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. XXVIII. Mr. Cotton. CHAP. XXVIII. Mr. Cotton. The close of his letter is an answer to a passage of mine, which he repeateth in an objection thus: “But this you fear is to condemn the witnesses of Jesus, the separate churches in London and elsewhere, and our jealous God will visit us for such arrearages: yea, the curse of the angel to Meroz will fall upon us, because we come not forth to help Jehovah against the mighty: we pray not for them, we come not at them, (but at parishes frequently); yea, we reproach and censure them.” To which he answereth, “that neither Christ nor his apostles after him, nor prophets before him, ever delivered that way. That they fear not the angel’s curse, because it is not to help Jehovah but Satan, to withdraw people from the parishes where they have found more presence of Christ, and evidence of his Spirit, than in separated churches: that they pray not for them, because they cannot pray in faith for a blessing upon their separation: and that it is little comfort to hear of separated churches, as being the inventions of men; and blames them, that being desirous of reformation, they stumble not only at the inventions of men, but for their sakes at the ordinances of the Lord: because they separate not only from the parishes, but from the church at Plymouth, and of that whereof Mr. Lathrop was pastor,[275] who, as he saith, not only refuse all the inventions of men, but choose to serve the Lord in his own ordinances. Only, lastly, he professeth his inward sorrow that myself help erring, though zealous souls, against the mighty ordinances of the Lord, which whosoever stumble at shall be broken, because whosoever will not kiss the Son, that is, will not hear and embrace the words of his mouth, shall perish in their way.” Answer. However Mr. Cotton believes and writes of this point, yet hath he not duly considered these following particulars. The garden of the churches of both Old and New Testament, planted with an hedge or wall of separation from the world. When God’s people neglect to maintain that hedge or wall, God hath turned his garden into a wilderness. First, the faithful labours of many witnesses of Jesus Christ, extant to the world, abundantly proving, that the church of the Jews under the Old Testament in the type, and the church of the Christians under the New Testament in the antitype, were both separate from the world; and that when they have opened a gap in the hedge, or wall of separation, between the garden of the church and the wilderness of the world, God hath ever broke down the wall itself, removed the candlestick, &c. and made his garden a wilderness, as at this day. And that therefore if he will ever please to restore his garden and paradise again, it must of necessity be walled in peculiarly unto himself from the world, and that all that shall be saved out of the world are to be transplanted out of the wilderness of the world, and added unto his church or garden.[276] The nonconformist’s grounds necessarily enforce a separation of the church from the unclean, in clean and holy things. Secondly, that all the grounds and principles leading to oppose bishops, ceremonies, common prayer, prostitution of the ordinances of Christ to the ungodly, and to the true practice of Christ’s own ordinances, do necessarily, as before I intimated, and Mr. Canne hath fully proved, conclude a separation of holy from unholy, penitent from impenitent, godly from ungodly, &c; and that to frame any other building upon such grounds and foundations, is no other than to raise the form of a square house upon the keel of a ship, which will never prove a soul saving true ark or church of Jesus Christ, according to the pattern. The great suffering for this cause. Thirdly, the multitudes of holy and faithful men and women, who since Queen Mary’s days have witnessed this truth by writing, disputing, and in suffering loss of goods and friends, in imprisonments, banishments, death, &c.—I confess the nonconformists have suffered also; but they that have suffered for this cause, have far exceeded, in not only witnessing to those grounds of the nonconformists, but to those truths also, the unavoidable conclusions of the nonconformists’ principles. Mr. Cotton’s and others’ zealous practice of separation in New England. Mr. Cotton allowing liberty to frequent those parishes in Old England: which parishes he himself persecutes in New England. Fourthly, what is that which Mr. Cotton and so many hundreds fearing God in New England walk in, but a way of separation? Of what matter do they profess to constitute their churches, but of true godly persons? In what form do they cast this matter, but by a voluntary uniting, or adding of such godly persons, whom they carefully examine, and cause to make a public confession of sin, and profession of their knowledge and grace in Christ?[277] Nay; when other English have attempted to set up a congregation after the parishional way, have they not been suppressed? Yea; have they not professedly and lately answered many worthy persons, whom they account godly ministers and people, that they could not permit them to live in the same commonwealth together with them, if they set up any other church and worship than what themselves practise?[278] Let their own souls, and the souls of others seriously ponder in the fear of God, what should be the reason why themselves so practising, should persecute others for not leaving open a gap of liberty to escape persecution and the cross of Christ, by frequenting the parishes in Old England, which parishes themselves persecute in New England, and will not permit them to breathe in the common air amongst them. A great mystery in the escaping of the cross of Christ. Fifthly, in the parishes, which Mr. Cotton holds but the inventions of men,[279] however they would have liberty to frequent the worship of the word, yet they separate from the sacraments; and yet, according to Mr. Cotton’s own principles, as before, there is as true communion in the ministration of the word in a church estate as in the seals: what mystery should be in this, but that here also the cross or gibbet of Christ may be avoided in a great measure, if persons come to church, &c. The New English churches pretended by some to be purer than the first established by the apostles. Lastly, however, he saith, he hath not found such presence of Christ, and evidence of his Spirit in such churches, as in the parishes: what should be the reason of their great rejoicings and boastings of their own separations in New England, insomuch that some of the most eminent amongst them have affirmed that even the apostles’ churches were not so pure? Surely if the same New English churches were in Old England, they could not meet without persecution, which therefore in Old England they avoid by frequenting the way of church worship, which in New England they persecute—the parishes. The reformation desired now had been accounted heresy in Edward the Sixth’s days. Upon these considerations, how can Mr. Cotton be offended that I should help (as he calls them) any zealous souls, not against the mighty ordinances of the Lord Jesus, but to seek after the Lord Jesus without halting? Yea; why should Mr. Cotton, or any desirous to practise reformation, kindle a fire of persecution against such zealous souls, especially considering that themselves, had they so inveighed against bishops, common prayer, &c., in Edward the Sixth’s days, had been accounted as great heretics, in those reforming times, as any now can be in these? yet would it have been then, and since hath it been, great oppression and tyranny to persecute their consciences, and still will it be for them to persecute the consciences of others in Old or New England. Persecution is unjust oppression wheresoever. How can I better end than Mr. Cotton doth, by warning, that all that will not kiss the Son, that is, hear and embrace the words of his mouth, shall perish in their way, Ps. ii. 12. And I desire Mr. Cotton, and every soul to whom these lines may come, seriously to consider in this controversy, if the Lord Jesus were himself in person in Old or New England, what church, what ministry, what worship, what government he would set up, and what persecution he would practise toward them that would not receive Him?[280]