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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A91809	A looking glasse for the Anabaptists and the rest of the separatists: wherein they may clearly behold a brief confutation of a certain un-licensed, scandelous pamphlet, intituled, The remonstrance of the Anabaptists, by way of vindication of their separation. The impertinancies, incongruities, non-consequences, falsities, and obstinacy of William Kiffen, the author, and grand ring leader of that seduced sect is discovered and laid open to the view of every indifferent eyed reader that will not shut his eyes against the truth. With certaine queries, vindicated from Anabaptisticall glosses, together with others propounded, for the information and conviction, (if possible) the reformation of the said William Kiffen and his prosylites. / By Josiah Ricraft, a well willer to the truth. Published by authority.	Ricraft, Josiah, fl. 1645-1679.	1645 (1645)	Wing R1430; Thomason E299_9; ESTC R200250	22,283	33

and not suffer you and such like to goe on in your Schismes and Heresies they doe no more then they may lawfully doe yea then what is their duty to doe and this is so farre from being any lawfull ground of forsaking our Church that on the contrary the not suppressing of Sects and Schisms by their power and authority were a juster ground of separation For it is apparent by the example of the godly kings and Magistrates as Asa Josiah and others that they looke to it that the worship and house of God were reformed according to the word and commanded and caused all the people to stand to it 2 Chron. 34.31 32. As for your third ground brought to justifie your separating from us in that we quench the Spirit and despise Prophesie know it is your ignorance in not understanding the Scripture makes you say so for your selves will be found to be the men that quench the Spirit and despise Prophesie in despising the publike Ministery of the word and you could not have quoted a place against your selves more then that is for by the interpretation of learned men upon that Scripture 1. Thess 5.20 is meant the publique ministery of the word as being the great Ordinance of God against the quenching of the Spirit and your Sect of all others is knowne to be a despiser of the publique ministery And as for a fourth ground brought by you to name no more they being so frivolous The maintenance of Ministers by Tithes I wish you to consider of that Scripture 1 Cor. 9.13 14. where the Apostle shews that they that minister about holy things live of the things of the Temple and they that wait upon the Altar are partakers of the Altar which is meant of Tithes And the Apostle speaking of the maintenance of the Ministers under the Gospel saith Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel Now observe the Apostles words he doth not say The Lord hath ordained but even so the Lord hath ordained how so but as he speakes in the 13. vers namely of Tithes and Offerings as you call it if you say not by Tithes and by Offerings then it concernes you to make it appeare either out of the old or New Testament where ever God hath ordained that they that preach the Gospel should have any other fixed maintenance but Tithes And it is certaine by this place that God hath somewhere in the word ordained their maintenance And for conclusion to your Answer to my Third Querie supposing that through want of discipline we had not nor should not have a purging of the wicked from the godly yet for private persons to forsake our Churches were not justifiable neither the want of prophesying take it in your own sense suppose it were a defect of something of an Ordinance yet it would not justifie your separation and so I might say of all the rest And were it not that I had beene so large already I might shew you how that the suffering of evill persons in the Church yea the neglect of somewhat commanded being an affirmative duty could no way warrant your becomming a member much lesse a Minister of any such separate congregation And let me make it your owne case whether your suffering of many of your members to live in disobedience as wives to their husbands children to their parents and servants to their masters lawfull commands and further living in backbiting railing and reviling not of private persons only as they have some of them to their shame beene convicted of but also of the high Court of Parliament of England with our Brethren of Scotland with the Ministery of both Kingdomes and all the Reformed Churches which sinnes are as great as drunkennesse and are put by the Holy Ghost in the Catalogue of vilest sinnes Rom. 1.30 backbiters disobedient to parents And in the 1 Cor. 5.11 the plact brought by you for not comming to the Lords Supper in our Churches because of drunkards doth as expresly forbid to eat with railers which you and your members are notorious enough for and this by your rule were a sufficient ground for your members to forsake your Churches and set up new in their roomes QUERIE IV. WHat warrant have you to admit into your separate Congregations silly seduced servants children or people Kiff Ans I see our separated Congregations stick very hard upon your stomacks therefore as I have laboured to helpe you to digest our separation so I hope I shall give you something from the word of truth that may remove your imbitterednesse of spirit against our Congregations And first know this that infinite love which hath redeemed a people to God out of Nations Tongues and Kindred hath also made them Kings and Priests unto God to reigne with him in his spirituall Kingdome here on the earth Rev. 5.9 10. and that all those which are begotten by the immortall seed 1 Pet. 1.23 even those new borne Babes that have tasted of the Lords bounty and come to that living and precious stone the Lord Jesus being themselves living stones are built up a spirituall house being made a holy Priesthood to offer up spirituall sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ 1 Pet 2.1 to the 11. verse and being quickned by Christ are raised with him to sit together in heavenly places Eph. 2.5.6 being by one spirit baptized into one body 1 Cor. 12 13. the old man being buried with him Rom. 6.4 and the new man put on Gal. 3.27 Col. 3.10 thus having an entrance to the Father the building being thus coupled together by the same spirit groweth to an holy Temple and so becomes an habitation to the Lord Eph. 2.18 to 22. which assembly we are not to forsake Hebr. 10.25 but to exhort one another daily Hebr. 3.12 13. having received gifts by the same spirit we are to dispence them for edification 1 Cor. 12.47 1 Pet. 5.10 Rom. 12.3 to 9. to these congregations hath Christ promised his presence Mat. 28.19.20 and 18.19 20. Rev. 7.13 14 15. and 21.2 3. and 22.13 Now then that we can prove our selves to be such congregations as are before spoken of or at least wise such as doe sincerely and truly strive according to that light wee have to be such then I hope you will be so farre from despising such gatherings of the Saints together as that you will not deny them to receive in members and to dispence such gifts for the edifying one of another as the Lord hath given us and this I shall labour to doe in the answere to your next Querie and wheras you demand what warrant we have to receive sillie seduced servants c. we answer it is well knowne to you we receive in none as members with us but such as has beene members of your Church at the least 16 20 or 30. yeers and that they be sillie when they are received members among us surely they

A Looking Glassē FOR THE ANABAPTISTS AND THE REST OF THE SEPARATISTS Wherein they may clearly behold a brief Confutation of a certain un-licensed Scandelous Pamphlet Intituled The Remonstrance of the Anabaptists by way of Vindication of their Separation The Impertinancies Incongruities Non-consequences Falsities and Obstinacy of William Kiffen the Author and grand ring leader of that seduced Sect is discovered and laid open to the view of every indifferent eyed Reader that will not shut his eyes against the Truth With certaine Queries vindicated from Anabaptisticall Glosses together with others propounded for the Information and Conviction if possible the reformation of the said William Kiffen and his Prosylites By Josiah Ricraft a well willer to the Truth 1. John 4.1 2. Tim 3.6 Dearly beloved beleeve not every spirit but try the spirits whether they are of God for many false Prophets are gone out into the world for of this sort are they which creepe into houses and lead Captive simple women laden with sins led away with divers lusts Published by Authority London Printed and are to be so●d by Peter Cole in Cornhill at the signe of the Printing P●esse And John Hancock in Popes-head All●y 1645. Courteous Reader I Had not troubled the Presse in this scribling age had I not accidentally met with an unlicensed Scandalous Pamphlet in print in Answer to six Queries I had heretofore propounded in behalfe of a friend of neere relation but to my knowledge I never saw the man to whom I propounded them unto but by credible hands I am certified he pretends a new light and takes upon him to set up A new found Church and by this means seduceth and draweth away mens wives children and servants to be his prosylits to the great grief of those that should have the power and government over them And now finding my opposit so ready and bold to Print without Authority and some friends very earnest with me to Answer It prevailed with me by consent of Authority to put forth this my ensuing Discourse with certaine Queries more into the world with my opposits wandering discourse for the satisfaction of all sides and parties and to stop the mouthes of all I have here laid it down as it came written with his owne hand and name subscribed thereunto to my hand and not as it was most falsely added to and taken from in the printing to cover his nonsensicall absurdities which any judicious man may discern It is my intent to speake to his Answers to my Queries so far as they seeme to have any colour of reason or argument in them but where I finde him impertinent and extravagant I give him leave to wander alone in the middest of his own mistakes which are very many Now kinde Reader impartially peruse this my short Treatue before thou passe they sentence as many do now adayes because they are prejudiced at the matter though never so true or the Person though never so godly because neither Person nor matter agrees with the temper of their opinion I wish England at this day could not witnesse this truth with grief to see that monstrous Hydra of opinions and divisions upon divisions with sub-divisions and these increasing daily pleading Toleration with a brasen brow and an impudent face not fearing to abuse that ever to be honoured high Court of Parliament of England with that faithfull Kingdome of Scotland and the right Reverend the Assembly of Ministers of England and the rest of our honoured Arthodox Ministers and the two worthy Patriots Mr. William Prynne of Lincolns Inne Esq with Mr. Doctor Bastwick And if this lawlesse generation may proceed under the vizor of a Liberty for tender Consciences our condition will suddenly be worse then it was in the time of the Bishops in their lordly height for instead of a prodigall Hirearchy we shall have a turbelant Anarchy but to prevent both It shall be my prayers to God to put it into the hearts of those truely Noble and right Honourable ones who sit in the Stern to guide and preserve the tottering Ship of this Kingdom to use means to the height of their powers to bring it to the Haven of happinesse a setled Reformed goverment amongst us which they and we both have entred into a Covenant to perform in every of our places according to our powers That God may be one and his name one in the three Kingdoms So prayeth he who is a well willer and Servant to Englands friends in Jesus Christ to serve them JOSIAH RICHAFT A Looking Glasse for the Anabaptists and the rest of the Seperatists QUIERI I. BY what Warrant of the Word of God doe you Seperate from our Congregations where the Word and Sacraments are purely dispensed Kiffens Answer This Queire seemes to import thus much that from such Congregations where the word and Sacraments are purely dispensed men ought not to seperate but that men are and ought to seperate from such where the word and Sacraments are not purely dispensed Your Queare seemes to grant but however though it should be denyed those scriptures plainly proves Rev. 14.8.9.10 more fully manifested in Rev 18 1 2 3 4 5. Esa 52 2. and more at large spoken of 2 Cor 6 14 to the end as also Practised by the Apostle Paul himselfe in Acts 19 8 9 10. But now Sir here lies the Quest that your Congregations be such as where the word sacraments are purely dispersed then we sin you justly charge us with sisme for seperating from you but that it be not so that your congregations are such but one the contrary such as doe not dispence the word Sacraments purely then wee doe well and you sin in charging us for sisme in doing what the word commands and the Saints practised and therfore we haveing nothing to prove that the word and sacraments are purely dispenced among you but your bare afirmation it cannot satisfie our Consciences and I marvell how it satisfieth you doeth not the word o● God like a two edged sword fight against you may not that scripture Iustly be aplyed to you Ier 1 7 9 10 11. for do you not dayly admit and suffer to be amongst you such as doe according to Gods word leaven the whole lamp 1 Cor 5 6 and doe not purely despence the word upon you for their he●ling the spirit of Christ saith such glorying is not good and the feast of the Lord ought not to be keept with them and I pray you shew me what pure institution have you for the baptising of Children which is one of your great sacraments amongst you what can you finde for your practise herein more then the durty pudle of mens inventions and therefore when the Sacraments are purly administred according to the pure instritutions of the Lord Iesus and when you have dispenced the word and power of Christ for the cutting of all Drunkards Fornicators Covitious Sweraers Dyers and all abominable and filthy persons stand together

townéere a hin to wicked Sanbalat and Tobias Neh. 4.1 2 3. who mocked at the beginning of the building of Jerusalem and we may iustly against the whole sect of you Anabaptists make that prayer of Nehemiah Neb. 4.4 Heare O our God for we are dupised and turne their reproach upon their own heads for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders and I may speak the words of Zac. 4.10 For who hath despised the day of small things And know that however your eyes are blind and you drunke with your own conceits and will not sée what the great change is of Episcopacy into Presbytry and the Book of common prayer into a Directory yet all the Reformed Churches sée it and wonder at it and blesse GOD for it yea they looke upon that you count Reformation as a Deformation who instead of Ministers gifted and called by GOD to dispence the Word and Sacraments have Jeroboams Priests of the lowest and basest of men to be your Priests and such whom God Himselfe rejects for want of knowledge And whereas you thinke you are sled out of Babilon you are come into Babell of confusion and errours and your churches ministers and people are like a Bedlam sit to receive none but brainsick distracted santastick persons and wholly unsuietable for all sober godly and conscientious Christians I shall conclude my Reply to your discourse upon this Querie in reference to your Seperate méettings with that prayer of good old Jacob in another ●ase Gen. 49.6 O my soule come not thou into their secrets unto their Assemblies my honour be not thou anited QUERIE III. VVHat warrant have you either to be a Member much lesse a Minister of any such separate Congregation Kiff Ans This Querie as I conceive is added more for number then for waight for who can be so ignorant as to think a congregation can be without members therefore that we can prove our congregations true our membership must needs be true I would not speak any more to this Querie but that I see you pinch so hard upon our seperation in foure of your Queries to which I shall give a more full answer to prove our seperation true from your assemblyes and first it cannot be denyed but Iesus Christ is of the Father Anoynred to be the head of the Church which is his body Eph 1.20.22.23 Coll 1.18 and that we are commanded only to here him Deut 18.15 Acts 3.22 and 7.37 Math 17 5 Pet 1 17 and that whosoever will not heare and obey him the Lord will require it at his hands Deut 18 19. Acts 3 27. Math 7.26.27 and hereby we know we love God and he loves us when we keepe his Commandements 1. Iob 2.3 5.2 3. now then that we can not keep faith and a good Consciencein obeying all the Commands of CHRIST so long as we assemble our selves with you then are we necessitated to seperate our selves from you btu that we cannot keep faith a good conscience so with you these scriptures prove compared with your practice 2 Thess 3 6. 1 Cor 5 11 2 Tim. 2 21 3 5 Eph. 5 1. to the 14. with many other scriptures but in the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses every trueth shall stand now then so long as you deny to follow the rule of Iesus Christ and are not obedient to his comands reject the word of God which is given by Christ for the separating of wicked from the godly seperating the pretious from the vile as Mat 18.15.16.17 1 Cor 5.4.5.11.13 we are bound in obedience to Iesus Christ to leave you whilest you remaine obstina●e to him and as it is with a naturall body which receives in all and wants power to voyde the excrements must needs become a rotten filthy uncleane body even so it is with all false spirituall states who by power and authority given to them by the civill magistrate they command all both rich and poor to subject to their worship whether their consciences be brought over to see it a truth or no or else they may not live amongst them or use any traffique with them Rev 13 16 17 and so become the hold of all soule spirits and a cage for every uncleane birde Rev 18 7. now I would but appeale to any reasonable religious men whether England hath not at this time in her as hatefull birds as any nation whatsoever and whether there be not at this day an authority to force in al to worship the d●ily experience of this may be seene by the practice of those which would be counted the most knowing learned men of our times who will have men to worship with them against their wills and soe makes them as the formall hipocrites and therefore when these things doe so appear is it not high time to harken to the voyce of the Apostle Acts 2 40. to save our selves from such a generation and to come out from them Rev 18 4. now that these spoken of with many other which might be brought as the quenching of the spirit and despising prophesie so that no man may speake in your publicke exercises but one that hath the same call and power as those whom you now have cast off contrary to these scriptures 1 Pet 4 10. Heb 10 25. Coll. 3 16. Eph 4 15 16. 1 Cor 12 7 8 14 24 26 31 39. as also all superstitious consecrations to the great deluding of poor ignorant people inraging them against those which worship any where save in your high places contrary to these expresse texts of Scripture Iob 4 20 24. As also continuing of tithes offerings of the people as that Christ were not come in the flesh as that the Clergie of the Kingdome were the tenth parte of the Kingdome for number when as they themselves will tell God in their praiers that the harvest is great but the laborers are but few an act so unjust by them to bee demanded that reason would abhor that a few men in a Kingdome should have the tenth part of the riches of the Kingdome and yet so eagerly persued by them that though the paying of it bee the undoing of men they will have it and therefore pursue men in au●hority at bed and board in pulpit and privat chamber to have power put into their hands to that end as likewise their cruelty in refusing a place of Buriall in their consecrated ground except they have so much mony as perhaps the parties have not in all the world to give them all which considered wi●h many more I desire you to consider of and that yet it be not a sufficient ground to you for the confirmation of our Iust separation yet know it is to us and unlesse you can show us that Christ Iesus is not to be harkened to as well in these Scriptures given for the establishment of the new testament as Moses was in the establishment of the ould and under the penalty of the same

and greater judgments then was inflicted upon the breaches of the same as Heb 2 15 c 3 1 to 9 CHAP 10 21 to 31 12 Col. 22. to the end do declare and therefore we cannot nay we dare not but continew in these our practices and witnes the truth of it even by suffering though others oppose it The Reply AS for your Answer to this my third Querie in stead of shewing what grounds you have from the word of God to be A member much lesse a Minister of such Congregations as yours are In stead of giving reasons from the word of God in such materiall points and practices which might satisfie the consciences of men you run out into extravagant exclaimings against our Church and Congregations about the power of the Civill Magistrate superstitious consecrations of Tithes and Offerings of the people despising of Prophesie and disobedient to commands rejecting of the word of God concerning the purging of the wicked from the godly which were they all true according to your relation and further supposing them to be so it were not a sufficient ground of leaving our Church yet you need further grounds from the word of God for your positive separation and for making and erecting such Churches as yours are or joyning to be a member of any such Church I doe not deny but there may be some causes as many learned Divines shew wherein Christians may lawfully separate negatively and may goe and joine themselves as the case may fall out to some other publike Reformed church when as yet to erect and set up a new separated church is schisme And I doe in the fcare of God more particularly renew my former Querie What Scripture warrant or example have you as a private man to take upon you a publike worke namely one of the most publike and solemne works the building of a Church of Christ a worke that in all the New Testament where Christian Churches are recorded was never taken in hand but by eminent publike persons both for office and gifis Apostles or other eminent Ministers at least so that it is evident you are without all call and a meere intruder upon other mens offices and to speake to you in your owne words and phrases which you use You goe not according to the patterne in the Mount And for the other branch of the Querie What ground you have to be a Minister of any such congregation You did wisely to passe over that wholly in silence as being too hard for you to answer and in stead of that to fill up your pages with other rabble in which you hope the Reader might quite lose the sent of that question But I will now renew that branch of the Querie and in stead of putting it by way of question to you now I doe positively declare to you That you are so far from having any warrant to be a Minister of any such congregation as that you have not the least warrant to be a Minister of any at all But your taking upon you to bee a Minister to dispence the Word and Sacraments is a greater sinne and disorder then ever any was in the constitution of the Church of England since Reformation And for ignorant illiterate men the lowest of the people such as your self to take upon you to be a Minister of God a guide of soules is such an intolerable usurpation prophanation of Gods name that without great repentance you will finde one day to your cost that fulfilled of our Saviour The blinde lead the blinde and both fall into the ditch Paul that great Apostle speaking of the ministeriall calling saith Who is sufficient for these things now if such persons as you are may be Ministers Who is not sufficient for these things The sin of Ieroboam cleaves to you and to your Tribe that you make Priests of the lowest of the people which were not of the sonnes of Levi and whosoever will hee consecrates himself and becomes a Priest of your way I wish you with feare and trembling to reade and God give you grace to consider 1 King 12.31 and 1 King 13.33.34 with Hosea 4.6 and Rom. 10.15 wherein you will finde that in stead of a warrant for your selfe and such as you are to he Ministers your Ministery will become sinne unto you to cut you off and to destroy you from the face of the earth God rejects you that you shall be no Minister to him and that you should not preach he never fending you for the most wise God never sends fooles on his errand But now those things which you would charge our Churches with as grounds to justifie your separation are not truth For the fr●st of your charges wee answer That in the very times of the Bishops by the Orders of the Church there were rules for purging the wicked from the godly and separating the precious from the vile both in their Rubrickes and Canons as namely to keepe away ignorant and scandalous persons from the Sacrament of the Lords Supper and many godly Ministers even in these daies did in severall Congregations notwithstanding the illegall and tyrannicall carriage of the Prelates practise the same But any ingenious man would marvell what bold face you had at the time of writing of that you call your Remonstrance to charge upon us the rejecting of the Word of God given by Christ for the purging of the wi●k●d from the godly and our remaining obstinate to him When as your conscience must tell you that hundreds of Ministers at this very time doe kéepe away ignorant and scandalous persons from the Lords Supper and that the Assembly of Divines called by authoritie of Parliament for reformation of the Church have long agoe agreed on the separating the precious from the vile according to these Scriptures Matth. 18. and 1 Cor. 5 Yea and you know that the godly Ministers of England generally and the people are daily labouring for Reformation in this way As for your second extravagancie know you slander the Civill Magistrate which is no strange thing for you to doe it being one of the Characters of Anabaptists to despise dominions and speake evill of dignities in saying They are so hasty to command all both rich and poor to subject to their worship whether their conscience be brought over to see whether it be a truth or no or else they may not live amongst them or use any traffique with them To this there needs no other confutation but the suffering of you and your fellowes to goe on in your separated Churches without subiection to their Worships as you phrase it And the Civill Magistrate may do well to take notice of your unthankfulnesse and unkind requitall to belye them thus considering their great long-suffering and patience towards you But know when the Civill Magistrate shall be pleased by Lawes and Ordinances to command all to submit to the true worship of God and the true government of the Church