Chap. VIII. The HISTORY of the PuRit'ANS. " that way and manner as iball appear to them mail: agreeable to the K. Charles I. " word of God; and no man be _puni!hed o~ difc?untenan_c~d by autho- ~~ " rity for the fame; and that an mforced umforrmty of religiOn through- '' out a nation or fl:ate confounds the civil and religious, and denies the " very principles of chrifl:ianity and civility." They then bear their tefl:imony to the covenant, and to the diviize right qj prefbJtery. They lament the imperf~Cl: fettlement. of thei: _dif~ipline by the parliament, and lay the founJatiOn of all their calamities 111 the coun tenancing of a public and general toleration, and conclude thus ; " Upon all thefe confiderations, we- the minifl:ers of Jefus Chrifi do here- p. 33· " by teflify to our flocks, to all the kingdom, and .to the reformed " world, our great diilike of prelacy, erqfliamjin, brownijin, and indepen- " dency; and our utter abhorrency of anti-ftripturijin, popery, ariamjin, " Jociniamfm, arminianifin, antinomianifin, anabaptifin, fibertinijin, and "familijin ; and that we detefl: the fore-mentioned toleration, fo much " purfued and endeavoured in this kingdom, accounting it unl Jwful " and pernicious." Vvb;,t fad work would thefe divines have made, had the .fword of the magi firate been at their difpofal! Tbe principal authors from whom thefe errors were colleCted, are Dr. Ham– mentioned in the margin; two of whom determined to vindicate the mond's f/in· citations out of their books : Dr. HammondpubliG1ed a vindication of 3 drcatron. paffages in his practical catechifm, from the cenfi.Jresofthe Londonminifiers; in which he very jufily complains of the hard names with which the minifiers load the opinions they reject, as abominable errors, damnable herew p. 4• (ies, horrid b!afphemies, many if which are dejlruC!ive of the fundamentals if chrijlianity, and all of them repugnant to the holy ftriptures, the ftandal mzd qffrnce of thi reformed churches abroad, and the unparalle!led reproach qf tbis church aud nation; and, in a word, tbe dregs and JPawn if thoje old cu~fed herejes wbicb have been already condemned. The doCtor then recites his three p<~ffages; the firfi concerning zmiverfal redemption; the fecond concerning}aitb's being the condition of our jzljli.Jication; and the third concerning the interpretation if the third commandment; and avers them aJ.l to be true, and agrctable to the doCtrine of the church of England. In conclufion the doCtor defires this favour, that either the firfi fubfcriber Mr. J. Do·wnbam, who licenCed his catechifin for the prefs, or elfe Dr. Gouge or Mr. Gataker, who are foremofi in the fecond·rank, or fame other perfons of learning, chriflianity, and candor, would afford him their patience, perfonally and by fair difcourfe, or any other chriftian way, to debate the tru th of the(e affertions, for which he will wait their leifure. Dated from Oxford, Jan. 24. 1 64;, but no body thought fit to accept the challenge. VoL. II. Mm Mr. John
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