of Religion that Popery should be tolerated the blood of many thousands of the People of God having been barbarously shed by the Professors thereof or any person tolerated that worship a false God nor any that speak contemptuously and reproachfully of our Lord Jesus Christ nor any that deny the holy Scriptures contained in the Books of the Old and New-Testament to be the Word of God and yet we are not against tolerating of Episcopacy Presbyter or any stinted form provided they do not compel any others to a compliance therewith or a conformity thereunto For whatever Composers of any form of Worship may possibly err it is derogating from God and his holy Word and injurious to men to compel any to the practice thereof Ans. What confusion is here and contradiction both to your selves and to the exâ—mple of Christ As to Religion you wil not tolerate Popery because the blood of many of the people of God have been barbarously shed by the professors thereof neither wil you have any persons tolerated that worship a false God nor any that speak contempâ—uously and reproachfully of the Lord Jesus Christ nor any that deny the holy Scriptures contained in the Books of the Old New-Testament to be the Word of God And yet you are not against tolerating of Episcopacy Presbytery or any stinted form Why wil you not tolerate Popery as well as Episcopacy Have not the professors of Episcopacy murthered and slain and do labour to murther and slay the people of God as well as the Papists And why will you tolerate the Common-Prayer among the Episcopacy and not the Mass-Book among the Papists seeing that the Mass was the substance out of which the Common-prayer was extracted Here is nothing but partiality to tolerate one thing and not another of the same kind And why will you not tolerate the persons of those that worship a false God nor the persons of those that deny the Scriptures to be the Word of God nor the persons of those that speak contemptuously and reproachfully of the Lord Jesus Christ Ans. If you will not tolerate their persons then you will murther or destroy their persons and herein you have proved the accusation against you to be true that you have a design to murther and destroy those that differ from you in matters of Religion As for instance those that worship a false God they differ from you in matters of Religion and you will not have any of their persons tolerated and their persons must be destroyed for differing from you in matters of Religion And they that deny the Scriptures that is the Writings to be the Word of God that is to be Christ whose Name is called the Word of God you will not tolerate their persons then you will destroy them because they differ from you in matters of Religion And those that speak reproachfully of Jesus Christ you wil not tolerate their persons then you wil destroy their persons because they differ from you in matters of Religion and thus having contradicted your selves you have also contradicted the example of Christ for he came among those that worshipped false Gods even stocks and stones and graven Images the Works of mens hands and he was not against tolerating their persons neither came he to destroy mens lives because of such things but had a Gospel to preach unto them whereby they might learn to know the living God and turn from dumb Idols and those that speak reproachfully against him and said he had a Devil yet he was not against tolerating their persons but preached the Kingdom of God to them and did bid them seek it and the righteousness thereof and told them that the Kingdom of God was within them and he wâ—s among such as denied that there was a God or Christ or Resurrection Angel or Spirit and this is more than to deny the Scriptures to be the Word of God which indeed is words and not the Word And Christ was not against tolerating of any of the persons as you have expressed your selves to be and so shewed forth a murthering Spirit But seeing that you wil not have any person tolerated that worships a false God what must be done vvith their persons But what difference is there in the ground or cause of toleration between those that vvorship a false god or they vvhich vvorship the true God in a false vvay And if the persons of neither of those should be tolerated then the toleration vvould but reach a little compass But vvho must be Judge of that blasphemy contempt or reproach spoken against the Lord Jesus Christ Was it not blasphemy in the Apostles days for one to say he was a Jew and was not Rev. 2. v. 9 And is it not as great blasphemy now to say that he is a Christian or a Believer that is not And must not any person be tolerated that speak such vvords And must not such a person be tolerated that denies the Scriptures to be the Word of God Then it appears they must not be tolerated that say In the beginning was the Word as John 1.4 Nor that say that Christ is the Word and that the Scriptures are they which testifie of him as John 5. And if we search out your toleration to the bottom it will be reduced into this compass That none shall be tolerated but those that say as you say and profess what you profess and you among your selves are as a Kingdom divided that cannot stand and you are not they vvhich are fit to Rule in the Nation to prescribe Liberty nor give toleration but if you had been of Christ's Spirit you would have professed Toleration and not Destruction unto all persons in matters of Religion and then they that have the Gospel of Christ may minister it freely among those that vvorship a false god and among those that worship the true God ignorantly and minister it among the Papists â—piscopal and Presbyterie Heathens Turks and Pagans which are all out of the way and so to convince the gain-sayers so that all the wicked impositions cruelty persecution and killing one another about Religion would cease and then the Gospel of peace which is the power of God would rule over deceit and Truth and Righteousnesse would encrease and spread over the Nations but you have appeared to be of a spirit of Confusion and Contradiction for vvhen you have spoken against tolerating the persons before mentioned yet you say in contradiction to it you are not against tolerating Episcopacy Presbyterie or any stinted Form provided they do not compel any others to a compliance therewith or conformity thereunto c. Now consider and let even your own foolishness correct you Is not the Papists which ye have have excepted against a stinted Form And are not those that vvorship a false god a stinted Form And are not the Sadduces that deny that there is either God Christ Angel Resurrection or Spirit a stinted Form And is not the
vanity and men of high degree are a lye and the heart of man is desperately wicked and deceitful above all things Hear this ye wise men and foolish The more ye strive against the Lord the more is your wound made incurable and the higher you rise in envy always the deeper is your fall in confusion And now Christian Reader whose heart God hath opened to see and behold the things that be eternal and can truly discern of different causes and between the good and the evil and between the light and the darkness This Book is sent forth in the pursuit and after a Book called Hosâ—nna to the Son of David c. by a nameless Author whose work indeed was hardly worthy of an honest mans Name though very subtilly and craftily he prosecutes his purpose and traverses his steps full cunningly as this worlds wisdom could guide him in which wisdom he cannot know or receive the things of God and therefore it cannot be expected that the things of God should be received from that wisdom and though he hath confounded in his words his description of the Light of Christ sometimes speaking well of it aâ—d sometimes otherwise and not knowing hardly whereof he hath affirmed his words are so confounded and mixed in his corrupt reason in giving forth his knowledge of the things of God which he seems to be ignorant of but only as he hath the knowledge of them from the Letter by which no man can come to the knowledge of God nor of the things of his Kingdom without the revelation of the Spirit of Jesus and the operation of the same Spiriâ— But Friends the Testimony of God stands sure for ever though men would confound it in their own reason And this is the Testimony That Christ lighteth every man that cometh into the world which Light is sufficient to lead every man to God or else to condemn every man from God and this Testimony is true notwithstanding all the opposition against it and it shall abide sure for ever though men strive never so much in the gain-saying of it And this is the Testimony which we have born and shall bear to the end and who believes it and who believes it not this is the hand of the Lord according to his pleasure and to him we leave it and so we do and must clear our consciences from time to time while the Lord gives us a being And herein we are a good savour to God and our reward is with him whether Israel be gathered or no Isa. 49. And also this nameless Author which is supposed to be one John Jackson known in this City hath taken some seeming occasion against us by searching our Books and as he saith hath found some contradictions in them which may appear to be so to his dark mind yet in the sight of the spirit of the Lord that is truth which he sees to be no other than error However this is sent forth for the true information of peoples minds that they may know that truth is bold and confident and that it is Armour which defendeth from all Enemies and giveth strength to answer the craftiness of men And this same John Jackson hath shewed himself now to be one with the common Priests of the world for as they have done so hath he opposed the way and people of God and with the very same arguments shewing that he is of the very same spirit with them his discourse and arguments being of the same nature as theirs are yea he hath shewed himself to be of the very same spiâ—it with all the open prophane wretches which doth revile and scorn and abuse in every Town and Countrey the Lords people and as they do so so hath he written with subtile Arguments to the very same end as they reproach and scorn to wit in a derision and despising the way and servants of the Lord so that his self-separation is now seen what it is to be a very cheat and hypocrisie who while he professeth a separation frâ—m the World doth practice the very same wickedness and is not changed from them in nature though he be in appearance But what a poor work hath he brought forth in two years time which he saith his work hath been as Embers raked up in ashes yet a work that gains no praise of God nor very little of the praise of any man It seems he hath hatched mischief upon his bed and brought it forth in the morning Who would have thought but a wise man in that time would have brought forth a larger piece and more to purpose I am sure he might have made better use of his time in another exercise than to have writ against the servants of the Lord It had been more honest for him to have set his pen to paper and studyed to have given his testimony against the Pridâ— and Drunkenness and Oppression and Whoredoms and Wickedness in this great City I say it had been more honest and liker a Saint to have sought the reforming of prophaneness and wickedness that greatly abounds in this City than to have studyed two years to bring forth his invented stuff against a harmless and innocent people which he nor any can justly charge with evil but as he hath digged deep by his imaginations in recollecting a seeming-contradiction out of our writings which is no contradiction no more then Christs words are who saith Except ye eat my flesh and drink my blood ye have no life in you And yet in the same discourse saith The flesh profits nothing And for Isaiah to go with the Word of the Lord to Hezekiah to tell him he should dye and not live yet in the same instant of time told him he should live and not dye Would not John Jackson have counted these contradictions But what he hath done in this in sending forth a Book against the Quakers he hath been so far from beating down sin drunkards and rude scorners and abusive men that he hath fully strengthened their hands and the wickedst people in this Nation are very glad of his work he hath given them matter to oppose truth withall but his reward and theirs shall be both with one hand and he shall drink his portion in the same Lake with such whose hands he hath strengthened and let him know and them all God hath established us upon a sure Mountain which the Gates of Hell and Death cannot prevail against So his work is counted of us and cast by as our spoiled prey of Babylons treasure onely this is sent abroad after it in the pursuit of it which is not done with multitudes of words of mans wisdom but in the plain nakedness of innocent truth which is more strength than all his arguments of guile whereby he would deceive the people but he can deceive none but such as are deceived already for all that are in the Light and in the Truth sees beyond all that he can say and are established
Jews a stinted Form although they speak contemptuously of the Lord Jesus Christ which before you have said you will not tolerate their persons because they speak contemptuously of the Lord Jesus Christ and now you say you wil tolerate because they are a stinted Form How must the Jews be converted who have spoken contemptuously and reproachfully of the Lord Jesus Christ calling him a Deceiver a Blasphemer and that he had a Devil seeing you will not tolerate their persons until they be converted And how shall the Heathens that worship false gods be converted seeing their persons must not be tolerated And what must be done with those many hundreds of Congregations in England which worship God in the Spirit and yet do deny the Scriptures as Words and Writings of the Old and New-Testament to be the Word of God but do confesse them to be a Testimony of the Word and of him who is the beginning and end of the words in whom and by whom they all come to be fulfilled to the Saints What must their persons be done with seeing they must not be tolerated But you may say That those things was spoken in your haste or at least in your fear whereby you were surprized in the Uproar of the rude Boys and Apprentices of London But a little fear entering into the Hypocrisie doth try your spirits and cause you to bring forth the intents of your hearts as in your paper is manifest To the last you say Forasmuch as we are charged to murder and destroy those that differ from us in matters of Religion We do not only abhor and detest it as a cursed practice but we hope we have approved our selves both in this City and the Nation to the contrary notwithstanding the great provocation of some who have endeavoured our ruine For that we desire is just liberty to men as men that every man may be preserved in his own just rights and that Christians may be preserved as Christians though of different apprehensions in some things of Religion in the prosecution whereof our lives shall not be dear unto us when we are thereunto lawfully called The designs of our adversaries in these calumnies are to mis-represent us to some people fearing God and also to incense the rude Multitude against us purposely to provoke them if possible to destroy us Ans. In what you have before expressed you have more given than taken away the occasion of this Charge against you by your instancing the not tolerating of such persons before-mentioned for if you did as you say desire the just liberty of men as men then every man without respect to Apprehensions Perswasions or Worships as a man and person should be tolerated that those who are Christians might inform them of the true God when they worship false gods And hereby you give great occasion unto those that seek occasion from you when you with a general consent cry against the tolerating the persons of so many sorts of people about differing from you in Religion And as for some of them whom ye would accuse as irregular many by experience can witness that neither Weapon nor Tongue formed against them can prosper and the time may come when you may be glad to be upholden with a little of their strength and not to reject those whom God hath doth and will own for his people in the midst of their Enemies for God hath made them even as eyes to behold the spirits of men and the changings of their ways and to give them a reproof in due season when they darken Wisdom and confound their matter by words without knowledge in false fears and haste when they are out of patience and out of Faith in God as the Baptists here have done and the fearful and unbelieving cannot accomplish the righteousness of God neither will he bring forth his intended Work by them but such as are of a true Spirit that look only at the glory of God and setting up of his Truth who are come to the spiritual Weapons and do not wrestle with flesh and blood but with the powers of darkness and with spiritual wickedness and such as are not false accusers of others but seek the good of all men such will the Lord honor and exalt in his Work and they shall perfect his praise So Friends you have been hasty to utter words before the Lord for which his reproof justly comes upon you Therefore let your words be few mind the fear of the Lord God which is the beginning of wisdom and that will slay your false fears from which unsavoury and unsound words hath proceeded for your Religion is vain while your tongue is not bridled for it is better to be still and keep silence then to utter words from the line of confusion that is stretched over you thereby to get a name in the Earth which Line all people walk in but those who are led by the Spirit of God to speak words that cannot be condemned for it is the Spirit of the Lord God and his Power which must slay the enmity in you which is the ground of your prejudice and hard speeches against the Lambs of Christ which when that is slain within then those evil fruits of the lips will cease without and then the fountain of Life will open in you which brings forth fruits of another nature and when the fruits of your lips is truth righteousness and peace then wil you have fellowship with the Father and the Son and with us who walk in his Light A Copy of a Paper sent to the Council of State in the Year 1659. LEt every one that will minister the Gospel do it freely according to the example of the Apostles and the Ministers of Christ. And do not you go about to provide any maintenance for any Ministers of any sort in the Nation for in that you wil but lay a yoke upon the Disciples necks and an imposition upon tender Consciences which cannot do any thing but what they do freely as unto the Lord and let every one that will preach the Gospel live of the Gospel and not upon any setled or State maintenance for thereby you will but set up another Image and continue the same oppression of tythes though under another name upon the people and will neither ease nor satisfie the people at all for the cry of the honest and godly people of this Nation is to have a free Ministry and free maintenance and are willing fâ—eely to maintain those that minister unto them the Word and Doctrine and are not willing that the Civil Magistrate should meddle with that which relates to spiritual things in this case and so every sort of people in the Nation freely maintaining their own Ministry puts an end unto all troubles suits complaints and petitions of that kind in which the Nation hath long been burdened and troubled with which with much ease and satisfaction to all people this way may be ended and