LIVES OF THE PURITANS. theman uses in his sermons and prayers, to get himself the name of such a rare man, these are some : he prayed to the Trinity to take care of these three kingdoms ; God the Father to take care of one, God the Son of the second, and God the Holy Ghost of the third kingdom." This author charges Mr. Durance with having prayed publicly in the church at Sandwich, " that the king might be brought up in chains to the parliament." He also observes, that, after his preaching at Canterbury, he bath the use of a great room near the cathedral, where many resort to him, and " he takes i occasion to build them up n independency." Although he preached regularly every week at Canterbury and Sandwich, he would have done the same also at Dover; but he was opposed by thegodly ministers of the town, who wrote up to London against him, and, by this means, prevented him from going thither. This shews his great zeal and diligence, and their extreme bigotry and intolerance. Mr. Edwards, one of the most bitter enemies to toleration, further charges him with saying, after the surrender of Oxford to the parliament, " that, notwithstanding this, there would be no peace till there was a general liberty of conscience in England." A dreadful crime was this in the eyes of this bigotted writer! Mr. Durance lived in one of the prebendaries houses in Canterbury; and, after preaching on the Lord's day in one of the churches, he preached and administered the ordinances of the gospel to his own church, in his own house, in the evening. How long he continued in this situation, or when he died, we are not able to learn ; but he was livina 6 in the year 1646.. JOHN BATCHELOR was a divine of the independent deno.. mination, who lived some time at Rotterdam in Holland, where he was probably driven by the Laudian persecution. Several of his letters, dated from this place in September, 1641, expressiveof the liberal sentiments of the independents, were afterwards printed.t He soon after returned to his native country, and became a chaplain in the army; on which account, and on account of his views of church government, Edwards has classed him among " the notorious sectaries, and those who smell of the army."# He was an avowed advocate for liberty of conscience, and a universal toleration, for which he has incurred the hot displeasure and indignation Edwards's Gangraana, part ii. p. 194, 144. iii. 96, 97. t Edwards's Autapologia, p. 39. t. Gangrwna, part iii. p. 266.
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