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Show 18 Mafter- John Cottons .A»[wer when· they comet perfiiHn l!erefie, after convial;m, againft con• fi•t • howcanl' be{aid tomaintainePerferuuonforCaufe of CCIO "ll;l"c:te nce>. -But oh the wofull perverfenr effci : and blifni dne!fde o•f ha Confcience, when it· is left of God, to~ ao rarre tran porte v:u prejudicr, as to judge a Caufe ofConfctence, and a caufe agatnft Confcience to be all one. . • For the llmtting up ofh1s Chapter, he IS pleafed to Comment upon a phrafe in my Letter, wherein I ftyled my felfe a man of uncircumcifed lips. And he doth acknowledge it to be an holy Charaller of an heaven!1 Spir~t, t~ ma~ an i?genuotM, and _true '!'know: ledgernent of an Hncircumcifed lip. T<t ( fatth he) that difcern~ng Sp•rit which God gracioujl} voucbfafeth to them that tremble at 1M Word, fh;lt ftnde, t/,at not onely ~he a:W·worjbips of"'!'! ~a/. be painted, and vamifbed IJ'IJtr ..nth the glmmngjbew of Humlittu,volof.2. but ewt God1 dea;..JI forvants ( eminen~ J.or hHITiil!ty, and meekye§e) m•y Jei ~ troubled with a [welling of JP~rttua/1 pride, out of theverJ fence oftbeit huonilitie, &c. Humilitie H never in feafon to {et up foperjlitio», or perfecute Gods children • .Anfw. I could intreat fome or other of M'. Wi/li~~m~ his ac· qaaintance ( whofe words-may finde beuer acceptance with him, then mine doe) to perf wade him, not to attribute too much to his own Spitit ofdifcerning ;which though he truely faith,God doth vouchfafe to them that tremble at his word : yet I never read, nor heard, that God did vouchfafe a Spit·it of difcerning to any that are fo farre from trembling at the word,that they doe not vouch· fafe to heare the-word from the mouth of fo many thoufand faith· full Minifters of the Gofpel. As for me, I defire not to neglea any word from the mooth of M'. Williams, ( upon what pretence_foever fpoken) that putteth me in minde of fpirituall pride, ar1fing out of the very fence of humilitie. Such fmiting fhall nm breake my head. . .. . But when he concludeth with this Aphorifme; Humilme11 neVtr in feafon to fot up [uper{lition, or to perfecute Gods children. • I ~efire it may be confidered, what is S?perllition ? what !I Pe~; fecuuon? and whether my Letter unto hrm tended to fet up t one, or to fet forward the other ? Superftition is properly cHittM [upra ftatutum, which I fpeakehoC from the Etyowlogy ofthe word)(for I know Latinifta doe ot wffc fcife ~erive it) but from the·nature of the thing. And what is Pe-r~~~ o~? It hath been anfwercd above, the affiitlion of any for their Rrght~oufne!fe fake. If it appeare in the fequele,tllat my Lotm te?ded euher to !"t·up any worthip'df God, which he hath not r.l~mnted,o~ toatllrtl.anyfor their IR.iglrte0ufne!fe fake, then I w~ll con!e~ It t~ded to fet up Superfiition, and P~rfe~ution: Anti ·the humdrue wh1ch he aoknowledgeth to be expre!fell in my •Letter, IJ!rall ac~nowledge to•be·out offealbn: Meane while, A_ffirmant• meumbst Probatio. To C ·H A r. II. His f~ond C~apter Is fpent in anf"'!ering to •a double charge; Jwhtch hdauh, .he obferveth, I la1d agalnft 1\im. Though in very Truth, I layd netther of them downc·a·s charges againft him; but as difcharges to my felfe 'from expetling that H&fbould vouch· fafe lo hearken to·"!J V'1Jco, r~~ho had re(Hfld to'hearften both .to the 'liOJct of the body of the-rllhole CIJHrch of Salem ( •whereof he was a member) 1111d to the voyces of fomany ·Eii:krs,.andbrethren·»fother Churches. But fuppofe I did charge him wiih a double finne ·In refufing to hearken to this double voyce,( though I did not fay It was a Iinne:) h?w doth he difcharge hlmfelfe? For neglef1of theformer,he exmfttfJ h':"felfi by the charge of hu _Office, which lay upon him, on a F tifl·day to di[C4'ller to them eleven publickjinnes>tH caufes of the prefent,andpublicft calamities. Which mojl of the Church feemed,.tt ftrjlto affint unto, Hnti/ 1 afterwards, the greater part of the Church (r~~hether for feare ofPerficution, or otherwife) was [w'!}ed, and bowetl to pt-allife foch 1hingr, which with ftghes andgraanes many of them 'm(Jflr'fled under. But will this indeed. difcha~ge. ail Elder·of'the 'Church before theLord,from coming intd the prefence of the'Cburch,when they fend for him,becaufe the greater part of them,,are b!JWed,YJnd fw'!J• '1~r fea~eoj Perfoeution, to flip, and jlide, andt'o foy and pra&ifo tlmt; ~1eh rr>~~b figheJ<imdgraaim they muurileil under J Why then, Jjf the olfe cdme, and:fcatter the lheepe ,<and they!flip oilt of ~he: way, let· the Shcphm'<lifly,•a·nd lea1e'dlem ; 'that the word• of the Lord }efu1 nlight·bel~lfilied;lileltbatW..an IIirelingo and not:rhe 'ShepheariJ, C c 2 whofe |