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Show Majfet· John Cottons A»f•er r. It ;; riot every corruption in worfhip,tltat denominatethtln: worfhip to be falfe worfhip. It W<~&doubtlelfe· a corrupt worlhip to S.~crifi" in the High Places : yet God doth no~ call it a falfe worlhip, but rather feemeth to.accept it, as done t0 himfdfe, 2King1 33· 17. Falfewor!hip (tofpeakeproperly) isas·good ar no worlhip: nor is the God ofT rmh wont co accept that-which is falfe. But there may be many aberrations-in the manner of wor-· fhip, when ye1. both -the objeB: of the worfhip isthe true God, and the fubflance of th.,worfhip is true worfhip: and God rn•y accept t-hat w)lich is Truth, from an honefi and true hearc ,, .and palfeby many aberration•,( as infirmities) and not rejell: all as falfities. The f<>eond thing I would fay,is, That-whatfoever we have difll<: rned to be corrupt, or irregular in the·worlhip ofGod, -we have · beleeved it to be our dmy, both to judge our felve! for it before the E.oid,.and to reforme it in our practiCe. If any fh•ll difcover ariy furth" failings in our-worfhip, or in the worfhip of thofe Chur- . chu whom wee communicate with,I hope; the Lord .will not fhut ooPeyes.agaillfi the light. T'.bc fourth Fallhood, which the Examiner chargetlr"upon the · .Englijb-Churches, is falfe Governmenr,which if he meane the Government of. the Parifhes,by the godly Minifiers,(with whom our wople-communicate in ~earing;) that Government i& chiefly adminiftred by the pub lick Preaching of the Gofpel, and by private :ulr110nition, Which he that lhall challenge it to be a falCe Government; (though it may be defective in fome DireB:ions;) verily the fpirit .ofTruth and Grace in thofe who are governed· and led by in, from darknelfe to !ighr, from the Power of Saran unto God, from<.a fiate of Grace to alfured hopes of etermill Glory in Chrifi JHus , will .convince_ all fuch !l.mderous tongues of nctorious - falfhood'. . But if he fpeake of th'e N•tionall· Church-Government,we mufi confeffe the Trutb, ther• indeed Truth is fallen,and f•lfhood hath prevailed much. For whether we fpeakeof the H1nds,by which that G6vernmept hath been adminifhed, or of the Ecclefiaflicall Cour-ts, in which it is adminifired, or of the Rule, according to w.hich·it is-adminifired,orofthe End for which it isadminifired; All of them are forfaken of Truth, and can challenge no warrant o( Truth bu_t tal~. Tfie ,, ro M.sjftr Roger Williams. =The H~~ds by which th:;-t Govern~ent hathb-e- e~n-a_d_m_i-ni_fi_r-ed, . e the Prelacy, and their Servitors: who though they have oflatca~ allenged Inflitution by Divine Right: ~et the claime is utterlyfalfe. The Divine Authoritie hath none to ~tten.d upon Rule and· Government in the Church,bucfuch as ar_e mfertor to Pafiors ~nd Teacher& in Congregations, who labour m Word and Dolhme,, tTim. S· '7· Diocefan Bifhops in the dayes of the GJfpel,~re l>ke K' gs in Ifraelin thedayes of the Judges,both of them_ wannng DIvi~ e Infiimtion. What a pity is it, tha~ fome men emmc;nc for P•e-and'Preaching, and others for learmng and moderattcm, lhoul.~. :me to be (as Jothamt Parable fpeaketh) advanced over _thm Brethren, and fo leave their fatnelf:, and fweemelfe, and frmtfulnelfe , wherewith they had beeo wont to ferve both-God and-mTahn ?·E cclefiafiicall Couru ·in which that G ovemmen~ ·t sa dI' J)·l ~·l - fired: are like the Courts of the Hi11h Priefis; and Phaflfees, wh1ch Soloman (by a fpirit of Prophecy) fiyleth, Dent of Lyom, Molln- · tainerofLeopard1, (Cant. 4· 8.) And tbofe who have had to doe with them, have fonnd them Markets of the fin:'el of the People, ' the Cages of uncleanneffc, the forg<r6,of Excoruon, .the T aberna-du'ofBribery. · · d' · ·n -~ Th Rule accord in!!~ to which the Government ts a mmt rrc:u, · is not :he word ofGod; (which alone is able to mJke a C:huPchG our perfea to every goodworke, z.T,m.t. 17.) but mflead th~;:~fthe Canon L1w, the Decretallo of Antichrifi,•nd mali unworthily and f•lllt applj e.! to ·thc -Government .of the Spoufe of ChTrhifel. End alfi> for which this Governm~nt rrow for nuny yer.res bath been ac!ntini!\rro, hath 110_t o~ely been contrary t~ rhe en~s of Church·G,wemment, (which IS to order the_ peop.e In huhneff<, and luve)but · ~en controry to the end ofC!Vt~ l Go_vernmenr, which is the punilho><nt of ev!ll Joers, and the pr•Jle of them th•t doe well, Rom. 9· 4. But here the very cdge_ofGovernm e."~' h.uh been bent and fharpened chiefly againfi holmelfe and punue, ·No ma1efaf.hrs fo hainom, (drunkards, whoremonger~, prophane perfons ) but might expeB: the approach ·of Court~ vnth leff< terror, a~d palfe from under their hand,, with ?JOre f•vourable Cen-. fine then the fheepe of Chrifl , and the fatthfull Sbepheards ~ -r ili~ . T~ · |
