A Trial of the New Church Way in New England, Letter 2
An Epiſtle written by the Elders of the Churches in NEW-ENGLAND, to thoſe godly Miniſters fore-mentioned that ſent over the Poſitions.
Reverend and beloved Brethren:
IN theſe remote Coaſts of the earth, whereunto the good hand of God hath brought us, as we doe with much comfort of heart call to mind the many gracious bleſſings, which both with you, and from you, we injoyed in our Chriſtian and holy communion, (the memory and fruit whereof we hope ſhall never be blotted out) ſo we have alſo ſeen cauſe to looke back to our former adminiſtrations there, and to ſearch and trie our wayes; that wherein ſoever we have formerly gone aſtray, we might judge our ſelves for it before the Lord: And that ſeeing now God hath ſet before us an open doore of libertie, wee might neither abuſe our libertie in the Goſpel, to runne out into any groundleſſe unwarrantable courſes, nor neglect the preſent opportunitie to adminiſter (by the helpe of Chriſt) all the holy ordinances of God, according to the patterne ſet before us in the Scripture; In our native Countrey, when we were firſt called to the Miniſtery, many of us tooke ſome things to be indifferent and lawfull, which in after-times we ſaw to be ſinfull, and durſt not continue in the practiſe of them there; Afterwards ſome things that we bare as burthens, that is, as things inexpedient though not utterly unlawfull; we have no cauſe to retain and practiſe the ſame things here, which would not have been not onelyonly inexpedient, but unlawfull: ſuch things as a man may tollerate when he cannot remove them, hee cannot tollerate without ſinne, when he may remove them; Beſides ſome things we practiſed there (which wee ſpeak to our ſhame and griefe) which we never took into ſerious conſideration whether they were lawfull, and expedient or no, but took them for granted, and generally received; not onelyonly by the moſt Reformed Churches, but by the moſt godly and judicious ſervants of God amongſt them; which nevertheleſſe when we came to weigh them in the ballance of the Sanctuarie, we could not find ſufficient warrant in the Word to receive them, and eſtabliſh them here: of one of theſe three kinds will theſe our preſent practiſes appeare to be, which you call our new opinions, or, Innovations here; except it be ſome few of them, which though they have been reported to you to be our Judgements and practiſes, yet are indeed farre from us: The particulars are too many, and too weightie to give you account of them, and the ground of our proceedings about them in a Letter. But to give you (if it be the will of God) the better ſatisfaction, we have ſent you a ſhort Treatiſe touching each particular, that according to your deſire you might underſtand from us how farre we do acknowledge any of theſe tenents, and upon what ground, hoping that according to your promiſe, if upon due examination you ſhall find any weight in them, you will give us the right hand of fellowſhip. But if otherwiſe, you will ſend us your juſt and faithfull animadverſions, and we doe not ſuſpect your loves to the truth, or your ſincere ſpeaking according to your conſcience in the ſight of God, Neither taxe we you as ſiding from the truth with by-reſpects, whereof you complain, verily we abhorre ſuch raſh, harſh, and preſumptuous notoriouſneſſe, we ſee as much cauſe to ſuſpect the integritie of our own hearts, as yours; and ſo much the more, as being more privie to the deceitfulneſſe of our own hearts then to yours. And we cannot but with much thankfulneſſe of heart acknowledge the many rich precious treaſures of his grace, wherewith the Lord hath furniſhed ſundrie of you above your Brethren, which cauſeth us with great reverence to accept, and receive what further light God may be pleaſed to impart unto us by you; But as we have beleeved, ſo have we hitherto practiſed, and ſo have moſt of us ſpoken this our Anſwer to your particulars, moſt of us we may ſay, becauſe there wants not ſome Brethren amongſt us who proceed further, even to looke at all ſet formes of Prayer invented by men of another age or congregation, and preſcrib…d to their Brethren to be read out of a book for the prayers of the Church, as Images, or Imaginations of men, forbidden in the ſecond Commandement; But as we leave them to their libertie of their own judgements without prejudice, ſo do we alſo concurre with the reſt of them, ſo farre as we all goe in bearing witneſſe againſt any ſet formes, or the corruptions in them; In diſpatching whereof, we have been the more ſlow becauſe it behoved us firſt to inquire into, and to ſettle ſome controverſies amongſt our ſelves, before we could well attend to entertaine diſcourſe about forraigne queſtions which do not ſo neerely concerne our preſent eſtate and practiſe. Beſides your Letters being ſent to the Miniſters of the Churches, and ſome of us dwelling farre a ſunder, it was not an eaſie thing for all of us often to meet together to conſider of theſe Queſtions, much leſſe to reſolve upon one juſt anſwer. But having at length (by the aſſiſtance of God) brought our Anſwers to this iſſue, we commend it to the bleſſing of the Lord, and in him to your Chriſtian, and judicious conſideration; where if all things bee found ſafe, and duely warranted from Scripture grounds; do you alſo as ſeemeth vigilant Watchmen of the Lords flock, and faithfull witneſſes to God; If any thing ſeeme doubtfall to you, conſider and weigh it very well before you reject it: If any thing appeare to be unfound, and diſſnant from the Word (which we for our parts cannot diſterne) we ſhall willingly attend to what further light God may ſend unto us by you: In the meane while wee intreat you in the Lord, not to ſuffer ſuch apprehenſions to lodge in your minds, which you intimate in your Letters; As if we here juſtified the wayes of riged ſeparation, which ſometimes amongſt you we have formerly borne witneſſe againſt▪ and ſo build againe the things we have deſtroyed; you know they ſeparate from your Congregations, as no Churches; from the Ordinances diſpenſed by you as meere Antichriſtian, and from your ſelves as no viſible Chriſtians. But wee profeſſe unfainedly, we ſeparate from the corruptions which we conceive to be left in your Churches, and from ſuch Ordinances adminiſtred therein as we feare are not of God, but of men; And for your ſelves, we are ſo farre from ſeparating as from no viſible Chriſtians, as that you are under God in our hearts (if the Lord would ſuffer it) to live and die together; and we looke at ſundrie of you as men of that eminent growth in Chriſtianitie, that if there be any viſible Chriſtians under heaven, amongſt you are the men, which for theſe many yeeres have been written in your foreheads (Hoiineſſe to the Lord) which we ſpeake not to prejudice any truth which our ſelves are here taught and called to profeſſe, but we ſtill beleeve though perſonall Chriſtians may be eminent in their growth of Chriſtianitie: yet Churches had ſtill need to grow from apparent defects to puritie; and from reformation to Reformation, age after age, till the Lord have utterly aboliſhed Antichriſt with the breath of his mouth, and the brightneſſe of his comming to the full and cleare revelation of all his holy Truth; eſpecially touching the ordering of his houſe and publick worſhip; as a pledge of this our eſtimation of you, and ſincere affection to you, we have ſent you theſe Anſwers to your demand, and ſhall be readie, by the help of Chriſt, to receive back againe from you, wiſe, and juſt, and holy Advertiſements in the Lord.
Now the Lord God, and Father of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, your Lord, and ours; lead us all unto all Truths, purge out all Leaven out of his Churches, and keepe us blameleſſe and harmleſſe in his holy Faith and feare, to his heavenly kingdome, through him that hath loved us; In whom we reſt,
Your very loving Brethren, the Elders of the Churches in New-England.