The Rise Reign and Ruin of the Antinomians Familists and Libertines, Preface
The PREFACE.
AFter we had escaped the cruel hands of persecuting Prelates, and the dangers at Sea, and had pretty well out-grown our Wilderness Troubles in our first Plantings in New-England; And when our Common-wealth began to be founded, and our Churches sweetly setled in Peace, (God abounding to us in more happy enjoyments then we could have expected:) Lest we should now grow secure, our wise God (who seldom suffers his own, in this their wearisome Pilgrimage, to be long without trouble) sent a new Storm after us, which proved the forest trial that ever befel us since we left our Native Soil.
Which was this, that some going thither from hence, full fraught with many unsound and loose Opinions, after a time, began to open their Packs, and freely vent their Wares to any that would be their Customers; Multitudes of Men and Women, Church-members and others, having tasted of their Commodities, were eager after them, and were streight infected before they were aware, and some being tainted conveyed the Infection to others: and thus that Plague first began amongst us, that had not the wisdom and faithfulness of him, that watcheth over his Vineyard night and day, by the beams of his Light and Grace, cleared and purged the Air, certainly we had not been able to have breathed there comfortably much longer.
Our discourse of them shall tend to shew,
1. What these Opinions were.
2. How they spread so fast, and prevailed so suddenly.
3. How they did rage and reign when they had once gotten head.
4. How they fell and were ruined, when they were at highest.
The Opinions, (some of them) were such as these; I say, some of them, to give but a tast, for afterwards you shall see a litter of Fourscore and eleven of their brats hung up against the Sun, besides many new ones of Mistriss Hutchinsons; all which they hatched and dandled; As,
1. That the Law, and the Preaching of it, is of no use at all, to drive a Man to Christ.
2. That a Man is united to Christ, and justified without faith: yea, from eternity.
3. That Faith is not a receiving of Christ, but a Man's discerning that he hath received him already.
4. That a Man is united to Christ onelyonly by the work of the Spirit upon him, without any act of his.
5. That a Man is never effectually Christ's, till he hath assurance.
6. This assurance is onelyonly from the witness of the Spirit.
7. This witness of the Spirit is meerly immediate, without any respect to the word, or any concurrence with it.
8. When a Man hath once this witness, he never doubts more.
9. To question my assurance, though I fall into Murther or Adultery, proves that I never had true assurance.
10. Sanctification can be no evidence of a Mans good Estate.
11. No comfort can he had from any conditional Promise.
12. Poverty in Spirit (to which Christ pronounceth blessedness, Mat. 5. 3.) is onelyonly this, to see I have no grace at all.
13. To see I have no grace in me, will give me comfort; but to take comfort from sight of grace, is legal.
14. An hypocrite may have Adam's graces that he had in Innocency.
15. The graces of Saints and Hypocrites differ not.
16. All graces are in Christ, as in the Subject, and none in us, so that Christ believes, Christ loves, &c.
17. Christ is the New Creature.
18. God loves a Man never the better for any holiness in him, and nevertheless, be he never so unholy.
19. Sin in a Child of God must never trouble him.
20. Trouble in Conscience for sins of Commission, or for neglect of duties, shews a Man to be under a Covenant of VVorks.
21. All Covenants to God expressed in works are legal works.
22. A Christian is not bound to the Law as a rule of his conversation.
23. A Christian is not bound to Pray except the Spirit moves him.
24. A Minister that hath not this (new) light, is not able to edifie others that have it.
25. The whole letter of the Scripture is a Covenant of works.
26. No Christian must be prest to duties of holiness.
27. No Christian must be exhorted to faith, love, and prayer, &c. except we know he hath the Spirit.
28. A Man may have all graces, and yet want Christ.
29. All a Believer's activity is onelyonly to act sin.
Now these, most of them, being so gross, one would wonder how they should spread so fast and suddenly amongst a people so religious and well taught.
For declaring of this be pleased to attend two things.
1. The nature of the Opinions themselves, which open such a fair and easie way to Heaven, that men may pass without difficulty. For, if a man need not be troubled by the Law, before Faith, but may step to Christ so easily; and then if his faith be no going out of himself to take Christ, but only a discerning that Christ is his own already, and is only an act of the Spirit upon him, no act of his own done by him; and if he, for his part, must see nothing in himself, have nothing, do nothing, only he is to stand still and wait for Christ to do all for him. and then if after faith, the Law no rule to walk by, no Sorrow or Repentance for sin; he must not be pressed to duties, and need never pray, unless moved by the Spirit: And if he falls into sin, he is never the more disliked of God, nor his condition never the worse. And for his assurance, it being given him by the Spirit, he must never let it go, but abide in the height of comfort, tho' he falls into the grossest sins that he can. Then their way to life was made easie, if so, no marvel so many like of it.
And this is the very reason, besides the novelty of it, that this kind of Doctrine takes so well here in London, and other parts of the Kingdom, and that you see so many dance after this pipe, running after such and such, crowding the Churches and filling the doors and windows, even such carnal and vile persons (many of them) as care not to hear any other godly Ministers, but only their Leaders. Oh it pleaseth nature well to have Heaven and their lusts too.
2. Consider their slights they used in somenting their Opinions, some of which I will set down: as
I. They laboured much to acquaint themselves with as many, as possibly they could, that so they might have the better opportunity to communicate their new light unto them.
II. Being once acquainted with them, they would strangely labour to insinuate themselves into their affections, by loving salutes, humble carriage, kind invitements, friendly visits, and so they would win upon men, and steal into their bosoms before they were aware. Yea, assoon as any new-comers (especially, men of note, worth and activity, fit instruments to advance their design) were landed, they would be sure to welcome them, shew them all courtesie, and offer them room in their own houses, or of some of their own Sect, and having gotten them into their Web, they could easily poyson them by degrees; It was rare for any man thus hooked in, to escape their Leaven.
III. (Because such men as would seduce others, had need be some way eminent) they would appear very humble, holy, and spiritual Christians, and full of Christ; they would deny themselves far, speak excellently, pray with such soul-ravishing expressions and affections, that a stranger that loved goodness, could not but love and admire them, and so be the more easily drawn after them; looking upon them as men and women as likely to know the secrets of Christ, and bosom-counsels of his Spirits, as any other.
And this Opinion of them was the more lifted up through the simplicity and weakness of their followers, who would, in admiration of them, tell others, that since the Apostles time, they were perswaded, none ever received so much light from God, as such and such had done, naming their Leaders.
4. As they would lift up themselves, so also their Opinions, by guilding them over with specious terms of Free-grace, Glorious-light, Gospel-truths, as holding forth naked Christ: and this took much with simple honest hearts that loved Christ, especiaily with new converts, who were lately in bondage under sin and wrath, and had newly tasted the sweetness of free-grace; being now in their first love to Christ, they were exceeding glad to embrace any thing, that might further advance Christ and free grace; and so drank them in readily.
5. If they met with Christians that were full of doubts and fears about their conditions, (as many tender and godly hearts there were) they would tell them they had never taken a right course for comfort, but had gone on (as they were led) in a legal way of evidencing their good estate by Sanctification, and gazing after qualifications in themselves, and would shew them from their own experience, that themselves for a long time, were befool'd even as they are now, in poring upon graces in themselves, and while they did so they never prospered; but were driven to pull all that building down, and lay better and safer foundations in free-grace; and then would tell them of this Gospel-way we speak of, how they might come to such a setled peace that they might never doubt more, tho' they should see no grace at all in themselves: & so (as it is said of the Harlots dealing with the young man, Pr. 7. 21.) with much fair speech they caused them to yield, with the flattering of their lips they forced them.
6. They commonly labour'd to work first upon women, being (as they conceived) the weaker to resist; the more flexible, tender, and ready to yield: and if once they could winde in them, they hoped by them, as by an Eve, to catch their Husbands also, which indeed often proved too true amongst us there.
7. As soon as they had thus wrought in themselves, and a good conceit of their Opinions, by all these ways of subtilty, into the hearts of people; nextly, they strongly endeavour'd with all the craft they could, to undermine the good Opinion of their Ministers, and their Doctrine, and to work them clean out of their affections, telling them they were sorry that their Teachers had so mis-bed them, and train'd them up under a Covenant of works, and that themselves never having been taught of God, it is no wonder they did no better teach them the Truth, and how they may sit till dooms-day under their legal Sermons, and never see light; and withal sometimes casting aspersions on their persons, and practice, as well as their doctrine, to bring them quite out of esteem with them. And this they did so effectually, that many declined the hearing of them, tho' they were members of their Churches, and others that did hear, were so filled with prejudice that they profited not, but studied how to object against them, and censure their doctrine, which (whilst they stood right) were wont to make their hearts to melt and tremble.
Yea, some that had been begotten to Christ by some of their faithful labours in this Land, for whom they could have laid down their lives, and not being able to bear their absence, follow'd after them thither to New-England, to injoy their labours; yet these falling acquainted with those Seducers, were suddenly so alter'd in their affections towards those their spiritual Fathers, that they would neither hear them, nor willingly come in their company, professing they had never received any good from them.
8. They would not, till they knew men well, open the whole mystery of their new Religion to them, but this was ever their method, to drop a little at once into their followers as they were capable, and never would administer their Physick. till they had first given good preparatives to make it work, and then stronger and stronger potions, as they found the patient able to bear.
9. They would in company now and then let fall some of their most plausible errors, as a bait let down to catch withal; now if any began to nibble at the bait, they would angle still, and never give over till they had caught them; but if any should espy the naked hook, and so see their danger, and profess against the Opinions, then you should have them fairly retreat, and say, Nay, mistake me not, for I do mean even as you do, you and I are both of one mind in substance, and differ only in words: By this kind of Iesuitical dealing, they did not only keep their credit with them, as men that held nothing but the truth; but gained this also, viz. that when afterwards, they should hear men taxed for holding errors, they would be ready to defend them, and say, (out of their simplicity of heart) Such men hold nothing but truth, for I my self judged of them, as you do, but when I heard them explain themselves, they and I were both one: By this Machivilian policy, these deluders wrere reputed sound in their judgments, and so were able to do the more hurt, and were longer undetected.
10. What men they saw eminent in the Country, and of most Esteem in the Hearts of the people, they would be sure still, to father their Opinions upon them, and say, I hold nothing but what I had from such and such a man, whereas their Iudgments and Expressions also were in truth far differing from theirs upon point of tryal, but if it came to pass, that they were brought face to face to make it good, (as sometimes they have been) they would winde out with some evasion or other, or else say, I understood him so: for it was so frequent with them to have many dark shadows and colours to cover their Opinions and Expressions withal, that it was a wonderful hard matter to take them tardy, or to know the bottom of what they said or sealed.
11. But the last and worst of all, which most suddenly diffused the Venom of these Opinions into the very Veins and Vitals of the People in the Country, was Mistress Hutchinsons double weekly lecture, which she kept under a pretence of repeating Sermons, to which resorted sundry of Boston, and other Towns about, to the number of fifty, sixty, or eighty at once; where after she had repeated the Sermon, she would make her comment upon it, vent her mischievous Opinions as she pleased, and wreathed the Scriptures to her own purpose; where the custom was for her Scholars to propound questions, and she (gravely sitting in the chair) did make answers thereunto. The great respect she had at first in the hearts of all, and her profitable and sober carriage of matters, for a time, made this her practice less suspected by the godly magistrates, and Elders of the Church there, so that it was winked at for a time, (though afterward reproved by the Assembly, and called into Court but it held so long, until she had spread her leaven so far, that had not providence prevented, it had proved the Canker of our Peace, and ruine of our Comforts.
By all these means and cunning slights they used, it came about that those Errors were so soon conveyed, before we were aware, not only into the Church of Boston, where most of these seducers lived, but also into almost all the parts of the Country round about.
These Opinions being thus spread, and grown to their full ripeness and latitude, through the nimbleness and activity of their fomenters, began now to lift up their heads full high, to stare us in the face, and to confront all that opposed them.
And that which added vigour and boldness to them was this, that now by this time they had some of all sorts, and quality, in all places to defend and Patronise them; some of the Magistrates, some Gentlemen, some Scholars, and Men of Learning, some Burgesses of our General Court, some of our Captains and Souldiers, some chief Men in Towns, and some Men eminent for Religion, Parts, and Wit. So that wheresoever the case of the Opinions came in agitation, there wanted not Patrons to stand up to plead for them, and if any of the Opinionists were complained of in the Courts for their Misdemeanors, or brought before the Churches for Conviction or Censure, still, some or other of that party would not onelyonly suspend, giving their Vote against them, but would labour to justifie them, side with them, and protest against any Sentence that should pass upon them, and so be ready, not onelyonly to harden the Delinquent against all means of conviction, but to raise a Mutiny, if the major part should carry it against them; So in Town-meetings, Military-trainings, and all other Societies, yea, almost in every Family, it was hard, if that some or other were not ready to rise up in defence of them, even as of the apple of their own eye.
Now, oh their boldness, pride, insolency, alienations from their old and dearest Friends, the disturbances, divisions, contentions they raised amongst us, both in Church and State, and in Families, setting Division betwixt Husband and Wife!
Oh the sore Censures against all sorts that opposed them, and the contempt they cast upon our godly Magistrates, Churches, Ministers, and all that were set over them, when they stood in their way!
Now the faithful Ministers of Christ must have dung cast on their faces, and be no better than legal Preachers, Baal's-Priests, Popish Factors, Scribes, Pharisees, and Opposers of Christ himself.
Now they must be pointed at, as it were with the finger, and reproached by name, Such a Church Officer is an ignorant Man, and knows not Christ; such an one is under a Covenant of Works; such a Pastor is a Proud Man, and would make a good Persecuter; such a Teacher is grossly Popish; so that through these reproaches, occasion was given to Men to abhor the Offerings of the Lord.
Now, one of them in a Solemn Convention of Ministers, dared to say to their Faces, that they did not Preach the Covenant of Free-Grace, and that they themselves had not the Seal of the Spirit, &c.
Now, after our Sermons were ended at our publick Lectures, you might have seen half a dozen Pistols discharged at the face of the Preacher, (I mean) so many objections made by the Opinionists in the open Assembly against our Doctrine delivered if it suited not their new fancies, to the marvellous weakning of holy truths delivered, (what in them lay) in the hearts of all the weaker sort; and this done not once and away, but from day to day after our Sermons; yea, they would come when they heard a Minister was upon such a Point, as was like to strike at their Opinions, with a purpose to oppose him to his face.
Now, you might have seen many of the Opinionists rising up, and contemptuously turning their backs upon the faithful Pastors of that Church, and going forth from the Assembly when he began to Pray or Preach.
Now, you might have read Epistles of defiance and challenge, written to some Ministers after their Sermons, to cross and contradict truths by them delivered, and to maintain their own way.
Now, might one have frequently heard, both in Court and Church-meetings where they were dealt withal, about their opinions, and exorbitant carriages, such bold and menacing expressions as these.
This I hold, and will hold to my death, and will maintain it with my blood. And if I cannot be heard here, I must be forced to take some other course.
They said moreover what they would do against us (biting their words in) when such and such opportunities should be offered to them, as they daily expected. Insomuch that we had great cause to have feared the extremity of danger from them, in case power had been in their hands.
Now, you might have heard one of them Preaching a most dangerous Sermon in a great Assembly; when he divided the whole Country into two ranks, some (that were of his opinion) under a Covenant of Grace, and those were friends to Christ; others under a Covenant of Works, whom they might know by this, if they evidence their good estate by their Sanctification: those were (said he) enemies to Christ, Herods, Pilates, Scribes and Pharisees, yea, Antichrists; and advised all under a Covenant of Grace, to look upon them as such, and did, with great zeal, stimulate them to deal with them as they would with such: And withal alledging the Story of Moses that killed the Egyptian, barely left it so: I mention not this or any thing, in the least degree, to reflect upon this Man, or any other; for God hath long since opened his eyes (I hope) But to shew what racket these opinions did make there, and will any where else where they get an head.
Now, might you have seen open contempt cast upon the face of the whole general Court in subtile words to this very effect. That the Magistrates were Ahabs, Amaziahs, Scribes and Pharisees, Enemies to Christ, led by Satan, that old Enemy of Free-Grace, and that it were better that a Milstone were hung about their necks, and they were drowned in the Sea, than they should censure one of their Iudgment, which they were now about to do.
Another of them you might have seen so audaciously insolent, and highflown in Spirit and Speech, that she bad the Court of Magistrates (when they were about to censure her for her pernicious carriages) Take heed what they did to her, for she knew by an infallible revelation, that for this act which they were about to pass against her, God would ruin them, their Posterity, and that whole Common-wealth.
By a little taste of a few passages instead of multitudes here presented, you may see what an heighth they were grown unto, in a short time; and what a spirit of Pride, Insolency, contempt of Authority, Division, Sedition, they were acted by: It was a wonder of mercy that they had not set our Common-wealth and Churches on a fire and consumed us all therein.
They being mounted to this heighth, and carried with such a strong hand (as you have heard,) and seeing a spirit of Pride, Subtilty, Malice, and Contempt of all men, that were not of their minds, breathing in them (our hearts sadded, and our spirits tyred) we sighed and groaned to Heaven, we humbled our Souls by Prayer and Fasting that the Lord would find out and bless some means and ways for the cure of this sore, and deliver his Truth and our selves from this heavy bondage. Which (when his own time was come) he hearkned unto, and in infinite Mercy looked upon our Sorrows, and did in a wonderful manner, beyond all Expectation free us by these means following.
1. He stirred up all the Ministers Spirits in the Country to preach against those Errors and Practices, that so much pestered the Country, to inform, to confute, to rebuke, &c. thereby to cure those that were diseased already, and to give Antidotes to the rest, to preserve them from infection. And tho' this Ordinance went not without its appointed effect, in the latter respect, yet we found it not so effectual for the driving away of this infection, as we desired, for they (most of them) hardned their faces, and bent their wits how to oppose, and confirm themselves in their way.
2. We spent much Time and Strength in conference with them, sometimes in private before the Elders only, sometimes in our publick Congregation for all comers; many, very many hours and half days together we spent therein to see if any means might prevail; we gave them free leave, with all lenity and patience, to lay down what they could say for their Opinions, and answered them, from point to point, and then brought clear arguments from evident Scriptures against them, and put them to answer us even until they were oftentimes brought to be either silent, or driven to deny common Principles, or shuffle off plain Scripture; and yet (such was their pride and hardness of heart that) they would not yield to the Truth, but did tell us they would take time to consider of our Arguments, and in the mean space meeting with some of their Abetters, strengthened themselves again in their old way, that when we dealt with them next time, we found them further off than before, so that our hopes began to languish of reducing them by private means.
3. Then we had an Assembly of all the Ministers and learned Men in the whole Country, which held for three weeks together at Cambridge (then called New-Town) Mr. Hooker, and Mr. Bulkley (alias Buckley) being chosen Moderators, or Prolocutors, the Magistrates sitting present all that time, as hearers, and speakers also when they saw fit: a liberty also was given to any of the Country to come in and hear, (it being appointed, in great part, for the satisfaction of the people) and a place was appointed for all the Opinionists to come in, and take liberty of Speech, (only due order observed) as much as any of our selves had, and as freely.
The first week we spent in confuting the loose Opinions that we gathered up in the Country, the summ of which is set down, pag. 1. &c. The other fortnight we spent in a plain Syllogistical Dispute, (ad vulgus as much as might be) gathered up nine of the chiefest Points, (on which the rest depended) and disputed of them all in order, pro & con. In the forenoons we framed our arguments, and in the afternoons produced them in publick and next day the Adversary gave in their Answers, and produced also their arguments on the same questions; then we answered them, and replyed also upon them the next day. These Disputes are not mentioned at all in the following Discourse, happily, because of the swelling of the book. God was much present with his Servants, Truth began to get ground, and the adverse party to be at a stand, but after discourse amongst themselves, still they hardned one another, yet the work of the Assembly (through Gods blessing) gained much on the hearers, that were indifferent, to strengthen them, and on many wavering, to settle them: the Error of the Opinions and wilfulness of their Maintainer's, laid stark naked.
4. Then after this mean was tried, and the Magistrates saw that neither our Preaching, Conference, nor yet our Assembly meeting did effect the cure, but that, still, after conference had together, the Leaders put such life into the rest, that they all went on in their former course, not only to disturb the Churches, but miserably interrupt the Civil Peace, and that they threw contempt both upon Courts and Churches, and began now to raise Sedition amongst us, to the indangering of the Common-wealth; Hereupon for these grounds named, (and not for their Opinions, as themselves falsely reported, and as our godly Magistrates have been much traduced here in England) for these reasons (I say) being civil disturbances, the Magistrate convents them, (as it plainly appears, pag. 28, 29. of this Book) and censures them; some were disfranchised, others fined, the incurable amongst them banished.
This was another mean of their subduing some of the Leaders being down, and oth…rs gone, the rest were weakned, but yet they (for all this) strongly held up their heads many a day after.
5. Then God himself was pleased to step in with his casting voice, and bring in his own vote and suffrage from Heaven by testifying his displeasure against their opinions and practices, as clearly as if he had pointed with his finger, in causing the two Fomenting Women in the time of the height of the opinions to produce out of their Wombs, as before they had out of their brains, such Monstrous births, as no Chronicle (I think) hardly ever recorded the like. Mistriss Dier brought forth her birth of a woman child, a fish, a beast, and a fowl, all woven together in one, and without an head, as pag. 44, describes, to which I refer the Reader.
Mistriss Hutchison being big with Child, and growing towards the time of her labour, as other women do, she brought forth not one, (as Mistris Dier did) but (which was more strange to amazement) thirty monstrous births or thereabouts, at once; some of them bigger, some lesser, some of one shape, some of another; few of any perfect shape, none at all of them (as far as I could ever learn) of humane shape.
These things are so strange, that I am almost loth to be the reporter of them, lest I should seem to feign a new story, and not to relate an old one, but I have learned otherwise (blessed be his name) than to delude the world with untruths.
And these things are so well known in New-England, that they have been made use of in publick, by the reverend Teacher of Boston, and testified by so many Letters to Friends here, that the things are past Question.
And see how the wisdom of God sitted this judgment to her sin every way, for look as she had vented mishapen opinions, so she must bring forth deformed Monsters; and as about thirty opinions in number, so many monsters; and as those were publick, and not in a corner mentioned, so this is now come to be known and famous over all these Churches, and a great part of the World.
And though he that runs may read their sin in these judgments; yet, behold the desperate and stupendious hardness of heart in these persons and their followers, who were so far from seeing the finger of God in all these dreadful passages, that they turned all from themselves upon the faithful servants of God that laboured to reclaim them, saying,
This is for you, ye legalists, that your eyes might be farther blinded, by God's hand upon us, in your legal ways, and stumble and fall, and in the end break your necks into hell, if ye imbrace not the Truth.
Now I am upon Mistris Hutchison's Story, I will digress a little to give you a farther tast of her spirit, viz. After she was gone from us to the Island, the Church of Boston sent unto her four of their Members, (men of a lovely and winning spirit, as most likely to prevail) to see if they could convince and reduce her, according to 2 Thess. 3. 13. When they came first unto her, she asked from whom they came, and what was their business? They answered, We are come in the name of the Lord Iesus, from the Church of Christ at Boston, to labour to convince you of, &c—At that word she (being filled with as much disdain in her countenance, as bitterness in her spirit) replied, What, from the Church at Boston? I know no such Church, neither will I own it, call it the Whore and Strumpet of Boston, no Church of Christ: so they said no more, seeing her so desperate, but returned. Behold the spirit of error, to what a pass it drives a Man!
This loud-speaking Providence from heaven in the monsters, did much awaken many of their followers (especially the tenderer sort) to attend God's meaning therein; and made them at such a stand, that they dared not slight so manifest a sign from heaven, that from that time we found many of their ears boared (as they had good cause) to attend to Counsel, but others yet followed them.
6. The last stroke that slew the opinions, was the falling away of their Leaders.
1. Into more hideous and soul-destroying Delusions, which rain (indeed) all Religion, as, that the Souls of men are mortal like the beasts.
That there is no such thing as inherent Righteousness.
That these Bodies of ours shall not rise again.
That their own revelations of particular Events were as infallible as the Scripture, &c.
2. They also grew (many of them) very loose and degenerate in their practices (for these opinions will certainly produce a filthy life by degrees;) As no prayer in their Families, no Sabbath, insufferable pride, frequ…nt and hideous lying; divers of them being proved guilty; some of five, other of ten gross lies; another falling into a lie, God smote him in the very act, that he sunk down into a deep swound, and being by hot waters recover'd, and coming to himself, said, Oh God, thou mightst have struck me dead, as Ananias and Saphira, for I have maintained a lie. Mistress Hutchison and others cast out of the Church for lying, and some guilty of fouler sins than all these, which I here name not.
These things exceedingly amazed their followers, (especially such as were led after them in the simplicity of their hearts, as many were) and now they began to see that they were deluded by them.
A great while they did not believe that Mistress Hutchison and some others did hold such things as they were taxed for, but when themselves heard her defending her twenty nine cursed Opinions in Boston Church, and there falling into fearful lying, with an impudent fore-head in the open Assembly, then they believed what before they could not, and were ashamed before God and men, that ever they were so led aside from the Lord and his Truth, and the godly Counsel of their faithful Ministers, by such an Impostor as she was.
Now no man could lay more upon them, than they would upon themselves, in their acknowledgment.
Many after this came unto us, who before flew from us, with such desires as those in Act. 2. Men and Brethren, what shall we do? and did willingly take shame to themselves in the open Assemblies by confessing (some of them with many tears) how they had given offence to the Lord and his People, by departing from the Truth, and being led by a Spirit of Error, their alienation from their brethren in their affections, and their crooked and perverse walking in contempt of Authority, slighting the Churches, and despising the Counsel of their godly Teachers.
Now they would freely discover the slights the Adversaries had used to undermine them by, and steal away their Eyes from the Truth and their Brethren, which before (whilst their Eyes were seal'd) they could not see. And the fruit of this was great Praise to the Lord, who had thus wonderfully wrought matters about; Gladness in all our Hearts and Faces, and Expressions of our renewed Affections by receiving them again into our Bosoms, and from that time untill now have walked (according to their renewed Covenants) humbly and lovingly amongst us, holding forth Truth and Peace with Power.
But for the rest, which (notwithstanding all these means of Conviction from Heaven and Earth, and the Example of their seduced Brethrens return) yet stood obdurate, yea more hardned (us we had cause to fear) than before; we convented those of them that were Members before the Churches, and yet laboured once and again to convince them, not only of their Errors, but also of sundry exorbitant Practices which they had fallen into; as manifest Pride, contempt of Authority, neglecting to hear the Church, and lying, &c. but after no means prevailed, we were driven with sad hearts to give them up to Satan. Yet not simply for their Opinions (for which I find we have been slanderously traduced) but the chiefest cause of their Censure was their Miscarriages (as have been said) persisted in with great obstinacy.
The persons cast out of the Churches, were about nine or ten, as far as I can remember; who, for a space, continued very hard and impenitent, but afterward some of them were received into fellowship again, upon their Repentance.
These persons cast out, and the rest of the Ring-leaders that had received sentence of Banishment, with many others infected by them, that were neither censured in Court, nor in Churches, went all together out of our Iurisdiction and Precinct into an Island called Read-Island, (sirnamed by some, the Island of Errors) and there they live to this day, most of them; but in great strife and contention in the civil Estate, and otherwise; hatching and multiplying new Opinions, and cannot agree, but are miserably divided into sundry Sects and Factions.
But Mistress Hutchison being weary of the Island, or rather, the Island weary of her, departed from thence with all her Family, her Daughter, and her Children, to live under the Dutch, near a place called by Sea-men, and in the Map, Hell-Gate. (And now I am come to the last Act of her Tragedy, a most heavy stroak upon her self and hers, as I received it very lately from a godly Hand in New-England.) There the Indians set upon them, and slew her, and all her family; her Daughter, and her Daughters Husband, and all their Children, save one that escaped; (her own Husband being dead before;) a dreadful Blow. Some write that the Indians did burn her to death with fire, her House and all the rest named that belonged to her; but I am not able to affirm by what kind of death they slew her, but slain it seems she is, according to all Reports. I never heard that the Indians in those parts did ever before this, commit the like Outrage upon any one family, or families; and therefore Gods hand is the more apparently seen herein, to pick out this woful woman, to make her, and those belonging to her, an unheard-of heavy Example of their Cruelty above others.
Thus the Lord heard our Groans to Heaven, and freed us from this great and sore Affliction, which first was small, like Elias's Cloud; but after spread the Heavens; and hath (through great Mercy) given the Churches rest from this disturbance ever since; that we know none that lifts up his head to disturb our sweet Peace, in any of the Churches of Christ among us; blessed for ever be his Name.
I bow my knees to the God of Truth and Peace, to grant these Churches as full a riddance from the same, or like Opinions, which do destroy his Truth, and disturb their Peace.
A POSTSCRIPT.
I think it fit to add a comfortable Passage of News from those parts written to me very lately by a faithful hand, which as it affected mine own Heart, so it may do many others, viz. That two Sagamores, (or Indian Princes) with all their Men, Women and Children, have voluntarily submitted themselves to the Will and Law of our God, with expressed desires to be taught the same; and have for that end, put themselves under our Government and Protection, even in the same manner, as any of the English are: which morning-peep of Mercy to them (saith he) is a great means to awaken the Spirit of Prayer and Faith for them in all the Churches.
T. Welde.