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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44800	Mistery Babylon the mother of harlots discovered her rise, and when, with many of her sorceries, with her merchants of divers orders, and ranks, and merchandize of divers sorts this many hundred years, also her last merchants, with their delicate merchandise discovered : in answer to a book tituled The directory for the publick worship of God through England, Scotland, and Ireland, which now is the chief traffick her last reformed merchants trades with, in all these nations / published by F.H.	Howgill, Francis, 1618-1669.	1659 (1659)	Wing H3173; ESTC R16766	30,606	42

they offer the more they sin and how the rest of their Ordinances will end thou mayest judge before thou pass any further Direct And now I come their sanctification of their sabboth the whole day you say is to be celibrated as being the Christian Sabbath If you intend the first day of the week where is that called the Christian Sabbath the Sabbath in the first Covenant was given for a sign of the Christian Sabbath which was to be revealed when they ceased from their own works words thoughts then the rest was to be known the Christian Sabath and whether is a Christian Sabbath a visible or invisible thing But stay Sirs do you keep this day which you call a Christians Sabbath holy to the Lord is not this your Market day upon which you sell your Traffique one or two Glasses for 20 or 30 s. a day besides what you get for sprinkling of Infants do you not speak your own words nor think your own thoughts nor work your own works If you say you do not how comes it to pass that there are all these defects in your performances all this iniquity in your holy things I hope you dare not say that defects is from God or that iniquity or sin is of God and if you have not a male in your flock let sacrificing or offering alone and do not think that God will be pleased with your lame blind maimed defective sacrifices neither with your strangled things nor your swines flesh so I say unto you repent and learn to be reformed your selves before you prescribe rules for others least both you and them that follow you fall into the pit and because the Merchants of this rank and orders doth love to be medling with every thing wherein there is hope of any thing to be got they will try all kinds of merchandize and so present they their direction about mariage to any who will take their ignorant Councel Direct They say Mariage is no Sacrament nor peculiar to the Church of God and they say we judge it expedient that it be done by a lawfull Minister and to be published three times before it be solemnised by the said Minister Answ. If you mean by Sacrament a holy thing then mariage is either holy or unholy if unholy then fit to be done by none if holy why is it not proper and peculiar to the Church of God if they who are Members of the Church of God may marry in the Lord in the covenant in which man was made the male and the female then what hath any to do with it who are not of the Church of God and what hath the Church of God to do with them that are without and what hath a Priest to do with this where was Abrahams and Sarahs Priest when they were maried and where was the Priest to solemnize the mariage of Isaac and Rebeccah and of Sachariah and Elizabeth and because you say it s not peculiar to the Church of God whether were these of the Church of God before mentioned but what hath the Priest to do to publish it three times like a Belman for the loss of a Horse or Cow thorow the Market or rather why ought not the man and the woman both in the fear of the Lord if they be moved thereunto by the Lord publish their own intentions And moreover their joyning together in the Church of God when the members of the Church of God are present but this frustrateth the Priests 5 or 10 s and his Clerk 6 d. or a shilling more or less as they can get Direct Furthermore they say it may be done any time of the year but on a Fasting-day or on the Lords day Ans. Why are these days prohibited if mariage be a holy thing or an honorable thing why may it not be done in the fear of God and the power of God why not on any day was days made for man or man made for days your ignorant Predecessors the Pharisees judged as you do that it was not expedient or convenient that he should heal a Daughter of Abraham whom Satan had bound on the Sabbath day And now they say that the honourable Estate of Mariages is the Covenant of their God and before they said it was not peculiar to the Church of God if entering into a state of Mariage be the Covenant of God and if the Covenant of God be peculiar to the Church of God then what is the reason you Reformers that Mariage is not peculiar to the Church of God And now take their directions who hath a desire to Trade any more with their Merchandize concerning the visitation of the sick Direct The party sick is to send for the Minister timely and seasonably before their understanding fail them and if the Minister susp●ct the party of Ignorance he sh●ll not examine them in the Principles of Religio● especially touching Repentance and Faith and to make known unto him the danger of desering Repentance Answ. If he be such a one who is sick as hath traded much with the Priests Merchandize if he be capable of understanding there is some hope he may give the Priest 5 pound or ten pound and it hath been high time for the Minister to have shown him the danger of de●ering Repentance before now when he is like to go out of the body not to have deferred his exhortation till this time and if the party be ignorant it were more time to inform him about the Principles of Religion and Repentance and Faith than to have him make Answers to that which he knows nothing of and then you conclude if desired the minister shall pray for him to this effect Direct Confessing and bewailing original and actual sin and the miserable condition of man by nature and that God would give him an ev●dence of an interest in Christ and the Seal of Eternal Life by Christ Answ. In sin you began and in sin you will end complaining of original and actual sin before you know what it is and hold on till you come to the grave and never depart from it and what must not the Minister pray except he be desired it seems they alwayes must please other mens desires rather then mind the Spirits motion in themselves And what is interest in Christ yet wanting and Evidence and Seal of Eternal Life yet wanting and it may be the Party 40 or 50 years old What was not this man baptized when he was an infant and have not you said and in the 48 page and 45 page of your Directory that Water-baptism is a Seal of the Covenant of Grace and of being ingrafted into Christ and of Regeneration Adoption and Eternal Life and what is the Evidence and Seal lost now Useth not this to be the doctrine amongst you once in Christ and ever in Christ and whom he loves once he loves to the end and hath not this man partaken of the Sacrament and eat the flesh

that that cannot be you want Hebrew Greek and Latin and the Original by which you should expound the Scripture and know the meaning of it and therefore you to conclude that you have received the anointing is dangerous doctrine let us pronounce this man as a heretick for he wil infect people And furthermore if any say that the Lord is become his teacher and he needs no man to teach him but knows the Lord to be his sheapheard then let us cry out of this as dangerous doctrine and cry to the rest of the people that buyes yet our merchandise that he holds hereticall opinions and d●spises the Ministry and the ordinances and the doctrines of our reformed Churches or if any say that the Spirit of the Lord is a sufficient teacher to lead his people into all truth without outward means as naturall learning Hebrew Greek and Latin and the ancient fathers and old Authors and so make void all our arts and part which is the foundation of our Devinity then let us cry in the ears of all the people and in the ears of the Rulers and the Powers of the earth that this is blasphemy and error and ought to be supprest And furthermore if any shall say that hee believes hee shall be made free from sinne in this life by the effectual working of Christ the mighty power of God which condemns sin in the flesh and destroyes the works of the devil then let us cry heresie and blasphemy and let us tell them that the holiest that ever was upon the earth sinned and that the body of sin was un-cut down in them and let us prove it by Pauls words he complained of a body ●f sin and was never in any other condition while he lived upon the earth and so it may be we shall keep them in blindness that they will continue and trade with us and if any say they are come to the baptisme of the Spirit the one baptisme into which all the Saints were baptized in whom all other baptismes ends and so being come to this denies all the figures and the baptisme of ●nfants then let us cry out that they are sectaries and denies the ordinance of God Infants baptisme and let us give them some scripture how that Christ took up little Children in his arms and blessed them and how he bid his Disciples go out into all Nations baptize them in the name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost and many be with an inference or two or two or three consequences raised from this and the like Scriptures we shall make their eye blind that we shall put off this counterfeit ware yet a little while And if any shall deny our Church or Chapel and call it an Idols Temple which God never commanded to be built then let us bring some scriptures how that God commanded a Temple to be built at Jerusalem and how the Jews had Synagogues and how God commanded store-houses to be built for Gods service and worship and it may be such a proof as this will satisfie them that they will come to our shop another time at the hour appointed for the sale of our wares when the market-bell rings and the wares are ready to be set out and so by this means we may hold on our Trade a while And if any shall deny Davids Psalms to be sung in rhime and meeter and with Organs and Pipes to be an Ordinance of God in Gospel-times then let us bring them some scriptures and some fathers tell them in the Church of Corinth that he that had a Psalm might sing and it may be they will know no difference between a Psalm which was given for●h by the spirit and the Psalm which is gotten by tradition from another and let us bring a proof out of Revelation that they that were redeemed from the earth played upon the Harps and sung a new song and it may be they will not see no difference between them that are in the earth and them that are redeemed from the earth and so we may keep up this still as an ordinance invented by our mother Mystery Babylon And let this be agreed amongst us now when many of us is assembled together whose livelyhood and riches stands only in the merchandising of our mother Church that in whatsoever place we sayl to in our ships if any be heard to say that the Spirit of the Lord ought to move first before any Teacher Minister or Believer ought to pray that so they may pray with the Spirit and in the Spirit in publick and in private whether with many or few that so without the Spirit none can be edified let us all agree to this that it be voted down as an error and let us do what in us lyes to prove from Scripture that set-forms of Prayer is lawfull and is an ordinance of God and let us bring the Lords-prayer called by our Mother-Church the Pater-noster and see what that will do and also Hosea 14.2 take with you words and turn to the Lord say unto him take away our iniquity and receive us graciously so with a deduction from these and the like Scriptures we may happily prove that a set-form of words invented by our Church or any of us that trades with her merchandize that this is an ordinance of God and ought to be practised publickly and privately and is accepted with God although the people have not received the Spirit as they had in the primative times and if this will not satisfie then use some prevalent Arguments as our reverend Brother and Fellow-merchant with us Mr. Samuel Boulton in the like case in hand used this forcible Argument Though you cannot command the wind said he yet you may spread your sayles and see what such an argument as this will do but if they will not be content with this as it may be they will not in Englan● ●●otland and Ireland Holland and some other parts who are more quick-sighted than some other places where we merchandi●e if we cannot stand it out against them that none can pray to God a right but he that is come to the Spirit and knows by the signification of it what to ask then let us grant them the thing if we cannot help it if Common-prayer forms of Prayer will not go off as they use to do amongst our Customers then let us agree to them but let that be the last shift that without Faith or the Spirit it is impossible to be accepted or heard of God yet before this be granted let us strive as much as in us lyes by forcible arguments from the Scripture if so be that they will not allow the authority of antient Fathers nor of our ●annon-books how that there is a plat-form laid down in Scripture and the general heads of true prayer is laid down in an Orthodox method in Scriptures that is to say Confession Petition Intercession Supplication with giving of thanks and if this

will not stave them off from speaking so much of Prayer by the Spirit and with understanding for it will be a grievous thing if we let this ordinance fall of set-form of Prayer which our Mother Mystery-Babylon hath allowed so many years and ratified and confirmed in several great Councels as Niece and Latterar and divers others and if nothing will serve them but prayer by the same Spirit as was in the primative times before we lose them quite let us grant it them in words that Prayer by the Spirit it is only acceptable And reverend Brethren let us all agree not to be idle but diligent read the Scriptures and pack them up together a deal of exhortations reprehensions admonitions and prophecies and read some old Authors as Ireneus Ambro● Cyprea● Ierom Baz●l Austin Orige● Damizin and it s not amiss if we take in Luther and Calvi● Memno Beza and some other late modern Writers And so by much reading meditation our affections will be whetted up and Quickned and those words which we read often will lodge in our memory so that we shall be able to pray half an hour ex temp●re or an hour and an half upon a Fast-day for that 's the best traffi●ue that goes of such dayes as those without tautologies or reiterations and so though we pray several times and in several places as before Kings or Councels or a Synod or Classis Merchants of our own order yet by this means we shall be fitted for all places and times to sute the business which we are about and if any question the thing let us say we pray by the Spirit as it gives us utterance but now this is the last and best of our merchandi●e which is as gold silver precious stone pearl if this will not go off as upon the account of the spirit or spiritual worship or a spiritual ordinance then there is little hope of driving any more trade or getting any more sale with these men then let us cry to the Magistrates they are new-fangled giddy-headed and delights in Novelties and are erroneous schismaticks and hereticks and are factious and seditious which if they be let alone not be timely checked reproved they will overthrow us merchants call'd by our selves Ministers and not only us but also both Church Common-wealth And furthermore let us agree reverend Brethren in unity and peace and strive all with one consent to be funished with such Merchandi●e as will sute with the Countries and Regions where we traffi●ue as Kings Princes Protectors Parliaments and Councels Noblemen Gentlemen and also take in the common people if happily we can please them all because that by the last mentioned we receive many of our subsistance yet if any of them do not like our merchandize it is the least matter of them for then we have a King a Prince a Protector or a Parliament to appeal to and if we can but satisfie them with merchandize upon petition they will make us a Law and set a compass upon every one of our ships to ride in at sea and they will command every Parish to buy our merchandize if they will not buy it at the worst compel them to give us our price whether they receive our merch●ndize or not or traffique or not but if they will not having a Law to guard us we can take it from them whether they will or no if at any time any seem obstinate refuses to pay us Easter-reckonings Midsummer-dues which may be comes to the value of 18 d. or 2 s. we can take a Pot worth 7 or 8 s. or a Pan or a Kettle and if they shall neglect to pay us a Mortuary which hath been an Ordinance ordained by our mother Mystery-Babylon 7 or 8 hundred years ago or upwards if they will seek to disannul such a laudable custom then we can sue them for it in a County-Court and get 20 or 30 shillings dammage and if any of the common people refuse to pay us our ●ythes which belongs unto us Church-Officers which was given unto us by our Mother who sate upon the scarlet-coloured Beast at the least 13 hundred years ago that if our tythe come to 40 s. or 3 l. we can go to a Chapman or two who resents our commodities and they will give us a warrant for treble dammages and then we shall get some Bayliffs who are our Church-Members and take away a yoke of Oxen worth 8 or 10 pounds or a Horse or Cow worth ten or twelve pounds and if the Tythe come to 5 or 6 pound then we can take five or six Cows and ascore of sheep and half a score of swine and thresh the corn out of his barn and take it away and take away the fether-Beds and Curtains Court-cloaths and Blankets Rugs Sheets Kettles Brewing-furnace or the Rayment which the Family wore and if we judge it too little to satisfie our insatiable desires take Pin-cushions or if it be but half a Cheese as our reverend Brother Alexander Bradley in the Parish of Elmstone in the County of Ken● from Robert Minter of the same County and Parish And in thus doing there will be little loss or detrement to us and if any refuse to give us a Tythe-cock of hay or a shock of corn having the power of the earth of our side we can pull down the hedges and break open the gates and fetch away a Wain load or two or as much as we think fit as many of our reverend Brethren of our order have lately done which are good precedents to posterity that may come after us and if any with whom we have traded who are Neighbours do think much at us we can call them Hereticks and say they are enemies to the Church and Commonwealth therefore why do you pity them But reverend ●rethren it is not with us now in the North Regions of the World as it hath been in time past about two or three hundred years ago neither as is it with the rest of our fellow-Merchants in Italy Rome Jerusalem Arabia Greece Portugal Spain Hungaria France and the rest of the Regions where our Mother sits as a Queen the people being all as asleep at midnight any old dark rusty cankered ware will go off there at a good rate and for Ave maries or Pater-nosters Te Deum or a magnificat Anima or the like or some other charm in an unknown Tongue or a story of St. Damisen or St. Benedict about Images or a story of St. Francis of his converting of wolves and bears or speaking an hour from some old fathers and call it the word of God and meddle not with the Scripture at all for a story of the Lady of Lauretta or the image of the Virgin Mary and of what miracles they have wrought which the members of the Mother Church believes for good Doctrine and receive these or the like as Crosses Crucifixes Pictures Beads and

and new ●oyned expressions and rhe●o●ical speeches and P●ilosophical phrases this will go off at a good rate and by this the Merchant may procure his Discourse to be printed which may procure his fame and renown among ignorant people besides it may be he gets profit by printing his Sermon setting all set-wages tythes salleries aside but if it be amongst poor Count●y people or an odde corner of the Land then any ordinary traffi●ue a Sermon which it may be he hath sold four times over this will go off among ignorant people and make them more ignorant and as you say a Text out of the ●salms or any other Scripture as the Mi●ister shall thinks fit will serve to treat upon Reader thou mayest take notice that here is no notice taken of the holy Ghost or Spirit what it thinks fit but what he that preaches hath ready must go off and counted as fit for that people Direct And in the 36 Page your Direction is to the Merchant not to rest in general Doctrine but come to particular application whi●h is a work of gre●t diffi●ul●y to himself requiring prudence and moderation and to the natural corrupt man it will be very unpleasant Answ. The Doctrines and the Applications of the natural corrupt man will not be profitable nor powerfull at all upon the Hearers neither will disarm the thoughts of the heart at all and you that gives prescriptions to natural corrupt men what to preach who sets them about performing the work of God that knows it not are very ignorant for the natural man understands not the things of God and the corrupt man in heart sees not God and he that understands not the things of God must needs preach a devination of his own brain Well let who will take this traffi●ue the Children of light will have none of it it may be such husks as these will satisfie a herd of swine and so let them take it Direct And you say he that preaches is to be perswaded in his own heart that all that he teaches is the truth and that he is to walk before his flock as an example Answ. How is he like to be perswaded in his own heart that sins presumptiously against the checks of his own conscience And you set examples indeed but they are but bad ones would you have your flock to follow your example would you have every one of your flock to have a long Gown or a long Robe and make them all like Cardinals Princes Would you have every one to have a Ring on his finger and a company of Points at his knees like a Besom and a company of Ribons and Cuffs like a Fidler Or would you have any of your Flock to come and fetch away a yoak of your oxen or a couple of your horses or take his Teem and come into your field break down the hedges and throw open the gates and load his waggon with corn if one could not pay it him for conscience sake Or would you be sewed up two hundred miles into a Court for a Tythe Hen worth four pence or six pence and thrown into the Fleet a year or two for four or five shillings Many such evidences and examples we have from you you late Reformers but to the light in all consciences I leave to judge which you have presumptiously sinned against what examples you are to your flocks Direct And now Reader I come to prayer after Sermon and thou shalt see what traffique is there The Minister is to give thanks for the bl●ssing received as Election V●cation Adoptio● Justification and hope of glory and likewise to turn the heads of his Sermons into some few Petitions and after to pray for the preparation for death and to entreat of God to forgive the iniquity of your holy things Answ. ●ere Reader thou mayst see as bad Merchandi●e as the story of the Lady of Laureita or the story of Saint Francis which the begging Fryers your fellow-merchants traffique withall First you give thanks for Election Vocation ●ustification and hope of Glory and afterwards to pray for the forgiveness of the iniquity of your holy things How are your things holy when they are full of iniquity and sinful Is that which is holy iniquity and sinful Or is that which is iniquity and sinful holy Are they Elected Justified Adopted and Sanctified whose sins are not blotted out whose iniquities are not forgiven let the wise in heart judge of this dream What are not they well prepared for death that are Elected Adopted Justified and Sanctified but they must needs have your prayers full of iniquity will that prepare them better What ignorance is here And where learned you this Article of ●aith to turn the heads of the Sermon into Petitions let the wise judge Was not Prophesie one thing and Prayer another But now Prophesie must be turned into Prayer and Prayer into Prophesie Sermons into Petitions and Petitions into Sermons what mangl'd traffique is this Direct In the 38. page this kind of prayer fore-mentioned ended a Psalm may be sung if it be convenient if some other Ordinance doth not follow Answ. Then it seems that your Psalm is no Ordinance but if it be it must give way however if the Priest thinks fit God must have no prayers at that time it may be sprinkling of an Infant may serve in stead Direct And now I come to the great Ordinance Infants Baptisme falsly so called In the 40. page the Minister is to use some words touching the Institution how that it was instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ that Infants should be Baptized and that it is a Seal of the Covenant of Grace and of our grafting into Christ and of our union with him and of remission of sins Regeneration Adoption and Eternal Life Answ. Reader Take notice Christ never sent them forth as Ministers to tell lies as to say he ordained that which he never did And furthermore thou may take notice that the Spirit of the Lord is turned out of doors there is no place for it outward water with which the Infant is sprinkled hath taken up the authority and the work of the Spirit the Ministers of Christ declared that the Spirit of Promise and the Spirit of Truth was the Seal of the Covenant of Grace and remission of sins Regeneration and Adoption and that the Faith and the Spirit is the Seals of Eternal Life But these Reformers hath excluded both and have set up a beggerly Element in the room let the spiritual man judge what kind of traffique this is Direct And in the 42. page that children by Baptisme are received into the Bosome of the Church distinguished from the world Answ. Now what kind of a Church yours is and what kind of a bosome your Church hath distinct from the world the wise in heart may judge You have confessed that Magistrates Ministers and the whole Nation doth not so much as endeavour after mortification and a newness of

of Christ and drank his blood and a Church-member as you call it and is his Evidence now to seek and the Seal now wanting utter darkness is your dwelling place Direct And now we come to the Directory for solemn fasts that when some great and not able judgement is inflicted upon some people or app●rently evident or when some special blessing is to be sought or obtained then solemn fasting is a duty that God expects from a Nation or people an● they are to abstain from all food and from wordly labour and discourses and bodily delights and rich apparrel and ornaments and such like although lawfull at other times and gorgious attire and lascivious habits and if any such things be the Minister may reprove them at a Fast Answ. To fast unto the Lord is not to set a day apart by the will of man but by being moved thereunto by the Lord and not to hang down the head for a day like a Bull-rush nor to smite with the fists of wickedness but to loose the band of wickedness and let the oppressed go free And as for gorgious attire and rich apparrel and ornaments it s no where found so much as amongst you Steeple-house Fasters and for delights and pleasures and these things which you say is lawful at other times that which so judgeth will not forsake them in your set times and if they be lawful at any time then the Apostles exhortation is made void who said Not in gold nor costly array nor broidered hair that which abstains from them one day and takes them up another day is hypocrisie and deceit And as for your abstinence from one set meal in a day and it may be go to a banquet or a riot the next day after this is abomination to the Lord And how should the Minister reprove any for pride when it may be he hath as many Points at his knees as a ●esom Ribons Cuffs and a long Robe to his heels and a broad Harband enough to cover one most part down to the wast if it were spread out and who do you think will receive this mans reproof for pride that is thus gorgiously attired And what do you judge this man will have on the Thanksgiving-Day Direct The next comes on the performance of the worship which is reading preaching with singing of Psalms fit to quicken the affections and es●ecially prayer wherein sin is to be confest with several aggravation● and with greater inlargement then at other times An. You that have nothing to quicken your affections but to turn Davids cryings and tears into a Song and sing you roar for the disqui●tness of your hearts and as men distracted when your hearts are whole and unrent and you that think to be heard for your feigned confessions and if you speak from your hearts as you say the Minister ought to do there is no such hypocrisie and deceit among any people as amongst you who doth ●hat which is forbidden and leaves that undone that is commanded and presumptiously sins against the light of your own consciences as you confess and doth not so much as endeavour to receive Christ into your hearts nor so much as endeavour after mortification and newness of life And how can you think for your multitude of words and inlargement of words and seeming importunancy God Will hear you for your much babling Many hypocritical Fasts hath been made which ● have observed as well as some other men what would be the end thereof the beginning thereof was feignedness and the performance thereof like them that Amos speaks of that howled for their corn and wine and oyl and mocked God and drew near with their lips but their hearts were far from him Direct But to proceed such Texts ought to be used for preaching that may best work the hearts of the hearers into humiliation and repentance and the Minister is to exhort before they depart that their Assembly may improve their whole life to the glory of God by re-inforcing themselves and their families in all private resolutions towards God which they professed in publike Answ. You that have no other thing to bring people to humility and repentance but by a Text as you call it of Scripture which you may judge in your carnal minds will do it and pick and chuse too the Scripture where you like What was not the Scripture spoken forth by the Spirit of God and cannot be broken and one Scripture is as good as another and is as effectual as another but none is effectual without the Spirit which is that which leads to repentance and brings down the pride of the transgressor and except people come to receive the Spirit and believe in it which convinceth them of sin and leads them to repentance all your stirring up and composing and re-inforcing will do no good at all and so re-inforcing of self began your fast and there it will end without Christ which who so comes to follow denies themselves and are otherwise taught then to take the Kingdome by force And concerning their humiliatio● 〈◊〉 hast heard and mayest judge Reader what their Thank●giving will be like the rest Dir. The Minister is to make some pithy Narration of Gods deliverances and sing some pertinent Psalms and choose a pertinent text to the occasion An. The Thanksgiving doth not arise from any sencibility that people feels in themselves but it arises from the pithy story as they call it of the Minister and likewise from his devised Sermon which hath fed the carnal minds to re●oyce in words without the life and then ring the consecrated Bells and get Bonfires and eat and drink and satisfie the flesh these are the thanksgivings and the rejoycings that the world makes over the Witness in themselves Dir. And now I come to the singing Psalms and their Mass-house the place of their Worship and so I have done with their traffique First they say that singing of Psalms publikely in a Congregation with a tuneable voice is a Christians duty An Where was it injoyned by Christ or any of his Ministers I am ignorant and yet the Scripture I know but no where read in it that singing of Prophefies and Prayers and other mens conditions turned into Rime and Meeter by Poets and Masters of Musick in an invented tune in the same mind which invents tunes for Ballet-mongers and to sing such conditions amongst proud wanton and disdainful people covetous envious and such as hath not so much as endeavoured after mortification or newness of life as generally your Parochial Congregations are as you have confest in your Directory for Publike Worship this is no way accounted as a Christian duty for whose souls are not brought out of death cannot praise the Lord and you confess Ministers and Congregation that you are blind in mind and hard in heart and full of unbelief impenitency luke-warmness and barrenness not endeavouring to receive Christ into your hearts your state is howling and lamentation and not rejoycing yet singing with the Spirit is owned and with understanding Dir. And now we come to the place of publike Worship They say it is not unlawful or unconvenient for Christians to meet together in the place which was dedicated to Idolatry or consecrated to an idolatrous use yet we hold it requisite that the places of publike Worship should be imployed and continued to that use A● And upon what account do you count it lawful convenient and requisite to meet in an Idols Temple or a Mass-house your account will be but slender and poor which will be without example from the Saints Did Josiah or Hezekiah when they had broken down the Altars of Baal and thrown down the high places did they say its requisite and convenient that our Priests and the Levites the Congregation do meet at the Altar of Baal or at the high places Or did the Apostles bid the Gentiles who did believe go to their Idols Temple again and say it was a convenient place to worship the true God in And have you forgotten that exhortation or precept Abstain from every appearance of evil And though some do know that an Idol is nothing in the world howbeit there is not in every man that knowledg and is it not yet called by most of you yet The House of God House of Prayer But as you did begin so will you end to carry no traffique but for your mother mystery Babylon And thus Reader I have led thee through many things from the rise of the Whore and through the most of her merchants and through the most of her traffique merchants of divers orders and ranks but I find them all to trade with nothing but Inchantments and Sorceries which hath long bewitched the Nations but the time is come that she is manifest with her merchandize and Sorceries and turned from by me and many thousands more which is my exhortation to thee that so thou may come to the Church which is in God and to the elect assembly and to know the seed which is heir of the promise and of the Life which is without end Which mystery Babylon with all her merchants have sought to destroy since she got up to ride upon the Beast who hath compelled all both small and great to worship him and also all Nations to buy the Whores merchandize and traffique which hath deceived the Nations and bewitched them but the time is come that she shall be hated of her Lovers and they shall forsake her and her merchants shall say Alas alas which day is dawning and dawned which discovers the Whore the Beast and false Prophet with all their sorceries and the Lamb shall reign and the holy men of God and Prophets shall rejoyce over her when the smoak of her torment ascends up for ever and ever which the Lord hasten saith my Spirit Amen London the 12 Month the 26 day 1658. 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