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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77137	A defence and justification of ministers maintence by tythes. And of infant-baptism, humane learning, and the sword of the magistrate; which some Anabaptists falsely call four sandy pillars, and popish foundations of our ministry and churches. In which tythes are proved to be due by divine right to the ministers of the gospel. All common objections answered, and divers cases of conscience humbly proposed: with a light to clear them. / In a reply to a paper sent by some Anabaptists to Immanuel Bourne, late pastor of the church in Asheover in the county of Derby: now preacher to the congregation at Waltham in the county of Leicester. With a short answer to Anthony Peirson's great case of tythes, &c.	Bourne, Immanuel, 1590-1672.	1659 (1659)	Wing B3851; Thomason E1907_1	92,679	184

all that is therein 2. Again God hath a special right in the creature or part of the creatures and the increase of them which he reserved for his own proper use and service And this special right he hath never given away but hath his special right still which he did and hath reserved in all ages of the world for the outward maintenance of his worship and service and for encouragement and livelihood of his laborers and servants whom he calleth and imployeth in his own work for his own glory and the good of his Church and children First the Scripture tells us that although the Lord gave to our first parents the creatures upon the earth with every herb bearing seed and the fruit of the tree yielding fruit for meat yet he reserved some part for himself for his own service according to his own will and pleasure G●● 12.16 20. Of every tree of the garden thou mayest eat freely saith God to Adam but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die And wherefore did God forbid Adam upon pain of death to eat of that tree of knowledge of good and evil Learned and holy Augustine brings in Adam reasoning with God in this manner If the tree be good why may I not touch it Si bona est quare non tango si mala quare in paradiso ● Ideo in paradiso est quia bona est sed nolo tangas quia obedien em te volo and if it it be evil why is it in Paradise● And he answers the question as in Gods stead It is therefore in Paradise because it is good but I will not have thee to touch it because I would have thee obedient The Lord would have Adam know that he had reserved the Royalty to himself and that although he gave Adam an inheritance in the rest of the earth and the fruits thereof to hold to him and to his posterity upon their good behaviour yet he should hold it of him as chief Lord and to touch any part of what God had reserved for his own service was no less a sin then Sacrilege it self and to be punished with death This was the penalty for the breach of that Divine law as Adam and all his posterity since have found by sad experience Again this forbidden tree in Paradise was not all the part of the world which God reserved for himself and his service For if you read Gen. Gen 4.15 c. 4. you shall find that not only that tree of Knowledge of good and evil planted in Paradise was Gods reserved part or rather a part of it but part of the increase of Corn and of Sheep also This is witnessed in those sacrifices and divine services of Cain and Abel Cain brought of the fruit of the ground and Abel of the firstlings of his flock and the fat of them And without controversie Col. 2.23 this was not a will-worship of their own invention odious to God but that which was of Divine institution and so of Divine authority As to acknowledge their homage to God the Soveraign Lord of all so to typifie forth the sacrifice of Christ that seed of the woman Gen. 2.15 Joh. 1.29 which God had promised them should break the Serpents head That Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world Thus a part of Cain's Corn fruit of the ground by tillage and of Abel's increase of his Sheep was the Lords portion reserved and due to the Lord by Divine right for the maintenance of that Divine service which God had appointed our first parents 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In fine dierum in the end of days Gen. 41.1 A year of days and those their postetity And this in process of time or at the end of days as the Hebrew word may well be rendred that is at the end of the year when they had gathered in the fruits of the earth 3. The same custom or duty we find continued in after-ages as well as in that first age of the world Read Gen. 8. Gen. 8.20 and you shall see that Noah after the Flood when the waters were abated from off the earth and Noah and his family with the rest of the creatures went forth of the Ark he remembers God had a part due to him who had in mercy saved all Therefore he taketh of every clean beast and of every clean sowl and offered up a burnt-offering to the Lord and the Lord smelled a sweet savor that is the Lord accepted of Noah's sacrifice which he would not have done if it had been a Will-worship and not been his own institution his own Divine Law and appointment as a service due to him by Divine right who is Lord of all for Joh. 4.24 God is a Spirit and he will be served in spirit and truth according to his own will not the will of men Fourthly The Sons of Noah Shem Ham and Japhet and their posterities by whom the whole earth was peopled they had so much light even of nature or of that Law of God given to our first Parents and to their posterity before and continued after their fall as to know that God the great Creator had a part of the Creature and their increase due to him as a yearly chief Rent to he disposed at his own pleasure for his Worship and Service which even the Gentiles of the Sons of Noah did pay at every years end It was a custom among the Gentiles that the antient Sacrifices and Assemblies to that end were after the gathering in of the Fruits at the years end witness our learned Country-man Ainsworth in Gen. 4. ex Arist Ethic. lib. 8. Cum multis aliis c. as some antient Writers do record But you will say Objection Though some part might by the Sacrifices of Adams sons and of Noah's sons seem to be God's yet what is this to the Tenth or Tythe which the Ministers of England do seek after every one from his Parish where he liveth and preacheth to the people I answer Answer First for the posterity of Noah Shem and his off-spring we find that long before the Levitical Priesthood or that Levie was born that what was the special part or the Lords portion was declared by that great Patriark and excellent Christian Joh. 8.56 faithful Abraham called by the Apostle the Father of the faithful Rom. 4.11 Gen. 14.18 19 20 21. or of all them that believe Rom. 4 and this is that memorable action of his recorded Gen. 14.18 When Abraham came from smiting Chedor-Laomar and the Kings that were with him Melchisedec 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Omnibus dedecima● The Tenth of all Heb. 7.12 who was a Priest of the most high God met him and brought him bread and wine and blessed him c. and he gave him the Tenth of all the same is repeated

and Ambassadour of the Lord Jesus and your Honours Servant in Christ and for Christ Immanuel Bourne TO ALL THE Reverend Godly and Faithfull Ministers Ambassadours OF JESUS CHRIST in ENGLAND Whether moderate Presbyterians Independents or of different Judgments The Blessings of Truth Peace and Love with onenesse of Spirit and Protection in the Lord Jesus Reverend Fathers Brethren IT is a sacred and certain Truth witnessed by the Spirit of God in holy Scripture and manifested in the various turnings of the wheels of Gods Providence in all ages that the Lord Jehovah the Omnipotent all-sufficient and only wise God doth and will order all things for his own eternal Glory and the everlasting happiness of his Church and Children beloved in the Lord Jesus But yet the dispensations of God and the foot-steps of his infinite wisdom are somtimes so obscure and dark that our blind and weak eyes are not able to see the cloud of his Gracious protection walking with us by day nor his pillar of fire to give us light in the night So that a troubled and trembling soul is somtimes amazed and constrained to cry out with that great Apostle Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments and his waies past finding out And somtimes with the Prophet to reason the case with God in a time of trouble fear and danger O Lord how long shall I cry and thou wilt not hear even cry out of violence and thou wilt not save Why dost thou shew me iniquity and cause me to behold grievance for spoyling and violence are before me and there are that raise up strife and contention It is apparent that since the fallen Angels left their first habitation and by the subtilty of the Serpent tempted and overcame our first Parents to break that first Covenant and to sin against God and lose that happy estate wherein they were created and since God was pleased to publish the second Covenant in that Gospel-promise the seed of the woman shall break the Serpents head that old Serpent the Devil Satan and the seed of that Serpent the wicked of the world discovered at full that enmity that is in them against the seed of the woman the servants of the most high God the sons and daughters of the King of Glory in Christ the Redeemer The Lord hath prosecuted his design according to his eternal councel for the salvation of his people and to this end as he himself preached the Gospel at first and revealed his mind and will to our first Parents in Paradise so he constituted Christ his only begotten Son to be the Anointed the eternal High Priest and Prophet and King of his Church And this Prophetical Office as Christ did exercise and execute himself somtimes before and somtimes since his coming in the flesh so did he call and ordain his holy Prophets and Apostles part before and part after his resurrection yea after he ascended up on high and led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men he gave some to be Apostles and some Prophets and some Pastors and teachers for the work of the Ministry for the edification of the body of Christ untill we all come in the unity of the Faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man and unto the measure of the stature of the fulnesse of Christ and hath promised to be with them to the end of the world And for their comfortable maintenance and encouragement although the great God his Father Lord of Heaven and earth after he had created the world and gave to Adam and his posterity the Lordship and dominion over the creatures to hold upon his and their good behaviour of the Lord himself their Creator as chief Lord of all yet the Lord did never give all to Adam or to his posterity but hath reserved a special part to himself as he did the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Paradise this special part to be for his worship and service and the maintenance of his Ministers and Ambassadors to the end of the world as is fully proved to my understanding in this following Treatise But as God hath prosecuted his design to further the salvation of his people and maintenance of the Gospel and Gospel-Ministry so hath the Devil and his Angels and servants had their design to hinder the Lords great work by all subtill frauds and open hostility to their power the wicked to this end have laboured to get and keep in their hands Gods reserved part They robbed God of old before the coming of Christ and they have robbed God since and their plots and designs still are to rob the Lord Christ and his faithful Godly Ministers and Ambassadors to the utmost of their abilities both in these Nations and other Parts where the Gospel of Christ is or hath been preached It was the policy and practise of Julian that Apostate Emperour that he might more easily destroy the Gospel and Gospel-Ministry to destroy and take away their Maintenance And this certainly is and hath been the design of those who are enemies of us the Godly and Faithful Ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and under the name of Antichristian Ministers seek to destroy us and our Maintenance and perswade many godly people against us and labour to stir up the godly Magistrate yea the Parliaments and powers of the Nation to take away our Tithes and to allow us no setled Maintenance but that we should live of the Charity and almes of the people that we might be starved as anti-Christian Ministers as some of them have expressed themselves to me although it is evident none are more zealous and laborious to bring down the Kingdom of Antichrist and to set King Jesus upon his Throne than we are not by blood as some dream we would have it but by the powerful preaching of the Gospel of peace and our winning of souls to God not by blood I say for this is and hath been the nature and design and practise of Antichrist that whore of Babylon to be drunk with the blood of the Saints Martyrs of Jesus Christ fulfilling the Prophecy of our Saviour that the time should come that whosoever of the blind wicked world should kill his Ministers and Disciples should think they did God good service these things shall they do unto you saith Christ because they have not known the Father nor yet me This is that which divers seduced souls have lately discovered to be their desire and design not only that the faithful witnesses may prophesie in s●ckcloath by taking away their Maintenance but be slain lie dead and unburied in the streets to the rejoycing of the wicked damnable world But the Lord hath wonderfully preserved us to this day blessed be his Name The many Pamphlets lately written and printed against Tithes or any setled Maintenance to the Ministers of

Christ and the Petitions delivered to many Parliaments by that Generation of men poor deceived souls confirm this to the full But the Lord hath yet put it into the heart of the Parliament not to destroy but to defend the Faithful and Godly Ministers of the Gospel and their just Maintenance established both by the Laws of God and the Land for which let us praise God and pray to the Lord still to be so present with them as to guide and rule their hearts that our wise Senatours may rather establish and increase the maintenance of the Godly and Faithful Ministers of Christ in the Nation than take away or diminish any part of it for this will be not only for the honour of the Parliament but for the Glory of God and good of the Nation whatsoever seduced Spirits would perswade to the contrary for whom let us pray as Christ did for his Persecutors Father forgive them they know not what they do And my beloved Brethren let us who are the Lords remembrancers give God no rest nor day nor night till he establish his Gospel and Faithful Ministers and their just maintenance and by enabling us by the assistance of his blessed Spirit to perform constantly our duties in our several places that his and our Jerusalem may be made a praise in the earth But if our adversaries the adversaries of the Gospel should prevail against us all should be taken away though they cannot take Christ away nor Heaven away Let us labour to live by Faith and depend upon God who hath provided for many of us when we had lost all preserved our lives when we were in eminent dangers and will preserve us to his Heavenly Kingdom In the mean time Honoured and Reverend Brethren let us labour by wisdom and power from Christ to fulfil our Ministry which we have received from the Lord to preach the Word in season and out of season to Catechise and instruct our people in the first Principles of the Oracles of God and this both publickly and from house to house often to confer with them and to build them up and confirm them in the knowledge of Christ that if it please God they may know the Lord as the truth is in Jesus that they may walke as becometh the Gospel of Christ and manifest the truth of their Faith by fruitfulnesse in all good works that they and we may by our holy and righteous lives put to silence the malevolent spirits of all our adversaries and bring forth abundantly like trees of righteousnesse the planting of the Lord that God may be glorified And for our selves especially let us by the Grace of God endeavour the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace and although our light be not equal in all respects yet let it be far from us by our divisions to rent in pieces the seamlesse coat of our Lord and Saviour but rather in love enlighten and by our frequent communion strengthen one another that though they speak evil of us as the wicked and deceived souls have done of the Prophets and Apostles yea of Christ himself yet seeing our holy lives faithful performance and discharge of our duties in our Ministerial Office they may be convinced and glorifie God in the day of visitation knowing that if we fight the good fight of Faith and keep the Faith and be faithful to the death there is laid up for us the Crown of righteousnesse which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give us at that day and not to us only but to all them that love the Lord Jesus and wait for his appearing Which that we may persevere to do and enjoy is the most humble hearty and daily prayer of London June 18 1659. Your most unworthy Brother and Fellow-Labourer in the work of Christ Immanuel Bourne A Defence Justification OF Ministers Maintenance by Tythes Humane Learning Infant Baptism and The Sword of the Magistrate In a Reply to the Answer of some Anabaptists or Antipedobaptists Declaring their Grounds of Separation For John Darker and Tobias Watson and the Thirty Congregations of Antipedobaptists The blessing of Truth with freedom from Errors and false foundations if it be the will of God in Christ Jesus FRIENDS FOr so I desire you may be in and for Christ hoping better things of some of you and such as accompany salvation although for the present too many of you appear to be Adversaries if not Enemies to the Truth of the Gospel and to the Godly faithful Ministers of Christ in England and in other parts of the Christian world Unto the Paper I sent Novemb. 11. 1658. unto one of you living within the limits of the Town and amongst the People to whom God in his Providence hath called me to preach the Gospel I received your Answer in writing Decemb. 8. in one sheet of paper with a Confession of thirty Congregations and I conceive you have consulted with your Church as you esteem it and other Congregations of your opinions to give answer unto my Demands and it was my desire you should so do that I might know your strongest Arguments or Grounds of your Separation from our Reformed and Reforming Congregations that if it be the will of God I might convince you by the help of the Spirit of Truth of the weakness and error of your Grounds and your eyes might be enlightned to see you have been deceived and now be per●waded to return and joyn with our Reformed and Reforming Congregations for your edification in the Truth of the Gospel and good of your Souls which I pray for And friends I have read your Answer and am sorrowful to see such pride of spirit self-conceit and vain boasting That your foundation-principles of the Church of God as you esteem your selves have Scripture proof as clear as the Sun at noon day without the help of Consequences or Illustrations with such rash censurings and uncharitable unchristian expressions telling me I alledge Scripture out of ignorance or weakness and that I am like the Tempter who brought Scripture against Christ and that the old Romish principle groweth still in the hearts of many of us to make Reason to be our Rule and cast away the Scriptures And your comparing me to Popish D. Story in his plea against Philpot the Martyr But whether your vain boasting be a truth or falshood Thil. 1.27 and whether your rash censurings and unchristian charge be as becometh the Gospel of Christ I leave to God and your own better enlightned consciences to judge and the Christian Reader to consider Anabaptists Answ First you say You have received some lines of my writing which I sent you upon the Eleventh of Novemb. and having weighed them in the ballance of the Sanctuary you find them very light Mr. Bour●● Reply To which I reply Certainly you were mistaken it was not the Ballance of the Sanctuary in which you weighed my lines for God requireth his people should have

English Nation You do own it but with a limitation I say nothing to your limitation I am sure for what I know you have no reason but to own the present Powers and to submit and obey the Magistrates and all other in Authority when they upon complaint do command the payment of Tythes to Ministers according to Law as in all other lawful commands and as Magistrates have a lawful power to compel so the Ministers of Christ may lawfully appeal to them for Justice and Right and although I would not have any of my Brethren to be contentious for trifles or small matters yet it is their duty to defend and not to lose the just Rights of the Church for succeeding ages especially in these dayes when Sacriledge is by so many accounted no sin as if God had no special right now to any thing in the world and so men could not rob God of any part of the Creature which is his either by Reservation or Consecration for maintenance of his worship and service but if this were so why doth St. Paul writing to his converted christian Jews at Rome such as were called to be Saints Rom. 1.7 demand the question and reason the case with them Rom. 2.22 Thou that abhorrest Idols dost thou commit sacriledg sacriledg sure then might be found to be a sin committed amongst Christians for such were these to whom St. Paul writ it is some question what kind of sacriledg the Apostle means but the Greek word used by the Apostle Rom. 2.22 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sacrilegium committo 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Proprie ●st Templa Despolione Gerh. in Loc. M. Leigh upon the Romans Calvinus in Rom. Hac ratione Ovidius metamorpho 3. Sacrilegum appellat lycurgum ob contemptu Bachi sacra in fastes sacrilegos manus quae numen veneris violarant signifieth to despoil and ●ob Temples or to despoil holy things things consecrated to Divine worship or maintenance thereof as if St. Paul had held as good a false Religion as a spoiling Religion and although Sacriledg is not worse yet it is as bad as Idolatry as that learned man Mr. Leigh well observes upon the place And godly learned judicious Mr. Calvin in his Commentaries The Apostle saith he understandingly opposeth Sacriledg to Idolatry as a thing of the same kind certainly both a like odious to God for Sacriledg is a prophanation of the Divine Majesty or of a worship and service or any thing that belongeth thereunto And this saith Mr. Calvin was not unknown to the Ethnick Poets who called those sacrilegious who contemned the holy things of their Heathen Gods and what can it be but sacriledg or a robbing of God when men violate and take away that which is Gods reserved by him for the maintenance of his worship and service for the taking away of that which belongs to God for the maintenance of his worship certainly is a sin which the Magistrate may take notice of as well as other especially when as it is a setled maintenance by the Laws of the Land as well as by the law of God and certainly the Ministers of Christ may lawfully appeal to the christi●n Magistrates for Justice as well as the blessed Apostle Paul did appeal to Caesar a Heathen Emperour against his unjust adversaries as you may read Acts 25.10 11. I stand at Caesars Judgement-seat where I ought to be judged to the Jews I have done no wrong I appeal unto Caesar I might shew you at large how good Kings and Magistrates have comforted and encouraged the Prophets of God The Levites they taught the people the good-knowledg of God before Christ witness good King Hezekiah the 2 Chron. 30.22 He spake comfortably to the Levites and commanded the people to give the portion to the Priest and Levites that they might be encouraged in the law of the Lord 2 Chron. 31.4 and good J●hoshaphat before him honoured the Levites as you may see 2 Chron. 20. And Nehemiah that good Magistrate contended with the Nobles in Judah for prophaning the Sabbath and whe● he perceived that the portion of the Levites had not been given them he contended with the Rulers and then brought all Judah the Tythes of the Corn and the New-wine and the Oyl unto the Treasury that the Levites might be supplied and they might be dist●ibuted to them according to their right as is recorded Nehemiah 13.10 11 12. And we hope that as God hath formerly so God will bless and honour this present Parliament to be a defence to all the godly faithful Ministers in the Nation though too many desire they may be their destruction What need I tell you of Constantine the Great that first christian Emperour what great respect he had to the Ministers of Christ Eusebius in vi●a Constantini witness Euseb●us in the life of Constantine or of those many christian Princes also who endowed and according to conscience duty as they believed gave and setled Tythes for the maintenance of the Ministers of Christ I have given a Catalogue of many before I might vindicate at full and justifie the authority of Parliaments christian Kings and Magistrates for punishing of offenders and their coercive power to compel refractory men to do their duties according to the just and good Laws of God and men established but I refer you and the Reader to that learned VVork of that learned and laborious man William Prynne of Lincolns-Inn Esq Entituled The Sword of the Magistrate supported That 's a Book not answered nor answerable so as to deprive the good Magistrates of their just Power given them by God and the laws of the Nation over which the Lord in his wise Providence hath placed them and thus I have done with your last ground of separation which you are pleased to call A Sandy Pillar and Popish Foundation that is the Sword of the Magistrate Rom. 13.1 2 3 c. but it is Gods Ordinance and that which you ought to obey even for conscience sake as we proved before And we must tell you that we do not make the Sword of the Magistrate the Fundamental of livelyhood as you imagine though we do bless the Lord that our good Mag●strates are not against us but for us yet we live by Faith and we hope the Lord will strengthen our Faith to depend upon him Hab. 2.4 Mat. 28.20 Heb. 13.5 who hath promised to be with us to the end of the world never to fail us nor forsake us nor do we fear starving amongst those we call christians when Tythes and all we had were plundered and lost we found by experience the goodness of God in opening christian hearts to communicate to our necessities and doubt not but if the Lord should suffer us to be brought to the like straights again Rom. 8.28 2 Tim. 4.18 yet we know all shall work together for our good God is the same God still and will provide for us here what he

seeth best and preserve us to his Heavenly Kingdom The Anabaptists answer and conclusion I come now to your conclusion which followeth in these words SIR I might have added hereunto many Arguments from the Scripture to prove what I affirmed but I judge them needless supposing that what is here contained is sufficient to convince you or any rational man in the world of the Grounds and Reasons of our Separation from your Assemblies Vale. John Darker Tobias Watson Mr. Bourn's Reply Friends I see you are very forgetful of what you boasted of in the first page of your sheet of paper That your Foundation Principles for as I understand you it is the Principle of your own Church you speak of if you account your selves your company a Church of God That these your Foundation Principles have Scripture as clear to prove them as the Sun at noon-day withou● the help of Consequences or Illustration but now it appeareth it was but a vapour for let the Reader consider and judge whether you have brought any one Scripture proof of these Points in Difference between us that is as clear as the Sun at noon day without a consequence or Illustration I am sure not one neither for your first second nor third Ground of Separation First you speak magisterially against Infant-membership and accuse us as if our Church were builded only of these but you prove it not and your places of Scripture are all consequences Ergo c. and so for your Second your places of Scripture are all falsely applyed they may belong rather to your selves than to us And for your Third which consists of your Friend Haggars four legs which you call Sandy Pillars and Popish Foundations if any shew of proof could have been it must have been by consequences of which here you bring none and so have neither proof nor shew of proof so that I may justly tell you what you had writ in your Paper is not sufficient to convince me or any rational man in the world of the sufficiency of the Grounds and Reasons of your separation from our Assemblies Therefore I hope if God be pleased to open your eyes to see your Errors you will in Gods due time return to us again I do not mean to joyn with those Congregations or Assemblies which are neither Reformed nor Reforming who take no care to separate the pretious from the vile Jer. 15.19 but admit all ignorant and scandalous to communion with them whose Ministers neglect Catechizing that truly profitable and necessary work to prepare people for a ripe-year Church-membership and comfortable fellowship with the Saints and the Lord Jesus Christ 1 John 1.3 but to joyn with those Congregations which are Reformed and reforming whether they be Presbyterial Independant or any other godly Ministers and Reformed Congregations for if they be godly they are Brethren Gen. 41.24 and will not fall out by the way if they be of christian peaceable spirits and such as love and desire the peace and unity amongst the Churches of Christ which every faithful soul ought to pray daily for I leave the Reader to take notice of your VALE it seems you will take your leave in Latine though you find fault with our Humane Learning But I conclude with my humble and hearty Prayers to our good God in Jesus Christ that it will please him to open your hearts to attend not to the Doctrines of men or humane Tradition which they call New lights but upon true examination will be found old E●to●s 2 Tim. 3.5 6 7. which by means of your secret Meetings seducing spirits have an easie way to draw you unto yea to wicked heresies Gal. 5.20 too frequent works of the flesh scattered by divers of you amongst poor simple souls but that you may keep close to the word of Truth the holy Scriptures not wrested 2 Pet. 3.17 and falsely applied as we see too many do to the great danger of their souls and the souls of others but according to the mind of the Holy Ghost speaking in the Scriptures and by plainer places giving light to understand those which are more difficult that being guided by that holy Spirit of Truth you may walk as becometh the Gospel of Christ not in enmity against but in peace and love with the godly faithful Ministers of Christ in England commonly so known and esteemed and in peace and love with the churches of Jesus Christ attending conscionably upon and at the publick preaching of the Gospel that you may receive strength from Christ in Grace and in the end if it be the will of God have communion with us and all the Saints of Christ in glory In the mean time let us pray with the Apostle Paul Rom. 15.6 7. Now the God of patience and consolation grant that we may be like-minded one towards another according to Christ Jesus that we may with one shoulder one mind and one mouth glorifie God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which is the earnest desire and Prayer of him who subscribes himself one desirous to be found A Friend and Servant to all the Churches of God in Christ Jesus Immanuel Bourne Waltham in Com. Leicester June 10. 1659. To the High and Mighty PRINCE The Captain-General of SIONS ARMIES And the Lord of Lords and King of Kings the Wonderful Counsellor the Mighty God the Everlasting Father the Prince of Peace the Great Lord Patron and Governour of his Church and Children the Lord Jesus Christ The most humble Supplication and Petition of one of his most unworthy Servants and daily Orator at the Throne of Grace MY truly gracious Lord the bless●d Father of thy poor divided John 19.23 24. distressed Church and Children thy coat was without seam woven from the top throughout O that thy Church and people were without Rents Schisms and Divisions but this is the grief of thy poor servants soul that thine and thy Churches enemies have sowed Tares among thy wheat Judg. 9.13 1 Cor. 1.12 yea that a spirit of Division is come into the midst of thy Congregations and separateth Saints from Saints so that one saith I am of Paul another I am of Apollo another I am of Cephas another I am of Christ far unlike those blessed christians in the Primitive times who were of one heart and of one soul in thy worship and service Acts 4.32 agreeing sweetly together in the Faith of thee their Lord and Saviour but alas alas how contrary are we to them by means whereof instead of that bond of love and peace Ephes 4.34 and that unity of the Spirit and truth which ought to be amongst thy Disciples behold a loosness for Divisions and a spirit of Error and Separation hath made thy Saints naked to their shame Exod. 32.25 Psal 2.1.2 3. Psal 83.2 3 4. Isai 26.8 9. Behold O Lord Satans Kingdom and the Kingdom of Antichrist can hold fast together and combine against thy Majesty and