without altering, changing, innovating, wresting, or leaving out any of them that the Lord shall give us sight of.

Fifthly, we purpose by the assistance of the Holy Ghost, in this faith and order to lead our lives, and for this faith and order to leave our lives, if such be the good-will of our heavenly Father.

And sixthly, now that our forsaking and utterly abandoning these disordered assemblies as they generally stand in England may not seem strange or offensive to any that will judge or be judged by the word of God, we allege and affirm them heinously guilty in these four principal transgressions: 1. They worship the true God after a false manner, their worship being made of the invention of man, even of the man of sin, erroneous, and imposed upon them. 2. For that the profane ungodly multitude without exception of any one person are with them received into, and retained in the bosom of, the church. 3. For that they have a false and antichristian ministry imposed upon them, retained with them, and maintained by them. 4. For that these churches are ruled by, and remain in subjection unto, an antichristian and ungodly government, clean contrary to the institution of our Saviour, Christ.

For the better confirmation of these four, we have thought good to add certain arguments.

1. No Apocrypha must be brought into the public assemblies, for there only God's word, and the lively voice of His own grace, must be heard in the public assemblies : but men's writings and the reading them over for prayers, are apocrypha, therefore may not be brought into the public assemblies.

2. Argument. We must do nothing in the worship of God without warrant of His word: but read prayers have

no warrant of His word: therefore read are not to be used in the worship of God.

3. Argument. We may not in the worship of God receive any tradition which bringeth our liberty into bondage. Read prayer upon commandment brought into the public assemblies is a tradition that bringeth our liberty into bondage. Therefore read prayers, &c.

4. Argument. Because true prayer must be of faith, uttered with hearty and lively voice, it is presumptuous ignorance to bring a book to speak for us unto God, &c.

5. Argument. To worship the true God after another manner than He hath taught, is idolatry: but God commandeth us to come unto Him heavy laden with contrite hearts, to cry unto Him for our wants, &c. Therefore we may not stand reading a dead letter instead of pouring forth our petitions.

6. Argument. We must strive in prayer with continuance, &c. But we cannot strive in continuance and be importunate with continuance, reading upon a book. Therefore we must not read when we should pray.

7. Argument. We must pray as necessity requireth : but stinted prayers cannot be as necessity requireth: therefore stinted prayer is unlawful.

8. Argument. Read prayers were devised by antichrist, and maintain superstition and an idle ministry: therefore read prayers and such stinted service are intolerable, &c.

9. Argument. The prayers of such ministers and such people as stand under a false government are not acceptable, not only because they ask amiss, but because they keep not his commandments. The prayers of such ministers and people as be subject to antichrist are abominable. These ministers and people which stand subject to the bishops

and the courts are subject to antichrist, &c. Therefore the prayers, &c.

Touching the last part of your letter, which concerneth the differences of these days, the apostle Paul saith he heareth that there are differences in the church of the Corinthians, and I believe it in part, saith he, to be true, for there must be heresies among them, that they which are approved amongst them may he known, thereby teaching us that it is no new thing that differences in religion are in the church, for the end thereof God often turneth to greater manifestation of His truth, and the furthering of the same as also to the procuring much glory to His own name and to the good of His church and children so tried and approved. We read in the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah these words," My beloved had a vineyard in a very fruitful hill, and he hedged it and gathered the stones out of it, and he planted it with the best plants, and he built a tower in the midst thereof, and made a winepress therein; then he looked that it should bring forth grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes ;"—and in the same prophecy in another place he called them trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified. Now make use and application of these testimonies. If the vineyard and church of Israel, which was of the Lord's own planting and constitution, brought forth wild grapes, what marvel though your Church of England, which is not of the Lord's planting and constitution, but of antichrist's planting and of the constitution of the man of sin, bring forth wild grapes? You know the words of Christ,-" do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit ;—a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt

tree bring forth good fruit;—therefore by their fruit ye shall know them," saith the Lord. As the said prophet Isaiah spake of the people of the Jews, so may we speak of the Church of England,-" from the sole of the foot unto the head there is nothing whole therein, but wounds, and swellings, and sores full of corruption,—the whole head is sick, and the whole heart is heavy."

And we confidently deny that ever the English nation, or any one of our predecessors, were of the faith of Christ, or at any time believed visibly in a true constituted church, but were come of the race of the pagans, till Rome the mother came and put upon us her false baptism, worship, and ministry, and so our case is simply paganish, and the Holy Ghost in the scriptures compareth us to the worst kind of pagans, calling persons apostatising from the true constitution of the Church, Babylonians, Egyptians, Sodomites, &c. teaching us, the Church of England, that he esteemeth no otherwise of the church or baptism, than of the synagogue of Babylon, than of the washing of Egypt, than of the worship of Sodom. Your Church of England, therefore, being of antichrist's constitution, is a false Church, and can there be anything true in a false Church, but only the scriptures and the truths therein contained? but your Church hath a false constitution, a false ministry, a false worship, a false government, and a false baptism, the door and entry into the Church; and so all is false in your Church. Wherefore, beloved cousin, we wish you in the Lord, diligently and seriously to consider and weigh your universal state and standing, that it is most fearful and lamentable, and now at the last to hearken unto the Lord's voice that sounded from heaven, saying, "Go out of Babylon, my people, that ye be not partakers with her in her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”

Beloved cousin, concerning your request of a book of our present settled government, there is none extant, though there be divers books written by our pastors touching the matters in controversy between the Church of England and us, and touching the differences between us and the other churches here.

The order of the worship and government of our Church is, 1. We begin with a prayer; after, read some one or two chapters of the Bible, give the sense thereof, and confer upon the same: that done, we lay aside our books, and after a solemn prayer made by the first speaker, he propoundeth some text out of the Scripture, and prophesieth out of the same by the space of one hour or three quarters of an hour. After him standeth up a second speaker, and prophesieth out of the said text, the like time and place, sometimes more, sometimes less. After him the third, the fourth, the fifth, &c., as the time will give leave. Then the first speaker concludeth with prayer as he began with prayer, with an exhortation to contribution to the poor, which collection being made, is also concluded with prayer. This morning exercise begins at eight of the clock and continueth unto twelve of the clock. The like course and exercise is observed in the afternoon from two of the clock unto five or six of the clock. Last of all, the execution of the government of the Church is handled.

Loving cousin, I have by this bearer sent unto you a book of the making of Mr. Smith, our pastor: I wish you diligently to peruse, and seriously with judgment to examine the same, and if you request any more of this or any other argument written by him, either for yourself or for your friends, to signify the same unto us by your letters and we will (the Lord willing) procure the same so that you find a