of tribute which might lawfully be required by a civill power or Authority and in such things there is no tie on the conscience or snare by which it is intrapped but as our Saviour commanded that what was Caesar's one should be paid or given unto Caesar Mat. 22.21 which is all one to those accustomed assesments or rates now set on men by those that God hath set in authority And look in the verses foregoing your text they are such Powers as are ordained by God and are Ministers for God to minister justice But what is this argument or reason of any force to prove the lawfulness of paying Tythes to Ministers under the Gospell But you positively affirm That the Minister hath by the Law of God as legall a right to the rates set upon houses as the Landlord hath to his rend which we deny absolutely for according to your former argument time out of mind the Landlords had Law for their rent or a right to their rent by Law before ever Law was made for paying of Tythes to Ministers except you will prove the antiquity of your Law from God's injunction of the children of Israel to pay tythes of all they possessed And again the Landlord hath more right to his rent then you have to tythes for many Landlords have right to their lands and houses by inheritance but you have but a bare right from a humane institution and that by a Law not as yet abolished by the State now in being But if we should grant as we cannot except you shew better reason then your bare positive affirmation that it is as lawfull for the one as for the other Yet wee wonder you have no proofe of Scripture for your argument knowing or rather having ought to have knowne that it is the onely rule whereby the people of God ought to walk Therefore we conclude that it is no breach of the eighth commandement insomuch as no command of God is broken and to charge the non-payment of tythes to be theft we know not how you can make it good except you prove a right or that you have a right by the Law of God to the money or ware or what els we do enjoy But you add further that it is a breach of the Law of God and that you would prove in the answer to the first objection which is that to pay tythes is antichristian therefore not to be paid any longer which you call a false opinion and would make it appear by this argument ot yours viz. That which our Saviour enjoyned is not antichristian but our Saviour enjoyned tythes Luke 11.42 Ye tythe Mini Rue and all manner of herbs and passe over iudgment and the love of God these ought ye to have done that is say you ye ought to pay tythes therfore they are not antichristian We desire that you will again consider this Scripture both the person speaking and the persons spoken unto here is Christ by way of reprehension reprowing the Pharisees for their formality and pretending to make conscience of the smallest matters when the chiefest and weightiest things of the Law were neglected by them Woe to you Pharisees for ye tythe mint c. And we know that the Pharisees were Jewes and unbelievers therefore as yet not freed from the Ceremoniall Law Therefore it was a Law to them and requisite for them to fulfill but we hope you will not affirm that this was Christs Injunction to the Disciples or to those that believe that Christ is come in the flesh for the Apostle said that whosoever was circumcised was bound to keep the Law and even so denies that Christ is come in the flesh Therefore if Tythes be also a ceremoniall right or precept it holds forth as was said before that the thing signified being come the sign is ended For Circumcision and Tythes washing and purifyings are held out by the Holy Ghost in the 9. of the Heb. 10. v. to continue but to the time of reformation therfore we deny positively that Tythes were by Christ enjoyned to believers and then if you have no stronger argument to prove that Tythe is the Injunction of Christ either by precept or example from him or from the Apostles for believers to observe we cannot be evinced by that which you inferre from that in the 11. of Luke 42. v. Then of necessity the objection stands firm and not yet overthrown or proved a false opinion to wit that to pay Tythes to Ministers of the Gospell is Anti-christian for what is not for or with Christ is against Christ but to pay Tythes is not for or with Christ Ergo Anti-christian P. Again whereas you proceed in your answer to the second objection but we do not come to hear him why then should we pay him since we have no benefit by his Ministery Your answer is If thou live in a Parish where a godly Minister is seated thou art bound to hear him for he worketh the work of the Lord as well as those of greater parts 1 Cor. 16.10 If thou doe not hear him nor pay him thou addest sin to sin first it is a sin to withdraw thy presence and then it is another yea a greater to withdraw his maintenance Now you go about first to insinuate not only the lawfulnesse of your own calling to be a Minister of the Gospel truly called c. by gifts and parts which God hath endued men withall But secondly you lay also an Injunction upon all in the Parish wherein you are seated to come and hear you by the charge you lay of committing two sins the withdrawing the presence and the withdrawing your maintenance But for the first argument we conceive that as you have not brought any proof of Scripture to prove your calling to be a true Minister of the Gospell therefore we shall not need to raise any argument to disprove you but shall remain desirous of some satisfaction in that particular for though gifts and parts are essentiall to a Minister of the Gospell yet that is but one part of his calling it is requisite that he be chosen and ordained by a true Church for that Scripture which you have brought in the Corinths concerning Timothy doth in no wise prove you to be so then if no true Minister the force of that argument must fall to the ground Secondly We must then be at a losse in our answer to the inference which you draw that living in a Parish we ought to come and hear but the Spouse of Jesus Christ in the first of the Canticles doth inquire for Christ's aboad and residence which is to the flocks of his companions except you can prove that a Parish is a true church your argument is of no force to draw any to the place of the assembling for where there is no Law there is no sin but you have charged sin where you can shew no Institution pray why do not you preach this to be a sin to
true and consequently he doth sin against his conscience if he heareth such a one that goeth about to perswade or inforce him to do any thing against his conscience you teach that to pay tythes is the duty of believers both by the Law of God and man and he believes that to pay tythes is a sin by reason he hath no warrant from the Word for it being a believer Secondly if such person should refrain the hearing of him that declareth the word or mind of God as the truth is in Christ according to that light which God hath endowed him withall certainly he should sin in an high nature a sin of omission and you must acknowledge the blessing of God doth accompany his own Ordinance except you hold there is no Ordinance of God held forth by any but the Presbyterian Ministers who presse so hard for tythes And thirdly experience witnesseth the contrary how many thousand poor souls have been converted from their natural estate by the dispensators of the Word even by those of select Churches though you may term their conversion subversion or deluding yet our experiences witnesse to us the contrary therefore the inference you draw must needs fall to the ground Your sixth reason is That it is a sin that provokes God to curse a man in his outward estate and trading as you instance in that of Mal. 3.9 Ye are cursed with a curse for ye have robbed c. It is usuall with God to pay sinners with their owne coâ—n they rob God in tythes and God robs them of their trade and lively hood they grudge the Ministers maintenance and God even grudgeth them bread from their families so that they usually tuâ—n bankrupts or are so much in debt that they are ashamed to shew their faces We have already proved that the non-payment of tythes is not robbing of God therefore that place is of no force to prove that believers rob God by not paying tythes but on the contrary he that payeth tythes doth rob God by reason in that action he doth abet unto the unlawfulnesse of their practise who upheld the Priesthood of Aaron to be still in being when as we own no other Priesthood then Christ Jesus that Pretogative alone belongeth to him then there is no curse but rather a blessing by disowning the unlawfull practise of paying tythes and consequently they are blessed in their trading But whereas you say they grudge the Ministers maintenance we believe none that have learned the lesson of the Apostle thee they which preach the gospel shall live of the gospel and that those which freely sow in spiritualls should reap of carnalls should grudge a true Minister of the Gospel maintenance therefore your charge is too large in that particular also we grudge no mans maintenance much lesse such as labour in the word and doctrine and in charity we judge that none of the people of God are so hard hearted therefore your consequence which you raise must needs fall That that is the reason so many turn Bankerupts and run in debt c. It were a hard matter to prove that God pays men in their own coyn in this life for generally the wicked and ungodly and covetous of this world do thrive and grow rich and encrease in worldly goods but on the contrary many that are sincere Israelites as Nathanael doe live but meanely in this world But we shall proceed to the seventh reason in your paper It is a sin against the Gospel because it hinders the progresse and successe of it for such men do as much as in them lies extinguish the light by taking away the Oyle that foods it It is observed by that excellent book Vindication Presh Gov. page 81. That Julian the Apostate cursed enemy of Christ and his Gospel did by taking away tythes do more mischiefe to the church of God then all the persecuting Emperors that were before him for the persecutors took away only the Ministers and their bloud was the seed of the church but taking away tythes took away the Minister himself In this reason of yours you have made out to the world that the non-payment of tythes is a sin against the Gospel therefore because you make it out a sin of so high a nature we shall answer your reason in the severall parts thereof and anatomize it in the severall members thereof First that which is a sin against the Gospel must be a breach of some known institution of Jesus Christ either in precept or example but tythes were never an institution of Jesus Christ for believers to observe therefore no sin against the Gospel though you say that place in Luke 11.42 proves tythes to be an injunction of Christ That place of Scripture as before is inserted fully importeth Christs reprehension of the Pharisees for being strict in the observing of trivial things and leaving the weightier as of judgement and the love of God Now from this place you can prove tythes no more the duty of believers then the former offices of the Law as Sacrifices and Offerings for sin by them which were Levites and served in the Temple and Tabernacle which are all put to an end by the Sacrisice of Christ Jesus Heb. 9.11 and the 10. c. 9 10 11 12. v. But tythes as was well observed by a brother in the Gospell in certain replies heretofore set forth by him are not morall and perpetuall and now under the Gospell to be paid or taken for these reasons First because it calls for the setting up of the Jewish Temple tabernacle and altar c. Secondly because it calls for the Priesthood of Aaron and the Levites in their former office to serve Thirdly because it layes a yoke of bondage upon him that pays his tythes and upon him that takes tythes which the Gospell sets at liberty and how dare any man charge that to be a sin against Gospell when we stand fast to the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free Gal. 5. 1. v. Therefore it is your grosse erronious opinion to charge the non-payment of tythes to Gospel Ministers to be a sin yea and a Gospel sin yet we hope this your rash censure shall not bewitch us to be withdrawn from the love of the truth or to observe Leviticall ceremonies for Gospel Ordinances therefore the non-payment of tythes is no Gospel sin Secondly neither doth the non-payment of tythes hinder the progresse of the Gospel by reason that the Gospel is not furthered in its progresse by any unlawfull practise as hath been sufficiently proved therefore no let or hinderance but rather the contrary for the observation of any Levitical ceremony doth extinguish the light of the Gospel and so confer uently it doth hinder the progresse thereof And here pray take notice of your absurdity in this particular as if tythes were that which would be any furtherance to the progresse of the Gospel we confesse it may be a hinderance of your progresse in your
Ministery and of the successe thereof but no hinderance of those that are true Gospel Ministes neither of the successe of it Again have you any ground for this reason from any of the Apostles When was the Gospel so free in its progresse as in the Apostles time who taught us that the Ceremoniall Law was abolished and tythes being part of the Ceremoniall Law if that comes in being again it must needs hinder the successe and progresse of the Gospel Therefore of necessity that part of your reason must needs fall to the ground having not so much as the face of truth to uphold it Thirdly In that you say such men do as much as in them lies extinguish the light by taking away the oyle that feeds it Here we do also admire at the weakness of your argument to make tythes to be the oyle that gives light to the Gospel But to the first we answer on the contrary that such men do as much as in them lies discover the true Gospel-light from that darkness and obscurity which tythes would shadow the light of the Gospel withall by unvailing it from that which Christ hath put an end unto we mean all ceremoniall Rights c. But pray what light is it you mean Is it the light of your understanding which in this particular is already darkened therfore cannot be extinguished or the light of the Gospel which is the light of truth but by your foregoing reason we conceive rather the later if then observe that is is by this light out eye are in lightened to discover the darkness of this opinion that The non-payment of tythes doth extinguish the light of the Gospel Fourthly whereas your inference is that it takes away the oyle that feedth it we answer do you count tythes or the payment thereof the oyle that feeds the light of the Gospel Pray was that the oyle the foolsh virgins lacked so that their lamps went out We think rather it is the Spirit of God which giveth light to the Gospel and this lieth beyond the reach of any man to take away We read of many oyles in Scripture as the annoiting oyle c. and the oyle wherewith Christ was annoyted even the oyle of gladnesse above his fellows but we never yet read that tythes were called by the name of oyle nay such oyle as feeds the light of the Gospel Pray when was the light of the Gospel more darkeded then when the Bishops of our later dayes had so many spirituall livings or tythe oyle as you call it Did that oyle which they had in such abundance add anything to the light of the Gospel Nay rather did it not suffocate it So now may we truly say of you that are Priests of tythe by imposing or receiving of tythes ye do as much as in you his take away the true oyle that feeds this light by reason that you do not discover the spirituall sense and meaning of the Gospel but cloud the glorious light of it by re-edifying of the Leviticall ceremony of Tythes But we shall take a view of that saying of yours concering fulian the Apostate who by your affirmation did more harm by taking away tythes then the persecuting Emperors did by taking away of the Ministers If you have no stronger argument to prove his Apostate then the bare taking away of tythes the cannot in that be proved an Apostate but if he did this action from a right principle he was more a friend to the profession of the Gospel then an enemy and we hope and heartily with that the Parliament of this Commonwealth would unburthen this Nation from this superstitious ceremony of tythes O that the profit which the first fruits and tythes do yeeld were not so much esteemed by them as to make it an hinderance of their proceedings in this partitular It is very observable that many of the Kings of Israel did that which was right in the sight of the Lord yet this is charged upon them that the high places were not taken down untill God raised up that good King Josiah who pulled them down to the ground and burned the bones of them that offered sacrifices on them but we hope there are many amongst our Worthies we mean those of the Parliament and Arny whom God in his time will make like unto Iosiah who shall root up this grand idol of imposition of tythes which so blasphemously is called the oyle that feeds the light of the Gospel Therfore we hope by this time you may see clearly that the non-payment of tythes doth not hinder the progresse of the Gospel but on the contrary doth further it For if the intruding enemies of the Gospel we mean those false teachers spoken of by the Apostle Galat. 3. did bewitch them from the love of the truth by urging of Circumcision and the observation of the Ceremoniall Law which made the Apostle fear he had laboured in vain forasmuch as Christ was not yet formed in them then certainly the urging of the necessity of paying tythes doth hinder the free progresse of the Gospel and eclipse the light of it and keeps a poor soul under that Schoolmaster which was to bring us to Christ but now Christ is revealed he is the end of the law for righ cousnesse to every one that believeth and consequently no longer need of that to be our Schoolmaster But in your last Reason your cry may well be called outragious as if you were bereft of your senses It is sin that will not he pardoned upon repentance unlesse there be a restitution as well as repentance according to that of Augustine Non remittitua peccatum nisi restituatur ablatum Thy sin shall not be pardoned unlesse that which thou with-holdest unjustly be restored We know our Saviour faith that all sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men save the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost and such a one certainly that sinneth that unpardonable sin hath his heart shut up from repentance and a sin committed against God is of a higher nature then any sin against man but in all that thou have said you cannot prove the non-payment of tythe to be a sin but on the contrary we have proved it to be a in to pay tythes and consequently the non-payment of tythes cannot lay any such burthen upon the conscience of any man as to make your reason in this particular of any force but you may well be compared to the Scribes and Pharisees which laid heavy burthens upon mens shoulds and would not feel the weight of them themselves Again if this your Argument should stand that any may hath unjustly with-holden your right or due we hope you wll grant that many times God gives a man a heart to repent when he hath not wherewithall to make restitution But we never read of any sin to be unpardonable except it was the sin against the Holy Ghost but the non-pryment of tythes cannot be proved a sin much lesse of that nature Then
on the contrary if as hath been sufficiently proved that to demand tythes under the dispensation of the Gospel by any that are Gospel-Ministers or pretend so to be is a sin against the Gospel for tythes were never injoyned by our Saviour for believers to observe and to presume to make an injunction for any duty where there is no precept nor example is highly displeasing to God and comes under the reprehension of the Holy Ghost in the last of the Revelation he that addeth to the words of this book c. Therefore it behoveth you that stand so much for tythes to examine well and seriously your own hearts and repent of this your evill practice lest the sin you charge upon others be not one day laid to your charge But the last refuge you have is this that it is a sin will cry for vengcance when the sinner on his death-bed is crying for mercy as appcars by that remarkable Scripture James 5.3 Now if the hire of the labourers in mans vineyard kept back by fraud cryeth how dreadfull will the cry be of the hire of Gods labourers in Gods Vineyard kept back by robbers and defrauders I tremble to think of it We hope by the time you have read read over the replies to your former reason and Proposition your spirit will be more calm then here you have shew'd your self but that it is usuall with many of you to thunder out hell and damnation against all those that cannot through conscicure truly inlightened obey your humane traditions and legall ceremonies and forget and leave out judgement and the love of God as if the worship of God consisted in those abolished legall rites and ceremonies but in this you seem to shew little of the spirit of him that is the good Shepheard of the Sheep but rather like ravening Wolves you seek to devoure them But indeed as you have well said to that purpose that you are defrauded of your hire do you not herein demonstrate you selves to be hirelings therefore in Joh. 10. The Hireling is no good Shepheard but comes in as the wrong door and is a thtefe and a robber and how many of these hirelings both in Company and City have for a time cominaed in a Parish but when they have heard of a greater living or parsonage have relinquished their flock and given it over to stranges or left it destiture Will not this sin at that day rise up in judgement against many of you Tythes-Priests Ye can be contented to call your selves Gospel Ministers which if you were ye would not strive so much to set up the rites and ceremonies of the Leviticall Law ye would rather preach Jesus Christ and that freely from a principle of love and as long as you continut thus in your outragious cry and censorious judgings which are but the passions of the mind which the people of God have learned to crucifie with Christ you do but the more make out the truth of the Word that the strength of your Kingdome is going down and the fear thereof makes you cry out for help and use all unlawfull means to make good your argument even to the wresting of the Scriptures as that in Luke 11.42 upon which is built all your whole Fabrick which appears like all the rest to be built upon a sandy foundation which is falling and shall fall to the ground and God will put it into the hears of his people that they shall vindicate the truth in this particular O that the Rulers of this Nation would discharge their Vow to Almighty God in setting this Nation at liberty from this great and unsupportable burthen of tythes which is not only as hath been proved Anti-christian but a bondage even like that of the Aegyptians over the children of Isael for as they set Taskmasters over them so these Priests more like Aegyptians then Christians do set Taskmasters over the people to enforce them and that against their consciences to pay and are there not some now in prison upon the same accompts and others under prosecution also and will not their cry ascend up into the ears of the Lord for vengeance Oh that particular interests into unlawfull gain were not that which doth blin the eyes of many of this Nation that they cannot make use of the opportunity which God hath put into their hands But it is our hope that as the putting down of Bishops who were as Lords over Gods Heritage was one of the first of the Worthtes in Parliament so the taking away of Tythes shall not be the last which shall be acted by them FINIS