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Show 10 Mt~fier John Cottons An[wer bit R_Wn head: It waJ hi< Jinne to procure it, and hi< [orrow to fojfer it. If thi! was my finall 1\nfwer, it feerneth I gave him other former Anfwers: what they were I have now forgotten ; but I fupP., fe,had they been iDfuflicienr,or impertinent,! fhoold have he>.rd of them. But what is amilfe in thh fin all Anfwer~The margent notetb it,. " 11< a>~ unm£T"Ci[ull j}eech, of a merciful/ man. · "But when it fhall pleafe the Father of mercies to [often the heart ofM'. Willia.,u, and to give him an hearr,~nd care to hearken unto the who\efome Counfell of his true friends, he will at length fee the fpcech was truly merciful!, as well as the nun that fpakc it. When a F ou»tai1fe i< opened to Hierufolem for ftnm, and for uncleanm§t, the Prophets who have deceived the people fhall at length fee, and acknowledge thtir errour, and being demanded the caufe of the wcunds in their hands, They fhall anfwer (each of them for him" ftlfe) tbU< wat I wounded in tht houfeofmJ Friend!, Zach.t3.1. with verfe14; ~' 6. An heart foftened with the Eloud of Chrift, will judge ~he wounds of his friends faithfull, Prov. 27. 6. I meane,fuch reproofcs for flnne, which rhough they may Ceeme to wound, yet wound to hcale. David thought fuch linking to be a kindnelli,yca an •xceHent Oyte, which doth not breake the head, but bea\e the heart, Pfal. •4•· S· 1 There is one thing more in his Epiflle co. the Reader, which cal· leth for An fiver: · lt cannot now ( faitb he )be j.lftly ojfenftve, that finding thi< Letter p11blick,( by-wbofo procuremmt I ~{yow not) I tUJW prejint to piiblick,_view my formerly inrend<d Anfwer. .A<f[w. It had not been offenfive to me, that he did prefent h~ Anfwer to pub lick view,if he lound my Letter publick,without hi! own,or his friend! proCtirement: efpeci•lly if his At1fwer had been returned in words of truth, and faithfulnelle. Which how farrc they fall fhort of, l hope (by the help of. Chrift) will appeare in the fequdl. Meane while, l feare it is jull:ly olfenfive to the Spirit of Grace, and Love,That ~hereas he judged me to allow my felfe,an~ other~ to reft fccurely 111 the DuB:rine, and PraB:ife of bloudy Perfecutl· on, that all this while (even for the fpace ol nine or ten yeatc§) he Lilffercd me 10 lleep fo long fo quietly under the guilt vf fuc~ a crywg crying finne. Nay, it may feeme by his own words, if he had not found my Letter pub lick, it may be doubted whether ever I fhould have heard any further word from him hereabouts, at all. If I had ~en efteemed as a Brother, finne fhould not have been fuffered to hefo long upon a "Brothe:, Levit. 1 9· 17.lf an enemy, yet the very Oxe or Alft of an enemy,ts not to be fuffered to lye !o It,.~ groveling und er his burden, De,.t. 22. 4· Buc when he _addech in ~he nex~ fentence; 'that he rejoJceth in the ~oodnefJe., and wiftdome of_/,.,, whou 1he Father •flightJ,a"d merciu, '" orderzng the foajim ofhu own prejim opportunitie of A11[wer, I c~~feffe we on tne contrary have caufe co admire, and adore th~ ':'ltliiqme,and dre•dfull Ju!lice of God herein, That feeing M'. W,UtamJ hath been now as a branch cut off from the Chul'ch ofSaltm_ ,hefe ma?y yea res , he fhould bring forth no lpirituall good fnn~s tn dur. feafon: and t~at wh1ch he bringeth forth now at the !all: tS bitter, and wtld frutt: and rhat in fuch a feafon when the 'Spirit of Ert'Or is let loofc to dective fo many thoufand Coules of our Englifh Nation: So that now their heam are become as Tin· tier, rea~y to catch and kindle at every fparke of falfeJight. Even ~,0 FatiJer?b«.,ufe thy-good ple•fme is fuch,tolctloofethis Spint of En:or tn the mouth ofthts Backflider, in the v~ry houre and power of darkneftc :tor thefe are the daycs ofvengeancq when the ' Antinomians deny the whole Law;the Anti-Sabbatariansdeny the ~~rallty of the fourth Commandement; the Papill:s deny theNe~ t_tvt part of the frcond Comm~ndement. 'It is a wofull opportunttte t~at G?d hath !_eft M'.WlliJ"m' to, now to ftepin, and deny the Affirmative part ofit alfo, (as the Papill:s doe the Negative) and fo He and the Papifls to combine together to evacuate the who~e fecond Comman~emcnt altogether. For, take away (as M'. IV,u..,ns doth ) all Inftttuted worfhip of God, as Churches Pano,, T cachers, Elders, Deacon~, Members, pub lick Mlnill:e~·y of the Word, Covenant, Seales of the Covenant, ( Baptifme, and the ord• Supper )the Cenfures of the Church, and the like, what is ,!)len left of all the Inflitutions, and Ordinances of God, which· the -Lo~d ell:ablifhed in the'fecond Commandemem, againft the Inftituttons, Images, and Inventions of men in his worfhip ? But itis an holy wifdome, and righteoufnelfe of the Lord, that he that rc- . filfeth the .Communion with the Churches of t~e Saint11 fhould B b 2 ' · joy~!~ |
