The Hartlib Papers

for you become a ground of your Insultation ouer mee? Or did you præfix this in your Writing as a meanes to Skrew vp your Spirit to a Magisteriall height, to the End you might Censure my Arguing with you as most absurd & preposterous? which immodest Termes as you might well haue Spared, & I doubt not but I shall easily quit my Selfe of them, so if I were willing I could Retort them againe vpon you, but for Loue's sake I will forbeare

especially if they bee not cleer & manifest It was once accounted sage Counsell which a Reuerend Diuine gaue vnto one intending the Ministery ; Let mee aduise you saith hee to walke euer in the beaten Road of the Church, not to run out into single Paradoxes; and if you meet at any time with priuate Conceits that seeme more probable, suspect them & your Selfe, & if they can win you to assent yet smother them in your Breast, & doe not dare to vent them out either by Hand or Tongue to trouble the Common Peace. You your Selfe haue said elsewhere that Ministers who are Godly & Holy men doe ouershoot themselues when they prefer a particular Duty too much & indiscreetly lay too great a Weight vpon it towards all without Distinction of Cases. And you know Sir who said it Dissidijs magnis et Controuersijs non sunt redimendæ minores istæ Veritates, i, Truthes of a lesser Size are not to bee prosecuted with such Vehemency as to hazard the publike peace. I will adde further euen in bearing Witnes to [Truths?] of a higher Alloy, respect is to bee had though not to the Opinions and Interests of particular men, yet to their Persons in reference to their inward Qualifications, [verbi gratia?], To preach of the Kingly Office of Christ at some times, & in some places, & to some Persons may I conceiue bee more seasonable then to preach of his Preistly; People must haue their due Dimensum, Comfort to whom Comfort belongs, Terror to whom Terror & this I thinke you will not deny. Our Sauiour aduiseth to beware of men, & would not haue that which is holy to bee cast vnto Dogges, [least? MS torn] they should turne againe; Yea hee forbeareth awhile to discouer to [the? MS torn] Apostles some Truthes that were necessary because they were not [able? MS torn] as then to beare them; If so, surely then much more may there bee amongst vs a forbearance sometimes of diuulging Truthes of a lesse Consequence, especially when the Publication of them may bee accompanyed with vanauoidable Scandall, caused thorough the Misconstructions that are made thereof by men of Corrupt Minds And it was well said by one Aliud est scribere Vni, aliud omnibus; Had that which you haue written which is now in Debate betweene vs bene deliuered by you in priuate to such as are Wise & Godlie who would haue Lamented & bewailed with you the sad & deplorable Estate of the Churches of Christ at this day, it had bene somewhat suitable to that Christian Prudence that hath bene obserued in Mr. Dury; But as the matter hath bene handled, I am loth to say further what ill Consequents may follow thereupon

Could you see no Order or Decencie in their outward Administrations? Are they growne so weake as that there is no Power left in them to withstand & oppose the Kingdome of Satan & his Antichrist? Is there no Beauty or Comelines at all vpon them to make them amiable in the eyes of their Beloued? For my part when I looke vpon their Confessions & see how vnanimously they agree in the Maine & how good a Progresse there hath bene amongst them in the Worke of Reformation, though in some more then other, I cannot but Reioyce, & say as the Apostle said to the Church of Colosse Col: 2. 5. Though I bee absent in the Flesh, yet am I with them in the Spirit, ioying & beholding their Order, & the Stedfastnes of their Faith in Christ. What? Is the Reformation that in these times hath bene so cryed vp & applauded now lost in a Wildernes of [Spirituall? MS torn] Desolation & Confusion? Then may Antichrist well triumph and say Luctationibus robustis Luctatus sum, et etiam palmam tuli, With great Wrastlings haue I wrastled, & haue preuailed. As to vs indeed here in England Rome & Hell haue done much that Way, & I heartily wish that such amongst vs, who haue by their Nonconcurrence in things good & lawfull bene Instrumentall in helping forward their AntiChristian Stratagems might bee made so spiritually Wise as to discerne their owne Station, & what furtherance they giue vnto the Beast against the Lambe. But wee though wee & some other particular Churches may sit downe & take vp a Lamentation & say, How is the Gold become dim! how is the most fine Gold changed! the Stones of the Sanctuary are poured out in the Top of euery Street, The precious Sons of Zion comparable to fine Gold how are they esteemed as Earthen pitchers, the Worke of the hands of the Potter! Yet I hope I may say of the Catholike Church that shee hath her Ornaments still vpon her, being decked with Gold & Siluer, her Raiment of fine Linnen & Silk & broidered Worke, that shee doth eat fine Flower & Hony & Oile, & is exceeding Beautifull in the Eyes of Christ, & though by reason of Persecution her Outward Estate may in some places bee lost or lessened, yet in this last age of the World especially shee shall & doth (like the Sea) gaine thereby; To which purpose saith Bernard well Ser: 13. super Cant. Quod Ecclesiæ deest in Vno, habet in Altero, secundum Mensuram donationis Christi, ad moderationem Spiritus diuidentis singulis prout vult. And another, Ecclesia Lunæ similis, si in unâ parte obscuratur, in alterâ Illuminatur. Let then these Words of Spirituall Desolation & Confusion bee written vpon Babilon, as that Irreuersible Sentence [catchword: which]

which is already pronounced against it, but let them not bee once named <heard> within the Gates of the Daughter of Sion, for that God whose delight is to dwell there is not the Author of Confusion but of Peace, as in all the [com?] Churches of the Saints.

appointment for an Annihilation. Now why I should not haue the Liberty to giue this Interpretation, seing it is not repugnant with Scripture elsewhere, but Consonant thereunto, I see not: And I shall here shew vnto you what Warrant I haue for the Sense that I giue of the place, and therewithall declare vnto you why I dissent from what you & the Author in his following Treatise haue written of it. Know then that the Words (Giuen to the Gentiles) sound to mee in this place as a Donation of Bounty, as the Word [Greek: edothe] in the verse before, which is the same with this, & the Word [Greek: doso] in the verse following doe, There was giuen to Iohn a Reed, which (whatsoeuer vse hee was to put it to yet it) surely carrieth in the Front of it Fauour to him; and when it was said I will giue vnto my two Witnesses, that they may Prophesie, it cannot bee vnderstood but as a Gift of Grace, so that why this intermediate Word which is the same with the other in the Originall should not carry the same Sense, I know not; I confesse that Word Giuen may sometimes signifie a permissive punitiue power, or a Conniuence & allowance to doe mischeife, as you would here haue it, yet seing there is nothing rendred in the Text that doth incline the Sense that way, but onely the Words being thus Nakedly set downe, The Court which is without the Temple leaue out, & measure it not for it is giuen vnto the Gentiles. I cannot but adhære to what I haue said, viz, That when God tooke away the Mosaicke Institutions hee then gaue vnto the Gentiles Leaue to approach vnto him, & to exercise a visible Order in such their Approches, signified by the Outward Court now opened vnto them, which formerly they had not for they had no such Priuiledge granted vnto them before so much as once to come into the Outward Court of the Temple, it being reserued onely for the People of the Iewes. If it shall bee now said that the Context both before & after may suffice to silence this Sense which I here giue, I shall shew how that rather to my Vnderstanding it makes the Sound thereof louder. In the last verse of the Chapter before the Angell tells Iohn that hee, that is (as your Countryman Napier will haue it), the whole Ministery must prophecy againe [Greek: epi laois ki ethnesi] In or coram Gentibus, Amongst or before the Gentiles: How should this bee brought to passe seing they were a People without? The Angell shewes him that God had giuen to the Gentiles a place & a Name within his House & within his Walls, wherein they shall partake of all Gospell ordinances, & haue accesse vnto him in as Free a manner, & as perfect an Order, as euer the Israelites had in the Outward Court of the Temple: And therefore also what is before spoken of measuring the Temple, the Altar, & them that Worship therein I conceiue is properly to bee vnderstood of the abolishing of all Legall [catchword: Sacrifices]

Sacrifices & the Leuiticall Preisthood, which when they were taken away, the Holy Citie that is Metanymiccos all the Politie & Republike of the Iewes whereby they were glorious in the Midst of the Nations should bee subdued & kept vnder as it is this day, according to that prophecy of Christ himselfe Luk: 21. 24 Ierusalem shall bee troden downe of the Gentiles, vntill the times of the Gentiles bee fulfilled: And this I conceiue to bee the Genuine Sense of the Place. What is it now that you say? First by Measuring is signified the Building & propagating the Church etc (as in Ezek: 40. Zach: 2) But what Constat there is for it, that it should bee so here doth not appeare. True it is measuring sometimes in Scripture is for Preseruation, & as true also it is that is sometimes for Destruction. E.g. 2. Sam: 8. 2. And hee smote Moab, & measured them with a Line, casting them down to the Ground. Habac: 2. 6. Hee stood & measured the Earth, hee beheld & droue asunder the Nations etc Lam: 2. 8. The Lord hath purposed to destroy the Wall of the Daughter of Zion hee hath stretched out a Line, hee hath not withdrawn his hand from Destroying: And as one saith well this phrase of Measuring with a Line or with a Reed is grounded vpon the Custome of absolute Conquerors, who hauing <gotten> a Countrey into their Power doe dispose it as they please, some part to Desolation, some to Inhabitation or els it is a Similitude borrowed from Husbandmen that measure out Land, some to Waste, some to Tillage, & some to Pasture. From all which I conclude that this Word here may at least bee taken in my Sense as in that wherein you render it: But as for the Construction that is made by your Author of the Subiect measured I must craue leaue to dissent from it. First because hee makes the Temple of God & them that Worship therein one & the same thing: For what Difference is there betweene the true Inuisible hidden Church, & the Roiall Preisthood? Is it not the same vnder seuerall denominations? If so, how shall the Text then bee freed from a Tautologie. Secondly because hee makes the Altar measured to bee the Sufferings & Miseries which the Church should vndergoe; If hee had said, as some, that by Altar there is meant by a Synechdoche Cultus Diuinus, the Holy & Diuine worship of God, which should bee continued in the Churches malgrè all the Persecutions that should pursue them, I suppose such an Interpretation would haue bene better resented by the Iudicious then this, which notwithstanding all the Ambages that are vsed to force it in carries with it much Ambiguitie[altered]

then their Visible Estate was trod vnder Foot, Moses did not then argue as Mr Lane now doth that therefore hee ought to separate from them Moses could <see> that the Israelites although they had no outward visible estate in the World, but were vnder Pharaoh yet were the true people of God, & for want of such a State they ought <not> to bee separated from ( ) but rather ioyned vnto". And a litle after you adde; "I cleerely professe notwithstanding this Desolation & Confusion, wherein the outward State of the Professors of Christianitie doth stand, that there is still a true Church etc Hence it is that you speake of the Churches wandring about in Vncertainties & Desolate places, & ther here of their being vnsetled, tossed to & fro etc etc" And thus cleerely it appeareth that the Sense of this particularis doubted by you, & accordingly you make vse of it, When being conuinced of your Errour in the one, you make an Euasion to the other; As when you find that it cannot bee made good that the Orderly Course in Ecclesiastick administrations signified by the vtter Court is in the Wildernes as you haue said, you then fall into this, that the People of God themselues haue bene alwaies & still are vnder Persecution, which was not the Thing in Question, nor euer denied by mee, or any Man els that I know But (Sir) notwithstanding your Waiuing the Matter with this Tergiuersation (which is so farre from giuing that Satisfaction as you haue pretended, that it rather encreaseth the Offense) I must stick to that Sense which hath bene first giuen by <you> & your Author, viz That by the Outward Court that is the Visible Estate of the Churches is vnderstood is vnderstood the Outward Worship or Seruice of God: Now Whether this bee so vnsetled, changed, tossed to & fro, & carried about by Power in Subordination to the Policie of those who manage the affaires of this World, as that it must therefore bee concluded to bee in the Wildernes of Spirituall Desolation & Confusion comes now to bee Examined

neglect their Duty in offering vp sacrifices to the Lord; They hauing Elders & officers & Heads of the Tribes distinctly Knowne amongst them from the rest of the people (the Life of Ioseph himselfe wanting but 50 yeeres of halfe the time of their abode in that Land, & of Leui but 27 [left margin: so Alstedius] yea Amram the Father of Moses dying but 13 yeeres before their going <forth?> [forth?] forth) who would surely bee Exemplary to the younger sort, & instruct them in the manner & Forme of Gods publike Worship & Seruice, as they had receiued it from their Fathers before; And therefore though they were oppressed by Pharaoh in respect of their Temporall State, yet you cannot therehence inferre, that they were in a Wildernes of Spirituall Desolation etc in respect of their Ecclesiasticall; And if it had been so, Moses would haue argued then, as Mr Lane now doth Seing this People haue forsaken the Lord, & the Lord hath forsaken them Why should I now ioyne my Selfe vnto them? So also in the Times of the Apostles the Temporall State of the Church was trodden vpon by Herod, & by the Romane Presidents of Syria, yet notwithstanding euen then you cannot but say that there was an Excellent Order held vp & maintained amongst the Faithfull in the managing of Ecclesiasticall Administrations. And afterwards in the following Centuries of yeeres successiuely, though the Heathen Emperours mightily endeauoured to root out the Gospell, & to bring Spirituall Desolation & Confusion vpon all the Churches, yet they could neuer bring it to passe. The Churches then had their Synodall meetings if not Oecumenicall yet Prouinciall at least, notwithstanding the Persecutions they wer vnder, wherein though sometimes they stood too much vpon Niceties (as wee in this Age doe, the greater is our shame) yet it is cleere to all that are not Strangers to Historie that they did laudably reforme many things that grew vp to bee grossely amisse amongst them, Casting out pertinacious Heretickes & other Scandalous offendors[altered], & Receiuing them in againe vpon their Repentance, As I might here set before you a Cloud of Witnesses to that purpose, if need were. So that though your Antecedent here should bee granted, the Consequence that you deriue from thence is (I will not say in the Language of Mr Dury most absurd & preposterous but) inualid and of no Force. [catchword: Yea altered from But?]

Yea let it bee supposed also that the Visible estate of the Church, i, the outward Worship[altered] & Seruice of God were vnsetled, changed, tossed <to> & fro, & carried about by Power etc must it <then> necessarily follow that Spirituall Desolation & Confusion should come vpon it? For my part I beleeue the Church of Christ now vnder the Gospell shall neuer bee in such a State of Dereliction, whatsoeuer Deprauation may happen to bee in her in the vse of Holy & Diuine Ordinances, occasioned by the Power & Policie of those who manage the Affaires of this World. For it is not with the Church now as in Former times, when the Iewes were alone in Couenant with God; They were still in a possibilitie to haue a Bill of Diuorce giuen vnto them, so to bee put away, & at last they had it But the Church that the Lord hath betrothed vnto him since shall neuer bee put away, And that which you wrongfully apply to a Future estate of perfect peace (which neuer shall bee in this World) is most certainely applicable to the Church all along vnder the Gospell, declaring and asserting her perpetuitie to the End of the World. The 54th of Isaiah is a Chapter that tendeth fully to the Confirmation hereof. Therefore to make vse of your Words, The Church that now is, is I say a Tabernacle that shall not bee taken downe. A State whereof none of the [Stakes?] and Constitutions shall euer bee remooued, nor shall any of the Lords thereof (the Obligations & Relations vnder which wee stand) euer bee broken So that in my Iudgment your Consequence will not hold in what Sense soeuer you take the Visible estate of the Church.

Catecheticall propounding or expounding of the Word, the Administration of Euangelicall Sacraments all made seruiceable to the Pride & Policie of Sinfull men? O poore Church of Christ if it bee thus with thee Whither is thy Beloued gone? Whither is thy Beloued turned aside? [left margin: Cant: 6] But it is well said of thee, My Beloued is gone (not into the Wildernes) but into his Garden, that is, to the particular Assemblies of his People which are his Garden of pleasure, & wherein hee walketh for his Delight wherein are the Buds of Spices, that is, Varieties of sweet & fragrant Administrations, orderly set & appointed by himselfe, to Feed in the Gardens & to gather Lillies, that is, there to Solace himselfe with those Fruits of Righteousnes & New obedience, which are presented vnto him. In a Word if it bee thus, where is the Promise of Christs abiding with his Church to the End of the World? And how doth hee rule in the midst of his Enemies, if the World as you seeme to say haue so much power ouer his holy & Diuine Ordinances, as to Forme & Transforme them at pleasure, till they bee made Conformable not to the Patterne in the Mount, but to the Policies of men, yea to the Depthes of Satan?   Surely Iesus Christ is the Euerlasting Father of his Church, & his Couenant an euerlasting Couenant, his Kingdome an Euerlasting Kingdome, & the Faith is said to bee Once & but once deliuered vnto the Saints, Now how can all this bee if the Outward Worship & Seruice of God bee as you say, vnsetled, changed, tossed to & fro & carryed about by Power in Subordination to the Policie of those who manage the Affaires of this World. To conclude this particular I shall onely mind you of three things that will necessarily follow vpon this your Argumentation. First that you doe amongst others asperse the present Power that by Diuine Prouidence ruleth ouer vs here in this Nation, & to which you haue engaged your selfe charging it with treading vnder Foot the of outward & Visible estate of the Church, whiles they are managing the Affaires of this World Secondly that your Words which haue occasioned this Debate are not Wrested [catchword: misconstrued]

misconstrued nor misapplied by mee in my Friendly addresse vnto you nor by those Boute-feux who haue greedily catcht at them to strengthen their Braine-sick Tenet concerning the Nullitie of a Visible Church in these times, the proper, genuine & Natiue Sense thereof tending thereunto. Thirdly that whereas I had argued (not as you wrongfully relate it, but) in this manner, (If it bee so that all the Visible Estates of all the Churches, that is, as it is now manifest, the outward Worship & Seruice of God in euery setled & rightly constituted Congregation, bee trod vnder Foot, & are in the Wildernes of Spirituall Desolation & Confusion. Let vs then all passe ouer to the Tents of those Separatists whom wee haue hitherto blamed, & take vnto our Selues that Shame as is meet for ioyning with them no sooner) It doth now appeare to bee in such absurd Consequence or preposterous arguing, as you haue bene pleased to Taxe it, but which is Consonant to the Rules of Truth, amd right Reason. And thus I haue done with your first Argument.

Good Sir let mee aduise you not to bee weary of Welldoing At least doe not now contrary to your former Actings, lift vp your hand against euery man, & say in your haste that all men are Liars. for then euery mans hand will bee against you: Let not your Good bee euill spoken of, Giue not Occasion to the World to say Is this the Fruit of all Mr Dury'es peregrinations amongst the Churches, to publish their Shame whom hee hath laboured hitherto to reconcile? Or because hee hath mist of his Expectations in his Endeauours, is hee now Incensed against them? I need not tell you that there is an Elfe (otherwise called Selfe) lieth lurking in the Hearts of vs all, which will sometimes bee perking vp in our best Actions, It concernes vs all to beware of it and I hope you haue bene so carefull as not to suffer it heretofore to Creepe out & mingle with your Vndertakings of that Nature, & I beseech you also take heed of it now. It is no new thing you know for the Saints to stand at a Distance one from another Paul & Barnabas though they were set apart by the immediate appointment of the Holy Ghost to bee ioynt-agents in the Worke of the Ministery, & had trauelled together through many dangers both by Sea & Land, God blessing their Labours with admirable Successe, yet wee see how that for a matter but of small Moment [left margin: Acts: 15] there grew vp so sharpe a Contention betweene them, that they departed asunder one from another; What then? Did the Worke cease thereupon? or did Desolation & Confusion fall vpon the Churches thereby? Nothing lesse, Nay the Gospell gained by that their Contention, For as Gualtherus obserues well vpon the place Ex tristi Apostolorum Dissidio hoc Boni oritur, vt plures vno eodemque tempore inuisantur et Confirmentur Ecclesiæ

There may bee a Visible Growth, & you not perceiue the manner of the growing. For the Kingdome of God saith our Sauiour [left margin: Mark: 4[altered]. 26] is as if a Man should cast Seed into the Ground, and should sleep and rise night & Day, & the Seed should Spring & grow vp hee knoweth not how, For the Earth bringeth forth Fruit of her Selfe, first the Blade, then the Eare, after that the full Corne in the Eare But when the Fruit is brought forth immediately hee putteth in the Sickle, because the Haruest is come. If the Churches bee not growen vp Visibly into one Body, how are they come to that Stature as they are at this Day? They haue bene growing vp euer from the Beginning; and notwithstanding the Obstruction they haue met from the Weakenes of many parts, euery Ioynt not alwaies doing its office in supplying its due proportion of Strength to the perfecting of the Whole, as it may bee at this present they doe not, yet holding the Head, & hauing Constant motion Nourishment from it, they haue Encreased with the Encrease of God: And though this Machina Mundi this great Engine Frame & Structure of the World shall decrease & diminish in its Strength & Beauty, by reason of the Clashings & Shakings that happen amongst the parts thereof, till that which is now [Greek: Kosmos] bee made a [Greek: Chaos] againe, Yet I doubt not to say it, that, seing God will in his Wise prouidence order all things for the Best vnto his people, euen the Differences & Contentions that happen amongst vs shall & doe contrary to their Nature tend to the Growth & Furtherance of the Churches; and as Poison sometimes when it is Corrected workes more effectually for the Health of a sicke Patient then a Wholesome Herbe, so for ought wee know may the Church grow better, by not hauing a Supply from euery Ioynt, then if there were a generall Concurrence of all to the preseruation of the Whole. Now that which I inferre from hence is not in the least degree to iustifie the Vnbrotherly Contentions that arise amongst the Churches, God knoweth I haue alwaies protested against them, & doubtless Woe will bee to them by whom such offences come: But this I say that you may see [catchword: the]

the Churches may bee in their Growth whiles you thinke they are declining. I said before that the Church hath bene growing vp euer from the Beginning, for it is built vpon the Foundations of not onely of the Apostles, but also of the Prophets, Inter Prophetas autem numeratur Adam, saith an Antient, amongst the Prophets the first man Adam is to bee reckoned. It began in him when the World began, for as Montacutius saith in the first Day of his Creation   God made the Woman out of Man & brought her vnto Man to bee his Wife, making them two[altered], to bee one Flesh in a Mysterie fore-designing the Vnion betwixt Christ & his Church. Now albeit the Church after her first Springing was much checked, & had her Turbida Interualla in her seuerall Generations, yet alwaies shee recouered her selfe againe. From Adam all along still there was a people growing vp that were peculiar to God, & though sometimes there were Defections, yet they hindered not the Visible growth of the Church in respect of the Succession of Beleeuers one after another, but the Lord added to the Church still in euery Generation such as should bee saued His Seruice neuer failed or vtterly ceased in the World, but was founded & fastned first in the Families of the Patriarchs before & after the Flood, which was not euen in those <times> carried on & managed without Ecclessi Ecclesiasticall Order: For as our Learned Antiquary [left margin: Godwyn] obserueth, The Fathers of their seuerall Families, & their First-borne after them exercised all kind of Gouernment both Ecclesiaticall & Ciuill, being both Kings & Preists in their owne Houses. They had power ouer their owne Families to blesse, curse, Cast out of Doores, Disinherit, & to punish with Death, as is apparant by these Examples of Noah towards Cham Gen: 9. 25. of Abraham towards Hagar & Ismael Gen: 21. 10. of Iacob towards Simeon & Leui Gen: 49. 3. & of Iudah towards Thamar Gen: 38. 24. Afterwards was the Church spread abroad & enlarged thorough the Posteritie of Israel, who notwithstanding many Alterations Apostacies Rebellions & profane Impietie still continued Gods people & peculiar [catchword: a]

a Visible Church vpon the Face of the Earth vntill the Comming of the Messiah, & though God punished them often (as they well deserued) for their Iniquities, yet still when they cryed vnto him in their Trouble, hee deliuered them out of their Distresse. But when the Times of the Gentiles were come in, then the Seed of Abraham according to the promise grew as the Starres & as the Dust for Multitude, & the Children of the Desolate were more then the Children of the Married Wife. And the Prophet applies that promise to Israel by Promise, when those after the Flesh should bee dissipated, [left margin: Num: 23. 10.] & become no People, yet saith the Prophet, [left margin: Hosea: 1. 10] the Number of the Children of Israel shall bee as the Sand of the Sea which cannot bee measured nor numbered etc meaning the Israel of God among the Gentiles Adde hereunto this thriuing of the Church in her sundry Generations might bee discerned not onely by the Multiplication of her parts growing still as the Waters did that issued out of Sanctuary in Ezekiels Vision, [left margin: Ezek: 47] First to the Ancles, then to the Loines, then to a Riuer that could not bee passed ouer, but by the seuerall Discoueries also that God made of his Grace still more & more manifesting himselfe till his People might with open Face behold him as in a Mirroir E.g. In that first Age of the World which continued so many yeeres God had in the beginning thereof promised that the Seed of the Woman should breake the Serpents Head; and this in all likelihood was the Doctrine that the Patriarchs then those Preachers of Righteousnes insisted vpon, Grace being manifested vnto them onely vnder that Notion; & to this purpose Luther Speaking of Enoch saith Summa Fiducia præ aliis Patriarchis Satanæ et Cainitarum Ecclesiæ se opposunt confitendo Semen Mulieris, et prædicando de Conterendo Capite Serpentis. But afterwards when the Earth was filled with Violence, & God had brought the Flood vpon the World of the Vngodly, that it migth appeare that hee was still mindfull of his Couenant, therefore would hee now by a new Way of Entaylement ([Greek: tou koinou idiopoioumenos] as one phraseth it) hauing bene God common make himselfe ouer to his People by peculiar Interest & appropriation[altered] [catchword: And]

And thus wee find Shem the Sonne of Noah that great high Preist of the most high God (as it may bee probable, which, because the Holy Ghost is silent in it, I will not determine) first of all men vpon Earth had God entailed vnto himselfe in a Speciall reserued sort of peculiar appropriation; For vntill the Dayes of Abraham, and his Separation from his Kindred, God Almightie the Lord of the World & of all things therein was peculiarly stiled the Lord God of Shem Gen: 9. 26. yea & Noah prophecies their concerning him that God should dwell in his Tents, that is, that his Church should run along visibly in his Familie: So Musculus renders the Sense of that place Genesis: 9. 27. in these Words. Meo Iudicio simplicius est vt Intelligamus loqui Noe de Deo, qui fuerit habitaturus in Tabernaculis Shem, id est, omnia illius et posteros quoque Bendicturus, in omnibus illi Adfuturus, ac in illius ac posterorum eius tabernaculis habitaturus. Thus hee. After this when the Generations following grew to bee Idolatrous & had forsaken the Lord God of Shem, to cleaue vnto the [Wor?] Varieties of the Heathen, yet then neither did God forsake his Church, or banish her into a Wildernes of Spirituall Desolation & Confusion, but as Sinne abounded, so Grace did superabound Hee calls Abram aside from the rest makes him the Representaiue of his whole Church, giues him his Couenant, & now more then euer causeth a Seale to bee affixed vnto it, saying also vnto him in appropriated termes with addition aboue Shem for his Posteritie, I will bee thy God, & the God of thy Seed after thee, and accordingly proclaimes himselfe afterwards in his Word for him & his Seed saying, I am the God of Abraham the God of Isaac, & the God of Iacob, this is my Name for euer, this is my Memoriall vnto all Generations, that is, till the Time of Regeneration should come spoken of Math: 19. 28 For then the Kindnes & Loue of God towards man appeared more [n?] cleerely more plentifully then euer before being now discouered to the Church vnder the Title of the God & Father of our Lord Iesus Christ [catchword: in]

in whom hee hath opened all the Treaures of his Bounty, in whom his Name is more magnified, & his Grace more Exalted then in all the Ages that euer were from the Beginning. And in this glorious Manifestation of the presence of God in Christ the Church now triumpheth & shall so doe without any more Changes of the Administration of the Euangelicall Couenant to the End of the World. From all which I conclude that the Churches are one Entire Body growen vp visibly in Christ, & this Citie thus set on a Hill cannot bee hid from them But if you looke for an externall Coadunation of all the Churches together, so as that there should bee a Constant & full agreement in all things, before the Comming of Christ to Iudgment as your Words in many places seeme to import, for my part I thinke your Expectation will bee frustrated, For such an Vnanimitie is proper onely to the Generall Assemblie that is to come, & will not bee found but amongst the Spirits of Iust men made perfect. I beleeue there is a Catholike Church (which is the Spouse of Christ) whereof I am a Member though most Vnworthy, and I beleeue this Catholike Church doth & shall Flourish & prosper more & more; & this as I [left margin: X] haue ha said may bee plainely seene by the eye of Faith, but it [left margin: X] shall neuer bee so seene as that you or I may Digito Demonstrare point it out & say there it is. The Kingdome of God commeth not with[altered from without] outward Shew saith our Sauiour Luk: 17. 20. Faith & Sight are 2 distinct things (2. Cor: 5. 7) Nam si Vides non est Fides saith an Antient, If thou seest, thou beleeuest not, for Faith [left margin: Heb: 11. 1.] is the euidence of things not seene. Indeed when that Word of the [left margin: 2 Cor: 5. 7.] Apostle shall bee inuerted, and wee shall say [Greek: Dia eidous peripatoumeu [letter deleted] oudia pisteos], then shall this sweet & Louely Spouse of Christ bee seene in one Entire Body in the Armes of her Beloued without any Spot or Wrinckle or any such thing

together etc Neuerthelesse this I will adde that I am ready with you or any Man els to Lament & bewaile the Wofull Distractions which at this Day are to bee found amongst many Beleeuers, though I will not speake of them in that Generall Sense as you haue done, least I should offend against the Generation of the Righteous.

meet with Enemies still. There are many Antichrists saith the Apostle And wee find by Experience that though wee here in England haue cast off the Yoke of that Romish Antichrist long agoe, which hath bene the Glory of our Church & Nation, yet wee find other Heads of the Satanicall Hydra haue appeared snarling against Truth & Peace, the Dragon is still Warring against the Remnant of the Womans Seed amongst vs, casting out a Flood of Errors to the End that our Church might bee swallowed vp therewith; And why it may not bee so hereafter when the whole Church shall bee freed from that Antichristian bondage, I know not. This I know the Promises that are made to the Church whiles shee is Militant are accompanyed with this Prouiso. viz That shee must looke for Persecution Mark: 10. 30. 2. Tim: 3. 12. Neither indeed is it meet that the Spouse should find her Way more Easy then her Husband that is gone before her: Shee must looke to haue Fellowship with him in his Sufferings, & [to?] made Conformable vnto his Death, as well as to bee glorified with him. I know also that in the Latter times there will bee those that will depart from the Faith, giuing heed to Seducing Spirits etc and a generall Securitie shall ouerspread the World Math: 24. 38. 39. and because Iniquitie <will abound> the Loue of many shall wax cold: Yea it is apparant out of Scripture that what <with> Cruelties of open Enemies, & what with Trecheries of seeming Freinds, What with Impostures of False Teachers, & what <with> the Commotions & Fearefull Desolations that shall come vpon all the Kingdomes & Nations of the Earth, the Tribulations that then shall bee in those times shall bee so great that the like had bene since the Beginning of the World. Where is then that Glory that is said to shine forth in the Church in the last age of the World? Not certainely in the Enioyment of any such perfection as the Chiliasts haue imagined which neuer any of the Churches of the Christ to this day haue expected. Yea rather the opinion thereof hath <bene> exploded from amongst as vnsound (whereunto notwithstanding I now find you too much inclining) But as I haue said the Glory of the Church that is to come will bee seene when the Place of her Tent shall bee enlarged, & the Curtaines of her Habitations Stretched forth, when her Cords shall bee Lengthned & her Stakes strengthned, For shee must breake forth on the right hand & on the left, & her Seed shall inherite shall inherit the Gentiles I may adde the Iewes also, & make the Desolate Cities to bee inhabited: When Gods wayes are Knowen vpon Earth, & his Sauing Health among all Nations, When the House of the Lord shall bee established vpon the Top of the Mountaines, & exalted aboue all Hills, i, the Gospell shall preuaile against & aboue all Mountaines & Hills of opposition, & people shall flow vnto it, And many Nations shall say goe & say, Come let vs goe vp to the Mountaine of the Lord, to the House of the God of Iacob, Hee will teach vs his Wayes, & wee will walke in his pathes, for out <of> Zion shall goe forth the Law, & the Word of the Lord from Ierusalem, & hee shall Iudge among the Nations & shall rebuke many people, that is, Christ by his Gospell will [catchword: righteously]

righteously condemne all those that oppose themselues against his Kingdome When the Hearts of Lions, Tigers, Wolues, Leopards & Cockatrices shall bee taken from them, & the Hearts of Lambes & Children giuen to them, When those that now Breath out Thretnings & Slaughters against the poore Church of Christ shall come Trembling & with Meekenes reeiue the ingrafted Word, & as new borne Babes desire the Sincere Milke thereof, that they may liue & grow thereby, When those other Sheep that are not yet of this Fold shall bee also brought, & they shall heare the Voice of Christ, & there bee but one Fold & one Shepheard, yet all this in Troublous Times Dan: 9. 25. Such Glory as this may the Church haue before the End come; And not onely so, but as the Apostles phrase is, Shee shall glory in tribulationstoo too, accounting her Selfe highly Honoured by them, being thereby made to resemble Christ her Head, (for euen hee was made perfect thorough Sufferings) so that <shee> shall triumph in the midst of them all saying, Now am I like my Lord and Husband. This then being the Perfection that I acknowledge in the Ages to come, I added in my Letter, As for any other Visible perfection the Want whereof should so farre prouoke the Lord Iesus Christ as to pronounce Lo ammi against his Churches, I know none etc Hereupon you inferre a Supposition of your owne Framing & impute it vnto mee; for you tell mee that I supposed you haue said that the present Reformed Orthodox Churches are to bee counted by Christ Lo ammi by reason of the Want of that perfection, which is not yet Come, but in due time shall come; Thus you Frame it, & then passe your Censure vpon it. But I must tell you againe that I supposed no such matter, neither can such a Supposition bee gathered from my Words without apparant wresting of them; For I was then onely insisting vpon the Perfection that is to come, telling you what I thought it to bee, & as for any other the Want of which should make a Separation betweene Christ & his People in after times, I said I Knew none, if you did, I desired you to impart it vnto mee. Notwithstanding if I had supposed some such thing as you say, My Supposition had not bene much differing from your Position, When you say, If wee Repent <not> & become Zealous in the Way of Righteousnes, & of holy Communion without partialitie, & without Hypocrisie, (Which perfection you say the Churches shall attaine vnto, when they are come out of the Wildernes) no doubt Christ will spue vs all out of his Mouth, & call vnto him another people which shall bee made ready for the Marriage Supper of the Lambe. So that if it bee an vnreasonable assertion, it concernes you hereafter to bee better aduised in what you assert. [catchword: But]

there being no Wily Serpent to beguile them, no Wrestling with Temptations no strugling with Flesh & Blood, their onely Exercise being then to Reioyce to Triumph, to Sing Halleluiahs to the Lambe which hath brought them to this Banquet, & will make them Welcome vnto it for euer