WHEELWRIGHT. 475 fast was appointed to be kept in all the churches ; the occa- sion of which, :beside other things, was, " the dissentious in, the churches.". On the day of public fasting, Mr. Cotton, it is said, preached a very healing sermon from Isa. 4. ; but Mr. Wheelwright, the other preacher at Boston,+ filled his sermon with bitter invectives against the magistrates and ministers of the country, telling the people, " that they walked in such a way of salvation as was no better than a covenant of works." Under his third use, he said, " The second sort of, people that are to be condemned, are all such as do set themselves against the Lord Jesus Christ : such are the greatest enemies to the state that can be. If they can have their wills, you will see what a lamentable state both church and commonwealth will be in : then we shall have need of mourning. The Lord cannot endure those that are enemies to himself, and kingdom, and people, and his church." He compared them to Jews, Herods, Philistines, and exhorted such as were under a covenant of grace to combat them as their greatest enemies. The above fast was held January 19, 1637. March 9th following,being the next court-day, Mr. Wheel- wright was brought before the magistrates, who, after hearing what he could say in defence of his sermon,, condemned it as seditious, and' tending to disturb the public peace. They endeavoured to convince him of his offence, but without effect ; and allowed him till the next session to consider whether he would make his submission or abide the sentence of the court. In the mean time, nearly all the church of Boston presented a petition to the court, declaring, " That Mr. Wheelwright had not been guilty of any sedition ; that his doctrine was not seditious, being no other than the ex- pressions of scripture ; that it had produced no seditious effects, for his, followers had not drawn their swords, nor endeavoured to rescue their innocent brother : they desired the court, therefore, to consider the danger of meddling with the prophets of God, and to remember, that even 'the Apostle Paul himself had been called ' a pestilent fellow, a mover of sedition, and the ringleader of a sect'" This petitionwas presented in the court presently after Mr. Wheel- wright's censure, signed by above sixty hands, some of whom were, members of the court ; but it was rejected by the Morse and Parish's list. of New Eng. p. 61, 142. + Mr. WheelWright was preacher to a branch of the Boston church, which assembled at Braintree, a place near Boston.-Backus's Hist. of New Eng. Bap. vol. i. p. 81.
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