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
there is more required then freedome from ignorance and scandall if you meane grosse ignorance and scandall it is a truth and such a truth as is written and the Lord hath a mouth to speake and therefore we must have an eare to heare and a heart to beleeve and therefore it ought not to be rejected for are we not bidden to examine our selves and is it not necessary to discerne the Lords Body and also to know the danger if we doe not come worthily all which persons grosly ignorant or grosly scandalous cannot nor will not doe and if you meane by freedome from these that we should be wholly free then except you be able to prove what you say against any that they teach so it is a slander and that which you have cause to acknowledge and repent of especially you having put it in print that it may come abroad in the world for we know none require any qualifications above these and therefore I pray consider if beside the slander of that you hold forth be not dangerous to your selves and those you have written to and also to as many as shall read your Book and which is worse derogatory to the glory of Gâ—d And then consider how you will answer for it before him at that great and dreadfull day when you shall be called forth and must appeare to answer for all you have done in the body And whereas you speake of persons casting reproaches upon the Ministers of Christ I beseech you by this little that hath been said if you may not feare it may be a just hand of God against you that people should so doe as also if you doe but look whether you have not gone before them by your owne example to lead them so to doe for have you not done so witnesse what hath been already said of your dealing with others and then is it a wonder you should meet with it your selves nay have you not reproached them with unseemly names as calling them Sectaries and Schismaticks nay have you not gone against the light of your owne Consciences in what you have done while as they walke peaceably and conscientiously among you in the waies of God and so you have done worse then those you condemn which have spoken so of you for although it be not to be approved of that any should reproach you but condemned yet consider if you have not given them just cause so to doe which I hope by that time you have read this Book and considered you will smite upon your owne hearts and confesse you have and then I hope you will take the counsell is given you elsewhere in this Book and learne better language hereafter especially to publish it to the world for I cannot but beleeve you are convinced not only they are the Sâ—rvants of Christ but the Ministers of Christ especially some of them and what a sad thing it is that Ministers should so speake of Ministers if this be not rending of the Church and if it may not be called Schisme yet if it be not very like it let the judicious conscientious and impartiall Reader judge as also what hurt this may do in every place where it shall come especially it being in print and I beseech you consider what root this came from if it be not from pride as hath been formerly said for why should you thus cry out and speake so much evill of them because they will not stoop and come in to you and be of your judgement and goe on in your way why may they not as well finde fault with you because you doe not condiscend to them especially if you consider what hath been said and what is in reverend Mr. Hookers Book and we may the rather beleeve they are in the right way then you because they hold forth most selfe deniall and I beseech you therefore again and againe take heed you be not found raylers at the Churches and people of the living God and such as he will owne at the last day and bring them in Judgement against you for you know what became of him that railed on the Hoast of the living God there was a stone came and made him fall upon the earth and he was destroyed But yours being not only of the Hoast but also of the Ministers of the Lord Christ that stone that is spoken of which is hewn out of the Mountaine will fall upon you and crush you if you be found such for the Church is compared to an Army with Bannors and the Lord Christ is their Generall before whom you will never be able to stand if he come against you which the Lord in his abundant mercy give you hearts to consider of together with all the arguments besides that are written in this book and also al that hath bin or shall be written in any other book that some or all of them may be so gon along withall by his blessing the powerfull working of his Spirit as that it may throughly convince you of your sin that he may follow it on to bring you to true humiliation and acknowledgement of it in such a publike way as may be to hiâ— glory and your owne peace and true comfort that so it may be pardoned and your soules everlastingly saved and that it may doe good and keep from evill all those to whom it shall come whom he shall give a heart to read it impartially which is the whole aime and desire of him who caused it to be printed and to that end shall follow it with his prayers so farre as the Lord doth assist I should have written much more in answer to your Vindication but that I having written so much in answer to your former Booke and not doubting but that others farre more able and fit will give you full answers unto whom I shall willingly leave it and pray they may doe it effectually and with such ends and aimes as the Lord who is the searcher of all hearts may be pleased to goe along with them and it as it may become effectuall to his glory the peace and comfort of their soules and the good of all the Church and people of God and so for this time I shall commit it to him and wait and expect his gracious answer by his blessing upon it The Covenant vindicated against all Intruders and Opposers Gentlemen YOu have in a Letter of yours to the Generall and his Councell of war laid many things to the charge of the Army and so as you make them great offenders which you and all others have cause to consider of because the things therein contained do concerne the Parliament and many of the godly party in the Kingdome they having been such as have been approved of by the one and petitioned by the other and therefore it will be good to consider them againe and againe before we censure them for God does usually reveal his mind to them that feare him and therefore if it
would defend and preserve their honour whom you know or should know is just and have plagues in store upon such as crie out against others and doe the same things they crie out against especiallie when as those they so crie against are innocent of it and â—or the preservation of the person and authoritie I doubt not but you have heard of one that saith you have set them a King-catching first For was not his person in danger of the Bullet and the Sword in their opposing and pursuance of him whom you had incouraged and stirred up so to doe And likewise for his Authority did not you incourage and stir up persons to go against it for was not that his Authoritie that they went against for if he might have injoyed his Authoritie to dâ—e as he would then he would not have gone from the Parliament neither would he have gone from place to place but would have commanded them that came against him to lay down Armes and that was not your intent they should if he had required them he continuing still in the same mind he was in when he went away and could you in that cause perswade and stir up persons to go against it and yet cause the same persons to sweare to preserve it without any destinction or limitation Nay if he could have come againe to have injoyed the exercise of his Authoritie it is very probable he would have caused your selves to have felt that you had been the opposers and not the preservers of his Authoritie by your exhorting and perswading people to goe against him and in causing them to swear to such a Covenant and hee would not have suffered you to plaie fast and loose with it but you have limited it that they should doe it in the defence of the true Religion and the Liberties of the Kingdom so as if he would not do that then down with his Authoritie and person and all And yet when that it is made known that he continues stil in that mind not to yeeld to either but rather to the utter destruction of both and that after long and patient waiting and bearing with him and also by many solicitations of him to see if at last they might have prevailed yet I say after all this when he came to be dealt withall according as the Covenant does binde unto you are so farre from incouraging those that have done it as you cry out against them in your preaching and prayers I beseech you and the impartiall Reader to judge whether this be not breach of Covenant in a very high degree 4. I Beseech you consider if you have not been farre from discovering Incendiaries c. when as you are and I wish I might not say too trulie cryed out upon for being Incendiaries and evill Instruments and such as make faction and parties among the people I beseech you consider whereto many of your passages you have in prayer and preaching tend but to such a thing as to raise up in the people a dislike and discontent of the acting of the Parliament and Army and so weaken the hearts and hands of the godlie partie by occasioning them to sin and strengthening the hearts and hands of the ungodlie and causing them to goe on in a higher degree of sinning and to stir afresh in their plottings and contrivings and actings against God his truth and people and is not this breach of Covenant And for bringing of these to triall that they may receive condigne punishment how far have you been from that when you have opposed openly so far as in you lyes by preaching praying and writing especially this your writing so as the whole world may take notice of your opposition And if thiâ— bee not a breach of Covenant let the Reader and your owne consciences be judge 5. And let it be considered if you have endeavoured in your places that justice might be done upon such as did wilfully oppose the peace and conjunction of the Kingdome aske conscience what you thinke the King aimed at in going to the Scots and refusing to goe to the Parliament although often desired and intreated and in all his other actings of late were not and are not the Scots constant to hold their Church-government and did not he alwayes oppose it and seeke to maintaine Bishops if not worse in England and would not hee then have broken that peace and if he then all that party that tooke part with him must be guilty also and your Covenant is that all such in your places and interest will endeavour they shall bee done to in justice as in the former Article and yet when this is done you are so far from furthering it in your places as that you cry out against those that have done it And if this be not breach of Covenant let any impartiall Reader judge 6. You have Covenanted to assist and defend according to your places all those that enter into this League and Covenant in the maintenance and pursuance thereof and this you will doe zealously and constantly all the daies of your lives and have you thus done have you incouraged them that have acted thus have you preached for them to tell people it was their duty to honour them they having done so much for the good of the land and that all especially the godly party have cause to blesse God for them and have you praied for them that the Lord would prosper them and carry them through couragiously If you have not consider if you have not broken Covenant by not doing what you could for them in your places but if on the contrary part you have spoken evill of them preached and praied against them and so cast discouragement and dishonour upon them for their so acting then let all that read or heare judge if this be not notorious breach of Covenant And the premises considered let the Reader iudge nay let your conscience judge if you have not broken every branch of the Covenant and if you have then what a condition are those in that shall be a meanes to pull downe heavy wrath upon themselves from heaven by thus preaching and praying against themselves and condemne themselves for abominable sinners and yet continue in that course without repentance for you must needs be the men that are the greatest Covenant-breakers which may amaze a gracious heart to thinke of that you that are such knowing men and would be accounted so especially in matters concerning conscience and have beene the promoters if not the contrivers of the Covenant and you to be found the greatest transgressors it must needs be lamentable and much weaken the authority of your Ministery And now to come from the Covenant to the Book it selfe Wherein they are charged with doing that which was unseemly in that they called the Ministers to a consultation in matters of Religion when they should have desired a conference and therefore they did not doe that which was suitable to
God and sad their hearts if not all of them yet a great manie of them that love the Lord Jesus Christ and his waies and that it should be said of you as if you should be Incendiaries to stir up the evill affected to another warre and so to daunt the hearts of manie of the people of God so as their hearts should sinke so as they should question their way nay lead some of them to be forward in opposing the way of truth and peace Againe consider not only you give yourselves these titles but that you say you are within the Province of London although it seeme by the writing of some you are not all of you so so those that are within the Province of London where you are 〈◊〉 are one another and so may be helps one to another what in the Citie of London the chiefe Citie in the Kingdome that hath been famous for the Gospell for so manie to joyn together in such a calumniating Letter as this was against such persons as this is against is it not an evil example to the whole Kingdom for you may please to consider the generality of the people are led more by example then by precept and more by the precepts of men then of God especially of them that are in such places as you are in for you are or at least should be the lights of the world as our Saviour saith But if the light that is in you be darknesse how great is that darknesse Oh what a sad thing it is to heare the people say the Ministers are most discontent with what is done and for you to stir up discontents in the people and make them fit to contrive new designes to bring more miserie if not ruine to this poore Kingdom and how sad a thing is it to heare people say especially the people of God if ruine and miserie come upon the Kingdome We may thanke our Ministers next our sins Againe consider the time when you did this when the greatest businesse was in hand that ever was in the Kingdome and Justice was in a good readinesse to be executed and upon the point of execution and in such a sort as you could not but heare the greatest part of the Kingdom was discontented with and crying out against and so the worke was verie difficult in it selfe but then for you to come in to gratifie those persons aske your Conscience what that must worke that was for his preservation and setting him up in his throne againe Againe aske your Consciences what you thinke of manie of them that were against what was done were not such as would have hindred that work which you prosecuted for the most part of them Papists Cavaliers and Malignants and prophane people and doe you not feare to goe with those and gratifie them and the most part of those that were for it if you aske Conscience it will tell you they were such as have some feare of God before their eyes and are such as goe on conscientiously in performance of the Covenant and is it that Christ allowes to have those opposed and spoken against and disheartened for doing that the Law of God and the Covenant call them to doe nay to have such persons stirred up and inveterate againâ—â— them that doe it I beseech you consider and feare if herein you doe not fight against God and would it not make a gracious heart mourne to see so many that call themselves Ministers of the Gospel servants and Ambassadors of Christ to go so directly against his Rules which he hath set down in his holy word for us to walk by the Lord in mercy help you to consider it and lay it to heart what a sad thing is it that you thâ—t preach Christ as you say and are his Ambassadors should be so unlike â—im in life and conversation Christ bids us Learn of him he is humble and meek and when he was reviled he reviled not againe but in this ye have done here appears pride and passion and instead of not reviling when you are reviled you revile those that are doing you good so as you reward evill for good nay you revile those that have and were venturing their lives to save the lives of you and yours nay all the godly part of the Kingdome nay you revile them for doing it Oh againe I beseech you examine your own consciences how you thinke to answer it before the Lord Christ at the great day when you must appeare before Him Angels Men and Devils and once at the last if it may be smite upon your owne hearts and intreat the Lord to helpe you to be willing to take and bear the shame of it here by a free and full confession that so you may avoid everlasting shame for ever and ever Oh what shall I further say Tell it not in Gath nor publish it in Askelon yea but that it is too late you have done it your selves and now we cannot helpe it nor well free our hands of it but by witnessing against it for my part I could rather have taken the part of Shem to Jephtah to have gone far to have covered it but that you have not onely been naked but you have spread your nakednesse and laid it open to the world and so it is broder then can be covered and so I am stopped there And I could have been willing to observe the Rule of Christ If thy brother offend tell him between thee and him but you have put it past that have put me upon the Rule of the Apostle He that sinneth openly rebuke him openly but I have forborne it as much as I could to be faithfull in what I have undertaken my aime is if the will of God be that he would by some meanes shew you your sinne and bring you to repentance that so as you have dishonoured God by your sinne you might honour him by your acknowledgement of your sin that the Rule of God and the people of God may have some satisfaction that as you have grieved them by your sin you may rejoyce them in your repentance humiliation for godlinesse appears in power when it workes the heart to bear shame and take shame openly for their sin for it is a persons weaknesse to fall into sin but it is his strength to rise againe by repentance and acknowledging of it freely which the Lord in mercy helpe you to doe One argument more before I leave give me leave to present unto you which is the worke you are going about which is the setting up of the Presbyterian Government for may not wise men reason thus Are these men fit to governe the Church of Christ by having all the power put into their hands when so many of them in one Province and that the chiefest in the Kingdome that are so neare together which may take counsell one of and with another and if they miscarry so shamefully what shall we looke for in the other parts of the Kingdome if they dare thus to confront the powers of the Kingdome in the condition they are now in what will they doe if they get the power in their hand and how will they lord it over the poore people that must be under them and they may suspect you by your eager desire you have to have the power all in your owne hand for they may well know that a conscientious humble heart will feare to take the burthen of teaching much more of ruling a Congregation but will be farre from desiring to take it upon him alone or with one or two to helpe but will be glad of the helpe of all in the Congregation to be joyned in power with him and also to watch over him also being fearfull he should miscarry and being willing to be helped if hee so doe as we may instance in this present act of yours if any of these Ministers had but a company of godly people in their Congregation that would have called them to an account and had power so to doe they would have feared to have done such an act as this was or if they had they should have been made to give publicke satisfaction And may it not be feared they know it well enough and therefore they thinke to make it sure they will have the power in their owne hand that so they may combine together if occasion serve as they did now and have none to call them to account And this considered I see not but the Lord may have a hand in it to keep you from that power you seeke and give his people hearts to imbrace such a Government in the Church as Christ does approve of that so he may ride in Triumph in Church and Commonwealth FINIS