Слике страница
PDF
ePub

us, until we have both opportunity and leave to answer for ourselves. Few will be nocent, said that impleader, if it be enough to deny; few will be innocent, said the then Emperor, if it be enough to accuse.

Concerning the Quakers, open and capital blasphemers, open seducers from the glorious Trinity, the Lord Jesus Christ, our Lord Jesus Christ, the blessed Gospel, and from the holy Scriptures as the rule of life, open enemies to the government itself, as established in the hands of any but men of their own principles, malignant and assiduous promoters of doctrines directly tending to subvert both our Church and State, after all other means for a long time used in vain, we were at last constrained, for our own safety, to pass a sentence of banishment against them, upon pain of death. Such was their dangerous, and impetuous, and desperate turbulence, both to religion and [the] State, civil and ecclesiastical, as that, how unwillingly soever, (could it have been avoided,) the magistrate at last, in conscience both to God and man, judged himself called, for the defence of all, to keep the passage with the point of the sword held towards them. This could do no harm to him that would be warned thereby; their wittingly rushing themselves thereupon was their own act, [and] we with all humility conceive a crime, bringing their blood on their own head. The Quakers died not because of their other crimes, how capital soever, but upon their superadded presumptuous and incorrigible contempt of authority, breaking in upon us, notwithstanding their sentence of banishment made known to them. Had they not been restrained, so far as appeared, there was too much cause to fear that we ourselves must quickly have died, or worse; and such was their insolency, that they would not be restrained but by death; nay, had they at last but promised to depart the jurisdiction, and not to return without leave from authority, we should have been glad of such an opportunity to have said they should not die.

Let not the King hear men's words; your servants are true men, fearing of God and [of1] the King, not given to change, zealous of government [and'] order, orthodox and peaceable in Israel. We are not seditious as to the interest of Cæsar, nor schismatics as to the matters of religion. Supplied from Hazard.-H.

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

We distinguish between churches and their impurity, between a living man, though not without sickness or infirmity, and no man; irregularities, either in ourselves or others, we desire to be amended. We could not live without the public worship of God, nor [were we'] permitted the [use of1] public worship without such a yoke of subscription and conformities [as] we could not consent unto without sin. That we might therefore enjoy divine worship without [the] human mixtures, without offence [either'] to God, man, [or1] our own consciences, we with leave, but not without tears, departed from our country, kindred, and fathers' houses, into this Pathmos; in relation whereunto we do not say our garments are become old by reason of the very long journey, but that ourselves, who came away in our strength, are by reason of [very'] long absence many of us become grey-headed, and some of us stooping for age. The omission of the prementioned injunctions, together with the walking of our churches, as to the point of order, [in] the Congregational Way, is it wherein we desire our orthodox brethren would bear with us.

Sir, We lie not before your Sacred Majesty. The Lord God of gods, the Lord God of gods knoweth, and Israel he shall know, if it were in rebellion or schism that we wittingly left our dwellings in our own country for dwellings in this strange land, save us not this day!

Royal Sir, If according to this our humble petition and good hope, the God of the spirits of all flesh, the Father of Mercy, who comforteth the abjects, shall make the permission of the bereavement of that all, (for which we have and do suffer the loss of all precious, so precious in our sight,) as that your Royal Heart shall be inclined to shew unto us the kindness of the Lord in your Highness' protection of us in these liberties, for which we hither came, [and'] which hitherto we have here enjoyed, upon Hezekiah's speaking comfortably to us as [to] sons, this orphan shall not continue fatherless, but grow up as a revived infant, under a nursing father; these churches shall be comforted, a door of hope opened by so signal a pledge of the lengthening of their tranquillity, [that'] these poor [and'] naked Gentiles, not a few of whom through Grace are come and

1 Supplied from Hazard.-H.

coming in, shall still see their wonted teachers, with [the']
encouragement of a more plentiful increase of the King-
dom of Christ amongst them, and the blessing of your1
poor afflicted, (and yet we hope,) a people trusting in
God, shall come upon the head and heart of that great
King, who was sometimes an exile, as we are. With the
religious stipulation of our prayers we prostrate at your
Royal feet, beg pardon for this our boldness, craving,
finally, that our names may be enrolled amongst
Your Majesty's most humble subjects and suppliants.
JOHN ENDICOT, Governor,2

In the name and by the order of the
General Court of the Massachusetts.

What acceptance this address found with his Majesty, may be gathered from the letters which he ordered to be sent to the country, on the 15th of February following, a true copy of which here followeth :

CHARLES R.

Trusty and wellbeloved,

We greet you well. It having pleased Almighty God, after long trial, both of us and our people, to touch their hearts at last with a just sense of our right, and by their assistance to restore us, peaceably and without blood, to the exercise of our regal authority, for the good and welfare of the nations committed to our charge; we have made it our care to settle our lately distracted Kingdoms at home, and to extend our thoughts to increase the trade and advantage of our Colonies and Plantations abroad; amongst which, as we consider that of New England to be one of the chiefest, having enjoyed and grown up under [a long and1] orderly establishment, so we shall not come behind any of our Royal predecessors, in a just encouragement and protection of all §ours loving subjects there, whose application unto us, since our late happy restoration, hath been very acceptable, and shall not want its due remembrance upon all seasonable occasions. Neither shall we forget to make you, and all our good people in those parts, equal par

1 Supplied from Hazard.-H. 2 Substituted, from Hazard, for the in the MS.-H. 3 Accompanying this Address was one to the Parliament, together with instructions to their agent, John Leveret "or in his absence Richard Saltonstall and Henry Ashurst, Esqrs." See Hazard, ii. 579-86; Hutch. Coll. Papers, pp. 325-33.-H.

• Supplied from Hutch. Coll. Papers, p. 333.-H.

takers of those promises of liberty and moderation to tender consciences, expressed in our gracious declarations, which, though some persons in this our Kingdom, of desperate, disloyal, and unchristian principles, have lately abused, to the public disturbance and their own destruction, yet we are confident our good subjects in New England will make a right use of it, to the glory of God, their own spiritual comfort and edification; and so we bid you farewell.

Given at our Court at Whitehall, the 15th [day'] of February, 1660, in the thirteenth year of our reign. WILL: MORRICE.

CHAP. LXIV.2

Ecclesiastical affairs in New England, from the year 1656 to the year 1661.

THE affairs of the church in New England continued in the same state as before, and were hitherto ordered according to the Platform of Discipline, set forth in the year 1648; but in the beginning of this lustre some difficulties began to arise about the enlarging the subject of Baptism, which, unto this time, had been administered. unto those children only, whose immediate parents were admitted into full communion in the churches where they live. But now the country came to be increased, and sundry families were found that had many children born in them, whose immediate parents had never attempted to join to any of the churches, to which they belonged, and yet were very much unsatisfied that they could not obtain Baptism for their children, although themselves made no way to be admitted to the Lord's Supper. The case was generally apprehended to be difficultly circumstanced, as things had hitherto been carried on amongst those churches, and did occasion many debates between the ministers of the country, many of which were willing to have Baptism enlarged to those in that capacity, but knew not well how to bring the matter about with the peace of their churches, where many of their people were very scrupulous about any innovation. Questions of this nature were first started in the Colony of Con

1 Supplied from Hutchinson's Coll. Papers, p. 333.-H. LXIII in the MS.-H.

necticut, the magistrates of which jurisdiction did, about the year 1656, send down several of them about this subject to the magistrates of the Massachusetts, and they mutually called together sundry of the ablest ministers of each Colony, and recommended to their search and consideration some inquiries (about twenty, or one and twenty in all,) concerning that business, stated and framed by themselves; and they met at Boston in New England, June 4th, 1657. The result of their disputation and debate about those matters, being agreed upon by all, or the greatest part of them, was presented to the magistrates of each jurisdiction, that so, according to the first intendments thereof, it might be improved for the service of the churches, that belonged to their respective jurisdictions. Those pious and careful nursing fathers of the churches, foreseeing many differences like to arise to the disquieting of them, took this prudent course for the clearing up the truth in controversy, unto universal satisfaction, lest otherwise differences in judgment should beget or occasion uncomfortable animosities, if not paroxysms of contention, that might more easily in this way be prevented than healed, if once they should break out, which the event made appear too evident afterwards. Some papers, that contained the product of those consultations and debates, being sent into England, were by him to whom they were committed afterwards made public, though not till the year 1659, finding that none had taken care for the printing of them in New England, as was by him and others at first expected. The sum and substance of that disputation, which was entitled

A Disputation concerning Church Members and their children, in answer to twenty-one questions,

is as followeth :

Question 1. Whether any children of confederate parents be under their parents' covenant, and members with them?

But why the question was so limitedly expressed, 'whether any,' and not 'whether all children of confederate parents,' will not be hard to conceive, when the next questions are made; however, the answer given was in the same particular term.

these

« ПретходнаНастави »