souls from the communion of the Church And also whereas our pious parents brought us to Christ and dedicated us to God the Father Sonne and holy Ghost let us take heed that we do not renounce that holy Covenant as Witches doe when they compact with the Devill remember our Lords words How can yee escape the damnation of hell They baptize them that have already been baptized They do that which the Scripture never commandeth Epâ— 4. St. Paul calleth it One Baptisme neither was â—ebaptization ever received in the true Church of God yea the Church taught that they that were baptized by such Heretickes as erred not in the Doctrine concerning the Trinity were not to be re-baptized Also the Imperiall Law punished them with Capitall punishment who submitted themselves to a second Baptisme They dreame of Monarchy in which the godly shall reigne alone and destroy the ungodly which is false for Christs Kingdome in this world is spirituall in which troubled consciences shall be victors and receive solid consolation against sin the devill and all manner of temptations Our Lord himselfe saith My Kingdome is not of this World John 18. Likewise saith St. Paul The weapons of our war are not carnall but mighty in operation 2 Cor. 10. Our Lord telleth us that the separation betweene the godly and ungodly shall not be untill the last day Luke 18 Againe That the Sonne of man comming shall hardly find faith upon earth Luke 17. In that night there shall be two in a bed the one received the other refused And Mat. 15. That the Angles shall separate the godly from the ungodly and the tares to remaine with the what untill the Harvest This Monarchy St. Peter confuteth in his second Epistle 2. 9. Saying the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust against the day of judgement to be punished Therefore they are not to reigne alone here the ungodly being killed And although the Prophets seeme sometimes to speake of a corporall Kingdome yet they expound themselves shewing that they speak of his spirituall Kingdome To reigne with Christ 1000. years before the ending of the world was the old Error of the Chiliasts condemned above 1000 years agone by the Church of God They allow men free will So that we may doe those things which God commanded and omit those things which God hath forbidden otherwise say they God gave his Law in vaine neither would he punish delinquents if he had not given them the power of free will It is answered it is impossible that in our corrupt nature we should keep the Law because it doth require a whole and absolute obedience in all things inward and outward of all the heart all our soule and all our might And the sense of the flesh as St. Paul testifieth is enmity to God Also the naturall man doth not understand the things that are of the Spirit 1 Cor. 2. Also Iohn 3. Man cannot take to himselfe any thing except it be given him from above So Eph. 2. The unregenerate man is said to be dead They separate themselves from all other Churches accounting themselves onely pure and holy and for this cause some of them will not say this Petition of the Lords Prayer Forgive us our trespasses saying they are pure and without sinne To this I answer with St. Iohn 1 Epist. 1. 8. If we say we have no sin we deceive our selves and the truth is not in us if we confesse our sins he is faithfull to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all our unrighteousnesse If we say we have not sinned we make him a lyar and his word is not in us To conclude the Anabaptists that say they have no sin are of the Devill the father of lyes going about to make God a lyar who is truth it selfe The Office of the Ministery to be of no great efficacie with them They doe not onely contemne the Office of the Ministery but also the holy Scripture As Muncer would speake scoffingly of it Bible Bible Bable Bable they depend too much upon peculiar Revelations The sincere preaching the word of God in the publick Congregations by the Ministers of the Word lawfully called profiteth much Mal. 2. The lips of the Priest shall preserve wisedome they shall require the Law from his mouth Ezech. 44. The Priest shall teach my people the differences betweene the holy and the prophane and cause them to discerne betweene the uncleane and cleane Rom. 1. 16. The preaching of the Word is the power of God to salvation to every one that beleeveth For this cause Christ taught in the Synagogues Every one among them taketh upon him to preach as a Minister Iohn Becold a Taylor of Leyden The Apostle teacheth us Heb. 5. That no man take this calling upon him except hee bee called of God Rom. 10. How shall they preach except they be sent And this standeth with good reason for every true Minister standeth in Gods roome being the Lords Embassadour to deliver his will Who dareth take upon him to be the Lords Embassadour except he be sent I have not sent them saith the Lord and yet they run and prophesie lies in my name Piety and Justice are the two Bases or Pillars that beare up humane Society and whereas the Devill goeth about in these his Impes to overthrow the dignity of the Ministery and of the Magistrate what doth he else but endeavour to bring the whole world to Ruine and Confusion The Confutation of their Errors not tolerable in a Comman-wealth THat it is unlawfull for a Christian man to be a Magistrate or to be subject to a Magistrate And why They object that subjection came in with sin but Christ hath taken away sin and therefore no subjection To this I answer subjection is two fold servile or civill servile is the vassalage of a slave which was not before the fall civill for the common good was before the former a curse the latter a blessing Eve was subject to Adam before either of them sinned 2. They object that every beleever is now in the Kingdome of Heaven Christ alone must reigne Ans. There is a spiritual Kingdome standing in grace peace and joy in which there is no distinction of persons There is also a civill Government which cannot subsist without distinctions and order there must be Masters and servants subjects and Governours and necessity requireth it it is the bond of the Common-wealth There is a Regiment in the Hoast of Heaven there is a Regiment in the Body the members move by the direction of the Head there is a Regiment in every Family the servants acknowledge the Master and the children their Parents Among the irrationall crâ—atures the Bees have their King the Cranes their Leader and the 〈…〉 principall Beast St. Paul calleth Magistâ—aâ—y a divine Crâ—â—â—ance all Gods Oâ—dinances aâ—â— good lawful 〈◊〉 8â— Psalm◠〈…〉
be faire warnings to forwarne not only prophaners of the Sabbath but also all such as by their perâ—icious Doctrine teach men to prophane it Traskites SO called of one Mr. John Traske whom the Author knew well His opinions were that it was not lawfull to doe any thing â—orbiâ—den in the old Law nor to keep the Christian Sabbath One Theophilus Braborne endeavoured with him to bring back againe the Jewish Sabbath and to that purpose writ a Book in the yeare 1632. The Positions concerning the Sabbath by them maintained were these 1. THat the fourth Commandement of the Decalogue Remember the Sabbath day too keep it holy c. Exod. 20. is a divine precept simply and entirely Morall containing nothing legally Ceremoniall in whole or in part and therefore the weekly observation thereof â—â—ght to be perpetuall and to continue in full force and vertue to the worlds end 2. That the Saturday or the seventh day of every week ought to be an everlasting holy day in the Christian Church and the religious observation of this day obligeth Christians under the Gospell as it did the Jewes before the comming of Christ. 3. That the Sunday or Lords day is an ordinary working day an it is superstition and will-worship to make the same the Sabbath of the fourth Commandement Of this opinion was Theophilus Braborne As the Anabaptists will have no children baptised because there is no expresâ—e command for it in Scripture so these Sabbatarians will have no Sunday because they can find no expresse Text for the alteration of it Iohn Traske for his Judaicall opinions was censured in the Star-chamber to be set upon the Pillory at Westminster and from thence to bee whipt to the Fleet there to remaine Prisoner three years after he writ a recantation of all his Schismaticall errors Also Theophilus Braborne had his doome in the Star-chamber and afterwards renounced his Errors by conference had with Doctor Vhite Lord Bishop of Ely which caused him to write a book of the Sabbath For the observation of the Lords day we read there is among others a Treatisâ— of Doctor Bonners called A profitable and necessary Doctrine wherein on the fourth Commandement Sunday is oft called by the name of Sabbath and thereon saith he we must have our mindes quiet and free from all worldly cares and give them entirly and wholly unto God both privately and publikely and that wee must occupy our selves in thought word and deed as may be to the glory of God with spirituall edifying both of our selves and also of our neighbours and that every one must instruct his children servants and family in vertue and goodnesse and as Saint Augustine saith Serm. 251. Let us marke and see that our rest be not vaine or fruitlesse but that wee being sequestred from all rurall workes and from all businesse doe from the evening on the Saturday untill the evening on the Sunday give your selves to divine service Onely and after such sort we doe duely or well sanctifie the Sabbath of our Lord And to prove the Sabbath day to be kept he citâ—th Gen. 2. 5. Exod. 16. 25. Exod. 23. 12. Exod. 31. 14. Exod. 35. 2. Numb 15. 35. Some Some Christians there be that keep both Saturday and Sunday as the Ethiopians Of the Iesuites This sorâ— or Order is of a latter Edition then the Anabaptists and therefore not to be omâ—tted In descrebing of them I purpose to set downe 1. Their Originall 2. Their Government 3 Their Errors in which they doe not agree with other Papists 4. That they are of all Sects most pernicious and dangerous 1. FOR their Orignall the first Foundation was one Loyola a Spanish Souldier who was maimed by the French at the siege of Pampelona his right leg being broken by a shot and his left leg with a stone cast from the wall This Order boasteth much of heavenly visions and divine revelations not unlike the Coetanij the Anabaptists is that the blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Ignatius with her Son Iesus in her armes perswading him to erect this Order to which she promised to be propitious They will tell you that Ignatius was rapped up into heaven and that Almighty God shewed him the 〈…〉 or frame by which he created the world with many such like fancies Moreover whereas other orders beare the name of their founders as the Dominicans of Dominicke the Franciscans of Francis they beare the name of Jesus whereas saith my Author they came from the devill the father of lyes they being the last Engine and device of Satan to supplant the truth This Order was confirmed Anno 1540. by Paul the third Bishop of Rome Gregory the 13. Bishop of Rome gave to the Iesuites a place in Rome called the Island in which they demolished many houses turned many widdowes out of their dwellings and built themselves a most magnificent and sumptuous Colledge It is reported that it cost in building 25. Tun of gold in which the Pope placed 500. Jesuites of severall nations 2. For their government the Jesuites have a chife whom they call their Generall who attendeth upon the Pope in Rome their late General was Claudius Aquaviva his Office is to governe the whole Order and to make new orders and their Generalls commands the Jesuites receive as divine oracles They believe and obey their Generall as Christ himselfe Next their General they have foure Assistants who as their Generall attendeth the Pope so doe they attend their Generall The office of these four are to promote the Popes authority into the foure quarters of the world The Iesuites their Emissaries abroad signifie unto them in writing how Princes stand affected to the Church of Rome Moreover theie office is with the Generall to send Governors Visiters Recters and preachers to the whole Order and to send forth the inferiour Jesuites into all places of the world who take upon them all manner of fashions to doe mischiefe among souldiers they are arrayed like souldiers in Princes Courts like Noble-men attending forraigne Eâ—bassadors in Ciâ—ies like Merchants yea sometimes they beg of Protestant Ministers as men banished for religion And all this to dive into the secrets of State and to disclose the Counsells of Princes 3. For their Errors Chemnitius setteth downe 26. some sew of which I purpose to relate and especially those in which they differ from other Papists First they presumptuously arrogate to themselves the name of Iesus which is a name above all names 2. They place their Generall in equall authority with Christ saying the voyce of our Generall is the voyce of Christ. 3. The Jesuites generally maintaine the Popes temporall power as well as spiritual that he may depose Kings and dispose of their kingdomes which the French Papists doe not allow of viz. Their decree set forth Anno 1611. and among us Hart Bartley Preston and others disclaime this power given by the Jesuites to the Pope 4. They deny the lawfulnes of the Oath of
called Gods because they are in Gods â—lace The Anabapâ—â—sts themselves who despised Government finding the necessity of it in Munstâ—r so that they could not subsist without Goâ—ernment chose themselves a King with inferiour Officers under him That it is not lawfull for a Magistrate to punish because revengâ— is forbâ—dden Christian mâ—n In this they erre not distinguishing betweene revenge and punishment which is from the Magistrate by reason of the execution of the Law grounded upon Gods Law a lawfull punishment appointed by God The Magistrate saith St. Paul is the Minister of God appointed for thy goâ—d either for our naturall good preserving our lives which bloody men would soone ruinate who feare not so much hell as the halter For our civill good preserving our goods and Possessions For our morall good in rewarding vertue and punishing vice he beareth not the sword in vaine For our spirituall good by coactive power enforcing men to the duties of Godlinesse In that notorious Apostasie of Israel when so many execrable enormities were committed When Micah had a house of Gods the Levite wanted maintenance when his Concubine was ravished to death the Spirit still prefixeth at that time there was no King in Israel Wee are beholding to Governement for Order Peace and Religion for Order wherâ— no King is every man will be his owne King for Peace he that will bee his owne King will bee another mans Tyrant for Religion every Micah will have a House of Gods without Governement To conclude Adulterers Murtherers Traytors Witches Burners of Houses may be put to death by the Magistrate to whom the sword is given and they are not killed but such in suffering doe receive a just guerdon for their offences That a Christian man may not take an oath because Christ saith Thou shall not sweare at all which is repeated Iames 5. And that it is enough to say Yea yea and nay nay Answ. Christ doth not forbid an oath before a Magistrate as it is a testimony of truth he reproveth the Pharisees who taught men that they should sweare not onely by the name of God as God had commanded but also by heaven by the earth by their heads c. This vitious kind of swearing he forbiddeth onely because these things cannot be witnesses of the things averred nor punish lying Neither doe the words following Let your communication be yea yea and nay nay take away a lawfull oath but admonish the godly of the goodnesse of truth and hatred of lies That a godly man may lawfully take an oath appeareth by these reasons following 1. From the authority of holy Scripture By the name of God thou shalt sweare Deut. 6. 4. The reason is set down Heb. 6. Because the Lord is greater and that an oath is the end of all controversies so Psal. 15. He that sweareth to his neighbour and deceiveth him not 2. From the example of Christ and holy men in the old and new Testament Genes 24. 26. 3. From the worship of God for an oath is part of Gods worship being a calling upon God to be a witnesse of the truth and an avenger of the lie Nor by oath promise any fidelity or bind himselfe to any Prince or Magistrate whatsoever This opinion openeth a gap to all Treasons Rebellions and Truce-breakings whatsoever If it be not lawfull for a Christian man to bind himselfe by an oath then iâ— is unlawfull for a Christian man to keep such an oath Isaac made a covenant with Abimelech King of Gerar to doe one another no hurt which being sealed up with an oath could not be violated without sinning The Propheâ— Ezekiel calleth the oath of obedience which Zedechiah King of â—srael made to the King of Babel the oath of God although the said King was a tyrant and an usurper without any lawfull succession from David yet he confirmeth it by the mouth of his Prophet Ezek. 17. 19. As I live I will surely bring upon Zedechia mine oath that he hath despised and my covenant which he hath broken upon his own head Again you may see how great a tie an oath is and how severely Almighty God doth punish the violation thereof in the story of ths Gibeonites Iosh. 9. Joshuah and the Princes having made a league with them being beguiled by them pretending that they came from a farre Countrey the congregation murmuring against the Princes were answered by them after this manner We have sworn to them by the Lord God of Israel now therefore we may not touch them lest wrath be upon us because of the oath which we swore unto them About 4000 yeares after Saul in his zeale to the children of Israel shew the Gibeonites for which cause 2 Sam. 21. the Lord plagued the whole Land sending a famine upon them for three yeares declaring himselfe that it was sent because Saul had slain the Gibeonites who hanged up seven of Sauls sons given them by David and then God was intreated for the Land 3. Confutation of Errors not tollerable in Families THat a Christian cannot with a good conscience have any thing proper but all things common This community they ground upon the example of the Apostles in the Acts. Answer An Example maketh no Law neither was this universall Peter saith to Ananias Acts 5. 4. Whilst it remained was it not thine own Again 2 Cor. 9. Every man as he purposeth in his heart so let him give The property of goods is confirmed in the seventh Commandement Again 1 Tim. 6. The Apostle chargeth rich men not to be proud but bountifull not to forsake their goods but to use them well by giving alms Again Prov. 5. 16. Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad and rivers of waâ—ers in the streets let them onely be thine own and not strangers with thee out of which we may gather that every man hath a property in his own That if their wives be not of their Religion they may put them away Answer This is against the definition of marriage which is a lawfull copulation of a man and woman not prohibited by the degrees of consanguinity or affinity The marriage of an Infidell before God is in it selfe no sin The Apostle perswadeth the beleever not to put away his unbeleeving wife 1 Cor. 7. Joseph in Aegypt married the daughter of an Heathen Priest And Moses took the daughter of Jethro who was not of the Circumcision Marriage is a lawfull copulation of a man and a woman not to be dissolved during life but for adultery That it is lawfull to have many wives To this I may oppose the words of Saint Paul 1. Cor. 7. 2. To avoid fornication let every man have his own wife and every woman her own Husband Heb. 13. Whoremongers and Adulterers God will judge Exod. 20. 14. Thou shalt not commit adultery Malachi 2. 15. Did he not make one 4. The Orthodox Doctrine of the Church of England contrary to these detestable errors
gave them up to their owne hearts lusts to uncleannesse to defile their owne bodies between themselves which turned the truth of God into a lie They are like Priscillianus the Hereticke of whom H. N. borrowed not onely that villanous wresting of the Word by allegories as also the monstrous opinion that perjâ—ry and lying was lawfull and to be done with a good conscience to conceale Religion Priscilianus saith Daneus was put to death at Treversa a City of Germany confessing at his death what shameful villanies he had committed with the women of his Sect. The Familists talke of love and being in love and nothing but love but their love turneth into lust as one writeth of them Hen Nicolas as I finde written had in his house three women apparelled alike the one he affirmed to be his wife the other his sister the other his Cousin which Cousin of his falling sick and doubtfull of her life confessed to her neighbours who resorted to her in her sicknesse that H. N. had often abused her body and made her believe that she should never dye Complaint thereof being made to the Governour he came to the house to have apprehended him but he fled It was thought he was gone with Granvella unto Naples his goods were seized upon and carried to the Castle in Embden in the yeare of our Lord 1556. and in the 57. yeare of his age 5. Of divers sorts of Familists OF the Castalian Order which dissent from the doctrine of the Church of England opposing in every syllable and yet being notorious Hypocrites if they bee never so little questioned will make shew by outward seeming of conformity as if they did highly approve the doctrine of our Church Who hold that the Law of God may be perfectly fulfilled by men in this world Who tearme themselves Eagles Angels and Arch-Angels Lambes Doves c. who hope in a short time to be inspired with light and illumination as ever Paul or any Prophets were which allegorize the places of Scripture concerning Christ denying indeed that there was ever any such man as Christ dreaming onely of a sanctisying Christ abhorring a justifying Saviour expecting salvation by their owne works although they bee knowne to be coâ—rupt workers both in their Calling and Families holding that Turks and Pagâ—ns may be saved if they live well although they never heard of Christ. Of the Grindletonian Familists who hold 1. That the Scriptures are but for novices 2. The Sabbath to be observed but as a Lecture-day 3. To pray for the pardon of sin after he is assured of Gods love is to offer Christ again 4. That their Spirit is not to be tryed by the Scripture but the Scripture by their Spirit 5. That we must not goe by Motives but by Motions 6. That when God comes to dwell in a man he so filleth the soule that there is no more sinfull lusting 7. That they see no reason why Ministers should speak against the sins of the wicked seeing the wicked men can doe nothing but sin 8. Which boast and thank God that they have cast off praying in their Families repeating of Sermons and such like things long agoe 9. Which scoffe at such as make conscience of words with many other pernicious poynts 3. Of a third sort Familiests of the Mountains who say that they have cleane vanquished the divell and are pure from all sin and never so much as once tempted to doubt of their spirituall estate 4. Of a fourth sort Familistes of the Vallies who bring in their damnable doctrine with faire pretences of weeping sighing lifting up their eyes to heaven of patience of a smooth carriage and the like 5. Familists of the scattered flock who seduce by pretending themselves to be of them which feare the Lord when they are nothing lesse 6. Familists of Caps Order and of other ranks 6. How to discover Familists THey are saith my Author at this present so close and cunning that they can carry themselves being directed thereunto by their Master H. N. that ye shal hardly ever find them out They wll professe to agree in all things with the Church of England and also with the Church of Rome If they should be examined by them only they will not lightly deny their Mr. Henr. Nicolas nor speak evill of him nor of his writings if they should be put to it and there is no way but this to discover them I say to put them to the denyall and abjuring of him and his writings and to pronounce him a Blasphemer and his doctrines blasphemous this they will hardly doe unlesse they be not yet fully his Disciples 4. The abjuring of certaine Familists THe 12. of Iune 1575. stood at Pauls Croste five persons English-men of the Sect termed the Family of Love who there confessed themselves utterly to detest aswell the Author of that Sect H. N. as all his damnable errors and heresies Master Iohn Knewstub hath written a confutation of the monstrous and horrible heresies of the Family of Love Printed by Thomas Dawson 1575. Of ADAMITES AN old Heresie of which St. Augustine maketh mention but renewed by the Anabaptists in the assembly of the Adamites men women pray naked celebrated the holy Communion naked heare Sermons naked These Hereticks had their Conventicles in subterranean places called Hypocausta because that under the place of their meetings a Furnace of fire was kindled to warme the place of their Conventions for they uncloathed themselves when they entred into it and stood naked born men and women according to the similitude of Adam and Eve before their fall They call the place of their meeting Paradice I read in the History of the Anabaptists page 42. That in Amsterdam in a house seven men and five women had a meeting one of them called Theadoret a Taylor who bore himselfe a Prophet fell flat on the ground prayed with such vehemenacy that he scared all the assistants and rising as if it were out of an extasie I have seen said he God in his Majesty and have spoken with him I was taken up into heaven then I descended into hell and there scarched every corner the great day of the last judgement is comming At night they met againe in the same place and after four houres spent in praying and teaching the prophet being armed disarmeth himselfe and putteth off his garments to his shirt and throweth them in the fire then he commandeth the company in authority of a Prophet to doe the like and so they did women and all leaving not so much as a haiâ—elace to tye up their scattered haire no covering to the body no shelter for so was the Prophets pleasure that they should cast away all that came out of the earth and burn it as a Sacrifice of sweet favou unto God yet you may think saith my Author that the burning of so many cloâ—hes yeelded no very sweet favour for