The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution for Cause of Conscience Discussed and Mr. Cotton's Letter Examined and Answered, by Roger Williams CHAP. VIII. Mr. Cotton. Yea; but he speaks not these things to add affliction to the afflicted, but if it were the holy will of God to move me to a serious sight of my sin, and of the justice of God’s hand against it. “Against your corrupt doctrines it pleased the Lord Jesus to fight against you, with the sword of his mouth, as himself speaketh, Rev. ii., in the mouths and testimonies of the churches and brethren, against whom, when you overheat yourself in reasoning and disputing against the light of his truth, it pleased him to stop your mouth by a sudden disease, and to threaten to take breath from you: but you, instead of recoiling, as even Balaam offered to do in the like case, chose rather to persist in the way, and protest against all the churches and brethren that stood in your way: and thus the good hand of Christ that should have humbled you to see and turn from the error of your way, hath rather hardened you therein, and quickened you only to see failings, yea, intolerable errors, in all the churches and brethren rather than in yourself.” Answer. In these lines, an humble and discerning spirit may espy:—first, a glorious justification and boasting of himself and others concurring with him. Secondly, an unrighteous and uncharitable censure of the afflicted. The lantern of God’s word must alone try who fights with the sword of God’s mouth, the same word of God. Whether Mr. Cotton persecuting, or the answerer persecuted, be likest to Balaam. To the first I say no more, but let the light of the holy lantern of the word of God discover and try with whom the sword of God’s mouth, that is, the testimony of the holy scripture for Christ against anti-christ, abideth. And whether myself and such poor witnesses of Jesus Christ in Old and New England, Low Countries, &c., desiring in meekness and patience to testify the truth of Jesus against all false callings of ministers, &c., or Mr. Cotton, however in his person holy and beloved, swimming with the stream of outward credit and profit, and smiting with the fist and sword of persecution such as dare not join in worship with him:—I say, whether of either be the witnesses of Christ Jesus, in whose mouth is the sword of his mouth, the sword of the Spirit, the holy word of God, and whether is most like to Balaam? The answerer’s profession concerning his sickness, which Mr. Cotton upbraids to him. Scripture, history, experience can witness the censures upon God’s servants in their afflictions. To the second: his censure. It is true, it pleased God by excessive labours on the Lord’s days, and thrice a week at Salem: by labours day and night in my field with my own hands, for the maintenance of my charge: by travels also by day and night to go and return from their court, and not by overheating in dispute, divers of themselves confessing publicly my moderation, it pleased God to bring me near unto death; in which time, notwithstanding the mediating testimony of two skilful in physic, I was unmercifully driven from my chamber to a winter’s flight.[243] During my sickness, I humbly appeal unto the Father of spirits for witness of the upright and constant, diligent search my spirit made after him, in the examination of all passages, both my private disquisitions with all the chief of their ministers, and public agitations of points controverted; and what gracious fruit I reaped from that sickness, I hope my soul shall never forget. However, I mind not to number up a catalogue of the many censures upon God’s servants in the time of God’s chastisements and visitations on them, both in scripture, history, and experience. Nor retort the many evils which it pleased God to bring upon some chief procurers of my sorrows, nor upon the whole state immediately after them, which many of their own have observed and reported to me; but I commit my cause to him that judgeth righteously, and yet resolve to pray against their evils, Ps. cxli.