yield unto many except they can fairly perswade those many to yield to them a Epistolary Discourse pag. 22. N. C. But what if they cannot agree C. I was going to tell you If they cannot agree it is just they should forfeit their Spiritual right and liberty which Christ hath conferred upon them and fall under the Arbitriment of the Secular Power which ought to look unto its own safety lest those that make Divisions and multiply Breaches in the Church about small matters disturb also by that means the publick peace of the State b Ib. p. 24. Of this mind also was Mr. John Cotton a mild Independent Good Kings saith he c Upon the 1 Canticles v. 10. pag. 44. Use 2. ought to put upon their people wholsome Laws and straight binding to the purity of Religion and the Worship of God It is no impeachment to their Christian Liberty as the Anabaptists dote but an ornament to their beauty making their necks comely as with chains of Gold And a little after d Ib. Use 3. It is no impeachment of Christian Liberty to bow to Christian Laws Yea it is the beauty of a Christian Church to wear those chains those Laws which were made for the good of the Church and it ☜ was their prophaness and rebellion that said Let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us N. C. He speaks of those purer Laws which they found out not such as yours C. It 's as much to my purpose if he did for it proves he would have the people strictly tyed to Laws and wear these chains alwayes about their necks and our Governors think theirs as good as any and so may as innocently bind men fast to them as you tye them to yours And let me tell you both Presbyterians and Independents would have their Orders so strict that their people should not be allowed the liberty of going to hear where they please Mr. Edwards a Gangraena 1 part p. 30. Error 125. I remember in his Catalogue of Errors Heresies and Blasphemies puts down this for one That it is part of mens Christian Liberty not to hear their own Ministers but to go and hear where they will and whom they think they may profit most by And the New-England Churches condemned those that said b Catalogue of the Opinions condemned by an Assembly of the Churches Aug. 30. 1637. Error 80. if a man think he may edify better in another Congregation than in his own that is ground enough to depart ordinarily from Word Seals c. notwithstanding the offence of the Church often manifested to him for so doing N. C. But why should there be any penalties C. You may as well ask me over again why any Laws which will be ridiculous without them But I wonder you are not ashamed to speak against penalties and force who pressed the Covenant with more severity than ever any body did Conformity What crosness is this as the Bishop of Down said c Visitation Speech at Lisâ—egarvy 26. August 1638. that when we press men to conform to the Orders of our Church they alledg it is contrary to Christian Liberty to inforce men to the doing of any thing against their Conscience and that a man should be fully resolved in his own mind of the Lawfulness of that which he doth and yet we urge that only under pain of suspension and excommunication and that after much patience and forbearance using all fair means to perswade them But they compel men to subscribe the Covenant against their Conscience by Pike and Pistol threatning no less than loss of life or goods and Lands in case of refusal By this we may judge of sincerity and what they would do in other things had they Power in their hands The truth is one could scarce live among you when you had power for all that would not take the Covenant were held to be Malignants and if you know not what was to be done with them an eminent person will tell you N. C. Who do you mean C. Do you not remember who it was that complemented the Parliament as the keepers of our Vineyard and commended them for being wanting in nothing to their duty N. C. What then C. You shall hear He saith they had endeavoured to fence the Vineyard with a setled Militia and then to gather out the Malignants as stones and to make a Wine-press therein for the squeezing of Delinquents a Epistle before the Sermon to the Commons 25. Jan. 1643. N. C. I know not who this was C. I 'le be so civil to his Memory as to let this pass without naming him But he was one of those you call a moderate Presbyterian by which we may know what mind the Zealots are of And as for the Independents they were for an exact and thorough Reformation too for that which they were about had cost God dear they said and he would not lay out so much for an imperfect poor and low reformation and therefore exhorted the Parliament not to spare the lash to effect it but do as Jesus Christ did when he came to purge the Temple not only chide the money changers but whip them away and overthrow the very Tables lest they should recover their Trade again b See Mr. Bridge Sermon before the Commons Nov. 29. 1643. p. 24 25. Which others delivered in this phrase Dagon is begun to fall befor the Ark his head is off but let not so much as the stump remain i. e. give no Liberty to these Church of England men let them not enjoy the least relick of their worship And accordingly you know I shew'd you the last time there was an Ordinance prohibiting the use of Common-prayer under great penalties in any private family not excepting the Kings c Page 218. Of Friendly debate 3 Edit N. C. I remember it and some say it was an unworthy Construction you make of the words there was no such intention C. They had better have held their tongues for I shall prove it to purpose When Commissioners were sent down to treat with his Majesty at the Isle of Wight he was content as he had expressed himself before May 12. that the worship of God should be performed according to the Directory for three years provided only that his Majesty and those of his judgment who could not in Conscience submit thereunto might not be obliged to it but left free to their own way a This was Septemb. 29. 1648. But this would not be granted for you must know that though the Parliament had Ordained b Ordin of March 1.4 1645. the Chappels or places in the Houses of the King and his Children should continue free for the exercise of divine duties without any Elders yet this was no more than they allowed to every Peer in the Realm and those Duties also were to be performed according to the Directory and not otherwise And
the Common-Prayer is guilty of where the Minister makes the Gentleman presently confess it to be full of Popish Errors and to appoint horrible Blasphemies and lying Fables to be read to the People Nay makes him cry out almost almost as soon as they had begun their Discourse O horrible How have the Bishops deluded King Edward the Sixth Queen Elizabeth King James and our gracious King Charles and the whole State and made them believe there was nothing in the Service-Book that is amiss or any way contrary to the Word God Almighty deliver us from them I should blush to the end of my life if after our whole debate I had concluded as this man begun But this is the way of those Sots that talk as if they were infallible and would bear all before them by their bare word nay take it very ill if you be not converted as soon as they open their mouth Pythagoras is reviv'd in some of you and Mr. such a one said it is of as good Authority as the best proof in the world N. C. This was some ignorant Zealot I believe C. So one would think and yet he had so good an opinion of himself that he thought such Works as these fit for the eyes of the High Court of Parliament To whom I find he presented Certain Grievances an 1640. of the very same import with this goodly Dialogue but so absurdly slanderous that you cannot but be astonish't at his brutish stupidity For there he tells them as he doth the Gentleman at the conclusion of their Conference that the Bishops have appointed some portions of Scripture to be read on certain dayes and omitted others on purpose to pervert the meaning of Christ and to keep weak Christians in blindness The whole Book of Canticles for instance is never appointed to be read that the People as he will have it may not be able to see the ardent Love and affection of Christ toward his Spouse the Elect and they thereby be stirred up to love Christ and be truly zealous for his Glory Nay if you believe him the Books of the Kings all save the 8 first chapters and the Chronicles were forbid because they shew that Godly Kings did ever love Gods true Prophets and did hearken to them and were zealous of maintaining true Religion and suppressing Idolatry In which words he discovered the very grounds of their quarrel with the King viz. that he did not take such great Seers as himself into his bosom and suffer them to guide his Conscience as if they were of the Privy-Council of Heaven But he discovered withal how little esteem he for his part merited Or rather how well he deserved to be stigmatiz'd and branded in the forehead as one to speak in his own language that was a false-Prophet Prophesying lyes For was there ever any man before this so impudent as to put a Libel of this Nature against his spiritual Fathers and Governors into the hands of the Highest Court of the Kingdom Did any of the Priests or Prophets of Baal think you ever help themselves and their cause by such invectives against the Prophets of the Lord For my part I am of the mind that the Devil himself would be hard put to 't to invent more bold and malicious Slanders than these of this mans forging who wanted nothing but wit to make him like that Father of Lyes And yet I suppose he passed for a Godly man a precious Servant of Jesus Christ a Faithful Minister of the Lord Nay was cherished and incouraged as one of Gods Prophets who had told them things that could be known no wayes but by a Revelation His Book also no doubt found wonderful acceptance though it was stuft with so much Ignorance and railing The people read it with a blind Devotion just as he was transported with so blind a Passion as to accuse our Church of that which all that had eyes must needs acquit it of For both the Books of the Kings were Appointed to be read intirely in the later end of April and in May. As for the Chronicles they being little more than a Repetition of what was writ before might well be left to our private Reading together with some other Books not easy to be understood without great Labour and long Meditation N. C. I wish you would dismiss this man for he hath given us both too much trouble C. Your people would not when time was so easily lay his Book out of their hands as I am able to prove But let him go together with all the Crew of Revilers that were before him For you must know there were Dialogue-writers of the same Stamp in the dayes of your Fore-fathers In one of which Books called the Dialogue of White Devils the Author expresly tells us that if Princes hinder the bringing in of their Disciples they are Tyrants and may be deposed by their Subjects A Doctrine which with all your reading in the Books of the Kings and the Chronicles you will no where find justified For the people were better taught than to go about to depose those that did not favour the Lords Prophets I know you all disclaim this principle and I verily believe many of you abhor it but I mention it to let you see what the Maximes of some of your Predecessors imboldned some of their Posterity to do For this purpose I could relate strange passages out of some Books esteemed by your Party which would verify the censure of the Bishop of Down and Conner * In his Visitation speed at Lisnegarvy 1638. publish'd by Authority upon the Title of the Dialogue now named Which he saith was very fit for such mens Books for if ever there were White Devils or Devils transformed into Angels of Light it is in their persons who under the pretence of Sanctity labour to bring in all manner of Disorder into the Church and confusion into the Common wealth But you have no mind we should remember any thing that is past that so you may the more confidently fill the world with loud clamors as if there never were such doings as now Else you might know there was another Dialogue in Queen Elizabeths dayes between Diotrephes and S. Paul in which the Discipline and its Favourers are magnified as Apostolical but the Bishops of the Church of England made no better than so many proud Diotrephes's nay so many Devils and he of Canterbury so they speak is Beelzebub even the Prince of the Devils N. C. Still you will have all the talk to your self and I must hold my tongue Pray give me leave to inlarge my self a while for I am blam'd I assure you very much for saying so little in our last Conference C. Speak your mind N. C. I must ingeniously confess that we cannot accuse you of such speeches as these but yet you shew your great malignity to us otherwayes In particular it is very ill taken that you make our Ministers guilty of
on all the Subjects under the Pain of being incapable of any Office if they refused it But now you will be free from all imposition of this Nature And an Oath enjoyn'd by the King and both the Houses under no severer penalty than a small Restraint is look't upon as a grievous Oppression There are those likewise that can remember when the Commons alone put out another Order about some of the affairs of Religion But now a Law enacted by the Kings Authority is thought an high invasion of Christs Prerogative and he must not meddle in matters of his Worship The reason is any thing may be done by any Body to advance your fancies but nothing against them by no creature in the World Nay we have not forgotten the time when Mr. Case used this Argument among others to perswade the People to take the Covenant * Sermons about the Covenant p. 64. because Antichrist and his faction had prosper'd so much by entring into Covenants therefore the People of God should try what this way will do which hath been so advantageous to the enemy For God said he may make use of that Stratagem to ruin their Kingdom which they used to build it But now if any of us say that the same Persons have maintain'd a great reverence in the people to their Religion by many Stately Ceremonies splendid Vestures and Pompous Rites and therefore we may hope to keep the Ordinances of God from contempt by a few solemn and grave Ceremonies by decent habits and such rites and gestures as may beseem the dignity of our Religion presently you raise an out-cry against us and the People are told that we are Popishly affected of an Antichristian spirit and imitate Idolaters For which I can assign no cause but this that then the Argument was for you and now it makes for us And you are resolved to serve your selves by all means though it be by approving and anon rejecting the very same things If a thing like you well it shall go very hard but you will find some Scripture for it And if none speak plainly you will torture and draw some or other to be on your side and labour to prove that they signifie according to your meaning But if a thing dislike you then you ask for plain Scritprue Nothing will satisfie unless we shew it you in express terms It is Superstition Will worship any thing but good unless we produce a text in so many words to confirm it Of the same shifting humour was the late Army as appears by their unparalel'd Story which in brief is this On the 20. of April 1653. they turn'd their Masters whom they had long served out of doors as a company of Self-Seekers who minded their own private more than the publick Good About six years after finding the good Spirit declining which formerly appeared among them in carrying on the great work those are their Canting expressions and the good old Cause it self become a reproach they were led to look back and examine the cause of the Lords withdrawing his wonted presence from them And among other things they remembred what Injuries they had done to the remnant of the long Parliament and that they were eminent asserters of that Cause and had a special presence of God with them and were signally blessed in that Work And therefore invited them by their Declaration of May 6. 1659. in which you may find these things to come and sit again promising to yield their uttermost Assistance for their sitting in safety Would you not imagine now that they would for ever reverence these Eminent these Blessed men and that to oppose them in their great work would be in their opinion to fight against God to drive away the good Spirit and to endeavour to destroy the Cause of God And yet it was not long before they were of another mind They held themselves for all this to be the greater Saints the Army of the living God and so immutably setled in his favour that they should not lose it do they what they would And therefore as soon as ever the Parliament refused to act according to their mind they refused to yield their obedience When they voted some of their Commissions void and resolved to govern the Army by Commissioners in stead of a Lieutenant General these late penitents could see nothing of God any longer among them The special Presence of God vanished and in a moment disappeared So that on the 13th of the next October they lockt up the doors of the House set themselves once more above their Masters and in an insolent manner declared * Declara agreed at Wallingford House Octob. 27. all their Orders Acts pretended Acts or Declarations and all proceedings thereupon had or done on Munday the 10. of that Month and on Tuesday and Wednesday following null and void to all intents and purposes in as full and ample a manner as if they had been never done And immediately after they pact the Men away after these Acts and Orders Nay this they did notwithstanding that they had stiled themselves several times but five dayes before this 10. of October Your faithful Servants the Army and professed that having diligently inquired into their hearts and wayes Humble Represent and Petit. Octob. 5. they found nothing among them but faithfulness and integrity to the Parliament concluding their address in this manner that notwithstanding all endeavours to the contrary they would by the help of God be found faithful to them Were not these gallant fellows Wonderful constant to their Principles and Professions Mightily overawed by the presence of God Single-hearted and faithful to their word Yes by all means you must needs say for of such as these a great part of the Churches of the Saints is now composed And faithful they were to themselves and that was enough Constant to this principle that they were alway in the right and what would you have more They could Cant still in Scripture language and therefore God was not withdrawn from them They could fast and pray still and had a power to turn even the Lords-day into a day of Humiliation and therefore the Good Spirit had not forsaken them They hated Antichrist that is us and were resolved to burn the flesh of the Whore with fire so still remained the Army of the Lord of Hosts For as if they had some such work in hand as the Apostles had they call upon all the Godly in the nation to say on their behalf who are sufficient for these things and to cry aloud for them before the Throne of Grace that the Lord himself would appear and carry on his work in their hand And great reason there was to expect it since they had once more injur'd those who asserted his cause and done that very thing for which as they said he had before withdrawn his wonted presence from them O the Impudent foreheads of these Men O the
the End of the World * P. 62. of that Book N. C. Strange Presumption C. I suppose he could have found a text for it in the Revelation if you had presumed then to question his humble confidence For I observe the General Assembly tell his Majesty that if they may but have that Unity in Religion and Uniformity of Church-Government in the two Kingdoms which they petition him for it will appear then that the unhappy Commotions and Divisions among us were but the * Letter to his Majesty July 27. 1642. Noise of many Waters and the Voice of a great Thunder before the voice of Harpers harping with their harps which shall fill the whole Land with Melody and mirth and the name of it shall be the Lord is there The place to which they refer you know is 14. Rev. 2. Now immediately after this joy and Melody there follows as you may see v. 6. an Angel flying in the midst of Heaven having the Everlasting Gospel to preach unto every Nation kindred tongue and people That is as Mr. Case perhaps might have expounded it this Gospel-Covenant St. John saw upon the wing about to fly to the end of the World N. C. No man could be so absurd C. What greater absurdity is there in this than in the application which the general Assembly make of the foregoing words to the same purpose N. C. I approve of neither C. But then possibly they might have perswaded you it was a good exposition when Mr. Case made you believe the Covenant was an Ordinance of God and Holy Ordinance * V.P. 8. and other place of the fore-cited Book a pure and Heavenly Ordinance yea one of the most special and solemn being a joyning Ordinance which strikes the main stroke between God and us the Marriage knot whereby God and a people are made one a piece of Divine Worship and as far as I can discern a more holy or higher Ordinance in his esteem than the Sacrament of Christs Body and Bloud N. C. For shame do not abuse men C. I am far from it as you may see if you will but consult his Answer to this Objection which some made against it It is needless say they to take the Covenant or rather a prophanation of so holy an Ordinance since we have done it over and over again in our former Protestations and Covenants To which he replies * Pag. 40. You receive the Sacrament of the Lords Supper once a month that is but a Seal of the Covenant Consider it be convinced N. C. I am convinced of this that you do not bely him C. Very well And therefore he exhorts the Ministers to indeavour to sanctifie the people for so holy a Service as the taking of it and tells the people they must get their hearts into an holy Ordinance frame Just as if they were going to a new mount Sinai to be entred into a new Religion and seperated from the Nations to be a peculiar people zealous of the Covenant And indeed he all along makes it of the same nature with that Covenant which the children of Israel made or renewed with God and so confidently applies all the places of Scripture which speaks of that to this holy service that one cannot tell by any thing he says but this was the Covenant which the Holy Books speak of Nay some of them when the Covenant came into England lookt upon it as the Ark of Gods presence as Mr. Feak tells us * Beam of Light upon the account of which they should certainly prosper And Mr. Case I remember tells us this was the sin of England in former times That our Fathers knew not this service it was hid from them they regarded it not and those times of Ignorance God winked at or God lightly regarded them N. C. Sure he did not imagine all our Pious Ancestors to be Heathens C. You shall judge by and by what thoughts these men have of us all when I have told you that in the strength of these high towering thoughts and lofty imaginations they taught the people to go to battle against their Soveraign and to fancy the Lord march't before them They were confident they should prevail because they were the Jacobs and we but Esau's and the Elder must serve the Younger nay we the seed of the Serpent and they the seed of the Woman and so they must wound our head i. e. give us an incurable mortal blow Thus they were taught by Mr. H. Wilkinson in an Epistle before a Sermon * Preacht before the Parliament 25. Octob. 1643. of his in which he tells the Parliament again that they have to do with a brood of Serpents p. 13. at the best that we are but a piece of Papal Christendom as his phrase is p. 8. Nay when the pride and passion boiles up to its height then they look upon us and the rest of the world but as Infidels and Pagans What other construction can you make of the letter of the Scots in Ireland to the General Assembly * Convened at St. Andrews in July 1642. In which they desire them to send over some Ministers to them God having now opened a fair door to the Gospel by the banishment of the Prelates and their followers Nay they call to them as if they made an address to so many Apostles and the Protestants in Ireland were but so many Heathens Pitty poor Macedonians crying to you that you would come and help us c. Send able men to help to lay the foundation of Gods house according to the pattern And agreeable to this Petition they returned an Answer * August 6. of the same year in the Apostolical language telling them though they are loth to stretch themselves beyond their own measure yet they dare not be wanting to the inlargement of Christs Kingdom And so they send them some men to plant and to water according to the directions of Jesus Christ and the Doctrine and Discipline of that Kirk wishing that they who are sent may come with the full blessing of the Gospel of peace and that they will with all chearfulness embrace make use of the message of Salvation Who would not think that reads this if he were a stranger to our Countrey that some few Christians in that Island had sent for some Apostolical men or Evangelists to plant the Gospel among a Pagan People And that the Prelates and Ministers under their obedience had been but so many Heathen-Priests that nurs'd up the Nation in barbarous Ignorance Such is the goodly conceit they have of themselves and their horrible contempt and scorn of all others From whence it is that they call us the Nations asking their people when they do any thing that we do Why do you imitate the Customes of the Nations And there used I remember to be no phrase more common than this when a man removed his dwelling to a place where
the Domestick Servants and talk't of within doors first and then abroad and Harbingers prepare the way This hath been the news throughout the houshold and Harbingers have been sent abroad It is a sign that he is not far off it will not be long before be come N. C. Cannot you repeat a sentence without laughing C. If you had not been very gross you would have either laught or been angry at those that did not see or would not take notice of the cheat How came you I beseech you to whisper this and afterward talk it abroad that Christ was coming to sit upon his Throne Had you any Revelation of it Did you that are his Domesticks hear Christ the King say so Or were you not told so by these pretended Favourites of his and believed them without asking whence they had the News N. C. Undoubtedly we never thought of it till we heard it preach't and proclaimed by them C. And then when your heads were fill'd with this conceit and they had set your tongues a going and made this the general Talk they ask't you if you were apt to despond Why do you doubt of it Be of good chear without question he is not far off for otherwise you would never have talk't so much of his coming Which was no more in plain English than this you would never have believed us if it were not so Were not these rare devices to support the people's confidence And were not the people very blind that could not discern this foul Imposture Never talk now of the Sottishness of the multitude in the Romish Church for they are cousened by neater Legerdemains than this Which is just as if I should entertain a Child a long time with hopes of Plums and fine Toys coming from some Fair and when he began to doubt of it should tell him thou hast talk't of them so long my Child that without question they will be here by and by How is it possible that thou shouldest be in such expectation of them if they were not at hand N. C. No more words You have said enough to make a Child understand the delusion C. And yet you suffered your selves to be wheedled and cheated thus over and over again as if you would cross the Apostles rule and be Men in Malice but Children in understanding You heard your Ministers pray for instance that Babylon might fall and the walls of Jerusalem be built And then you heard them stirring you up with the greatest vehemence to give God no rest till Jerusalem was made a praise in the Earth And when they had set you all on fire with these desires then you were very well contented to be made believe it was a certain sign God would do the business because he had put it into your hearts to be so earnest for it How is it possible said they that there should be such a spirit of grace and supplication poured suddenly on the Nation if Christ were not coming down after it Since God hath knit the hearts of his people in such a Holy Conspiracy as it were to besiege Heaven with their Prayers all is not to be given for lost God a Mr. Case Engl. Incouragement to wait on God p. 77. hath taken off the bridle of restraint from the lips of his people Pag. 78. The Prayers of Gods people are gone up to Heaven in great Assemblies and have surrounded the Throne of Grace God was never so tempted to bow the Heavens and come down to the rescue of his People c Pag. 79. God will bow down his ears to them if they cannot come to God he will cause his ear to come down to them He will make hard shift as it were to hear rather than their prayers be lost d Pag. 80. N. C. You make me blush to think how we have been gull'd C. So you will be still And it is no wonder they make so bold with you since they were so bold with God and with his holy Word which they drew to be instrumental in the Cheat. They sanctified every design with some text of Scripture or other and with many prayers tili they had defaced the certainty of Holy Writ and made no other thing of it than a Nose of Wax which may be turned any way as will serve our purposes * Mr. Knew stubs against the Herefie of N. N. pag. 61. You need not be angry they are the words of one esteemed here tofore though I know not what thoughts you would have of him or he of you if he lived now If I may pass my conjecture I think he would take you to be the very spawn of those Brownists which were so justly detested in those days For he would hear the same words and phrases out of your mouths now which he heard in those days from theirs who cryed out upon an Idol Church and Idol Ministry an Idol Government And as if they were sure to carry the cause by these out-cryes they never ceased to pour out these Accusations wherewith the people were terribly affrighted For they poor souls never considered that if all were granted that such words import it would not prove a separation should be made from our Assemblies For in what sense can a Minister be said to be an Idol but in such an one as the people of England were called so by one of you N. C. What sense should that be C. I 'le repeat his words if you please which you may find in a Book put forth on purpose to prevent a Peace between the King and Parliament Plain English pag. 27. 1643. upon any terms than such as should make the King yeild to all their desires We have long pretended zeal saith that Author against Idolatry when in the mean time we are all become one Idol We have eyes and fee not an Army of Papists not only with permission allowed to use their own Religion but with Commission appointed in event to destroy ours We have Ears and hear not the continual Blasphemies against our God the reproaches and standers against our Parliament It cannot indeed be said we have mouths and speak not for they that do least commonly speak most But I am sure I may say we have Feet and march not hands have we and handle not the Sword and Shield N. C. You love still to be rubbing these old sores as I told you once C. Not I. But I love to rub up your memory that you may reflect how your beloved phrases are applied to all purposes and see that an Idol Minister can signifie nothing but one that doth no more of the work of a Minister than the people it seems did of your work of fighting against the King till they were alarm'd by such clamours as these and affraid to be thought Idolaters or an Idol-people In short he is such a person as the Shepherds of Israel were when they neglected their Office and took no care of the