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Show Jt4 Mafter John Cottons .A1J[wer 3• That he did but feparate from the fpiritualt fociety of a Church,orSainu: whereashebothdrew away. many others alfo , and as much as in him lay, feparated all the Churche~ from Chril!. 4. In that he maketh the cutting off of perfons ,them and theirs, branch and rufh,from civill Territories, a farre more hainous and odious offence in the eyes of the Lord J efus, then himfelfe to cut off, not onely himfelfe and his, branch and rufh , but many of his neighbours (by (edition) from fpirituall Communion with the Churches, and all the Churches from Communion with Cbrifi. As if the cutting off perfons, them and· cheirr, branch and· rufh, from the Covenant, and fpirituall Ordinances in the Church, were a matter of no account in re(pea of cutting off from Civil! Liberties in the Territories of the Common-wealth. 5· In that, what himfelfe did, he predicateth • • done confcicntioufly and peaceably las ifwhat the Court had done·againtl: him, they-had'not done confcientiou!ly alfo ,and with regard to publick peace, which tbey faw he di11urbed, and fiood·fiiffiy in his own courfe, though he was openly convinced-in open Court (as I !hewed before ) \hat he could not mointaine his way,but by finning againft chc light of his own Confcience. As for ·hls Marginall note, wherein he cf.argeth M';Cotton to be d<eply guilty ofCNielty, both againfl Confciencu and bodiu, in per[ecuting of tl.em. I will .. onely Anfwer thusmuch,(partly from David,partly from· Job, }If the l:;ord have fiirred him up thus to reproach me, (a! Shimei did him) I· hope the Lord will looke upon mine affiil:tion, and requite me good for all his !lander, this day, or thi, yeart, 2 . S.m. 16. 12. But if he himfelfe (who without caufe is mine ad• ve•faty ) hath-whet his tongue like a fword, and his bow to !hoot out his arrowes, even bitter words, ( Pfal. 64.· 3; as he frequently doth in his Booke) furely I (hall take his booke upon my fhoulder, and bind it-as a Crowne to me, Job 3 I . 3 6. To C HaP. XX I I I. His 2 3• Chapter tXlmineth a fpeech of mine which mighttend to the dilhonour of the Separation, as the reproach againfl . Sp/em.. to Mafter Roger Williams. · Sa/ntJ had done before. My Speech was, 'Ibat God bad Not prof}ered the Yl1aJ of Srpar~tion : which leajl it jhould be miJ!ak.!n, I imerprttrd, not in reJPeB of outward prof}eritie: forth'! f ound more f .vour in_o~~r native Countrey, then tho{e who walk!,d m the. wa-! of'&form•twn, which ;. com1'1lJ!nl; reproached by the name of Pwuamfm... 1he rneeting1 of the SeporAtifis might be knowne to the Office rs zn the Courts, and win~uJ at,whrn the Conventicles of the Puri_tans( M th_ey ca/J th<m) are hunted out with all diligmce, and purfud wub mure VIOlence, tbtiJ any Law em jufrifie. But I [aid, tha~ G~d had ~tot projpered the way of Separation,in that be had not bleffidu,euh~r wllh peace amo~gff_them[ clvu, or with growth of grace,fuch '':' cmng throHgh jimpluzue, a~d tenderneffi ofConjcience,have growne tn grace, h:ve growne alfo to dif ctrne their lawfolllibertic, to returne 19 the beartng of the Word fr8111 Englifh Preachers • To give Anfwer co_ this, the ~am!ner befioweth many Chapters. His firft Anfwer u, (that wh1ch 1s not unwo~thy to be attended to, by all whom it concerneth,) !hat ~btle.De the !md hath a great Contrw.rfie with the Land for thm fuch VlOient pur[utt and perfecution of both. For both of them have borne witneffi t~[e'lltrall trt~tbs of the Lard Je[114. Albeir, I deny not, the one par~y might have bor?e witncffe to more points ofT ruth :the other m1ght have borne Wit· oeffe to fewer and fo have lelfe exc<eded bounds ofTrmh. To m~ke the Engli{h Churches, and the~t~ Minilleri~!, a~d. the~r W~rfhip and their Profdlors,cither nullmes,or Anuchr~fhan,tS a Wit· n,ffi not onely beyond the truth,but againfi the Truth of the Lord ·. Jefus, and his word of T ruth. . . But for their fufferings; 'Ihe Purtl•ni (fauh he_) h~ve not fujfered comparatively to the other ( M but fe idome Congregating m [ep.rate Af fembliesftom the commun ~ ) And none ofthemf.Jfer ing nnto d<•!h far · the wa1 of Non· Confo rmitie. Indeed ( fJith he) the worthy rvttm[fe M•. Ud•ll wai neereurJto duth for hit wimej{e •g" nfl B,(h ,.pt, and Ceremonies. But M'. P<nry, M'. Burow, M'. Greenwood foiJowed tb, Lord Je},.. ,with their Gibbets,snd rwrehangcd with him, arJdfvr him, in the w.ry of JepJra tion. Many mote hJve bwt condcmmdto dye, bJni(hed, :Jnd );o.sk~d iu PrifmJ,_wh,Jm I cou!d produce !'Fon occ,;fi~n. Reply. P ,,.[ ,,ccuunteth it a tully tO make buafls ln_ccmpanf~ns, even uffuffcl ing! : And therefore I _choofc ~~ be Cpa~lll!' "''J ,b• ~e~~ iuthis Argum~IJ t : whcrculotherw>fe I coUiu be cop.ous, the.e ? P p 2 wg |
