whom you load with so many sad aspersions as rending the Church and hindring of Reformation and of Schisme and warn your people to take heed of them and of their doctrine as being strict above what is written c. And does not all this shew what is formerly said is apparent the Lord help you to consider it that so you may take heed how you load others with such aspersions especially such as your owne conscience will tell you walke with God in uprightnesse Would it not be better for you to lay before them the truth of your waies by the word of God and confute them by the word of God if you be able so to doe But your taking this course will give wise men to thinke or at least to feare you are not able so to doe or else that you have not found by experience the power of the truth of God in your selves for if you had you should not need to feare but that it is of farre more power to convince and prevaile with persons then all such waies as you take for all arguments although they be according to the word of God are not able to convince any except the Lord go with it by his Almighty power and therfore not such kind of courses as these be which his word allows not of and therefore you cannot have the least hope to prevaile with persons by them but you may fear the Lord will appeare against you for them and so blast you and your wayes which you seek to set up by such kind of doings I dare not think you are so little acquainted with the Lord and his power that he puts forth in his word when it is purely and truly held forth as that he is not able and willing to vindicate his owne truth when it is held forth in an humble manner without such sinfull waies as you take nay assuredly he will never owne much lesse goe out with such waies I beseech you therefore feare and tremble to goe on in them for it is just from him that you should not onely lose your labour but should meet with disgrace and if not contempt for your so doing for God will resist you in such waies And beside the persons you write to exhort I hope have not lived so long within the bounds of the Province of London where the word of God hath been so long taught and in such a manner as it hath beene and is still taught by some faithfull Ministers of the word of God but they have learned to esteeme more of one Argument out of the Word of God then of thousands of such kind of expressions nay I hope they have learned to know the Lord above such kind of expressions in such a way and therefore all such who are godly will be so farre like unto him as they will doe the like especially when they are brought forth against the generation of the just as your owne Consciences cannot but tell you these be as hath been formerly said at least some of them and therefore you must not thinke to prevaile with any that feare God by such Arguments or rather by such revilings and I desire for your sakes you be not judged at the last day for Raylers and I feare you see so much your selves that if those you so speake against if they should speake so of you it would be esteemed rayling by you and that you would make the world take notice you did so esteeme them but blessed be the Lord they doe not so nor I hope wil not deale so by you but will rather say the Lord rebuke you or rather him that furthers such courses and also pray that the Lord would please to honour you so farre as to make you see the evill of such waies and be humble and also will bring the Word of God and such Arguments therefrom as the Lord may be pleased to goe with all as may convince you and all those to whom you write and all those that shall read what you write as you and they may have cause to blesse God for while they live in this world and to all eternity and be a meanes to make you and them to study and pray the Lord to bring your hearts into such a frame that you may be willing to finde and also to submit unto the way that the Lord Jesus Christ hath appointed his people to worship him in which I hope will be the end and â—yme of all such as take pen in hand to write to answer you in this Book that so truth and not victory and the glory of God and his Will may be submitted unto and not their owne wills may be obtained of all that love the Lord Jesâ—â— in sincerity and unity and love procured therein and contention and divisions may cease among us and that we may come to serve him and one another in love that so the Lord Jesus may take deliâ—ht in us and dwell with us and in us and among us while as he shall see we seeke not our owne ends but his glory walking in selfe deniall and humility and keeping to his truth exactly and not doe as you have done to wâ—rne people to reject such doctrines as hold forth a strictnesse above what is written and therein bring in all such as teach that whosoever will enter into Church Fellowship must first take a Church Covenant I pray consider if it be not necessary they should so doe for are not all men free where they will sit down and dwell and when they are set down are they not still free whether they will joyne to the Church or not and if they doe not if they offend you may tell them if they refuse to heare you goe and tell the Church and if they send for him if he refuse to come you can proceed no further against him by your Church-way and what is meant by joyning if it be not by covenanting to walke together with the Church in the waies of the Gospel and if a person so doe then you have power over him so as the Covenant gives you all the power you have over a person to exercise the Church Discipline upon him or else you have none and if you have not power over them that are in the Church then wherefore is Church Discipline and therefore the Covenant giving you that power it must needs be necessary for that the Church hath such a power is written and must exercise it upon the offending Brother and therefore by necessary consequence from Scripture-grounds there must be a Church Covenant which you may see far more at large and more clearly inreverend M. Hookers Book of the survey of Church Government and therefore it is not a doctrine above what it written and therefore not to be rejected but such as we must have an eare to heare and a heart to beleeve being agreeable to the Word of God and for what you speake of the Lords Supper that
A Word to LONDONS Provinciall Assembly OR A View of some Passages in the Ministers late Vindication of their Government To which is added A Vindication of the Covenant against all Intruders and Opposers By NEHEMIA CENT Isa 62.1 For Sions sake will I not hold my peace and for Jerusalems sake will I not rest c. Jer. 5.30.31 A wonderfull and horrible thing is committed in the Land The Prophets prophesie falsly and the Priests beare rule by their meanes and my people love to have it so and what will yee doe in the end thereof Jer. 23.39.40 Therefore behold I even I will utterly forget you and I will forsake you and the City that I gave you and your Fathers and cast you out of my presence And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you and a perpetuall shame which shall not be forgotten LONDON Printed for the Author and are to be sold at the Crowne in Popes-head Alley 1650. TO THE Christian Reader Christian Reader WHEN I consider the divisions that are among us arising from the diversities of the Judgements and opinions of men and the dangers we are in thereby it makes me feare we are fallen into those times which are said shall come which are called perillous times 2 Timothy 3.1 Men shall be lovers of themselves Covetous Boasters Proud Blasphemers c. And from selfe it is that men seek to set up themselves and the brats of their owne braine and fall so in love with them as for the obtaining of their desires they run desperate hazzards for they are not willing that truth should prevaile nor those that seeke to hold it forth in their practises and therefore they indeavour to make all stoope to them and to that end they use all meanes to obtaine their owne wills and therefore they that stand against them they indeavour to loade with reproach and slander and to draw off peoples hearts from them and after themselves nay they give many privy nips at the power of Godlinesse under smooth pretences and expressions which is very sad to thinke of especially comming from such men as Ministers and Elders and in the Province of London the cheife City and place in the Kingdom which makes it the more dangerous and the more to be lamented And therefore my desire is for thy good that thou wouldest begge of God such a heart that thou maiest observe what our Saviour sayes that thou wouldest Take heed what thou doest heare or read and that of the Apostle Beleeve not every spirit but try the spirits whether they be of God or not and that try all things and hold fast that which is good For it is said by our Saviour that there shall arise many false Prophets and shall deceive many nay if it were possible they should deceive the very Elect and therefore we had need watch and pray that we enter not into temptation and therefore be very carefull when thou art to read the booke called the vindication of the Presbyterian Government and Ministers for although there be many faire words and pretences yet thou shalt finde many things in it which if thou doest not take heede may prove very dangerous unto thee for there thou mayest see godlinesse pretended but those that desire to walke up to the power of godlinesse reproached and called Schismaticks c. and charged with rending the Church and people warned to reject their doctrine and many such kind of aspersions they are laden with in many parts of that booke which is sad to thinke of But my intent is to speake but a word to them in this booke nor to say more of them at this time But my intent is as thou maiest see mainly to answer a booke that was set out with forty seven of their names to it which I think were all of the same society the reason that causes me to thinke so is because many of them are known to be of them and yet there is not a word spoken against their proceedings in that booke which may give occasion to fear they are all of one mind which is sad to think of there being so much sin in it and that thou mayest not think it strange that it should come forth row so long after I had brought it neare to a readinesse for the Presse a good while since but seeing so many Answers come to it I resolved to let it alone But now seeing a book come forth with such a dresse as A Vindication of the Presbyterian Government and Ministery I tooke it and did read it and finding still the same frame of spirit as before so farre as I was able to perceive although it were in a smoother way It put me upon thoughts to put forth what I had formerly taken some paines in especially concerning the Nationall Covenant it being that which I perceive is their strong hold to runne unto upon all occasions and also that is one of their maine Pillars to beare them up in what they do speake and write against such as walk more strictly in the wayes of God then themselves doe And besides I perceive that many of those that I beleeve fear God are much stumbled at it and caused to thinke and speake evill of the present Parliament and Army for their late actings and therefore for the vindication of the Covenant Parliament and Army and yeelding some little light to the godly Readers I have brought it forth that so if it bee the will of God people may bee more settled in the way the Lord hath cast us into and give him that praise which is his due and their duty to give him And that it may appeare neither the Parliament nor Army in what they have acted nor the godly people in what they have Petitioned have broken the Covenant especially in such a manner as some would make the world beleeve they have but those that cry out so of the breach of Covenant are the greatest breakers of it themselves and therefore that prejudice may bee taken off from the Parliament Army and godly people and the thoughts of unbyassed Readers may bee established and those that have beene and are the great Censurers of others may come to see their sinne and bee willing to take the shame of it and so cease to condemne others and learne to condemne themselves by owning their owne sinnes and that the consideration thereof may be a meanes to stop them from such high and violent courses and also from such uncharitable ways and practises And others may be kept from doing or approving these or the like practises is and shall bee my earnest desire And therefore Christian Reader my desire is that thou wouldest reade this booke with such a frame of spirit as may cause thee to read it with judgement and consideration of every part of it so as to be willing to see the truth and to stoope to it so as thou mayest understand love and practise it and therefore my desire is
thou wouldest desire of God an humble and meeke heart to read withall that he may teach thee for he hath promised to teach the humble and guide the meeke to glorie and that hee may deale so by thee shall be the prayer of him who is Thine in the Lord Jesus NEHEMIA CENT Reader BY reason of the Authours absence many grosse mistakes have escaped thâ—â—â—esse therefore thou art intreated in the reading of this little booke to have recourse to this Errata which will rectifie the sense Farewell ERRATA Page 2 line 16 read unto l 38 r commend p 4 l. â—1 r abhor l 15 after course adde in you p 5 l â—â— after you adde â—onsider p 10 l 25 afâ—er bloodâ— coâ—â—â— â—â—d â—dde blood p 1â— l 18 at the â—â—d r that is p 16 l 12 r might p 18 l. 38 l break not the Covenant p 19 l. 1â— r hearers p 20 l 5 dele formerly p 22 l 19. â—nd the begiâ—â—ing of the 20. â— dealt with in justice p 31 l 27 r they begin in their way p 27 l 35. at the begâ—â—â—â—â—◠〈◊〉 bâ— p 31 l â—0 〈…〉 and lâ—â—â—â—â—â—t in l 36 r Jehue's p 34 l 21 after thâ—â— adde they p â—7 l 〈◊〉 câ—â—â—â— after opposing and r 2â— p. 39 l 5 r that God p 40 l 1 r reall evill insteâ—d of as wel l 33 r tremble p 42 l 38 r that A VVORD to LONDONS Provinciall Assembly I Have lately seene a Booke called A Vindication of the Presbyterian Government and Ministery with many exhortations to Ministers and Elders and people joyning with you or separating from you which I took and read over and that without contempt mocking or scoffing which when I had considered I saw no cause I should for I saw more cause of mourning then of scoffing and of pitying of you then of contempt and of praying the Lord to bring your hearts into a better frame then of mocking And therefore I could but wonder whence such suspicions should arise in you and when I had a little considered I could not tell except it were from your own experience in your practices for when I considered the substance of the Booke I saw that which did make me thinke you had not read the Booke of that Reverend Mr. Hooker about Church-government or if you have you have slighted it at the best for had you read it with a sound and serious spirit weighing well what he hath said it will fully answer many of your allegations and take away many of your foundations you seeme to build upon in your Book And for scoffing and contempt I should have wondred whence you should have such thoughts but that I consider your frame of spirit in your former Booke from which it must arise or else from the guilt of your owne consciences of what you then did which you may feare will render you justly contemptible at least you might feare it could not be esteemed there being so much of that spirit that did shew it selfe in the former Booke for although there be many good things in it and many glorious expressions yet there is so much Collaquintida in it mixed as may make it very dangerous to the takers if they take not good heed And the truth is it came out unseasonably for if you intended to set out a Vindication you should have stayed untill you had first set out a book of your acknowledgement and humiliation for what you had formerly so sinned in that so you might have given satisfaction to those that you had offended and then vindication might have come in season for you must think it is not forgotten and if you had done so it would have been past over and forgotten of those that are the people of God whereas now they see there is cause still of applying of more of what you had formerly that if it be possible you may at the last come to see your sinne and mourne and give satisfaction for it which is one end of the writing of this booke or at least in committing it to the Presse and another end is to undeceive the people in that strong hold which you thinke you have against them at least you have made many beleeve so which is the breach of Covenant for it may hold forth a little light to cause them to see the Covenant is not broken so as you would make them beleeve especially not by those persons that you so cry out against for breaking of it but that the breach will returne upon your selves although in all your writings still you flye upon that it being one main thing you center upon in this booke of yours and by which and in which you take occasion to set up your selves and to fling filth upon others And indeed you had more need to have condemned your selves then to set up your selves and it would have beene more for the glory of God and the peace and comfort of your owne soules and more to the furtherance of the worke you are going about which you would have all to conforme unto you in for all wise humble men will thinke the worse of your way or at least suspect the more because you seeke so much to set up your selves for they may feare and that justly the Lord will not honour you so much as to shew you the patterne of his house for they can see what the Lord sayes Ezek. 43.10 11. If they be ashamed of all that they have done then shew them the patterne of the house the in-goings and the out-goings and the whole fashion thereof and all the Ordinances thereof and the figures and all the Lawes thereof c. So if you had published your shame for what you had so sinfully done before then you and we might have had hope the Lord would have shewed you the patterne of his house for as you say of your Presbyterian way may be truly found of a Church way it is hard to finde and more hard to follow for it is very difficult and the Lord must shew it us or else we can never finde the right way for I feare your way is too easie and broad to be the right way and hee hath made no promise to shew them the way that seeke to command and set up themselves I hope you have not forgotten that exhortation Let another praise thee and not thy owne selfe and you know what our Saviour faith of him that sets up himself above others and who it was that said Come see my zeale and is thy heart right as mine is it had beene well for him if his heart had beene so right as his was which he spake to the Lord give you hearts to examine if there be not too much of that spirit in you it doth so much shew it selfe in the other booke and this also And may not the former instances suit you between you and those at least some of them whom you so much condemne and count so dangerous persons