wages as his labourer and servant who doth not labour for him nor serve him but labours against him as much as is possible and this is the very cause between the Preists of England in their maintenance in claiming of it and receiving of it and the people of the Lord who doth deny to maintain them or confess any lawful due they have to challenge any of them And also it is a very shame to the people of this Nation for whom such ministers do labour who cannot maintain their own ministers themselves who labours for them and of whose labours they do partake but others are compelled by iniustice to maintain them who doth not partake of any of their labours nor set them to labour but denies them and their labour on that account and yet are forced to pay them wages and this is uniust and unreasonable that men should be constrained by force to pay other mens servants which works and labours for other and not for them and what man in the world having reason in him would do it or be forced to do it without complaining of heavy iniustice as to maintain another mans servant with wages who works for others and not for him neither was hired by him nor set on work nor receives any benefite by him but another hires him and partakes of his labours and yet he is compelled against all reason and equity to give him his wages all will conclude this were uniust and not according to God but against him and this is the very cause between the people of God who cannot pay to maintain false teachers and the people of the Nation who hires such teachers and receives of their labours and teaching and yet compells others to give them wages contrary to good reason and Iustice and against the excercise of a pure conscience And above all the magistrates blindness and Ignorance and the uniustness and wickedness of some of them doth appear to their shame by whose authority these things are done reaching out their power in those things further than they have received power from God and abusing the law and iust government and subverting it to another end than wherefore God hath ordained it for the magistrates power and authority is not to be laid on mens consciences to oppress and Imbondage the tender consciences of the lords people in forcing things to be done contrary to good reason and against a good conscience and by these things is the land filled with violence and oppression and the Innocent and iust doth deeply groan till the Lord arise to plead their cause and to bring deliverance unto them through the destruction of all their enemies and he will break down all the bonds of cruelty and oppression and will take away every yoak that doth burden and oppress the upright that his people may be a free people from all uniust men and the people of the Lord doth claime this as their priviledge belonging to them by the iust Laws of God and men to worship God in spirit and in truth and to uphold and maintaine that worship onely without being compelled by force to maintaine any other whatsoever and they claime as right unto them to maintaine what Ministers and uphold what ministry as they know is sent of God by which people are profited and which they have received the knowledge of God through by his spirit and to be free to maintaine how and as the Lord leads them unto without being forced by any Law or unequall authority to maintaine the false Prophets and hirelings and deceivers who lives in pride and excess through the oppression of the poor and innocent and such as Ministers of the Gospel of Christ the people of the Lord cannot maintaine but rather gives themselves to suffer heavy and cruel things by unjust and wicked men who violates the just Laws of God and man and the suffering is for a good conscience sake for righteousness sake and not for any wrong or evill doing and for a testimony that they are of God and for a witness against their enemies that they are of the Devill who doth his works and these makes war against the Saints and the Lamb and the Beast seeks to kill all that will not worship him for he hath been great in the earth and his seat upon Nations and who hath been able to make war against him for many generations againe there is another suffering great and grievous which is unjustly laid upon the people of God which suffering is not for evill doing but for a good conscience sake as is manifest as because many are moved of the Lord by his spirit to goe into the Steeple-houses and meeting places or other places to reprove sin and
Sabbath-breakers no more than the Apostles who travelled a Sabbath days iourney in obedience to the Lord to waite upon him So that you must take heed and make a noted distinction betwixt such who travels on a profane and an evill exercise or about the affairs of this world and such who travels on a good exercise to waite upon the Lord and to serve him For the Law it self excepts such from being taken up or iudged Sabbath-breakers So take heed that you subvert not the Law and abuse your power through false iudgement through your own envy and so you smite the guiltless and brings destruction upon your selves For herein we own the Law of God to walk by and the Apostles for an example though we may suffer uniustly by you Also there is a late Act for discovering and repressing of Popish Recusants by presenting to such as are suspected to be Popish or Popishly affected an oath as is therein described to renounce the Popes authority and to deny all his Doctrines and to testifie against the authority of the Church of Rome and against any licence given thereby to bear Arms or raise tumults or by violence to hurt the chief Magistrate or Government of these Nations c. And such as denyes the taking of that oath are to be adiudged Popish Recusants and to be proceeded against accordingly Now that Law is good that such who are adherent to the Pope and by his authority would raise Armies and tumults and offer violence to the hurt of the chief Magistrate or Government or people of these Nations c. As it is signified in the said Oath should be discovered and repressed But yet you must take heed and waite for sound iudgement in the prosecution of the same For all are not to be condemned that cannot swear or take an Oath For many of the servants of the Lord who are followers of Christ cannot swear for conscience sake because Christ hath commanded not to swear at all Though such doth deny the Pope and all his authority and doctrines and whatsoever else is signified in that Oath who cannot iustly be suspected to be any way adherent to the Pope in Doctrines or practises except through wicked envy you seek occasion against them thereby and you abuse your power and subverts the Law If you iudge such to be Popish Recucusants because they will not swear because they cannot for conscience sake but walks in Christs doctrine who commanded not to swear and follows the Apostles example who said above all things my Brethren swear not at all and such cannot iustly be suspected or iudged for Popish Recusants who are followers of Christ and keeps his commands Therefore you must be considerate and search deep into those things that are thus weighty least you cause the guiltless to suffer and thereby vex the Lord against your selves and you must make a speciall difference betwixt such as will not swear because they are guilty and such as cannot swear for conscience sake though they are not guilty but clear and free in the sight of the Lord of such things as may be falsly suspected and charged against them by envious men which may watch for evill and give Informations against the people of God unto you But let your eye be single in all these things that you may save your selves from wrath and condemnation which will be a reward of all such who subverts good Laws to a wrong end and seeks to cover themselves in their persecution of the innocent by making the Law a Cloak But such coverings will not hide in the day of the Lord And my friends in the execution of these and other Laws let the fear of God guide you and true judgement and found discerning that you may try into the nature and ground of every thing and may not judge onely by outward appearance but judge righteous iudgement And this is a great transgression in the sight of the Lord at this day even the false execution of good Laws and the subversion of them to wrong ends and uses by some wicked men who are in authority to whom the Law is committed and this we know by experience Be the Law never so iust and good yet if the executioners of the Law be uniust and unrighteous True iustice and iudgement is turned backward and for want thereof the harmless and innocent daily suffers which kindleth and increaseth the fierce anger of the Lord against these Nations And likewise all you that are in power and authority you ought not to command any thing of any man which the Law gives you no power to command for doing so you make your selves transgressours as for instance you have no power by any Law to command men to put off their Hats when they come before you neither by any Law can you iustly punish them if they doe it not neither can you iustly punish such by any law who denies to swear because for conscience sake they cannot But what hath been inflicted upon some in such cases hath been by will and malice and not by any law and the Lord doth account such thing against the wicked who causeth such sufferings and of these things I have given you warning and it is in perfect love unto you all as to informe you truly least you cause the innocent to suffer I am a reall friend to the Common-wealth and a lover of justice and true judgement and fully affected towards just Government and wisheth well to Magistrates E. B. Ninth Moneth 1657. THE END