Table as a Saint No marvaile that many turne-in hether and follow these pernicious wayes So our wonder ceaseth We crave leave to proceed That we may give you an account why wee the poorest of the flocke have appeared against this way Because after all this these the Lords Worthyes have said We are questioned and charged as aforesaid that we walke by a fancy if we doe not walke that is sense and practise with Mr Humph s and those Ministers of his perswasion and practise which is an abhorring to our Spirits And now in point of Duty to our God to our selves to our Brethren whom we love as our selves we could not be silent For * Si accusaius non respondeat aut crimininis convictus aut cerse suspectus videatur Silence when we are charged either makes a full conviction or strengthens suspicion Truely we saw it clearely our Duty to vindicate that which should be more pretious to us than the Gold of Ophir The Glory of God The honour of His House our owne credit in disaspersing our selves and giving witnesse to our wronged innocency as we could our Brothers eternall good was also full in our eye as it is in our heart the weale or prosperity of his everlasting Soule This farther account we must give of our worke the exposing of it to the view of the world it amounts to a great volume containing 60 sheets and more which few or none of our Rank whom yet we have a speciall eye of Respect unto have spare money to gett or spare time to reade so as we are constrained to send it forth by peece-meale part after part eight in all which we Conceive may be made entyre and compleate containing distinct Subjects And we begin for the same reason with the Epistles which shew the occasion Contents drift scope and end of the whole and every part That Epistle to the Christian Reader we judge of much concernment to him and may suffice for his Information in the highest matters though he could reach to no more Wee have yet farther Reason which mooves strongly with us to doe as aforesaid in the sending forth of our Matters peece after peece The maine and chiefest we omitt being a point of Discretion we thinke so to doe Only it may suffice to know ultra posse non est esse What more is left to you to think for 1. The matters we are upon and manner of handling them will not down with the people we speak after our Country manner no more than Gall and Worm wood will yet we speak not this in reference to our Country stile or Dialect but in reference to the Truths here which ye know are biting still yea tormenting Viritates mordaces flesh and blood Indeed our matters are rough and harsh not one smooth word as flesh will say all along yet we hope through Grace that strengthneth we are not wholy unacquainted with Pauls holy craft and blessed guile for we feare God and seek to please Him and our Neighbour for his Good to Edification Now they that with Ahab count nothing good but what destroyeth them soule and body anon-after though it seeme good now at present God forbid we should please such for they cannot be pleased but with Deceits Prophesies of wine strong Drinke So now few will read us The Gallioes of these times loose and prophane Libertines these regard none of these things Carnall Gospellers formal professors those regard as little What or whosoever Rebukes ungodlinesse or would advance the power of godlinesse is an abomination to them Smooth upon smooth runs smoothly away And that which is sweet goes down sweetly More of that which is sweet said Chrysostomes hearers of old as He tells us though it choak us Yet O that they could consider the later end what a sower farewell sweet will have O that they could bethink themselves what will become of them in that day when the haile shall sweep away the refuge of lies and the waters shall overflow the Hiding place and the well-built wall in conceit shall be rent with a stormy wind in His fury when it shall be said Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it Isa 28. 17. Ezek. 13. 11 12. And 2. Good Ministers and a good people not a few as in charity we are ready to Judge will stick at our matters for our affections cannot easily fall-in there the greater is our fault if not our crime where our judgement falls-out And 3. In the last place we are indeed the poorest of the flock truely and indeed less than the least And ever the less any one is the less regard will be had to what he saith It would goe to the heart of them if it were so with their God but with Him the fatherless find mercy a gracious wellcome yea a glorious acceptance but we were saying The worth of the speaker addeth weight to his words for as the man is among men such is his strength and as his worth is such is the worth of his words This onely we can say and we trust in singlenesse of heart we doe say it That 1 we love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity And 2 That our intentions are single and cary level in desire and endeavour to his Glory and our Brothers everlasting good And then we may conclude so may you with us as a worthy man concludeth for us all The singlenesse of the intention is the Sacrificium Medullatum Mr. Jen. upon Jude 371. sweet of a performance and makes it even a Sacrifice with MARROW Here we break-off commending you to God and the Word of His Grace praying with all prayer together with you That He who is able to build-us-up and to give us an inheritance among all them who are sanctified would make us perfect stablish strengthen settle us for so an entrance shall be ministred unto us aboundantly into the everlasting kingdome of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Amen Seen alowed and subscribed by their Pastor HEZEKIAH WOODVVARD A faithfull Account given-in by faithfull Brethren of the same minde way and judgement in the matters of Christ To a faithfull Minister of Christ as it is meet for them to think upon his earnest request or rather Charge That they would give him Scripture-grounds or reasons of their judgement and practise somewhat different if not Contrary to his In Reference to these particulars I. To Free admission of all Infants to Baptisme and growne-persons to the Lords Table II. To the observation of that Day we commonly call Christmas-Day III. To Formes of prayer specially the Lords prayer and foure Queries thereupon Relating IV. To a Nationall Church whether ours is as the Jewes was V. To the principles of Infant Baptisme VI. To the power The Law of a Relation written upon the heart of Ministers and people by the finger of God hath to make them walke with a right-foote in the way of God These are digested into
opinion and tell our perswasion as we stand fully satisfied in our own mindes who must live by our own Faith Rom. 14. 5. 23. We will onely repeate what hereafter wee have said to this our undertaking we have been if we may ufe that Persian word angariati Compelled to doe as now we have done 2. In the second place it is likely ye would have our Reason wherefore we appeale to you It was because we were not willing to stand to the Umperage of one single person among you for though with us it is a very smal thing that we should be judged of him or of mans judgement Yet he being of the same judgement in point of free admission to the Lords Table so he hath declared himselfe with Mr Hums that unworthy man whom the Lord God we feare in his righteous judgement hath given over to a minde voyde of judgement Therefore we have made our application to you beloved in Christ who can so well remember we must all appeare before God give to Him an account of our doings to whose judgement in His owne matters we all appeale now for to that we must stand anone after We would adde to this some particulars more for the further clearing our selves and our undertakings unto you And 1. We would speake two things which were omitted in our Preface to the first Section 1 To that remote right an Infant hath to Baptisme borne of wicked parents The judgement you know of Divines very Learned godly and possibly your own judgement also To this we tell our perswasion and our Faith That a parent notorious for his Deboisery may Cut-off himselfe his posterity from all Church priviledges as well now as formerly it was When Ismael a member of the Church Circumcised grew to a prophane mocking of Isaac he was cast-out of the Church as unworthy to continue in that holy fellowship Gen. 21. 9 10 11 12. And Esau his Fathers darling being very indulgent to him yet for his prophanenesse despising his birth-right the hand of God cut him off from the inheritance both of the birth-right and of the blessing Whence it was That he was deprived of Church-fellowship and his posterity deprived both of Church-fellowship and of the seale of the Covenant And so Jeremiah reckoneth-up Edom among the Nations uncircumcised Jer. 9. 26. It is our perswasion as we finde it made out by others That a Debauched parent may cast himselfe out of the Church now and from all priviledges of the same as soone and sooner now under this Gospel light than they did under the Starre-light of the Law And 2 Those godly Ministers that doe admit all Infants to Baptisme upon account of that remote right there-unto when they speake de jure what ought to be as he that hath spoken last hath spoken much that way they speake as he very safely and holily Children of Beleiving Parents should be admitted to Baptisme But when they speake de facto what is done and allowed off to be done here they walk at large and give more Liberty than we humbly conceive the word of God gives them But howsoever if they can satisfie their Consciences in a larger latitude they will not we hope judge others that cannot so doe Conscience being such a tender thing and cannot be forced no more than a parable ought to be 2. We have spoken somewhat Confidently against free admission to the Lords Table as they use to doe who are perswaded they have truth on their side and the word of truth to warrant what they say And indeed the more arrogantly Mr Hums hath spoken to maintaine the Affirmative the more confidently we have spoken in maintenance of the Negative for why should not we be as bold for our Lord Christ as he is beyond all expression shamelessly bold against Him We are perswaded in our soules That the Lord of glory hath written in so faire and legible Characters who are and who are not to be admitted to His table that He who runs may reade We have heard of a Godly man that said to a wanton Lady complaining of the darknesse and obscurity of the Scriptures though too well acquainted with the works of darknesse what more plaine than this Madam said he Thou shalt not commit Adultery So indeed we may say what more plaine that this If thou take forth the pretious from the vile thou shalt be as my Ier. 15. 19. Mouth Let them returne unto thee but returne not thou unto them What more plaine then this They shall teach my people the difference between Ezek. 44. 23. the holy and prophane and cause Men to discerne between the uncleane and the cleane And what more plaine then is the complaint of the Lord against those Preists who did not doe according to their Charge Her Preists have violated my law and have prophaned my holy things how so They have put Ezek. 22. 26. no difference between the holy and prophane neither have they shewed difference between the uncleane and the cleane What more plaine then this If any Man that is called a Brother be a Fornicator 1 Cor. 5. 11. 2 Joh. 10. or Covetous or an Idolater or a Railer or a Drunkard or an Extortioner with such an one no not to eate Such grosse sinners are no more to be suffered in Holy Assemblyes then swine in your garden than toads in your dishes than dead flyes in a box of ointment to use worthy Mr Burgesse his glosse upon that Scripture What more plaine than this Ye cannot be 1 Cor. 10. 21. partakers of the Lords Table and the Table of Devills What more plaine then this What fellowship hath righteousnesse with unrighteousnesse What communion hath light with darknesse What Concord hath Christ with Belial or what part hath he that beleiveth with an Insidell And what agreement hath the Temple of God with Idolls 2 Cor. 6. 16 17. Ye are the Temple of the living God as God hath said I will dwell in them and walke in them and I will be their God and they shall be my people Wheresore Come out from among them and be ye seperate saith the Lord God and touch not the uncleane thing What more plaine than all this and this which followes There shall in no wise Revel 21. 27. 22. 15. enter into it any thing that defileth Without shall be dogges Ye know what the Learned say of those Scriptures All agree we thinke That the house of God the Church of the living God must be kept cleane by the Steward 's there of * Leg. Aug Martor in Revel 11. 1 2. Thus we have beleived and thus confidently we have spoken in all things where we observed the Spirit with the Word going before us and herein we appeale to you as to the Truth of these matters resolved in the Negative we may erre as weake simple men use to doe but this we can say we doe not erre in our hearts
creature the divine nature the image of holinesse rooted in the heart and fruited in the life he is as the whole Church and every part is the habitation of Eph. 2 22. God by the Spirit He is godly in Christ Jesus the power of godlinesse is in him and with him his whole conversation is a meere mortification a very hell to flesh Perpelua naâ— violentia and blood he is still offering a sacred violence thereunto he prayes and in prayer prayes earnestly he heares and he heares in hearing he heares as for his life in desire and indeavour that he may heare and live There is no duty he performes but it putteth him to cost a meere outside Christian not so he will heare and pray but all this he can doe with little or no trouble all his care is for this that his flesh be put to no cost he would rather performe an hundred thousand Religious dutyes than to put himselfe to the torment of crucifying one lust pleasant or profitable Once more This Christian indeed speakes of the Sacraments as the holy Scripture doth contemptibly of them when these are rested upon and gloried in as they are by the outside-man this Christian in name onely Circumcision is nothing and availeth nothing Baptisme as little and availeth as little The Passeover is nothing and availeth nothing Receiving at the Lords Table is as little and availeth as little The new creature is all and doth all and receiveth all the Lord Christ and all our Passeover sacrificed for us Thus contemptibly as the sacred Scripture doth he speaketh of the Sacraments when as aforesaid But when the Institution is observed together with the proper use of them and blessed intendment the Lord Christ had in the instituting of them then as the Scripture doth so doth he speake gloriously of them And so we come to the fourth 4. The fourth mistake as great and deadly as any of the former How thou camest to thy Christianity or how thou waste made a Christian The common conceite is and a meere conceite it is That to be sprinkled on the face with water makes us Christians This was our conceite and we are sure t is thine if thou art not truely a Christian Thou wast baptized and ever since in thine owne account and others a Christian Thou art not wholly or alltogether mistaken herein yet such a mistake there may he that may procure thee desperate sorrow at the end of thy dayes when thou art launching forth into the wide Ocean of Eternity where thou must continue for ever eyther everlastingly blessed or vnspeakably miserable for ever and ever Outward Baptisme gave thee thy name Christian but there is a worke wrought within by the Spirit and the Word on Gods part and faith on thine that gives with the Name the thing and the name without the thing is nothing and renders thee worse than nothing a meere vanity a thing of nothing All holy actions come from within first and thence to the outward man A Christian within first then sure enough he is one without Therefore to remove this grand errour or to doe what we can observe well what was hinted before and we can but repeat it now It is the voice of Christ in the Ministry of His Gospel heard obeyed and beleived that makes us true Christians All the Angells in Heaven much lesse all the waters in the Sea are not able to turne one sinner upon earth and make him cleane that is make him truely Christian but the Word in the Spirits hand having the Lords seale of Institution upon it that onely can doe it Now put this to thy heart as thou canst Hast thou heard God speaking his Word unto thee that is hath the Spirit spoke the Word to thy spirit which the Minister spake to thy eare as farre as he could possibly carry it to the eare and so farre when time was his hand bare the water to the face Hath thy heart heard the Word has thy soule been listod up to it And in making answer hereunto the Lord God chargeth thee not to hearken what thy owne heart sayth the most notorious deceiver the veriest jugglar in the world no nor what the Minister sayth if he speakes his owne words which are but his dreames and not the words of his God being as his mouth and standing in his stead Hearken what the Lord sayth in his Word That thou art not made Christian if the Word in the Spirits hand hath not made a thorow change in thee as well of thy nature as of thy actions This is the onely meanes where and when God gives them whereby we are translated from darknesse to light from death to life life and mortality is brought to light to the soule by the Gospels voyce or the voyce of Christ in the Gospel which alone quickeneth the dead awakeneth the sleeper bids him stand-up for his light is come Put it then to the question Hast thou heard this voyce Thou hast Then thou art a Christian indeed Thou haste not heard this voyce Then thou art as was said worse than an Infidel in the remoatest parts of the world being but a washed heathen and doest slightingly passe over the meanes whereby thou mightest understand thy case and the way to better it And now if thou wilt seale the Stone upon thy graves mouth and make thy condition irrecoverable which we would be as loath Thou shouldest doe as that thou shouldest thrust thy selfe upon the mouth of a Cannon charged against thy breast with a Bullet of a tallent weight yet if thou art resolved to undoe thy soule for ever hasten so Sathan and thy foolish heart will advise thereto and thy Minister will admit thee together with the heards and droves of men in thy case unto the Lords Table to receive Christ there whom thou haste rejected in the Gospel This will doe it and nothing more certainly than this for there thou shalt eate and drinke damnation to thy selfe not discerning the Lords body Therefore desire of the Lord He would make thee serious in this matter Hath the Word been prevailing in thy soule to make thee a childe a sonne or a daughter Then thou haste the heart of a Childe to thy heavenly Father Thou wilt breake his Commandements as willingly and studiously as thou wilt thy bones and offend Him with full consent of will when with the same will thou offendest the apple of thine eye And now thou mayest be assured He hath the heart of a Father towards thee Thou haste the priviledge of a Childe a warranted right to all Church Communions here thou art instated-in and possessed-off being new borne all thy soule can desire open the mouth of it never so wide Onely we repeate againe make it thy worke and thy very buisnesse to make this sure to thy owne soule thou art borne againe It s meere presumptionesse as holy Bolton sayd to his deare Children when he was dying To thinke that God
will receive our soules to heaven whom He hath not renued here on earth This being a grounded truth for a man to be alwayes the same he was from the womb borne a childe under wrath and in that state dying is certaine and irricoverable death Oh! this undoes many even all that are undone are undone by it As they never dreame of a change which death will one day make upon them so they never desire a change that grace in this present life should worke on them Therefore heare the Counsell that worthy man Master Burgesse gives thee As Job sayd of the change by death He would every day waite till his change come Job 14. 14. Doe thou say of this change by grace I will every day pray heare reade meditate mourne and roare out before God every day and all the day long till this spirituall change come And doe not accept of the Ministers invitation to the Lords Table though thou findest him very gentile and courteous this way before this change be wrought or in a way of working for heare what that worthy Man sayth Heathens Fornicatours Idolaters Adulterers Theeves Covetous Drunkards Revilers Extortioners became washed and cleansed by the Word but washed Fornicatours Idolaters c. we meane Baptized Drunkards Theeves Covetous These sit under the Word and reforme nothing but make a scorne of it What may be the reason Why They live in the practise of knowne sinnes and in the neglect of knowne dutyes under the dayly exercise of the Word and yet frequent the Lords Table which hath provoked a spirituall Censure and sorest judgement now wholly inflicted upon them whence it is as the Clay under the Sunne so these become more obdurate under the Word from which judgement the Lord deliver thee and us all But beware of this as thou tenderest thy life therefore we caution thee againe That thou dost not goe to the Lords Table in a conceite presumption rather thou shalt receive Christ Jesus the Lord there whom thou haste not received in the Ministry of the Gospel Remember and forget not The rocke shall not be removed out of his place as was spoken by Job that is God will not change the course which He hath setled as firmely as the Rockes or as the Earth He will not alter His method nor goe out of the way He hath prescribed His Word shall profit thee first before any thing else shall or can thou must keepe close to His way if thou lookest to attaine His end We intended more to thee so dearly we love thee as to minde thee well there are but two Masters that can be served and to which of these thou art an obedient servant the Apostle will tell thee Rom. 6. 16 17 18. 2 And as there are but two rankes or sorts of people whereof before so also but two wayes the roade way of the world the broad way the roade way of the Lords redeemed ones the way of holinesse where the uncleane cannot passe nor any Lion can be nor ravenous Beasts being a straight and a narrow way which these cannot indure And thou must certainly know in what way thy foote walketh for suppose it the narrow way and thou wilt finde thy flesh pinched if not tormented 3 And that there are but two Mansion houses where thy soule anon and thy body anon after must dwell that long day or night of eternity the narrow way tendeth to the one the broad way to the other If now thou wilt conferre with flesh and blood we know what way thou wilt choose the broad way and hell to be thy Mansion house for ever for though thou mayst have as the wicked may have a Velliety a faint will for Heaven to dye the death of the righteous and that thy last end may be like his yet walking in that broad way the strength of thy will carryeth thee hell-ward that horrid place of darknesse Therefore give-up thy hand to God having fixed thy eye upon His Word and say Lord plucke me into the way and leade me in it and suffer me not to decline from it In all this we intended to be more large And to touch lightly upon other things also the subject matter of the following discourse but this well digested and pondered-on may suffice And it will be sufficient though thou readest not one word of the Booke for suppose thou art made a Disciple indeed a Christian in truth thou wilt seperate from the world at the Lords Table nor wilt thou eate that is familiarly converse with the men of the world unlesse necessarily as a Physitian with the sick having thy warrant for it thou mayst convey good unto them and thine owne affaires may require it And 2 Thou canst no more observe the day the men of the world call Christmas than thou canst prophane the Lords day for thou mayst have heard that one being asked whether he did observe the Lords day keeping it holy Yes sayd be for I am a Christian And doe you observe Christmas day to keepe it holy No said he for then I were no Christian unlesse in name and that is nothing indeed A true Christian flees from Idolatry for what hath he any more to doe with Idols And be will not put up his Petitions in anothers words he praiseth God for what he hath received he prayeth to God for what he would receive he confesseth the sinnes he hath committed all this with his owne mouth He used set formes of Prayer when time was hee was a Christian in name onely but now that he is through grace a Christion indeed he remembers heartily that a prayer by the Booke left him as cold as it found him it had no more heate in it than hath cold Iron or frost and had he not layd them aside he had proved a Christian when an Ape prooves a man he bares himselfe-up as formerly upon the crutches then as others now doe and he was as well in his owne conceite as others now are bare formes never put the flesh to any paine But to feele no paine Comes we know from the rottennesse of the flesh as well as soundnesse A dead Christian such as he that hath but a name that he liveth feeles no paine hee presumes all is well with him and presumption being a sinne of mans-selfe flattering-heart meets with no trouble though he be desperately wicked that is deadly sick unto death yet aske him how he doth and he sayes well for he was baptized when time was and dealt with as a Saint he thankes his good Minister ever since he grew up to the yeares of understanding But little doth he know how hardly that disease is curable that is so like to health Ille morbus vix sanabitur qui sanitatem vinitatur one sayth seldome or never and he addeth None are more desperate than those that are least despairing in their owne selves through not of the grace of God presumers therefore are in the more desperate condition by how much they are the lesse despairing But what a sad thing is it that men should presume they are rich and want nothing when they are miserably poore and want all things we will pitty those deluded mad men who are perswaded they are such great persons and have such large estates when in the meane time they lye miserable and wretched bound up in chaines in a darke dungeon such a spirituall madnesse is upon most and this renders them more mad if more can be they were baptized and upon that Infant priviledge have free admission to the Lords Table without making the least profession of faith and repentance wherein it comes to passe that as they live like mad men so they are like to ciye being strongly perswaded still upon principles of Infant Baptisme That they are Disciples and Saints while they are Drunkards and Devills they are sheepe and lambs when they are dogges and swine And call themselves grapes and figges when they are thornes and thistles to use and so to end with that Learned Mr Burgesse his words Love that spares no cost nor feeleth any burthen hath drawne us-out thus farre consider what hath been sayd meditate upon it be wholly in it and so doing whoever fareth ill thou shalt fare well FINIS
seaven Sections the Contents whereof you have in the Epistle to the Rev Ministers Job 32. 17 18. I will answer also my part I also will shew my opinion for I am full of matter the Spirit within me constraineth mee Jer. 23. 28. He that hath a Dreame let him tell a dreame he that hath my word let him speake my word faithfully What is the Chaffe to the Wheat saith the LORD Titus 1. 9. Holding fast the faithfull Word as he hath been taught that he may be able by sound Doctrine both to Exhort and to Convince the gainesayers 1 Pet. 3. 15. Be ready allwayes to give an answer to every Man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meeknesse and feare A Letter annexed to these Papers when by the Brethren they were presented to the Reverend Minister requiring a Reason of their doings Deare Sir THere is no little Difference betwixt us Opinionum varietas opinantium unitas non sunt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in opinion none at all we trust in Affection which shall appeare we hope on our part in the manage of the Debate between us all along It were well if we could be every way accorded And we think these words presse hard upon us to strive in this thing that there be no strife at all There was a strife between the heardmen of Abrahams Cattle and the heard-men of Lotts Cattle and the Canaanite and the Perrezite dwelled then in the Land Gen. 13. 7. They did not walke in wisdome towards them that were without The enemies of God could discerne being quick-sighted that way There were animosities that which should not be among the Lords own people Therefore faithfull Abraham bestirres himselfe for it was high time and sprang or ranne in to use that word and witnesse the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 haste he made Let there be no strife I pray thee between Acts 14. 14. 16. 29. thee and me and between my heardmen and thy heardmen for wee be men-brethren verse 8 This is commended to Acts 7. 26. your serious thoughts and the Lord grant it may abide upon ours For Divisions among brethren makes friends mourne and enemies within laugh and scorne and hinders them that are without from making offer to come in Let Gods people walk as becometh study to be quiet follow after peace act nothing while they be angry not giving place to it no not for an houre for that were to give place to the Devill The Preacher tells us that anger resteth in the bosome of fooles and passion dwells at the signe of folly we are never angry and sinne not but when we are angry at nothing but sinne Factions cause Fractions Vnity makes strong David pray'd heartily so shall we by his grace Lead me in a plaine path because of mine observers Psal 27. 11 Enemies we reade who are observers they note diligently what we that are men-Brethren doe The Lord humble us for the pride of our hearts It is likely you may pray so too from whence comes warres and fightings among us For untill we are well humbled we shall doe nothing well nor can we suffer as Christians for well-doing The Lord humble us such need we have to pray this prayer againe make us vile in our owne eyes and then it will be no trouble at all how vile we are in others eyes And all our things shall be done in Charity which shewes us what we are * Non facium bonas vel malos mores nisi boni vel mali amores Aug. Ep ad Maced wherein wee should abound one towards another We come to that now we would say to you at the porch or entrance to our worke We have answered your desire in giving you here an account of your matters how short of your expectation or full-up unto it we know not Only this we know our strong desire and earnest endeavours were to please God and our Neighbour for his Good to Edification in all we have done keeping close to His rule laid before us in His Word And having so done we would hope we have not displeased you This being the way you and wee must take if we goe right In the active obedience what we doe we labour to please God In the passive we endeavour what He doth may please us Exceeded we have all expectations yours and our owne in the largenesse of our Worke whereunto we will say as followeth 1. It falls out in matters of this Nature as in building The cost and paines amounts to double as much as at first was intended 2. Your Brothers Book of Infant Baptisme accidentally coming to our hands for as we heard not of it so we sought not for it put us to an after-trouble altogether as great as the former 3. If it be said we are tedious herein we can clearely say it was to make Truth 's cleare we considered withall to whom we speake at least whom we would have to heare poore simple ignorant Country folke who are taken wholy with the rind or bark the out-side of Sacrament to whom if you speake concisely little and short you speake nothing at all possibly a man may though we cannot speake much in a little but surely we commonly understand but little in much Therefore it was not beside our purpose to be so large nor beyond the marke we sended to 4. You speake highly of Mr. Hu s we suppose it was in favour to his way and in love to us that we might walke in his way We would suppose also thus highly you spake of him hearing much good of him from those that may have little good in them we meane you might speake by heare-say not by what you had found in him by reading his Books you call them too The works of the flesh So we would suppose because we would not question the soundnesse of your judgement as to those matters you may finde in the worke he hath made But whatever you doe or have done we judge of a Man by his workes as of a tree by his fruits And this we must say of him as once holy Fox of an unholy Bishop He was a Divine little seasoned with the Gospell And for his book said that Saint on earth long since in Heaven I would tell him to his Teeth were we face to face That it is a grievous plague to the Common safety of Christians Yet because you might intend our good in mentioning that Man and his workes unto us and surely through grace for we have it in us readily to comply with and greedily to catch at such works of the flesh but through grace we have as others may doe gained much good by it to advance our Love to Gods way and our hatred to his we will returne your Love as we can onely in this making honourable mention unto you of three the Lords Worthies we need not mention Doctor Drake to you that have made Answer to Mr
if we erre It is as a wearied traveller may doe he erreth in his way but sore against his will and thankes him heartily that will tell him he is out of the way and points him to it And 3. We hope we have not done that which we abhorre to doe made the least reflection of Dishonour upon you or any of your brethren of the Presbyterian way Some one of us have read their bookes wherein they declare their Steward-like care to keep the Table of the Lord from prophane mixtures And what they have spoken with the mouth and declared with their pen de jure what ought to be we would hope they performe with their hands de facto that is they practise accordingly as they stand cleared in their judgements they ought to doe Yet 4. We cannot see how the Godly Ministers can answer their God or their own Consciences when they can maintaine fellowship and keepe Communion with such as they judge not godly being of their owne opinion and in their way And not maintaine fellowship it is cleare some of them doe not with such as in charity they judge godly because they are not of their opinion and in their way Idem est motus ad Imaginem ad rem Arist Qui amat suprd amat infrd upon 1 Joh. 5. 1. A godly man loveth all that are godly and those most that most excell in godlinesse in them he delighteth with them he converseth them he honoureth Sicut se habet simplitèr ad simpliciter it à magis ad magis If Godlinesse be the reason why we love then the more godlinesse the more love 5. We can speake this clearely though we are divided from some in our opinions yet not from any in our affections how different soever unto us in their judgements We love him and them dearely we oppose in these following matters heartily We can say and doe as we say love Mr Hum s though we doe not dislike only but loath his Scrible as we should doe sin or hell it selfe For surely the sinne of Division is the greater when we make Religion to Patronize it It is the manner not of a few to divide from one another under a pretence as if they made it Religion to bite and devoure one another Surely this virgin is forced for there is nothing more contrary to the Name or nature of Religion than to cause or further-on divisions Dictam esse Religionem quod quasi in fascem Domini vincti religate sumus dixit Hieron By Religion we are made Gods bundle first tied to Him then one to another Religio à religando The name caries strong union with it from binding us againe to God and to one another after we were divided from Him by our sinne We hope we shall be found all along so farre from doing that which Nazianzen Orat. 12. condemnes in pleading for the Truth bely one another we are fastened to Christ yet loosened our selves we are for peace yet we fight one with another so far from this too ordinary among Christians as if that were the way to maintaine Truth that we shall not let a rude word passe from us Yet if any should sound that way or be mistaken rudely for Cuttingly we English it sharply Let it be understood as it is meant and intended spoken against Mr Hum s onely against whom we could sharpen our words as Paul did his against Elimas Acts 13. 9 10. and those that are fully of his way and judgement and this after they had read his how loth we are to call Books observing That great Philosopher and Learned Lo Verul denies that name to things of that make having neither reason nor honesty to patronize them And savouring worse in the Nostrills of all the Godly we thinke than doe the worst excrements of the Dragon whereby that rude man justifies his way and in so doing hath dealt rudely with our Lord and Master in heaven blaspheming His practise with His Saints when he tabernacled on the earth 6. If it be objected against us That 1 we censure the writings of the Learned and godly we humbly reply no we censure them not we bring the writings of men in reference to set formes of prayer to the Scriptures of God the duty of every man laying them in that ballance and trying them by that touchstone whether they hold weight and proove themselves Gold Those more Generous Eereans might have trusted Paul as soone as any man alive That he would not speake a word which wanted a graine of weight yet their eares a pair of ballances in the Hebrew would weigh the words of Paul though He had an infallible Spirit and spake by inspiration immediately from heaven Auditus Intellectus hearing and understanding should goe together and that each may doe its proper worke our eare must try mans words not taking them-up upon Trust Indeed what the Lord God speaks once we should heare twice without more to doe onely to doe it in our lives as those use to doe who have heard God speake with the sensitive eare of their bodies and the intellectuall eare of their soules and so what He spake once they heard twice And if it be said in the second place that we doe unbecoming our meane Condition when we take upon us to advise and Councell our betters Let it be observed That our Counsell is pointed to them onely before mentioned and these have as much need of it as any persons ye or we know in all the world Yet ye shall finde we hope this Counsell is given in much love And if it be so taken all will be well though it be a Reproofe which is good Counsell made keen and sharpened and not a hairs-bredth from our Rule Them that sinne saith the Apostle 1 Tim 5. 20. scandalously and to the offence of others as Mr Hump s hath done and as doe all that are in his way Rebuke before all that others also may feare We would adde hereunto That we know no other way to manifest our Love openly but by open Reproofe Open Rebuke being better then secret Love Pro. 27. 5. And to hate a brother and not to rebuke him are equivalent expressions in that Law Levit. 19. 17. we are assured we have not brought a railing accusation against that Railing man for so we should not have done had we contended with the Devill But so he hath done with worthy Dr Drake taking his Lords part against that Scrible wherein he blasphemeth his Lord and then what wonder if he raileth upon his servant 7. We have but two words more and then we have done If ye finde Art wanting here all along It were a wonder ye should not if you daine to looke through any part of it it is a small want and not unbecoming us to speak like our selves We love the Cause dearely we here maintaine relating as we judge so nearely to our Lord Christ and his people It is