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Show The Great CASE of VoL. I. Widows, Poor and Fatherlefs, are all Fifb for his Net; and wbethercr ver or under Age, he cafts none away, but feefus to make it his Priviledge to corre8: Law, by our-doing it. When we have faid :1ll we can (and we can never fay roo much, (if enough) he is fiill his own bcfi: Cbaraller. Such are the Rtfjionr, FoUies, and Prcj11dices, Men de\'Otetl to a Spirit of Impojition, and Perfuution, are anended wirh. ]\-on enim pojf11m11J gu4 vidin111s, e1 audivinms non loqui. In fhort, What Religious, what wife, what prudent, what good natured Perfon would be a PerfeCU[Qr; certainly a's an Office only fit for thofe -robo 6eing void of all Rtafon, to evidence the Verity of their own ~eligion, fancy it robe true, f,.om that flrting Proptnjity an.i grudy lnc!Jnat1on rbt) forJ. in rbemfelvc.rro perfuutt rbe contrary ; A Weaknefs of fo ill a Confequence to al1 civil Societies, that the Admiffion of it ever was, and ever will prove theirutterRuin, as well as their great Infelicity who purfueit. And though we could not more effeCtually exprefs our Revenge, rbttn Dy ltttvingfueb Perfons to rbc Scope of rbeir own H.umourr:, Yet being taught to love and pray for our Perfuutort, we heartily wifh their better Information, that (if it be pollible) they may all more f•it<b/y to the good Plea• fure of the eternal jufi God, and beneficillUJ to thefe Nations. To conclude, Liberty of Con{cie,ree (as thus Hated and defended) Rt 41,t tU our undoubted Right by r~e Law of God, of Nat'!re, ttnd of our 11wn Ct~un· try: it b111 been (lfttn promifed~ we havl long wmred for 11, we bsvt a:rir mueb, andfufftrtd in tr's Defence, and have made many true Complaints, bur found little or no Redrefs. However, we take the righteous Holy God to record, agaiaft aU ObjeUi· ons, that are ignorantly or def~nedly rais'd againft us. That. lf.t. We bold no Principle dtjlruOivt of tht Englijh Govtrnmeut.' 2d. That we plena for no fucb Dijfenrcr (if f•ch on one there be.) 3d. Th1zt tr( dejire the Tnnporal and Eternal Happinifs of allPerfons (in Submifiion ro the divine Will of God) heartily forgivint our crue!Perfecutors: 4thly, .and la~ly, W~jhaO engage, hy Gotl't .Affiflanu, to lead peaeet6k, jujl and mdtt/lriOtd Lzvu, 11mongjl lt1en, to the Good and Example of all. But if after afi we have faid, this fhort Difcourfe !hould not be credited• nor anfwered in any of it's faber Reafons, and Requefis , but SufFerings fhould be the prefent Lot of our Inheritance from this Generation, be it known to them all THJ!T MEET WE MUST, ond MEET roe cannot but encourage all to do (~battvtr Hardjhip wtfujlain) in God'r )lame and Authority, who is Lord of HoPs and King of Kings; attbt Rtvtlation ofwhofe RigbttOIIJ Jurlgmenll, anJ glorious Tribunal. Mortal Menjhafl Ttl/· dcr an .Account of the Deeds done in the BoJy; and whatever the 1\pprehenfions of fuch m:1y be, concerning this Dif,ourfe, 'twas writ in Love and from a true Senfe of the ptefent SrJte of Things: and TIME, and the EVE NT will vindicate it from Untruth. lathe mean while, 'tis Matter of great Satisfaction to the Author, that he has fo plainly cleared bis Confcience, in plfadint for the Libeny ofotber Men't, and publickly born his honeft Teftimony for God, not ••tof S<Rfun to hi< POOR CO llNTR:T. POSTSCRIP .. \ .. ' . ~:>. - ,~, 'll"'-t'"i· "t • ~~o·i· P O"STS~ C -R VPT ·;· I I "{ 'JI >J ,,• .J '.A fow '?Jri'ej I 'd!Jjervatt'on.r upon~the' tate Atf, an~ tbe' ttfifaY'if'erm_J. of' AeF.r'(f this }i/aure. '' , ,IJ f)/', II t ' ''II t! /• J .,11 I That'wl,lich ~~,h~v¢ tq fay, relates,' either' to th~ Terms of the All, or the A.pp,licati.on of them tO' US. ,, As ~o"t.~e Term. ~_of the l\a, th~y ar~ ~llet?\,. S~dit/o,s~{fp_,venfid<11 S<ilif<o!ls SeEiartts, .and Mutmgs untifr C7ofour or Pme~~re uf Re-ligh; X!, P.I, . ' )J, ·, "\" I o' I , ,;, J. SE4itious, frotn Stditian, impo[tS :l.s much".as TJtr!uderJr, ConrentiDJh RrUioJu-l which f(Jf)Js Strife, 1t1td Dcbs'u, and DazarJs Jhe CJvll Pt~ of tb& Government. ~ ~·. .• 1· Conve.J1tiele1 jf..ll diminuriw·private .AJ!emb!jJ Jtjigning Mrul 'ctJntriviilg Ev1l to p~rtl,cul~tr Perfon_s,, or the GtlVern~e,rt in ,tmoral, See. L;unb • ..:p. 17~, ]n Te!tulbans Senfe,, It Js an AjJembly of u'!modtjl and unclean Peifons; at lea~ It wa~ fo ta.ken 10 thofeDays, and obJeCled againft the Cluifiian9 as their ~raGhce, whom he defends. Ter . .A pol. , ... . , .. 3· ~eltariet, 1/JUjl be fucb as di.rjoin qr Jij-mtmher thethf~!vts frOm· tbe Body OJ .Truth, and confifs to a flnmgt and U.Jttrue Opinion. If any S1tbjcff of this Realm bein.;: Sixi~en Trarr of Jtge, or :upwdrds, jha/L be prrftnr 4t any .AJ!embly, or (onvemule, on prerr,rce of Religion, &c. which can fignify no more than thlJS' rnuch, 7hat trite it ir Iome may 1f/CCJ and aff'emble to Wor· fh;p God, and upon 11 relit)oMs .d,cc~unt, rfiat art Di.ffenur.s, .flich wecenfu!e not\. ~qt thofe w!JtJ ,under €o1Qrtr or Prerenu. of any E.xe.rci{e of Re!igibtt conlpue, f.!! c. tlr~y Me to 1;Je fufpetl:ed and prpfecutcd. This1 being the true Explanation of the TermS" of the Ac!t, we proceed ro fucw. how unrea-fonabJJ: they are applied t() ps. . i 1. Words are but fo many intelligible Marks, and Ch3rallers fet and employ'd to infor.{n us of eJch. pther's Conceptions, and therein of the Nature of thofe Things they llaod for: Now ~ecaufe we rake the A8: to mea~ what it fpeak~, and th<tt th.e La"Y concludes no Man guilty upon ConJefiures, but from the Dete£Hon of fome Fault 1 we affirm ·our fel9eS ahog~t~~r uncon,cern'd i~ drat ~o.rd Sedirio11s, becaufe it was 'never .our Prafhcc tn. Words or A€hons to dt!l:urb the Government; or fiiggt/1 Prutd>plcs tbatmigbt hat.cb 0011Jpirtteie.r, or feed the. Vulgar wit7J Difdjfeflhrrl t~ t1Jeir Rulers; bpt before the King's CQmiog in, at his Corilin~in,. :~nd e\'er fince; notwithftanding our freqneot Suffering, roe }Jove mndi! i~ oar Bll{t-Mj$ to heal f!nimojiriu, preacb FoY:iTJC:Jtrjs tl1fd Charity amon.rfl .Jlltn, and that they would by al"\ hearty Repenr:tn~e t;u.m to Goer, rather than bunt after Reveng~ upon one another; tberefocc we ilfferr we ba.\te. nOt doneQOe thing 'that may be prov'd Seditious in the Senfe above rnention'd. :2. That we are Stranger$ to ConVenticles is moil evident, for where the Parts that render it fuch, :Jre wanting, there c.ln be no Convtiuick J bul that they are in qtu A[emblics, appea.rs ~ , Firft, Btc(/ufe our Meetingi Oft! not Small. ~. Xeith~r art. t'uy Pr~'0411 or Clamleflint; hut in the View of aU P~opli!. N1Jr are they rfotous,_ltctn ... tious, or orherwife hnmodeft, o~ immorJl s but on. purpofe to dl_ff'oade Perfons from fuch Impieties; (o that we are clea[ in th~ Jnterpretanon of theLaw, 13H.5. csp.8.J9. and J91f·7• cap.13. andlOtheSenfeoftbe: famous Father Tertullian. 0 o o 3· Se{!4ritr, |